I'm Just Passing Through

A Reflection for 2nd Sunday of Lent Thomas E Wilson, Guest Presenter March 16th, 2025 Church of the Holy Trinity, Hertford Genesis 15:1-12,17-18 Philippians 3:17-4:1 Luke 13:31-35 Psalm 27 “I’m Just Passing Through.” There is a play by W. Somerset Maughan, called Sheppey, which is the name of the main character and of the Island from which that character hopes to return to escape death. It has a scene in which the character of Death comes to visit Sheppey before Sheppey is able to run away and hide from death. Death makes a speech based on an ancient Middle Eastern Story. That speech was lifted by novelist John O’Hara, for his Novel Appointment In Samarra. This is the speech given by Death Death replies: "There was a merchant in Baghdad who sent his servant to market to buy provisions and in a little while the servant came back, white and trembling, and said, “Master, just now when I was in the marketplace I was jostled by a woman in the crowd and when I turned I saw it was Death that jostled me. She looked at me and made a threatening gesture; now, lend me your horse, and I will ride away from this city and avoid my fate. I will go to Samarra and there Death will not find me.” The merchant lent him his horse, and the servant mounted it, and he dug his spurs in its flanks and as fast as the horse could gallop he went. Then the merchant went down to the market-place and he saw me standing in the crowd and he came to me and said, “Why did you make a threatening gesture to my servant when you saw him this morning?” “That was not a threatening gesture, I said, it was only a start of surprise. I was astonished to see him in Baghdad, for I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra." I am not a big fan of dying myself. Edward Albee, a playwright who wrote Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? “, a play I did the summer before I went to seminary, once said: "I take pretty good care of myself, and I have no enthusiasm whatsoever about dying. I think it's a terrible waste of time, and I don't want to participate in it." I thought of these plays when eight days ago, I was at a deanery meeting about the search for good candidates for an election of the next Bishop in this Diocese. Years ago, I had been on the search committee for the present Bishop, and I kept my mouth tightly closed during this discussion, so I would not look as if I wanted to serve. I have to tell you how relieved I was not to be on this committee to search for his replacement. I wanted nothing to do with church politics. I like church and I am proud of the over four decades of work I did as a Curate and Chaplain at one Church and Rector at three other churches and fill-in at others.. I was honored to be a Pastor, Preacher, Teacher and Celebrant, but I was not fond of doing administrative work. Almost seven years ago when I was about to turn 72, the mandatory retirement age of a Parish Priest came and I was so happy that I did not have to do any more Church Budgets, Pledge Drives and Committee Meetings any more. Yes, it was work that needed to be done and I was good at it, but it was so good to see that work in my rear view mirror. While I did some full time Interim Work to help a Parish search for a new Rector and had to do administrative work, I was so glad when they hired a Rector, so I could be set free from offices. Now, to keep me off the streets, I do some fill-in work of preaching, pastoring and celebrating, like I am doing today. One of the problems is that I almost messed up being here because I had double booked, but your Warden, and my friend, Frank straightened me out. This summer I will do a short term Interim for that Priest who will be doing some Sabbatical work, so I will have to spend some time in an office. I owe this Priest a lot, he is the Pastor of the church I attend and pledge when I am not filling in at other churches like today. This Priest is the one who visited my wife when she was going through Hospice at home and dying. She liked him because he was young and cute and had a good heart and listened well. He visited me when she died, and he presided at my wife’s funeral almost two years ago; he was there for me and my family. He is one of the few people I trust enough to cry in front of. I owe him a great deal. In 1989, my wife and I got married in the church I was serving in Virginia and we started the journey of faithfully passing through life together; and in so many ways it was a dance. Now, there is no one I take care of, besides myself and my dog. My daughter is hinting for me to move out to Colorado where she can watch over the old man. While I think I am in good health, I am increasingly aware that now I am at a stage of my life where I am just passing through alone until I have my appointment at Samara, whenever and wherever it will be. And as I pointed out a few minutes ago, there seems to be times when I double book. “Passing through”; it is a theme in the lessons for today.. We begin with the “Passing Through” of Abram. God calls him from Ur of the Chaldees and Abram will spend the rest of his life passing through. Just before this lesson, Abram has come out of Egypt and now in this lesson Abram is told, he will continue his life “passing through”, but his descendents will one day claim the promise and occupy the land west of the Jordan as the gift from the loving God. For Abraham, passing through is the way he is able to go deeper in his relationship with God and a deeper understanding of himself. Paul, in the Epistle, writes to the people in Philippi, where the people who belong to the church live in houses. Yet, while they stay in one physical place, they are just “passing through”, for they must go deeper into their hearts and souls, until they come to rest in the Risen Christ. Paul may visit them, but he trusts that the lay leaders and members will be the ministers of God’s love to each other. Every member of the community treasures the moments that they spend together, but they fully understand that they are all just passing through until they rest in Christ. In the Gospel lesson for today, the people tell Jesus that he should find a place to hide away from the wrath of the religious and political authorities. Jesus tells them that he is just passing through, for he has an appointment in his heart with his death in Jerusalem. Each step he takes is a step into a deeper understanding of what his life and death means. Passing through is not about strolling through, but about living each day working to make ourselves better people and the world a better place. Henri Nouwen wrote in “You Are The Beloved: “Whenever contrary to the world’s vindictiveness, we love our enemy, we exhibit something of the perfect love of God. Whenever we forgive instead of getting angry at one another, bless instead of cursing one another, tend to one another’s wounds instead of rubbing salt into them, hearten instead of discouraging one another, give hope instead of driving one another to despair, hug instead of harassing one another, welcome instead of cold-shouldering one another, thank instead of criticizing one another, praise instead of maligning one another...in short, whenever we opt for and not against one another, we make God’s unconditional love visible; we are diminishing violence and giving birth to a new community.” But there are so many of the places to pass through where I still have appointments in my heart. I want to visit the Shwedagon Pagoda in what used to be called Burma and climb the stairs to revere the sacred hairs of the Buddha; one holy step at a time. I read an article about that Temple that reflected that Western consultants wanted to put in escalators and elevators for the pilgrims to visit the holy shrines quickly and easily, because they reasoned that the point of a pilgrimage is the end product. But the Eastern view, which is truly Christian, is that each step on a spiritual journey is a Liturgical step, an act of worship. Passing through faithfully is what worship is about. Each time I show up here, we do a service, we pass through a liturgical service. The point of the service is not about getting rewarded with a piece of bread and a sip of wine, but about slowing ourselves down, to live faithfully into each moment of mindfully passing through the Holy dance we have with each other.. I’m Just Passing Through Looking if Samara is on my calendar, Next week, or next month, or decade, Maybe getting an appointment made, To meet at the Temple in Myanmar Climbing the steps at the Shwedagon, Each step being a Holy step landing On Holy Ground, full understanding To fill in the places where I’ve gone. Same’s true as a Holy Trinity broker When breathing in Holy with others, Seeing them as sisters and brothers, And wine as ways to be more sober. Passing through is a way of dancing Faithfully, while we live enhancing.