We Make Time
There are a couple of comedies I enjoy watching lately — Animal Control, DMV, St. Denis Medical, and of course, The Office. Apparently, I have a soft spot for workplace comedies where people are overworked, underprepared, trying their best, and surviving mostly through humor, snacks, awkward conversations, and sheer determination.
What I love about these shows is that underneath all the jokes, they recognize something important: work matters, but so do the people doing the work. Humor becomes a survival skill. Fun becomes a way to carry difficult things together. Even in the chaos, relationships are what hold everything together.
And honestly, The Office may be one of the best examples of that. On paper, it is a show about selling paper in Scranton, Pennsylvania — not exactly exciting material. Yet I think people love it because it captures the strange little family that forms when people spend day after day together. There are ridiculous moments, misunderstandings, eye rolls, and scenes that make you cringe a little. But there are also moments of loyalty, compassion, friendship, and unexpected kindness. Somewhere between Dwight’s beet farm, Michael Scott’s terrible management decisions, and Jim staring into the camera, the show reminds us that people need connection more than perfection.
One recent episode of St. Denis Medical really got me thinking. The Season 2 finale is called “We Make Time.” In the episode, Dr. Ron faces triple bypass surgery, and suddenly this busy hospital full of constant motion slows down. The staff — people who are usually rushing from patient to patient, buried in paperwork, exhausted from long shifts — pause their own lives to rally around one of their own. The phrase “We make time” becomes the heartbeat of the episode. Not because anyone suddenly had extra hours in the day. Hospitals do not magically become less busy. Patients still needed care. The work still mattered. But the episode reminded me that sometimes the most important thing we can do is stop long enough to care for each other.
I think that is what the church should be about too. Making time. Making time for God in a world full of distractions. Making time for one another when life gets heavy. Making time for laughter, meals, conversations, and community. Making time for the person sitting quietly by themselves. Making time for grief and making time for joy.
If we are not careful, the world teaches us to measure life only by productivity. What did you accomplish? How much did you finish? How efficient were you today? But Jesus rarely rushed through people. He stopped for conversations on the road. He lingered around tables. He noticed people everyone else overlooked. He made time for children, for the sick, for the grieving, and for the lonely. Even when crowds pressed in around him, he treated people like they mattered more than the schedule.
Maybe one of the holiest things we can do right now is simply refuse to become too busy to love people well. And honestly, maybe that is why shows like these connect with us. Beneath the comedy and chaos is a reminder that workplaces, hospitals, churches, schools, and homes all work better when people care for one another along the way. Humor helps. Fun helps. Shared moments help.
The church does not have to be another exhausted place in an exhausted world. It can be a place where people breathe a little easier. A place where burdens are shared. A place where somebody notices if you are missing. A place where grace is not rushed. Because at the end of the day, we all make time for what matters most. The question is: what — and who — are we making time for? See you Sunday!
Peace, Pastor Tracy