Excerpt from Ezekiel 33: 7 – 20  

"I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel."

Reflection by Donna Schaper

My congregation, which is a great congregation, likes to think of itself as "early."  Because of its location in Greenwich Village, and its general New York snootiness, this conceit is ever so slightly true.  We watch.  We see trends early.  We were open and affirming before Stonewall.  We wouldn't think of not recycling or singing a Broadway tune right after "Abide With Me." We moved the pews out in 1963 so our sacred space could accommodate dancers and movements and more. We have found it hard not to be proud of the health truck for the prostitutes, the Clergy Consultation Service or putting post-gender, movable signs on our bathrooms.  "Men" and "Women" just won't do.  "Sing verse one if you identify as a woman, verse two if you identify as a man."  Our annual Christmas pageant is hosted by a drag queen.  You get the picture.

Early has been good for us and it surely is appropriate to a church in the "heart of the Village."  Being early is also a trap.  People, even and maybe especially New Yorkers, are experts at taking something good and twisting it. Jesus surely wants us all to be watchers!  Jesus advocated setting our sights on the future and watching it come over the hill and welcoming the new time into the now time.  It is important to remember that he wasn't talking about trends or trendiness so much as talking about the time of God, the commonwealth of God. He was talking about something refreshing, something fair, something beautiful, something that can't be gentrified.  When watchers see it coming, we need to be careful to stay out of our own way. We can get in the way of the time of God by thinking it is our good works that brought it near.  Or we can become part of the time of God by watching well.  Being a little proud of what we have watched into being can be a very good thing.  Being a lot proud can stop the time from its fullness. When we watch carefully, we can notice how good what is coming really is.

Prayer

Bring us to the fullness of time, O God, and make sure we watch well.  Make sure we "start spreading the news," with emphasis on the news. Amen.

About the Author Donna Schaper is the Senior Minister of Judson Memorial Church in New York City. Her latest work is 20 Ways to Keep Sabbath, from The Pilgrim Press. Check out her work at www.judson.org.

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