by Pastor Douglas Brauner

Embracing What Really Matters

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“And they compelled a passerby, Simeon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry [Jesus’] cross.”
Mark 15:21 English Standard Version

Interruptions are annoying, yet can make a lasting difference in someone’s life. Interruptions give us the ability to wrap our arms around another person, even if their intrusion into our personal space is irritating.

The phone rings in the middle of an “important” project. It’s your daughter calling you crying that she didn’t make the cut for the high school volleyball team. What will you daughter remember that day? Will she remember the project that changed the world or your listening ear that changed her world?

Your neighbor shows up at your door during the all-important drive for the winning touchdown. He’s frustrated that your dog ended up in his backyard because you didn’t fix the fence. Will he remember that final drive or that you said you were sorry and then fixed the fence?

What did Simon of Cyrene think when he came in from the country with his plans for the day and a Roman soldier compelled him to carry a “criminal’s” cross?

We don’t remember Simon for what he did in the country that day. We remember him for his holy interruption.

As I prepare to retire, I’m reflecting on my nearly forty years of pastoral ministry. It’s funny, but I don’t remember my sermons, but I do remember the phone calls I wasn’t expecting. I remember the early morning interruption that a two-year old was in the hospital. I remember spending the day with his family. I remember his mom holding him in her arms when he died.

I have a feeling those parents don’t remember any of my sermons either, but they remember that holy interruption.

Holy interruptions are the stuff of faith, hope and love. May we embrace these moments as sacred.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado