What people need from their pastors
The ailing young man wanted to be face to face with God. I opened my shoebox.
Clergy are very busy. If they weren’t, they and everyone else would see the embarrassment, the king-with-no-clothes exposure of representing the mysteries of God. If members of the clergy go through the whole week without a single recognition that this could all be a load of nonsense, it probably means they’ve insulated themselves against the Holy Spirit. Pelagius has won.
Clergy are saved, on the whole, by the laity—laity who know what clergy are for and ask them for it. And so it was that I found myself sitting at a table across from a person who has no fewer than 17 physical ailments. We once shared a train journey and I was talked through all 17. Recently the person had a major setback. One thing led to another—several of the conditions set off others like a trip wire, leading to numerous planned and unplanned stays in hospital.
Of course, we could have talked about the latest setback. We could have prayed, and I could have shown my mastery of medical science as I identified the right intercession to attach to each condition. We could have had a drink and told stories.
