But what, really, does a Ringmaster do? According to the article on Wikipedia:
"A ringmaster introduces the various acts in a circus show and guides the audience through the experience, directing their attention to the various areas of the circus arena and helping to link the acts together while equipment is brought into and removed from the circus ring. A ringmaster may interact with some acts, especially the clown acts, to make the various parts of a seamless circus performance."
In the 2014 article What, exactly, does a Ringmaster Do? , David Shipman, then Ringmaster for The Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus, describes his job like this:
"I think that people have this idea of what a ringmaster is supposed to be: loud, over-the-top, with a bombastic personality. And it used to be that way! It used to basically just be an announcer. But the reason Ringling Bros. is the Greatest Show on Earth is because it keeps up with the time, and the ringmaster has now become a huge part of the show. I sing, dance, talk with kids, and interact with the audience at all times. There's just a lot more to the role now as a whole. Basically my job is to keep everyone at the edge of their seat from the time they sit down to the time they get up and leave. I want to make sure that the people who come to the show carry their memories with them for the rest of their lives, just like I do."
If part of the ringmaster's job is to help keep the chaos of the circus running smoothly, and if our lives are, at least at times, a whole lot like a three-ring circus, then we certainly need a ringmaster! Yet if another part of what a ringmaster does is help the audience keep track of what's going on around them so that they don't miss any of the really good stuff ... then we probably need one even more! It is so easy for us to get distracted in our day-to-day lives by minutia and trivialities (often in the guise of Something Important or Urgent) that we miss the really important things. We fail to see the trapeze artist throwing that triple somersault because we're paying attention to the guy hawking souvenir programs.
Scripture can serve in this role for us, redirecting our gaze to what's going on in "the center ring" of our lives. (And by now it should be clear that within the category of "Scripture" I include not only the traditional scriptures of the great religions of the world, but also the works of poets and novelists, painters, scientists, playwrights, children, time spent in nature ... any, and all, of the things that remind us of the "really real.") A Spiritual Director can serve as a ringmaster, at least in this particular aspect of the role.
The greatest ringmaster, of course, is God.
Pax tecum,
RevWik
