Making A Spectacle Of Ministry: A Poem By PeaceBang

Hi pigeons! I just found this in my computer. I have no idea when I wrote it but it was way before I started this blog! Fun! – PB

One Fashion Accessory for the New Minister

A good thing to do
would be to get a pair of eyeglasses
— fashionable spectacles
Clear plastic lenses are fine if you don’t need the real thing.

An invaluable haven, these glasses

you can take them off and polish them
elaborately, even
as you sit in the study and explain the funeral liturgy
to the family of the dead
or
during budget meetings when the roof needs fixing
and you haven’t had a raise in two years
Or when listening to confessions of any kind
from youth, for instance
(okay, we did smoke cigarettes at the conference,
but we didn’t smoke pot )

Best of all
the moment before the sermon:
Ascending the pulpit, oh the merciful reprieve
of adjusting specs on bridge of nose
(goes along perfectly with the obligatory Clearing of Throat
and Shuffling of Papers)
The distinguished flash of reflected light
from those thick lenses as you preach
Evidence of hard hours in the library
delving and squinting into the Wisdom of the Ages
as though for pearls you would bring up from the deep
for the benefit of your people
All for you, dearly beloved.

You will bless those specs many a church evening
for buying you just enough time
to take a breath, consider a comment, avoid a blunder
Lend you the appearance of calm
as you tweak an earpiece or smooth a lens thoughtfully
across your cotton-covered knee
(even better: a hankie!)

and you will bless those specs
for providing an excuse to bow the head
however briefly
cast the eyes downward
and
send out a quick and fervent prayer
for patience, wisdom, forbearance
and dear God,
yes,
for clearer vision.

– Victoria Weinstein