It's hard to watch the news

 

The stuff Trumpie is doing makes it hard to watch the news.

People being arrested and deported for no reason--some of them citizens.

The bombing of  'drug boats'--with no proof of any drugs.

The health costs some are going to experience next year.

Renaming buildings after himself.

Ignoring laws and not releasing all the Epstein files when ordered to by Congress.

And watching members of the administration being questioned in congressional hearings and lying or refusing to answer the questions.

It's all too much.

And that's not all of it.

At least he's gone so far that MAGA seems to be tearing at the seams.

God help us.

We need good news....

 

Here's hoping

 

Tomorrow is the day we put out our garbage and re-cycling. It will be picked up early Wednesday (unless Christmas Eve is a holiday for the workers).

That was my job for years.

But Bern has been doing it for months because of all my health issues.

I hope to change that tomorrow.

I'm hoping she'll let me try,

I'm pretty sure I'm up to it.

Here's hoping.....

 

The sermon nobody heard....

 

(I wrote this for Advent 3 but snow cancelled church that Sunday.)

12/21/2025--As Good As It Gets

    Imagine this. You woke up this morning and the sun was shining bright. It was 71 degrees and a middle-of-the-night rain left the flowers and grass and bushes in your yard well-watered and looking great.

    You have your favorite breakfast and everyone you love calls or comes by to see how you are and to wish you a great day.

    Your bank calls and tells you your investments have gone up 25% over night. Your doctor calls and says the test he did all turned out great--you're as healthy as you've ever been. Plus the TV stations have changed their offerings and all your favorite shows are on whenever you want to watch. A neighbor has washed and vaccumed your car and filled it with gas. You check the lottery ticket you bought yesterday and find out it's a winner.

    Today is as good as it gets! All is well and all is well and all manner of things are well!

    Today's collect says, "Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us...."

    Today's readings echo what God's power can do among us.

    Isaiah says: "The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,/the desert shall rejoice and blossom;/like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly,/and rejoice with joy and singing..../Strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees./Say to those who are of a fearful heart,/'Be strong and do not fear.'"

    Then the Psalm tells us: "Who gives justice to those who are oppressed/and food to those who hunger?/The Lord sets the prisoners free./the Lord opens the eyes of the blind;/the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;/the Lord loves the righteous;/the Lord cares for the stranger;/he sustains the orphan and widowed."

    And in Matthew's gospel, Jesus sends this message to John the Baptist, who is in prison: "Go and tell John what you hear and see; the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them."

    Perhaps, as we await the birth of the Christ Child, we should look for and find the GOOD in life--what is positive, what gives hope, what points to the Wonder that is God.

    Perhaps we must see the Positive and correct the negative by doing all we can to bring all people into the light.

    Perhaps we should assume that all is well, all is well, all manner of things are well...and do all we can to repair what isn't well.

    Perhaps that is our calling as the Body of Christ in the world.

    Perhaps....

Shalom and Amen.

     

Almost Christmas

 

Less than a week now.

I've written my sermons for Advent 4 and Christmas Eve.

I still haven't heard back about the gifts I bought from WorldVisions which is where I gave animals for those in need for Bern and our children and grandchildren.

I hope it comes before Christmas so I can show them what I donated in their names.

We shall see.

At least, no snow.

Yet...

 

Being cold

 

I probably told you this already--but I'm always cold.

I think it's because I grew up in an apartment in Anawalt, West Virginia that had a coal stove in the living room, but no heat anywhere else.

It was over a grocery store, so the floor was warm until the store went out of business and our apartment got colder.

Our bathroom had only a small electric heater. Cold there too!

The year I went off the college my parents moved to Princeton, WV and bought a house with central heat.

Ask me if I've forgiven them....

So, my chill factor is from childhood.

I have a heater beside me as I write this and one by my side of the bed.

But chill follows me wherever I go....

 

Maybe I'm getting old...

 

Who am I kidding?

I am old! 78, I think, if I did the math right.

But what bugs me is watching kids walking home from school looking at their I-phones and not the traffic.

I see it all the time.

A young teen almost walked in front of my car today because he was watching his phone and not the road.

I have a 'dumb phone'. It takes calls and I can make calls, but not even a way to leave a message.

I like it like that.

And I only look at it when it rings--not all the time.

Maybe I'm getting old--but smart phones are a threat to us all....

 

I was wrong

 

The snow did come and more than I expected.

