‘I will remember the deeds of the Lord”—Psalm 77:11
Today is Bloomsday, June 16, the day James Joyce chose for his novel Ulysses to commemorate the date on which he met his wife, Nora Barnacle. Bloomsday celebrations are taking place around the world, including a pub crawl through Brooklyn with actors reading selections from Ulysses in six different pubs.
Memory may be the most important resource we have for doing ministry. We must remember what sparked our original passion that started this long journey of servanthood. We remember the successes in order to repeat them—and our failures in order to avoid them. We remember the pain we endured so that we can remain attentive and faithful to those who are suffering now.
What events in your life do you need to remember and commemorate in order to remain a faithful servant of Christ?
Some Sundays as I sit behind the pulpit ‘waiting to go on’ I get discouraged. The crowd is thin, the service is mediocre, and I start complaining in my mind about what I thought I deserved and what I did not get. I just do not want to preach.
But then I remember back to that time when I was just beginning to hear my calling. I remember all those times when I wanted—no, ached—to preach (that is the nature of a calling, it hurts until you can get it out of you). Then I become immensely grateful that there is somebody, anybody, who will sit through my sermons.
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