Early in my pastoral work I often wondered why I was on such spiritual high on Sunday and somewhat depressed on Monday morning.
It's possible that the high of Sunday is due to the spiritual component that comes with a high liturgy and the preaching. To this day, when I walk up to the pulpit, my heart still races.
Then there are the enlivening conversations following worship. Lots of congratulatory notes, sermon-follow ups, general back and forth about casual life issues, setting appointments to meet during the week, etc.
Even the afternoons feed off morning worship. Hospitality and friendships continue. The joy of following up with visitors, the remaining melodies of hymns and psalms are hummed...
When Monday arrives, most pastors I talk to find themselves unhappy, bewildered by the newness of the week as if they've never been at this stage of the week before.
At least two pastors I spoke with said they had a hard time getting out of bed on Monday mornings. They are not lazy people. In fact, these guys get up quite early during the week, but Mondays they generally cannot.
So what's the cause, Charlie? It can't be a rare phenomenon because it's too common among people in my field. Is it a physical component to this Monday low?
One explanation is that Mondays are days where exhaustion appears most frequently. This makes sense. Pastors need to uphold certain high alertness and awareness on Sundays, emotional stability, and outward energy before, during and after church.
My conclusion is that Sundays are the culmination of lots of things: the delivery of a sermon worked, meditated and prayed over all week, the administration of the sacraments which is anticipated throughout the week, the face to face interaction with all your people at once.
In sum, Sundays are Sabbath rests; days of pastoral repose; for the pastor, Sunday is the "very good" of creation. It is easier to see God's hands at work. Mondays are the beginning of construction project. New beginnings are daunting, overwhelming and mentally challenging.
