If you watched the TV show, “Mr. Rogers Neighborhood,” you remember Mr. McFeely, the delivery man, played exquisitely by David Newell. Always in a hurry, he never had time to tarry; he would make his delivery and hurry on. You probably know people like that. Heck! maybe even you are like that!
Pastor Susan has an apt description for such a person; she contrasts “A human doing!” with a “Human Being.” She calls on us to “Be!” more so than to “Do.” If we learned anything about life during this COVID-19 Pandemic, maybe we learned to take a breath (or several)—“being” present with people we love, people we care about, even having a little self-time.
How many times in the past have you said, “I wish I could get out of this rat race.” Well. It is highly likely you got your wish. And I mean that in a good sense. In Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, the man of law is described as a man “…who is always busy. But he seemed busier than he was.“ If this describes you, then you are a “Human doing.”
Jesus spent a lot of time “being.” Even among crowds, he could clock into “being“: On one occasion as he was pressed by the crowds, a woman who greatly needed healing touched the hem of his garment: He stopped and asked, “Who touched me?” He was laughed at: His own disciple, Peter, hooted—“In this crowd you ask ‘Who touched me?’ Well, nearly everyone.” But Jesus made himself present to this immediate need.
On another occasion, Martha chided him for allowing Mary, her sister, to sit and listen while Martha needed help preparing food. Jesus said Mary made the better choice. It is interesting to compare the choices of the two women with Maslow’s “hierarchy of human needs:” In this hierarchy, food ranks lowest; achieving one’s full potential ranks highest. Martha sought food preparation; Mary sought spiritual growth. “Busy” vs “Being.”
The Psalmist said, “My whole being waits for my Lord—
more than the night watch waits for morning;
yes, more than the night watch waits for morning!”
In our frantic rush, or busy-ness, or search for God, it is too easy to miss God’s Presence by always looking elsewhere: In reality God is present with you. God never leaves you. Have you ever searched frantically for something only to find right in front of you? That is the essence of Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, “The Purloined Letter.” It is a life lesson; “doing” tends to block “being.”
We laugh when, soon after a child plants a seed, he hurries to the garden hoping to see if the plant is growing; even digging up the seed for evidence. Much of life is found simply in “being.” Of course there needs to be some doing; yet impatience tends to push us into trampling the essence of “being.”
The Prophet, Elijah did not discover the voice of God through frenzied activity, though he tried. After the excitement was over, he not only discovered God’s presence in “a still, small voice,” but also his purpose in life. A good life lesson.