Just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:12

Today I walked into the church to give our new Parish Administrator a tour of the facility and was immediately hit by a whiff of something rotten. This is not metaphorical - it stunk! So our tour turned into a scavenger hunt for gross smells. Quite an introduction to Memorial! But maybe appropriate for a 160 year old building.

Occasionally I, and perhaps some of you, am frustrated in doing the things that advance the mission of the church because I’ve got to hunt down a leaky pipe or a permit or something mundane. However these challenges present themselves in our lives, we want to scream “I am more important than this! I’ve got better things to do!”

And then there is that still small voice saying “we are one body…” and I remember that this is ALL THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.

Maintaining the building, filing the vestry minutes, turning the lights off, picking up the trash, it is all part of the ministry of the Church. When we let one part of our body, community, or institution falter it makes everything else function less well.

Perhaps you are spending a lot of time doing things that are frustrating, nonsensical and far outside the mission of your work, your life, your everything. Perhaps you have been doing that for almost two years now. If you feel like you are working harder and accomplishing less you are not alone. So remember that all these efforts, even the ones focused on basic survival, are to protect your body and the entire body of Christ.

You are more productive than you could possibly realize - because you are here! All of this frustrating, repetitive and contradictory effort is holy work, done by holy people. Take some time to honor that holy work.