On Call

I was on call last night. It’s part of my role as a chaplain at East Surrey hospital. Actually, my on call shift has just come to an end as I write this blog. Being on call is a strange thing, as those of you who also have on call responsibilities, will know. I cover the night when I’m on call for the hospital: 5pm to 9am. I can do what I want when I’m on call, I just need to be contactable by phone and able to go to the hospital immediately if necessary. But I don’t do anything. I sit and wait. I try to sleep while I’m waiting. And I do, mostly. But not properly. I have all my clothes laid out, my chaplain’s badge ready with my Bible and prayer book. I want to be ready if a call comes. I need to be ready. And it’s a funny thing because a part of me wants to be called,h while another part of me doesn’t. A call only comes with a crisis, a tragedy, probably a death. So I want to be called because I love to help in a crisis, but I don’t want to be called because someone is in pain. So I wait, with agitation and a churning stomach. And more so in this current crisis because a call is likely to have something to do with COVID-19. Bottom line: I get a call in a crisis. Which is what most of do with God isn’t it? Especially in this crisis. My goodness, we have had more people in the early morning prayer meeting than we’ve ever had. And we’re all praying more aren’t we. God, after all is supposed to sort this ting out isn’t he? Isn’t that what God does in times of crisis? This is not my dodgy theology. It’s actually what we do. When the pressure’s on, when there’s a crisis, when we are desperate, we pray. We call on God. And there’s nothing wrong with that. I think God would be surprised and disappointed if we didn’t cry out to him when we are beyond our own resources. But here’s the thing: God is far better than me when I’m on call. I’m on tenterhooks. And I sleep fitfully. Psalm 121 tells us that God neither slumbers nor sleeps, that he is always awake and ready to hear our cry. Jeremiah reminds us that when we call God will answer (Jeremiah 33 v 3). The story of the waiting Father in Luke 15 paints a picture of the God who waits with great patience for his children to come to him. God is ready in a crisis. He really is. I have always struggled in life and I have moments when I sink! Years ago I had a friend who I would talk to when I was sinking. He said something to me which I have never forgotten. He said: “Ian, let’s put dates in the diary for us to get together and chat, because otherwise I’ll only ever see you when you’re sinking. And I want see you on your good days too.” I think God might say the same thing. But unlike me, God is always ready, never fretting, never sleeping, never rushed or anxious. But he waits, patiently, longingly, for his beloved to come to him. He’s always on call. He’s ready in a crisis. But he’d love to see you no your good days too.