On Call

For most of us, “On Call” conjures up images of medical personnel ready and waiting to leap into action at the alarm of an emergency to save lives. But here in Malawi, I’ve learned a different understanding for “On Call.” This application involves spiritual lives, but not necessarily in an emergency. It is that every pastor is expected to be able to lead worship or to give inspiration whenever called upon. I found myself On Call a number of times this week.

Twice it happened at morning devotions. The Synod has “prayers” every week day morning at 7:30. This is a time for the entire staff to gather together for singing, a short meditation on a passage of scripture and a prayer for the day’s activities. The passage of scripture and the one to deliver the meditation are assigned at the beginning of the month. There is a rotation, so that in the course of the year everyone on staff, from the General Secretary to the grounds workers, has several turns, usually about once every 6 weeks. A reminder is given the day before, just in case one forgets it is his day to lead worship. But if the one to lead does not come for some reason, then one of the clergy who is at prayers is “On Call” to step in and lead, preferably on the assigned passage of scripture. Monday when I went to prayers, the speaker did not come. There were only two clergy there and my colleague pushed that I should preach, if he would select the hymns and lead the prayer. I agreed. Thursday, the same thing happened, except I was the only clergy present so the staff just assumed that I would give the meditation. Since this is Advent, the passages are fairly familiar, so this is not a great stretch. In the States, many pastors would be unnerved to be called on to preach, with no preparation. It violates what we are taught about rightly handling the Word of God. But this is Malawi. More than once, I have gone to a large worship service and been told as I walk into the vestry that I will be the preacher for the service. It pays to always have as sermon” in your pocket,” just in case. You could be called on at any time – On Call.

 (Just as an aside, the issue of attendance has to do with the fuel shortage. Because fuel is hard to come by, there are fewer mini buses running and it is harder to get a ride to get to work in time for prayers. Usually it is not an issue, since this is Malawi and time is not as strictly kept as in the northern hemisphere, except when it is your turn to lead prayers.)

On Wednesday evening, one of the Limbe prayer cottages, a small group within the congregation, came to visit the manse. This is time for them to bring food for the pastor’s pantry for the month. Usually the group has prepared a short worship service and one of the members of the group gives a short meditation for the gathering, to feed spirit as well as body. But this evening was different. The leader of the group said that they usually have a Bible Study on Wednesdays, but since they were coming to my house they had not prepared one. They hoped I would lead them in a Bible Study. I found myself “On Call.” This is one of those times that I praise God that he has directed me in doing personal Bible Study each day. I have something to fall back on when I am “On Call” like that.

This context gives a whole new meaning to Peter’s instructions in 1 Peter 3:15 to “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” The truth is, the pastor is always On Call.

The Body of Christ

Thursday I saw the Body of Christ in a powerfully visible way. Actually it was visible all week long at Limbe CCAP, but especially on Thursday. During the day on Monday, we got messages that three of our families had lost loved ones – a brother, an uncle, a son. The church rallied around all those who were facing death with elders and mvano going to sit with the bereaved in vigil and walk with the family through the burial.

It was that “walking with” that was so powerful on Thursday evening. The Chitedze’s son died in South Africa, where he had gone for medical treatment, accompanied by his wife and his mother. They were escorting the body back, while the father waited at home to receive them, but he was not alone. The elders of the church gathered around him and waited with him. On Thursday, word came that the body would arrive about 11 p.m. The church gathered at the Chitedze,’ home. The living room furniture had been moved out on the porch, the room cleared for the casket and for the women to sit around it, as is the practice here. A tent canopy had been erected on the lawn and plastic chairs brought in for seating for the mourners. Routinely the women sit in the house with the body and the men outside, singing and praying all night, until the funeral and burial the next day.. When I arrived with some of the elders, other elders were already there, sitting with Mr. Chitedze, as they had been since he got word of his son’s death. We took our places and sang until the body arrived, escorted by the widow and the mother. The casket was placed in the living room and opened for viewing. The elders who had been with Mr. Chitedze lifted him to his feet and then stood, one on each side of him, to support him as he walked into the room to view his son. They held him securely and wept with him as they stood in front of the body of his 30 year old son. As the rest of the elders and I passed by the casket, the two escorts guided Mr. Chitedze back to his seat on the porch. As the rest of the elders exited the room, they gathered around Mr. Chitedze, placing hands on his shoulders, his knees, his arms, to give him comfort. They stood like that for several minutes, in a tight circle around him, as if one person, weeping with and comforting their friend. As I looked over my shoulder, into the living room, the same scene was being repeated there with both Mrs. Chitedzes and the women of the church. The church members had become one body, moving and feeling together the pain of loss. After all the mourners had passed the casket, I was called on to pray. The prayer was, in a sense, a formality. The Body of Christ was already present and acting as these groups of elders stood and knelt, supporting the parents and the widow. I offered a prayer and a blessing, but I was the one who was blessed, to see the church in action, as Christ intended.