Yesterday

December 8, 2016

The snow waited as if to say, "This is important; go do it!" The road trip was originally scheduled for today, but it was better for Norm if we rearranged things for yesterday, so bright and early, I picked up Eric at the carpark and we drove to Grove City. It was good for both of us; Eric is off work while healing from shoulder surgery, and the company was welcome. The weather was beautiful, even balmy for a week into December, the roads were dry and the sky clear. We arrived right on schedule. I pulled into the parking lot and called Norm before texting Alex. Norm arrived first.

In the back of his minivan was a 1936 King string bass, only the third year of production. Blonde finish and beautiful curly maple back and sides, it looked even better than the photos Norm had put online. I handed over the cash and maneuvered the bass into the car. Alex had arrived by then, so we bid goodbye to Norm before going out to lunch.

That hour together was gone all too soon, and we needed to say goodbye so she could get back to studying for finals. I don't know what it is about it, but every time we visit, I leave another piece of my heart in Grove City. I wonder if it will be this way for all the grandkids. I don't think she saw the tears in my heart through the smile on my face, but they were there.

Getting a vintage bass was nice, but really it was only a good excuse for spending some time with our granddaughter. The drive home after dropping Eric at the park & ride was quiet and thoughtful. The snow came today, covering the green of the lawn in a foot deep blanket of white. It's OK; I had yesterday, and am thankful tonight.

War and Peace

December 7, 2016

Seventy-five years is a long time, but not long enough to erase the memories of those who lived it. Facebook is filled today with posts about Pearl Harbor Day, when Japanese carrier-based planes attacked the US Naval base there without provocation. Although some of the figures vary, somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,343 men were killed, 1,272 were wounded and 960 missing. It was the greatest loss of life in an attack on US soil till September 11, 2001, when 2977 people were killed and more than 6,000 injured. US response was quite different seventy five years ago, when the next day, President Roosevelt called it a day that would live in infamy, and the US declared war on Japan. Our response following the 9/11 attacks which resulted in greater loss of life has been somewhat less decisive. Our world has changed considerably in those intervening years.

What has remained unchanged is the human cost of war. It is reported that during one battle of the American Civil War, General Robert E. Lee remarked to one of his generals that "it is good that war is so terrible, else we should come to love it too much." In spite of our declared hatred of war, it seems we are stuck with it as long as there are aggressors in this world. Even the Prince of Peace declared that wars would continue to the very end.

The Twentieth Century, a century of progress in technology, science, and education, has overwhelmingly demonstrated the failure of these blessings to improve the lot of humanity. Hundreds of millions were killed in wars and often by their own governments. We can hardly claim moral superiority over past generations. In our own United States, we have killed more babies through abortion than have died in all the wars we have ever fought.

More than twenty years ago, my parents were visiting. My father was a WWII vet who for medical reasons, remained stateside while many of his bootcamp buddies shipped out, and many never returned. This particular Sunday afternoon, we were sitting on the couch watching an old WWII movie entitled "The Battling Sullivans," based on the true story of the five Sullivan brothers who served together on the same ship which was torpedoed and sunk. All five brothers died. When it came to the part where the officer brought notice to the parents that their sons had been killed, I heard some snorting off to one side. I glanced over and saw my father in tears. Fifty years had not dimmed the memory of friends lost in that conflict.

We pray for that day when the lion shall lie down with the lamb, but prepare for the day when the lion attacks. I am grateful tonight for those who have, and those who continue to serve in harm's way, as well as for the hope we have in Christ that the day will come when the proclamation of the angels over the Bethlehem fields will become a reality: "Peace on earth, goodwill towards men."

A Gift of Gratitude

December 6, 2016

At first, there were only two. I watched them suit up, helping each other into their gear. They got into their car and waited. Soon, a man walked up to their car and handed them something through the window. They talked briefly and he returned to his seat in Starbucks. Soon, two more similarly suited people parked their vehicles, got out and walked to the first car. Then two more and still others, till there were nine altogether.

The customer inside watched all this for a few minutes before getting out of his chair. He walked over to the counter, ordered several gift cards and took them out to the officers who were meeting prior to what appeared to be a significant and serious day's work. All were wearing their body armor, and sporting clipboards as they talked together. He handed each officer a card; they again talked briefly, shook hands all around, and the gentleman returned quietly to his seat and his coffee.

I am grateful for these men and women who day after day get into their vehicles to patrol the roads and often enter places where they are usually not wanted and where they never know what is on the other side of the door. And for the gentleman who understood and appreciated their service, and demonstrated it with a token of appreciation. In the past fifteen days, there have been seven shootings in Jamestown, something that we only think of as happening in big cities. Watching these officers as they planned their day's work, I said a prayer that they would all go home safely to their families tonight, and thanked God for their service not only to our community, but to God himself. St. Paul tells us that those entrusted with civic authority are ministers of God (Romans 13:1-4). In serving us, they are serving him. Thank you, Lord, for these who serve today. May they do their work honorably and well, and may they rest in quiet safety tonight.

Grit to Glory

December 5, 2016

Sometimes, we just need to get a different perspective on things. St. Paul was chained like an animal, shackled to a Roman guard who likely as not, didn't appreciate having to be shackled to someone he considered less than human. If you weren't Roman, you were a barbarian, the very word derived from what Romans heard in the babbling of foreign tongues-'bar-bar-bar,' somewhat akin to Seinfeld's 'yada, yada, yada.'

Some of his time was undoubtedly spent in a dungeon such as he occupied in Philippi, a dark, dank, stinking hole into which were thrown society's refuse to literally rot. Other times, he was under house arrest, a bit more comfortable, where he was able to receive friends and write. But he was still a prisoner, subject to the whim of the soldier to which he was chained and to Rome itself. Such was his lot as he wrote to the Ephesian Christians.