Our street hadn't been plowed and our driveway needed shoveled and the snow was still falling.

Phone calls ended it all.

Church was cancelled.

I was sorely disappointed.

I had, what I thought, was a good sermon.

I'll try to blog it later.

No church breaks my heart....

 

Snow is coming?

 

The forecast is for light snow tonight stopping at 7 a.m.

First of all, I don't believe weather forecasts--they are off at least as many times as they are on.

But the folks at church are worried about me having to drive in snow.

First of all, 27 of the 31 miles are roads surely plowed and the last 4 miles may be.

Second of all, where do they think I've been? I grew up in the mountains of West Virginia where snow was frequent and I've lived all my life either there or in New England with only 2 years in Alexandria, Virginia. 

I know how to drive in snow.

We agreed to wait until tomorrow and talk then about driving in the snow.

 

The dog gets mail

I went out the door this afternoon and there was a package addressed to "Brigit Bradley".

I laughed, thinking they had gotten Bern's name wrong.

But while I was driving (waiting for the car heater to start pushing warm air!) I realized the package was for our dog!

I got home and shouted for Bern. "Brigit got a package!"

It was indeed for her--some treats in a car sent by Bern's brother.

Even dogs get mail....

 

Weird Wednesdays

 

With Christmas so near and so many things going on for folks, we canceled the Wednesday Bible Studies at Trinity Church.

Wednesday's always revolve around my drive up to Milton and the time we spend talking about whatever comes up that day.

So, from around 11 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. on Wednesdays is set in stone.

Until now.

It feels good not to drive the 30 miles to and from, but I miss the people sitting around the table, having an informal communion service and talking with each other--sharing ideas and wild thoughts!

Today I worked on my sermon--a day or two earlier than usual because there was no Bible Study.

Wednesdays are weird without it....

 

Talking about sermons

 

I'm on a conversation every Tuesday with 6 or 7 others--all male (Bern says, "are you talking to the boys..."--all but one are Episcopalians though we came from other places to get there. There are usually 4 priests (plus my brother-in-law, a liberal RC priest) and we often talk about our sermons.

Today, one told us about preaching and having no one mention the sermon to him afterwards.

I'm on the other end of that. Sunday at least 16 or the 20 or so folks at church wanted to talk about my sermon.

Not that I think I'm a better preacher, it's just that some congregations really relish the sermons and others, not so much.

Kind of odd, I think.

Maybe they come for the bread and wine and not the words.

Who knows?

 

A profound distinction

 

In my sermon tomorrow I make a distinction when talking about John the Baptist between "morality" and "righteousness".

You see, some Pharisees come to be baptized by John and he dismisses them as "a brood of vipers".

That wasn't because they weren't "Moral"--they had good 'morality' in that they kept all the Jewish laws and kept the rules.

That's what 'morality' is--'keeping the rules'.

But righteousness isn't about being law-abiding, it is about the relationship between the person and God.

Abraham was 'reckoned righteous' because he was in a right relationship with God.

John the Baptist was interested in forming that 'right relationship' through baptism.

Keeping the rules and toeing the line don't measure up if you aren't 'right with God'.

We could do well to seek that relationship and not worry so much about abiding by the rules.

 Get right with God....

 

Lost my ring...

 

I lost a lot of weight while I was in and out of the hospital. Even in my hands.

So, my wedding ring slips off sometimes.

I had tape on it but it came off.

So, today I was in my office--doing nothing but playing hearts--and I realized my ring was gone.

I searched the house for it and since I'd been to the Library and Big Y, I went to look in the car.

Not there, but when I shut the driver's side door in disgust, I glanced down and it was there on the ground!

Bern helped me tape it up again.

That really had me worked up--loosing my wedding ring.

I'll keep it taped up well from now on....

 

It's Up!

 

Bern got our Christmas tree this morning and it's up (no decorations--that's for later) in our living room.

She picks the tree because she's better at it than I am (like so many things!) and it's a beauty.

Having the tree up feels very good to me.

Christmas is coming....

 

When the lights go out...

 

Our electricity went out last night at 7:15 or so. It was out for an hour.

When the lights went off, Bern found a light on batteries that was very bright and two flashlights. In the dark, she did that!

I thought, "I'll go write a blog about the lights being out..."

Duh! Then I remembered why my computer works....

It was chilly so it was good when electricity came back.

You can't do much in the dark. Well, there's that, I know, but not other things.

Electricity is our life-line. We can't live without it.