A Lesson Learned

There is a young woman at the church I serve who when much younger gave me a passage of scripture onto which I daily cling. When she was a child she would sing, "This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day that the Lord has made."

I cling to it.

When I wake up grumpy -- "This is the day,......"
When I get a little put out with a church member -- -- "This is the day,......"
When I am sick -- "This is the day,......"
When I worry about my parents, miss them, -- "This is the day,......"
When I feel afraid, think I've lost my way, -- "This is the day,......"

It is one of the greatest gifts I have ever received. When I tell her how much it has meant to me the moment gets a little awkward, so I don't mention it very often.

However, this reminds me that too often we talk to children and don't listen to them. We can miss a lot living that way. In fact, we should endeavor to listen before we speak in all situations with children and with adults. It's a better way to be and it leads to understanding while steering clear of misunderstanding.

Anyway, I share the gift with you my loyal readers. This indeed is the day the Lord has made and no matter what comes this day let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Aint Gonna Study War No More

I am a "Trekkie." I openly admit it. There are several reasons why I like Star Trek in its many permutations -- but the one I offer here is that Gene Roddenberry and his Star Trek cohorts and actors dreamed of an existence where all people on earth were together as one. Star Trek has always had a social conscience.

Many of the difficult issues of our time have become main episodic themes. Star Trek tackled racial tensions and provided us with the first interracial kiss on television. They wrote an episode about government determining sexual orientation. The "Prime Directive" stated that they crews of the ships could not influence cultures with which they came into contact by any means. It is a doctrine that affirms self-determination. Finally, the various Enterprises, Voyagers and the like were built for exploration and not war. Oh, they had capabilities to defend themselves and inflict casualties but they always preferred diplomacy. They lived on an earth that had done away with war and they dreamed of a peaceful galaxy.

As we experience Memorial Day this weekend I hold out hope for an earth where there is no more war. As long as humans kill humans for national reasons the Kingdom of God will not have fully come. I should say I patently reject any apocalyptic verbiage that speaks of the coming of the Kingdom of God as a war. If Isaiah was correct then the Kingdom of God that is coming will be a Kingdom where swords are recycled into implements of food production; where even animal enemies live in peace.

This is the hope in which I live each day. This is the context of my ministry inside and outside the congregation. Memorial Day will remind us never to forget the sacrifices that have been made for our national cause, but the coming Kingdom of God will transcend all generations, all national boundaries and the practice of war. We don't refer to Jesus as the Prince of Peace because it makes us feel warm inside.

May peace prevail upon the earth.

Lost & Found

They have a bin in the schools, and sometimes at churches labeled, "Lost and Found." Both items in the same place; the ones that have been lost and the ones that have been found. Mingled together because they are one and the same thing. What has been lost has also been found. There is irony in that, but, isn't there also an immutable truth? Lost and found belong together. They are one and the same thing. They are we.

A Tangled Web

Humans are social. We can live in isolation but, we live better when we interact. Unlike dogs we aren't too good in packs. Packs or herds of us tend towards trouble but, we are better when we interact. Going it alone is for short periods of renewal and restoration.

And, in a way, we are all dependent on one another. We are all connected to one another. Life is a great big web of interaction. Even those who like to go it alone are dependent, though they might not acknowledge it, on others. The clothes we wear; the food we eat; even the air we breathe and the water we drink makes us interdependent.

All of life as we know it is dependent upon God the Creator, God the Sustainer. Without the one who brought into being all that is we would not have the next breath.

However, not all interaction with other humans leads us toward the deep spiritual path of acknowledging dependence on God. Some human interaction may have us pleading with God for intervention.

People are people. Sometimes good. Sometimes not so good. Nonetheless, we are better when we interact than we are when we try to close in, shut down and believe we are better off alone.