Reflection for February 12

I’ve learned a lot about being a pastor from Esau, our family’s hairy sheepdog.... Without fail at some point in the [morning] walk he will stop, stand very still, lift his nose high into the air, and get a sniff of something that excites him so much that his tail has to wag. I have no idea what he is sensing, but every morning when we go through this routine I wish I had his nose to receive what I cannot. And I envy his tail that is always eager to express praise for what is lying around out there in creation. Part of my call as the pastor of a local congregation is to sense the goodness of what is around us, even if a parishioner in a hospital bed cannot.... (M. Craig Barnes, “The Good Sheepdog,” Christian Century, February 8, 2012).