You know the feeling. It is between 2 and 3 in the afternoon — the "pit in the pm". Energy ebbs. Eyelids sag. Your attention span becomes goldfish-short (3 seconds). In fact there are workplace statistics that show that if you telephone a work environment to speak with someone the time most likely to get voice mail is between 2 and 3 in the afternoon - people walk away from their desk. You are wiped out, woozy and snoozy. The urge to grab a cat-nap becomes overwhelming. God invented coffee for this time of day. Fighting fatigue we all look for ways to revive, refresh ourselves for the second half of our day.
St. Paul (2nd Reading) wrote to his co worker Philemon (9-10,12-17) in order to refresh him. Philemon was fatigue - he was in the “pit of the pm of his life.” From the initial greeting Paul asserts that Philemon is a "dear friend and co-worker." He gives thanks for him, assures him of faith, invokes the saints toward him and asks that he continue to effective and active.
Now here is something you need to know - Paul has been imprisoned at this point.
- he was sent to a solitary island with some of the worst criminals of the Roman Empire.
- abandoned on that island permitted only occasionally to meet with someone
- he had to fend off others for food and his very survival each night was not guaranteed
He was not the poster child for the most glorious time of the year!
Yet - Paul encourages another - why? Paul had a deep relationship with Christ that reminded Him in the pit you don’t quit. You see - Faith alive is not static. Faith alive is an active, growing, dynamic thing... Now Paul wasn’t unique in this....let’s look at the life of the early Church - apostles....
Andrew died on a cross, Simon was crucified, Bartholomew was flayed alive, James (son of Zebedee) was beheaded, the other James (son of Alphaeus) was beaten to death, Thomas was run through with a lance, Matthias was beheaded, Matthew was slain by the sword, Peter was crucified upside down, Thaddeus was shot to death with arrows,Philip was hanged.This record was not great for recruitment. Yet the Church flourished during this time..its grew in leaps & bounds - in the pit you don’t quit
In July when I was leading some talks at a young adults conference in New York state I was enjoying my mid afternoon cup of coffee (probably between 2-3pm) when an older gentleman sat at my table and drank his coffee with his newspaper in hand. After a few moments he said to me - “well isn’t that interesting ?” I honestly thought he might be speaking on his blue tooth phone or something so I didn’t reply until he said it again and this time looking right at me said - “Have you ever thought how amazing an oyster is?”
Feeling somewhat awkward I just stared for a minute and he kept talking - now I am going to tell what I remember from what he was reading to me but I will admit to you I might have missed a line or two because honestly when he was speaking I was at the same time looking for the emergency exits because I thought he might be a bit wacky!
The oyster one day finds a tiny grain of sand has slipped into its shell. The sharp edges of the sand create a wound in the oyster’s muscle, and it is painful. It hurts. The oyster feels helpless. He has no hands or tweezers to remove the grain of sand. What was the oyster to do? He wants to know how he can stop the pain and heal the wound. He has choices.
He could do what humans do. He could rebel against God. He could get angry with God. He could ask, “Why did this happen to me? I have been a good oyster; I don’t deserve this.” He could choose to be bitter and miserable. He could have a pity party, a bad case of the “woe is me.” But none of that would help his pain. He could be a martyr. He could say that it was his cross to bear, and he could enlist a lot of sympathy by telling everyone his pain and gossiping and telling stories about how it the stand got into this shell. But that still would not help the pain.
What was he to do? He does what God equipped him to do. He begins to secrete a white milky substance that over time builds layers over the grain of sand. Over time the sharp edges dull and the painful point was rounded, and from the pain of that grain of sand, a pearl was made. It is a thing of beauty wrapped around nothing but trouble. Trouble can turn into a pearl.
God is in the pearl making business. He has a yes for us in every mess.
When the pains and sufferings of life come your way, when life breaks your heart, you have a decision to make. In the pit you don’t quit. The choice is yours.
St. Paul (2nd Reading) wrote to his co worker Philemon (9-10,12-17) in order to refresh him. Philemon was fatigue - he was in the “pit of the pm of his life.” From the initial greeting Paul asserts that Philemon is a "dear friend and co-worker." He gives thanks for him, assures him of faith, invokes the saints toward him and asks that he continue to effective and active.
Now here is something you need to know - Paul has been imprisoned at this point.
- he was sent to a solitary island with some of the worst criminals of the Roman Empire.
- abandoned on that island permitted only occasionally to meet with someone
- he had to fend off others for food and his very survival each night was not guaranteed
He was not the poster child for the most glorious time of the year!
Yet - Paul encourages another - why? Paul had a deep relationship with Christ that reminded Him in the pit you don’t quit. You see - Faith alive is not static. Faith alive is an active, growing, dynamic thing... Now Paul wasn’t unique in this....let’s look at the life of the early Church - apostles....
Andrew died on a cross, Simon was crucified, Bartholomew was flayed alive, James (son of Zebedee) was beheaded, the other James (son of Alphaeus) was beaten to death, Thomas was run through with a lance, Matthias was beheaded, Matthew was slain by the sword, Peter was crucified upside down, Thaddeus was shot to death with arrows,Philip was hanged.This record was not great for recruitment. Yet the Church flourished during this time..its grew in leaps & bounds - in the pit you don’t quit
In July when I was leading some talks at a young adults conference in New York state I was enjoying my mid afternoon cup of coffee (probably between 2-3pm) when an older gentleman sat at my table and drank his coffee with his newspaper in hand. After a few moments he said to me - “well isn’t that interesting ?” I honestly thought he might be speaking on his blue tooth phone or something so I didn’t reply until he said it again and this time looking right at me said - “Have you ever thought how amazing an oyster is?”
Feeling somewhat awkward I just stared for a minute and he kept talking - now I am going to tell what I remember from what he was reading to me but I will admit to you I might have missed a line or two because honestly when he was speaking I was at the same time looking for the emergency exits because I thought he might be a bit wacky!
The oyster one day finds a tiny grain of sand has slipped into its shell. The sharp edges of the sand create a wound in the oyster’s muscle, and it is painful. It hurts. The oyster feels helpless. He has no hands or tweezers to remove the grain of sand. What was the oyster to do? He wants to know how he can stop the pain and heal the wound. He has choices.
He could do what humans do. He could rebel against God. He could get angry with God. He could ask, “Why did this happen to me? I have been a good oyster; I don’t deserve this.” He could choose to be bitter and miserable. He could have a pity party, a bad case of the “woe is me.” But none of that would help his pain. He could be a martyr. He could say that it was his cross to bear, and he could enlist a lot of sympathy by telling everyone his pain and gossiping and telling stories about how it the stand got into this shell. But that still would not help the pain.
What was he to do? He does what God equipped him to do. He begins to secrete a white milky substance that over time builds layers over the grain of sand. Over time the sharp edges dull and the painful point was rounded, and from the pain of that grain of sand, a pearl was made. It is a thing of beauty wrapped around nothing but trouble. Trouble can turn into a pearl.
God is in the pearl making business. He has a yes for us in every mess.
When the pains and sufferings of life come your way, when life breaks your heart, you have a decision to make. In the pit you don’t quit. The choice is yours.
• You can break down into self-pity;
• You can break out with resentment and bitterness;
• You can break up in misery,
• or You can break through with faith in Jesus, trusting God to bring a pearl from the pain.
Some people call September the “pit of the year” - so much happen/so much has happened. Is it between 2-3pm in the afternoon for you? God is in the pearl making business. He has a yes for us in every mess - so don’t quit