Fr Robert Hendrickson

Dear Friends in Christ,

Our old dog, Becket, got quite ill over the last few weeks. He got weaker and couldn’t run around and then could barely walk. He didn’t want to eat or drink water. He was obviously, after fifteen years, getting to his end.

The thing that struck me was that even as the busyness of the house was going on around him, as kids got ready for school and we tried to get the internet working for meetings and as delivery guys came and his doggy buddies were running around, amid all that craziness, he just wanted to be there in the middle of people. So we took his bed from room to room and laid him down so he could just be together with us.

It was as if, as he could do less, he wanted to do what was important. He wanted to spend more of his remaining time with those he loved and who loved him.

I’m feeling like that’s a bit of where we’ve all been with this pandemic, as we can do less, maybe we’ve gotten a reminder to focus more on what’s important. The holidays coming up are often that time when we get together with loved ones, when we try and be generous with food and gifts, and when we spend a little more time and energy volunteering with or donating to the things we care about.

Many of us will have less ability to do those in-person things that make holidays so meaningful. We won’t be able to gather together. So how do we make sure that we do what’s most important when we can’t do as much?

First, I hope we’re all praying more. This is a good time for it when, perhaps, the distractions of getting ready for giving thanks and the busyness of trying to buy just the right thing and wrap it perfectly might be less pressing. This may give us more time to pray for a spirit of generosity and to give thanks for all the blessings of this life, especially when we can’t be together.

Second, I hope we’re reading scripture more. Getting into the stories of our faith brings us closer and closer to the source and summit of the Christian journey — closer to Christ. As we prepare for giving thanks and giving generously it’s a perfect time to enter freshly into the story of love that’s at the heart of it all.

Finally, I hope we’re making time to connect. The pandemic has taught many of us how to connect in new ways — with zoom and FaceTime and google meets. As it’s taught us how I hope that it has reminded us why. Who we are is so deeply dependent on the people with whom we are in relationship. Even as we’re all “our own person” we also know this to be a fiction. We are all the product of one relationship after another that has shaped us.

So let’s stay constant in prayer, go deeper in relationship with Christ through Scripture, and remember all those people who make us who we are — let’s use the time to love and surround ourselves with reminders of God’s love. If we can do that we will have done what’s important even when we can do less.

Yours in Christ,

Fr Robert