About every fourth or fifth email I receive and about half of every phone conversation I have, I hear something like, “I know you are busy, but…” I cannot speak for every pastor but I believe that this modified story from the spirituality of the desert fathers might speak for many clergy – including myself:
3 candles
Image courtesy of Jason Valendy.
There was a student who went to a teacher and asked for a word. The teacher shared a word with the student who went back home. The next day the student forgot what the teacher had said, so the student returned to the teacher.
“I am sorry, teacher, but I have forgotten what you said yesterday. Can you share a word with me?”
The teacher spent a little more time with the student this second time, and then the student went back home.
A week later, the student returned and said, “Teacher, I am so sorry to bother you and I have asked now two times, but I have forgotten and would you share a word?”
The teacher sat all day with the student before the student returned home.
After two weeks, the student returned to the teacher. The student felt ashamed and was embarrassed to ask the teacher, yet one more time, “I know you are busy, and I know that I have taken a lot of your time already, but I have forgotten what you said. Could you remind me again?”
At this point the teacher took the table lamp that was to his right and asked the student to pass him a candle that was on the entry table. The teacher lit the candle, handed it to the student, and asked the student for a second candle from the entry table. The teacher lit the second candle, handed it to the student who was asked to retrieve a third and then a fourth candle.
The teacher lifted the lamp up and looked at the student who was now holding four lit candles. The teacher said, “Is the lamp diminished because it gave some of its light to the four candles?”
The student understood and said, “No.”
Never again did the student hesitate to visit the teacher and both of their homes became full of light.
Valendy Thumb
Rev. Jason Valendy
The Rev. Jason serves as co-pastor, along with his wife the Rev. Estee Valendy, of Saginaw United Methodist Church in Saginaw, Texas. This post is republished with permission from his blog, JasonValendy.net.