Jury Duty?
Session has known about this for some time, but tomorrow is my first day of possible Jury duty. I received a letter from the government last fall telling me that my name has come up for a potential pool, and that I was to fill out some information and send it back. Given that there are legal consequences if I don't, I filled things out and sent it in. Shortly after Christmas, I received a letter in the mail telling me that my name has come up for jury selection. I'm to be at the Brampton Courthouse at 9am sharp. One of the members of my congregation said to me that if nothing else always be on time. Given that my personal record of being on time for things isn't the greatest, I'm going to have to get up really early tomorrow to make sure.
I've had a few people ask if I can get out of it. I am sure that I could probably provide a few good reasons why I'm not able to serve on a jury at this time. Yet at the same time the concept of summons of being called to serve by the court or the government is something that one is obligated to do by virtue of being a citizen... in my case, a citizen of Canada. I've been tossing around the metaphor of summons to describe God's call to us. Sitting on my desk, about 1/3 read is Leonard Sweet's "Summoned to Lead" --it can't be a coincidence. There's something to be learned.
Leadership isn't something that we're assigned to, or paid to do, it's something that we're summoned to do at a particular time, in a particular circumstance. It may be for a short time, it might be for a longer engagement. Our challenge is to genuinely recognize it for what it is... and really, it's not something that we can get out of. All we can do is choose how we're going to respond. In the court system, if I don't show up for jury duty, there are legal consequences and penalties that I could be subject to. In terms of God's call to us, what are the consequences of not responding? No... I don't think it involves anything with metaphysical fire, but certainly that sense of not feeling fulfilled in life would probably be a pretty heavy burden.
I look at this as a learning opportunity. I don't know if I'll be assigned to a jury or not, but just the process alone will be something I can add to my experience list.
I've had a few people ask if I can get out of it. I am sure that I could probably provide a few good reasons why I'm not able to serve on a jury at this time. Yet at the same time the concept of summons of being called to serve by the court or the government is something that one is obligated to do by virtue of being a citizen... in my case, a citizen of Canada. I've been tossing around the metaphor of summons to describe God's call to us. Sitting on my desk, about 1/3 read is Leonard Sweet's "Summoned to Lead" --it can't be a coincidence. There's something to be learned.
Leadership isn't something that we're assigned to, or paid to do, it's something that we're summoned to do at a particular time, in a particular circumstance. It may be for a short time, it might be for a longer engagement. Our challenge is to genuinely recognize it for what it is... and really, it's not something that we can get out of. All we can do is choose how we're going to respond. In the court system, if I don't show up for jury duty, there are legal consequences and penalties that I could be subject to. In terms of God's call to us, what are the consequences of not responding? No... I don't think it involves anything with metaphysical fire, but certainly that sense of not feeling fulfilled in life would probably be a pretty heavy burden.
I look at this as a learning opportunity. I don't know if I'll be assigned to a jury or not, but just the process alone will be something I can add to my experience list.
posted by John Crowdis at 10:35 a.m.
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