I positioned myself at Beachcomber Park last week to capture the sunset, purposely leaving a vacant bench in front of me. I was hoping to see someone take the front-row seat so I could include a human element in the photograph.
Several people approached but didn’t take the seat for fear of interfering with my work even though I told them it was okay. I encouraged them to take a seat. Finally, one family of four and a dog boldly made their way forward and sat down. I doubt they even noticed me. They were happy. I was delighted.
I notice the back rows of our church seem to fill as quickly as the front rows . . . maybe faster. Occasionally, a speaker will suggest folks in the back move forward into the empty seats. I’ve often questioned the motive of that move. Let’s see how the new physical distancing practices will affect our seating arrangements.
I love the stories of those who clamored to find Jesus and be near to him: Mary ignoring social protocol and anointing Jesus’s feet with an aromatic potion that was sure to expose her; the woman with the chronic bleeding struggling just to touch him; the paralytic who had friends literally blow the roof off a building, letting him down so he could get up—and walk; Zacchaeus climbing a tree to take a look. The stories are numerous.
Could we include our story? How close do we like to get? What is the first thing we think about in the morning—other than our mate, of course, or our aching back. Are we front-rowers?
Here is a gentle, peaceful hymn that now fills my soul. Sing it with me, or hum if you’d rather . . . in social connectedness and physical distancing.
Near to the Heart of God (Hymn 681)
There is a place of quiet rest,
Near to the heart of God;
A place where sin cannot molest,
Near to the heart of God.
O Jesus, blest Redeemer,
Sent from the heart of God;
Hold us, who wait before Thee,
Near to the heart of God.
There is a place of comfort sweet,
Near to the heart of God;
A place where we our Savior meet,
Near to the heart of God.
O Jesus, blest Redeemer,
Sent from the heart of God;
Hold us, who wait before Thee,
Near to the heart of God.
There is a place of full release,
Near to the heart of God;
A place where all is joy and peace,
Near to the heart of God.
O Jesus, blest Redeemer,
Sent from the heart of God;
Hold us, who wait before Thee,
Near to the heart of God.
—Larry Smith