The Rev. Dr. John Tamilio III

I was not the student who reminded the teacher to assign homework, but I have to confess that part of me was always glad to start the new school year.  Don’t get me wrong: I always wished that summer could be longer, and I was a bit sad when the Jerry Lewis Telethon came on television, because that meant Labor Day, and that meant that summer was officially over.  Still, it was fun going back to school to reconnect with the friends who lived in the other part of town — friends I did not get to see for three months.

Sabbatical was a joy, but it was also a delight to come back to the Congregational Church of Canton.  This past Sunday, as I preached about joy, I realized that I was also filled with joy.  Yes, the entire service was beautiful with the choir singing “Mary Did You Know” and Mandy Loughran helping light the Advent candle, but I am referring to the feeling I get every time I stand in the pulpit and preach.  There are no words.  I served three other churches before being called to Canton, and have preached in dozens of pulpits throughout my ministry, but nothing matches the feeling I get when I stand in our pulpit and proclaim God’s Word.

This reflection isn’t so much about my sabbatical as it is about my coming back.  But then again, my return was fueled by those three months of rest and rejuvenation, of stillness and study.  My focus was on both congregational care and evangelism/church growth.  Part of the focus was on personal, spiritual growth as well.  As they say on the airlines, in the event of a loss of air pressure, put on your own mask before helping other travelers who need assistance.  The reason is obvious: you cannot help other people if you are not in a healthy, conscious state.  The same goes for ministry.  Pastors who are spiritually renewed are in a much better position to help their parishioners find such rejuvenation.

Over the summer, I was intentional about reading Scripture and revitalizing my prayer life.  What I found was amazing — something I possessed all along, but never realized it.  (It reminded me of Dorothy who always had a way to go home from Oz, but didn’t know it.)  What I found, as I was able to delve deep within unencumbered by other obligations, was a treasure trove of faith.  I realized things that I already knew.  Although that sounds like a contradiction, it isn’t.  I found God’s spirit infusing my own.  Every time I turned to God in prayer, he was already there!  So often we approach prayer as if we are entering a room and are waiting for God to show up.  The truth is that God is already in the room, waiting for us!  The words from 1 John 4:19 come readily to mind: “We love because he first loved us.”

Whatever we think we are doing, God has already taken the initiative.  God reaches out to us long before we realize we have a choice.  We have a choice, of course.  We can choose to ignore the one whom the poet Francis Thompson called “The Hound of Heaven.”  However, God had an insatiable desire to find us and to be in a life-changing relationship with us.  God is crazy about you!  That, my friends, is the real source of all our joy.