Apollo 12

 One might think that walking on the moon would be the coolest thing anybody has ever done.  Not true.  After Al Bean walked on the moon during Apollo 12, he turned to astronaut Pete Conrad and said, “It’s kind of like that song: Is that all there is?”  Amazingly, Conrad said that he secretly felt the same, describing his moonwalk as spectacular, but not momentous. 

Much of our mental upside comes from the thrill of anticipation.  Actual experiences tend to fall flat, and our minds quickly move on to anticipate the next event.  The question then becomes, if something so unique as walking on the moon left the astronauts underwhelmed, what does it say about our own earthly goals and expectations? 

Business strategies suggest that goals need to be Specific, Measurable, Agreeable, Realistic, and Time-bound (SMART).  These important aspects allow us to make a proper evaluation of where the business is headed.  We constantly assess and modify how our business operates as we look for answers on how we can do more, reach more, and be more successful. 

Sometimes, it feels as though the whole world runs on a grading system.  From early childhood we are evaluated, ranked, and sorted.  The grades we get, the teams we play on, the fight for college admittance, jobs, titles, and incomes, all masquerade as stages of life that come with a scorecard.  We like to evaluate important questions like, Will this lead to something better?  What will be the outcome?  Most meaningful human experiences, however, resist such metrics. 

In my opinion, at CityLinC, we have the best of both worlds.  Yes, we have parts of our jobs that need to be measured to ensure we are navigating the ship down the right course.  But what strikes me about CityLinC in particular is that we are not just concerned with setting goals and achieving them.  We also have parts of our jobs that are rich and satisfying which produce an even greater willingness to keep showing up every day.  We invest our efforts without any guarantee of how the world measures success.  In general, achievement is visible.  At other times, it is simply the quiet servitude contained in the journey that is sufficient. 

On the day we call Palm Sunday, Jesus made a triumphal entry into Jerusalem.  People shouted “Hosanna!” and laid their cloaks and palm branches before him, just as they would a king.  The Israelites thought that Jesus was going to restore Israel to the greatness it had once attained under King David.  But Jesus was not riding on a magnificent horse, as a king would do.  He entered Jerusalem on a donkey.  It was a sign of humility and servanthood.  It was a sign of peace.    

Luke 19:38 tells us the people cried out with joy saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!”  They held on to the false expectation that Jesus was here to free them from Roman rule.  They did not understand that Jesus came to free their spirits, rather than their physical bondage.  And with the disillusionment of their unmet expectations, they crucified him. 

As this week unfolds, may we all reflect on the privilege we have to work at CityLinC.  Our expectations are real and well-grounded.  I pray that our results will honor God as we work to serve our community in ways that will allow them, and us, to have peace.      

With love,

Pastor Mike Howard