The Old Wooden Dock

My brother-in-law recently let us know that the old wooden dock at the cottage has to be replaced. It’s the same dock our children hung over, nets in hand, trying to catch fish. It’s the same dock our teenagers, coming of age, would jump from to do flips into the water or try to catch a football in mid-air. Now, our grandkids have taken their first jump from the old dock into the big water. It is also the cherished place where my dad once stood in the early morning, coffee cup in hand, looking out at the beauty of the coming day. ‘My cup runneth over,’ I was certain he was thinking. Why is it so hard to let go of this old, splintered dock?

Memories. We attach our cherished memories to the tangible things in our lives. They are so special because, with one glance at that thing, we remember a time that seemed perfect and wonderful.

Is that how the apostles felt directly after Jesus died, and they were left with nothing but a wooden cross to remind them of His life? How they must have grieved for that time when Jesus walked beside them, laughed with them, shared with them, counseled them, and graced them with wisdom.

The tangible things in our lives can be wonderful gifts, but they were never designed for us to cling to. No one knew this better than Mary Magdalene when she spotted the risen Christ in the garden and thought he was a gardener – until He spoke her name the way He had spoken it a thousand times before.

“Mary,” He said.

“Rabboni!” She knew His voice.

Mary did what most of us would have done. She fell to the ground and held onto Him.

Yet, Jesus cautioned her: “Do not cling to me, for my hour has not yet come” (Jn 20:17).  In other words, Jesus was saying don’t cling to my tangible body because something so much better is coming. Like Mary, once we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, we can truly come to know who Jesus is, and our relationship will become much deeper, more intimate, and better than ever.

At some point, we also have to let go of the old: old things, old patterns of thinking, old roles that no longer belong to us, old friends that were never good for us anyway. In this new space, Christ will transform our lives and our hearts.

Jesus knew what Mary could not have yet understood. With Pentecost, His intangible and Most Holy Spirit would be with her forever, each step and every breath she took, for all eternity.

Jesus would still laugh with her, counsel her, grant her wisdom, and help her to understand things far too great for her to understand on her own, and He would grace her with courage. He would also grace her with the deepest respect for the life of Christ and love her with an incomprehensible love of purity and faithfulness that humans cannot offer.  What was true for Mary is true for us.

In other words, for those who believe, for those who love Him, look out! The spiritual blessings that come with the gifts of the Holy Spirit are beyond understanding.

 Robert Browning summed it up very well when he said:

“Grow old with me. The best is yet to be.”

So, the old wooden dock will soon be nothing but firewood. We will give thanks for the new dock, where new memories will be made. Maybe someday my family members will see my aging body standing on the new dock, in the very place my dad once stood, early in the morning, a cup of coffee in hand, looking out at the beauty of the coming day. If they do, they can be certain the only words in my heart will be, ‘My cup runneth over.’

Prayer: Holy Spirit of God, bless the teenagers making their Confirmation this weekend. May their hearts grow ever closer to Christ. With the coming of our Pentecost celebration on May 19th, let us truly be grateful for the gift of the Holy Spirit.