Dear Friends,
One of the constant rhythms of my life has to do with balancing out my inclination for immediacy and spontaneity, on the one hand, with my need for order and organizing on the other. This need for balance takes several forms. One example comes from occasions when I speak in public. When I give a sermon or talk, I usually enjoy speaking ‘off the cuff.’ There can be, at times, a freshness, or a turn of phrase that emerges, which might not otherwise appear in a completely ‘prepared.’ talk. On the other hand, such talks are enhanced by the structure and clear sequence of ideas more likely present than in a carefully prepared talk. For me another ongoing example of this same dynamic is found in the physical state of my office. I like to have several things that I am working on out and at hand. Spending time filing things is not my favorite pursuit. It doesn’t ‘light me up.’ But if there are too many papers lying around, I can’t find much of anything, and I become inefficient in my use of time.
Both sides of this equation have their own benefits. One significant factor, though, is that in our culture, at least, the ‘orderly’ side of the equation gets the better press. Put another way, our culture tends to place a higher value on things that are neat, in place and under control. But things that are raw and unruly, and have a life of their own, can serve us well too.
Consider the case of the discovery of penicillin. In late August of 1928, Alexander Fleming left his office in northeast London and went on vacation. Great scientist that he was, Fleming was not neat and orderly. He left his work space so cluttered, it would not have passed 21st century hygienic code. Specifically, he had left out some open petri dishes with active bacterial cultures on them. These dishes were located near a window that he had left partly open. During the vacation, some mold blew in through the window and landed on some of the petri dishes.
When Fleming came back on September 3, 1928 he was confronted with the mess he had left behind, including the messy dishes. But instead of immediately and reflexively cleaning them up, something important happened first. He paused, if just for an instant, and looked at the dishes and noticed something. He noticed that a small patch of mold had blown in the window and had landed on some of the bacterial culture in a couple of the petri dishes. And he noticed further that in the areas that the mold had landed, the staphylococci growth that had overgrown the rest of the cultures had been kept at bay. From that basic observation sprang the discovery of penicillin.
Fleming went on to do a lot of detailed scientific work, including repeated experimentation and record keeping that, no doubt, involved a great deal of order and organization, structure and proper procedure. All of those more disciplined elements were essential to the long process that led from Fleming’s initial, ‘Aha!,’ and the actual delivery of penicillin pills to ill patients. But if you look at that story in its fullness, an important part of that process included a significant role for disorder, imperfection, and lack of full rational control on the part of the key player in that discovery, Alexander Fleming.
What might this mean for us? Yes, of course, we should maintain….and build upon…..our life-giving routines and disciplines, including the beliefs and practices of our religion. But we should beware not to let them hold us too tightly. When uncontrollable events emerge from either beyond us or inside us; when we lapse into disorder or imperfection; when the unexpected or surprising take place……such times often have gifts to bring us as well as the gifts that come through our choices, our disciplines and our achieved order. In a phrase from the Bible, when we are visited by the parts of life beyond our control, we may at a deeper level be being ‘entertained by angels unawares.”
Your pastor,
Tony Acheson
