Our pulpit is a mess and it’s time for me to clean it up.
Most of the congregation wouldn’t know this. They cannot see what’s behind the front façade. From the pews, they see clean lines and the regal wood work of our church’s pulpit. But behind that handsome veneer is a hodgepodge of assorted items that have accumulated over the past weeks (okay, months). If you don’t believe me, ask the choir. They are forced to look at it every Sunday.
So, it’s time for me to do the tedious work of cleaning out the pulpit’s cabinet space and removing the things that have been stuffed there. I’m not thrilled to be doing this, but I know that it needs to be done.
Not surprisingly, the first couple of items that I’m removing are Bibles. There are two different translations of Holy Scripture—our sanctuary Bible, that is, the New Revised Standard Version, and the New International Version, which is often used as a good ‘reading’ Bible. There’s a lesson plan for small group leadership folded into its pages. Perhaps it’s from a Sunday School class? No matter. It’s coming out.
Next up is a clipboard with note cards to assist with new members on Sunday mornings. Parenthetical note: I need to find a better place for this important tool. Finding the information for new church members scribbled on the margins of a bulletin that was stuffed in my suit jacket weeks later is not particularly efficient. And yes, you’re noticing a trend…
Here’s a manual for the projector. How did that end up in the pulpit?
Here’s an order of worship for a service at a local nursing home. It’s dated June 25 of 2017 (Wow).
And now I’ve found a manila folder with the copy of a funeral service that I led many, many months ago. So, this one’s on me. I had made a hardcopy of the service because I didn’t want my digital device to malfunction during such an important moment in the church’s life. Likewise, I’ve found sheet music that the Pirates of the Tuckaseegee must have used.
There’s a large piece of felt in the pulpit. I have no idea what it was for, or how it got in the pulpit. Anyone?
There’s a small pedestal and gold cloth, here. They were used to elevate the cross on the communion table at Easter. Always err on the side of an elevated cross, people.
No, I’m still not done.
I’ve found a number of worship-related items. Here’s a piece of pottery that I’ve used to administer ashes on Ash Wednesday. There’s a metal scoop that looks like it might be used to measure coffee grounds in here, as well. I think, yes I know, that it’s used to extinguish a candle’s flame. Candles. There are multiple candles in the pulpit and pieces of paper used to mop up wax that had melted. Speaking of candles, there are two lighters (both work). There are two AA batteries, a piece of hardware that I do not recognize (it looks like an eye on the stove?), and one reserved sign for a pew. Oh, and here are a number of pens, markers and pencils.
What’s left is dust. I’ll attend to that in a moment.
As much as it pains me to come clean (terrible pun intended), the messy pulpit is a metaphor for my head and my heart. That is, it can get cluttered. Those who have visited my office know that unlike one of my predecessors, I like a clean office. An orderly office looks professional; nice. But that’s only half the truth. I’m a mess. All one has to do is open a drawer or look in the closet. No, it’s not a disaster. But it’s also not particularly tidy.
No, this is not an Ode to a Clean and Orderly Life. But perhaps it’s an invitation to consider that what people see in us doesn’t always match what’s going on beneath the surface. Most of the time, we only see bits and pieces of people’s reality. I know this because I can be particularly effective at hiding the stuff that clutters my head from observing eyes. And I suspect that you can, too.
As it is, then, perhaps we can choose to be more graceful with others. We really don’t know what’s going on beneath the surface in the people with whom we rub elbows and bump into. But also, there’s probably a word for us that we need to tend to the spaces that other people can’t always see or peer into. As I’m sure you’ll agree, that ‘stuff’ can get heavy to tote around and obfuscate.
The good news is that God is eager to create a clean heart in us. God wants to take the heavy and cumbersome loads that we bear off our shoulders. But first, we’ve got to be willing to acknowledge the clutter.
Although it’s not spring, perhaps a little cleaning and housekeeping is in order.