Brother Dave

Brother Dave Gardner was a southern comedian and terrible racist.

But I listened to his albums (he made a bunch) during the 70's.

He was very funny, though deplorable too.

One of his best jokes went like this.

(Chuck and Baby, his girlfriend, were at a drive-in eating french fries. When they finished, Baby said, "Chuck, I'm cold."

So Chuck took off his leather jacket and put it on Baby backwards, zipping it up in the back.

"There, Baby," he said, "now you'll be warm".

Then he said, "Baby, let's blow this joint."

They took off on Chuck's motorcycle and all was going good until he hit a slick spot and slide in front of a truck.

The police arrived with their siren going 'brrr, brrr, brrr".

Two boys were standing beside the wreckage.

"What happened here", the policeman said, "what happened to these lovely children."

"Well officer," the boy began.

Whap! Whap! The policeman hit him.

"Don't hit me no more", the boy said. "Mr. Chuck was killed outright, but Miss Baby seemed alright until me and Junior turned her head around right.")

Police brutality and racism--but funny, none the less.

 

Here's what I don't get...

 Stuff all over the inter-net today about how Richard Branson beat Jeff Bezos into space.

Two billionaires building their own space rockets.

How can we live in a country where two people like that are spending millions and millions on rockets to escape the earth when children in the major cities of Connecticut (one of the wealthiest states) are living in abject poverty, millions in this country and billions in the world haven't had the covid vaccine, our infra-structure is rotting away, we don't seem to know how to bring in immigrants (as almost all of us were once), racism is rampant, voter suppression is in full swing, drought and record heat burns the west and many are still out of work because of the pandemic.

Does that seem right to you?

Does that seem right in any way?

Why aren't Branson and Bezos spending their money to solve problems here on earth instead of racing to get to space?

I just don't get it.

Something very, very wrong about this picture....

my sunday sermon

JULY 11, 2021

          Today’s gospel lesson tells of the brutal and terrible be-heading of John the Baptist.

          It is safe to say, that with the possible exception of Jesus’ mother, Mary, John the Baptist is the most important and intriguing of the cast of characters surrounding Jesus.

          John is the one who came to make the path straight and to prepare the way for the Lord. He proclaimed Jesus’ identity before Jesus took it on. He was the voice that ‘crieth in the wilderness’ in the second verse of today’s sequence hymn, calling ‘us to new repentance since the kingdom now is here.’

          John may have been a cousin to Jesus, since, as Luke implies, John’s mother, Elizabeth, was a kinswoman of Mary’s.

          Elizabeth was barren until an Angel came—as an Angel came to Mary—to announce that she would have a son in her old age!

          When Mary arrives to visit Elizabeth, John, a six-month-old fetus, ‘lept in Elizabeth’s womb’.

          John recognized his Lord before either of them was born!

 

          John was a strange character. He wore camel skin, ate locust and wild honey and lived in the Wilderness until he came out to preach repentance and baptize the those who confessed their sins.

          But he always told them he was not ‘the One’, though many thought he might be.

 

          In Luke’s Gospel, John tells his followers, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”

          Sure enough, when John baptizes Jesus, “the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’”

          John had done his work—the Way was prepared for the Messiah!

 

          But neither of them had a peaceful death.

          We all remember how much Jesus suffered before his crucifixion, but there is something horrific about having your head cut off.

          Herod had John in prison, but he still feared John because, as the reading tells us, “knowing  that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him.”

          What happens next is a lesson and a warning to all parents.

          Never tell your children, no matter how well they dance, that they can have anything they want!

          John’s death a burial is a precursor to what will happened to Jesus.

          Everyone was always trying to figure out who Jesus WAS.

          So after John was dead, some people believed Jesus was John risen from the dead, though others said he was Elijah and others that he was one of the prophets of old.

          Herod, in his guilt and fear, said, when he heard of it: “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.”

          It’s a grizzly story through and through.

          But I don’t want to leave you with horrible images—no matter how important they are to the gospel story.

          I want to leave you with the beautiful and hopeful words from today’s Psalm.

          It begins like this: “I will listen to what the Lord God is saying,/ for he is speaking peace to his faithful people and to those who turn their hearts to him.”

          “Peace”—something we all long for and seldom know. But God is speaking ‘peace’ to us, his faithful people.

          We must turn our hearts to him.   

          Later, Psalm 83 says: “Mercy and truth have met together:/ righteousness and peace have kissed each other.”

          Mercy is something we desperately need—for ourselves and for all others.

          Truth will lead us to righteousness and peace, which will kiss each other and bring us peace.

          After hearing of John the Baptists terrible end, we need peace more than anything.

          So listen to what God speaks to us.

          God speaks ‘peace’.

          And Lord knows, in this time in history, full of division and conflict—what we all need, more than anything, is PEACE.

          So, “May God’s Peace descend on you” and may righteousness and peace kiss in your heart.

          Shalom and amen.

         

 

 

Something odd

 There was a large golden orb in the sky this afternoon.

I think it must have been what people refer to as 'the sun'.

We just haven't seen it for a while.

(Note to Republicans in Congress: Give up on making Biden a bad guy--he's just 'good old Joe'--not a deceitful bone in his aging body.

And give up on painting Vice-President Harris as an incompetent person.

She was a great District Attorney in California.

She was Attorney General in California and a Senator from California.

As a senator, she advocated for healthcare reform, federal de-scheduling of cannabis, a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, the DREAM Act, a ban on assault weapons, and progressive tax reform. She gained a national profile for her pointed questioning of Trump administration officials during Senate hearings, including Trump's second Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who was accused of sexual assault.

This is not a woman to mess with!

The first African American woman and and Asian American woman to serve as Vice-President.

Leave her be. 

Rain

 Connecticut is not in the west or mid-west, where heat is battering them over and over. And it's not in the south, where the tropical storm is making it's way from Florida to Maryland.

Connecticut is in New England, where, I think, is the best place to live.

The temperature today didn't get over 70 and it rained and thundered for most of the day.

We've had lots of rain this week and I looked at the Weather Channel and we will have some rain for the next 10 days--each day!

Great for the plants and keeping the July temperature down.

Great for birds, who eat the worms who come up when it rains.

Great in lots of ways.

I'll almost never say, 'rain, rain, go away....'

I like the rain.

It suits my personality.

We have four umbrellas for two people.

Not bad.

Sorry for you if you don't live in Connecticut.

Things usually go right here....

 

Dr. Ryan

 I had my every 6 month eye exam today from Dr. Ryan.

Bern and I go all the way to Ansonia to get our exams because we like him so much.

I have the beginning of macular degeneration, but it hasn't gotten any worse in the past six months.

He said it could come next year or in 20 years. Not very specific that!

He also said I can probably keep my current glasses for the rest of my life. My left eye is 20/30 and my right 20/40 but my glasses give me pretty much 20/20 vision.

He talks a lot. I was with him, doing this and that (most of which blinded me!) for half-an-hour or more.

He tells me more than I can remember or need to know.

But he is wondrous.

I hope he doesn't retire like my primary care doctor did.

Sudden storm

I was here, playing hearts on-line, when I noticed out the window that the sun that had been shining all day was gone. And I heard thunder.

I rushed downstairs and got the cushions from the Adirondack chairs just as the rain was starting.

I got my keys and took an umbrella to roll up my car windows but still got pretty wet.

Then I closed the windows in our bedroom though one of my pillows already had rain on it.

It thundered and poured for about an hour and then thundered and drizzled for another hour.

They say "the weather in New England is always changing".

But not usually this suddenly.

At least it's 20 degrees cooler than before the storm.