April 2, 2010 The Journey Continues ...

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In the 1930s a young traveler was exploring the French Alps. He came upon a vast stretch of desolate, barren land.  It was forbidding and ugly, the kind of place you hurry away from.

Suddenly the traveler stopped dead in his tracks. In the middle of the vast wasteland was a bent-over old man. On his back was a sack of acorns and in his hand a four-foot-long iron pipe.

The man was using the pipe to punch holes in the ground. Then he would take an acorn from the sack and put it in the hole. Later, the old man told the traveler, “I’ve planted over 100,000 acorns. Perhaps only a tenth of them will grow.”  The old man’s wife and son had died, and this was how he chose to spend his final years. “I want to do something useful,” he said.

Twenty-five years later the now-not-as-young traveler returned to the  area. What he saw amazed him. He could not believe his eyes. The once-desolate land was covered with a beautiful forest, two miles wide and five miles long. Birds were singing, animals were playing, and wild-flowers perfumed the air.

The traveler realized that the desolate area had been transformed into a beautiful oak forest — all because someone cared.

Five and half years ago, I met an acorn planter. I was new in Western Pennsylvania and trying to adjust to my new surroundings. Lots of people were coming and going in my life. There were new faces, good wishes and frequent introductions. Everyone was kind and hospitable, but quite honestly, most of it was a blur — except for a visit from the acorn planter. He came into my office with a beaming smile. He greeted me with a warm embrace and began to give testimony to the great love of God through Jesus Christ. He expressed sincere wishes and hopes for our Annual Conference and, more importantly, the desire deep within to see world transformed by God’s love.

Near the end of our visit, the acorn planter pulled out a tiny gold urn. Unscrewing the lid this saint of God put a dab of oil on his finger and gently marked my forehead with the sign of the cross. He prayed for me and pledged that he would continue to do so every day. He left the little urn in my hands and, with the same smile he displayed when he arrived, he turned and walked away.

This acorn planter was Dick Burns. I wasn’t the first person Dick had anointed, nor was I the last. Dick’s mission in life was to plant seeds of hope, joy, and love in the name of Christ. He was a man of deep conviction, relentless in his passion to bear witness to God’s great love for us. That’s the way he lived his life. He was an acorn planter.

Over the years, many people have said, “I will be praying for you.”  I’ve used the phrase myself. But there was something special about that phrase when Dick Burns said it. He really meant it. I know deep within my soul that this man prayed for me every day. We may not have agreed on things all the time, but, no matter, we were fellow disciples on the journey to the kingdom. Praying for someone is not contingent upon agreement. Rather, it is dependent on commitment to and love for a person God created. Dick had that love and he shared it by planting seeds of joy wherever he went. He was an acorn planter.

We need more acorn planters in today’s church – people with great courage and conviction who plant seeds of grace and love, wherever they go. We need more acorn planters – saints of God who realize that not all seeds will grow, but continue to plant them in faith, knowing that some will indeed sprout and grow. We need more acorn planters – followers of Jesus who want to do something useful for building God’s church and spreading God’s love.

I must confess that before Dick Burns came into my office nearly six years ago, I had never been anointed. The touch of his hand testified to a long life of hard work. The feeling of the oil touched me with grace, and the sweet smell lingered long after he departed. I was so moved by this expression of love that I too began to carry a vial of oil in my pocket.

Whether it is with the gentle touch of a hand, the marked blessing of an anointing, the kindness of caring words, or a simple random act of kindness, we who embrace the name Christian are called to bear the face of Jesus in a world that does not freely offer the grace we have come to know ourselves.

It’s hard to make a commitment. It’s easy to forget a promise. It’s discouraging to see some seeds never sprout. But what joy emerges when one of those seeds sprouts and a disciple is made!

I met an acorn planter several years ago. Who helped me to become an acorn planter, too.

Thanks, Dick! I will never forget you. The smell of your anointing oil still lingers in my mind.

Well done, good and faithful servant.

The Journey Continues ...

[The Rev. Dick Burns died March 16. Click here for his obituary.]