Getting Unstuck

Monday, May 1, 2006 -- Feast of Sts. Philip & James

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117

An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this link -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html


Today's Readings for the Daily Office (p. 959)
Psalms 25 (morning) // 9, 15 (afternoon)
Exodus 18:13-27
1 Peter 5:1-14
Matthew (1:1-17); 3:1-6

It's easy to get in over your head. With the best of intentions, we overcommit. Sometimes it's simply a matter of wanting to do good, but not being able to do everything good you want to do in the limited time you have. You get stuck. Running in place; running faster, but not getting anywhere. Sometimes it takes somebody from the outside to see the situation with fresh eyes and make a suggestion.

Moses has been dragging the Hebrew people out of Egypt and into a structured community life by the force of his strong leadership and his intimacy with God. He's pretty unique. This was his vision. He was the one who mediated the laws. In so many ways, it's his baby. And he's a responsible type. He probably takes the whole endeavor more seriously than anyone else.

When someone else all of that responsibility, the rest of us are usually pretty glad to let them. It's a lot easier to defer the tough decisions to the authority. After all, whoever decides also gets the blame. It's easier to sit back and expect "them" to take care of the problems. Grumbling is fun. Especially when you don't have to take responsibility for solving things.

Moses has been over-functioning. But it happened so gradually that he hadn't even noticed. It was a natural progression from the business of leading the people out of their bondage. Then there was the business of setting up a workable system of life in the wilderness. And since he's been the one in charge all this time, he's the one who gets all the problems. You have a problem, take it to Moses. He started all this stuff. But the system has grown too big. He can't handle all of the problems that come up on a daily basis. But he sure is trying hard.

It takes someone like Jethro to come in from the outside and see the situation with new eyes. It's too much for one person, says Moses' father-in-law. Set up a system of oversight. They can take responsibility for solving nearly all of the problems. You can spend your time on the tough ones or the most important ones. Give away some power; give away some authority. It's like dividing perennials. The power and authority will multiply as you divide the responsibilities.