Playing Favorites

One of my favorite parishioners is on the cusp of eternity.

Perhaps this is the Big Secret of all pastors - just barely more acceptable than having a favorite child among children or a favorite student among all other students.

And I am here to confess -- boldly -- that I indeed have favorites. There, I said it.

In my noblest moments, my favorites are:
- the sickest & the saddest
- the ones with nobody else to visit them

In my more selfish, does-anybody-see-how-hard-this-is? moments, my favorites include:
- the ones with whom I've lost sleep and gained white hairs on behalf of The Church
- the ones with whom I've sat in court, fired people, won battles, and lost innocence, again on behalf of The Church
- the ones who have reached out to my children and given them a break

When I'm desperately looking for an Honest Christian, my favorites are:
- the ones who lay dying and whisper that they kind of look forward to it
- the ones who say, "Actually this is a terrible time to visit." (Most people want to remain polite, even if they feel like their surgical wounds might just burst into flames.)
- the ones who lean across the coffee table and confess that they aren't sure they believe in God anymore and "Could we talk about it?"

We all know who the least favorites would be.

Any day now we will probably lose a sweet one. It's been hard to think about much else.