He introduces himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ, someone sent by God himself to give them the Good News of Christ. As such, he tells them of what God has done for us in Christ, forgiving us, raising us from the death of our sins to life in him.

But in the third chapter, he identifies himself differently; Rome held him in one of its jails, claiming him as their prisoner, but Paul sees things differently. He is not a prisoner of Rome, but of Jesus Christ. Rome did not hold ultimate power over him; Jesus Christ did. His external circumstances did not define him. Jesus Christ told him who he was. Nor was he limited by his circumstances. He saw himself as the herald of something completely new: God's bringing together two groups of people, both of whom believed themselves superior to the other, and using this to demonstrate to the powers that be the greatness and glory of God's love in Jesus Christ.

So often when we pray, we bring to God a laundry list of illnesses and issues without considering what God may be up to. We beg and plead for God to rescue us, to change our circumstances, not seeing how God intends to use our trials as a testimony to the world. It all hinges on our seeing ourselves not as prisoners of our circumstances, but of Jesus Christ. When we know who we are in Christ, our circumstances are transformed from prison to praise.

Tonight I am thankful for our men's group, and for the Scriptures that shed light on life, transforming even the worst of situations into grace and glory.

Advent Stories

December 4, 2016

How do they do it? I've asked myself that question more times than I can remember. I belong to a writer's group that meets every Friday morning. Many of those who gather there are published authors, having written novels and story books. I write short articles, reflections on life, things that have gotten my attention. But full length books? Where does anyone get the ideas for such things? My creative juices don't flow in that direction.

But every Advent for the past few years, I've tried to come up with a short story that I give to Linda. When she reads novels, she usually reads the last chapter first so she knows how it ends. She can't do that with my stories, because I give them to her in installments. I don't even know for sure how they will end till I get there myself. A couple of these stories have actually had a decent plot, but most of them qualify for the term, 'drivel.' And they are still short stories, not full length novels. I don't think I have the patience for one of them.

I got the idea for this year's story from a Sunday School lesson taught by our son. The story actually has little to do with the lesson he gave, except for the text's mention of the children whose angels behold the face of the Father in heaven. It's been fun writing, and I'm grateful for at least a tiny bit of creativity and the opportunity to write it. Nothing earth-shattering or even slightly important, but still something for which I can give thanks tonight.

Perspective in Prayer

December 2, 2016

Our dinner group met tonight. We sat around the table, ate a great meal together, then shared some of the blessings and challenges we've been facing, some of which was pretty soul-wrenching stuff. As the evening drew to a close, I had the responsibility and privilege as host to pull it all together in prayer. My experience has been that when people are going through especially challenging difficulties, it becomes easy for those problems to block our view of God. We don't intend for that to happen; we actually bring our concerns to him in prayer, but often the concern looms larger in our minds and hearts than does God.

If I hold up a quarter to the sun, they don't appear to be much different in size. If I hold the quarter an inch from my eye, it completely blocks my view of the sun. Anyone knows that the sun is billions of times bigger than my quarter, but if that quarter is close enough, it can keep me from seeing that which is larger by enormous degrees of magnitude.

When our problems block our view of Christ, it isn't because they're bigger than he, but because they are closer than he. The answer is not begging God for a solution to the problem, but getting Christ between ourselves and the problem. He's always bigger, so it's no problem. Getting my focus off the problem and onto Christ is always the answer. Getting Christ between ourselves and the problem is always the answer. Seeing Christ for who he is, risen, ascended, seated at the right hand of the Father with all authority and majesty is the answer.
I am grateful tonight for the privilege of praying for my friends, for being able to place their problems in perspective before the majesty of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Guilt and Grace

December 1, 2016

Of the 13 (14 if you count Hebrews) letters St. Paul wrote to the first churches, all but one begin with a salutation followed by words of praise for something he had heard about their faith. The one exception was his letter to the Galatian Christians. After his initial greeting, he launches into what amounts to almost a tirade, marveling that they would so soon turn away from the Gospel of grace he had preached, to trying to earn God's favor by works and rituals. He is so distraught over their abandonment of his Gospel of pure grace that he calls down a curse upon those who would preach anything else. Even the corrupt Corinthians didn't earn his ire, though they were heavily involved in all sorts of sin and decadence.

Later in this Galatian letter, he declares that Christ has been made a curse for us, re-emphasizing the seriousness of their situation by implying that since Christ was cursed for our sake, to receive Paul's curse indicated that they were completely outside the pale of Christian faith. Abandoning grace means abandoning all that makes us Christians.

Linda and I were talking about this just this morning. We talked of how easy it is to unintentionally abandon grace. We both were brought up in pretty conservative churches. The church culture of our youth included such things as "don't drink, don't smoke, don't go to dances or movies." I don't believe for a moment that our instructors in the faith intended to instill in us a works righteousness mentality. They were simply trying to spare us from so much of the sorrow that engulfs peoples' lives, but the end result was that we internalized these rules, and added to them till Christian life consisted more of guilt than grace. Every little infraction added another layer to this oppressive burden that we shouldered.

This is exactly what St. Paul was trying to spare us from. He knew by sad experience that rules only imprison, and that only the grace, the undeserved, unearned favor of God demonstrated in the gift of his Son has the power to set us free. Later in this short letter, he warns against using this freedom as an occasion for sin, listing a whole bunch of things that can entrap us, but he never lets go of grace. We shouldn't, either. Tonight I am grateful for our conversation this morning, for the Scripture that guides us, and for the grace that frees us from guilt to live in love and gratitude.