Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - July/93

Contributor - Rev. Dr. A. Gardiner Skelley

Title - Untitled

Topic - Holy Spirit

"This guy, Skelly, must be psychic," I could imagine him muttering to himself as his startled eye fell upon the sermon subject in the Sunday bulletin. It was an idyllic Sunday morning in late September 1986 and I was still in the early months of my final pastorate amidst the orchards of Lincoln County.

I can still see him on that soft, sunlit morning as he emerged from the service. An impressive looking young man he was, around forty, I would judge. The well tailored suit, the carefully groomed hair and the heavy horn-rimmed spectacles combined to convey the impression of an upwardly mobile business executive. Then the guessing game be n. Should I know him or was he a total stranger? Had I met him before or had I not? This dilemma, demanding delicate diplomacy, has been dramatized a thousand times as churches disgorge their congregations! After all, if this was simply a dilatory member who had taken his own sweet time to check out the new preacher, and I were to make a point of not having met him before, he might go away mad! And, on the other hand, if he were a visitor or a newcomer and I elected, for safety's sake, to let him slip past with nothing more than a weak, fishy handshake, he might justifiably be turned off by my seeming lack of interest or warmth. In the end, I opted for the non-committal comment - "I'm not sure if we have met before". That, I thought, should ruffle the fewest feathers!

He responded, pleasantly enough, "No, we haven't". Then he gave me his name. Immediately it rang a bell. This was the pastor who was about to be inducted as my successor in my previous charge. It turned out to be a cordial encounter over coffee in my clerical cubicle called the study! It was only when I had wished him well and taken leave of him that I remembered, with a chuckle, what the sermon title had been on that balmy autumn morning. I smiled to myself at the thought of this handsome young preacher coming down to check out his decrepit predecessor. I could see him, in my mind's eye, settling down in the pew and beginning to peruse the contents of the Sunday bulletin. And then I could almost feel the little jolt of surprise as he read the sermon title, "TRY ON MY SHOES"

So what was the sermon about? I thought you would never ask! Actually the title was suggested by the ancient adage which says, "Do not judge me until you have walked a mile in my shoes". It was biblically based in the prophecy of Ezekiel and particularly in the intriguing way in which he laid the ground work for his first prophetic assignment. (See chapters 2 and 3.) He is just nicely out of seminary when God commissions him to speak some firm words of rebuke to the house of Israel. But when he arrives in his new parish to deal with these delinquent exiles he adopts a very surprising approach. He says, "I sat where they sat ... for SEVEN DAYS!" This seven day silent vigil must surely have been one of the longest non-directive pastoral counselling sessions on record!

I sat where they sat. What was he really up to? Obviously he was observing carefully and listening intently. In other words, he was trying on their shoes. He was attempting to put himself right into their situation. He was trying to feel in his own heart the pain, the problems and the pressures to which they were subject. It is a wonderful model for ministry. Whether we be clergy or laity, our capacity to minister to others is largely dependent upon our willingness to sit where they sit and to try on their shoes. So we need to pray for the grace to try on each other's shoes. For when we truly reflect the Spirit of our Lord, the ground on which we stand becomes holy.*

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