It was at about 5:00 am, as I recall, last Wednesday morning when I was awakened by a “Crack”. Then “Pop”. And then the digital time face on the clock alarm radio started flashing the familiar, portentous “12:00 . . . 12:00 . . . 12:00”.
The temperature in our house remained in the low 60’s all that day, surprisingly enough, affirming our expensive decision to begin replacing our century-old windows with higher-efficiency double-paned ones last year. By the fifth day of the power outage, Saturday, however, the thermometer in the dining room barely made it into the 40’s.
Thankfully, most in the Pennridge area didn’t have to endure much of a power outage at all after last week’s wet snow-then rain-and then ice storms. It was nice to come to the office on Thursday and get warm!
In the evenings, we three Saarelas were huddled in a self-imposed imprisonment in our kitchen where we had a couple of oil lanterns burning for light and pots of water boiling on the gas stove to provide some heat. But your eyeglasses would fog up as you entered the kitchen from the cold dining room adjacent, so like a tropical greenhouse did it feel.
We learned a lot in the dark and cold, though. For one thing, how much we depend on electric power. Food quickly spoils; systems start to fail; the pipes could burst; human nerves get frayed. The usual digital entertainments go dead. The elegant pleasure of reading a book by candlelight is nostalgic, but gets old fast.
For another thing, we learned how covetous we are of the comforts and the conveniences of our modern “live better electrically” lives. Take them away for five days, and you get some pretty grumpy souls.
The interim pastor at St. John’s in Melrose Park where we are members, also a good colleague and friend, was kind to invite me over to do a load of laundry and watch some coverage of the first day of the Olympics while the washing machine was swishing and swooshing. Diane was pleased to accept the invitation of a colleague at her work to spend two nights in the warm and lit house. We learned how much we depend on one another’s help and support. To answer Cain’s age-old question, “Yes Cain, we are our brother’s/sister’s keeper. And he/she is ours.” (Genesis 4:9)
Other Scriptural themes came to mind during the power outage as well. Like, when Jesus tells his disciples as they are about to enter Jerusalem for the final and fatal time, “We must do the works of him who sent me while it is day, for the night is coming when no one can work.” (John 9:4)
Or, as Jesus said to them before his departure, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5). We get discouraged often in our discipleship. We know we are supposed to forgive, but sometimes we can’t muster the strength. We want to obey Jesus and love our neighbor, our enemy even, but the capacity to do so just isn’t there. We know we ought to read Scripture, pray, and worship with our brothers and sisters, but the desire flags and we’re too indifferent to bother.
I wonder if those are instances of a spiritual power outage. Are times like those periods of our lives when we are disconnected from our spiritual power source? Are we trying to lead a life of faithful discipleship on our own strength and effort and intentions, however good, alone? Are we trying to bear fruit while not abiding in the Vine?
It’s not a matter of the source of power going down, as it was in southeastern PA last week. Jesus’ offer of the power and strength of his Holy Spirit is always available. But it’s up to us to plug into it with the resources at hand, like worship, Scripture, and most of all, prayer.
May your power not go out! -- Pastor Jack
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