51 and counting

 Tomorrow is Bern's and my 51st Anniversary.

She was 20 and I was 23--we had no idea what we were getting into and for how long.

I was a Senior in high school and she was a freshman.

We met in Latin class.

Amo, Amas, Amat.

I owe our marriage our two children and four granddaughters to Shimmer College.

Shimmer was a 'great books' school in the mid-west and I thought I wanted to go there.

Shimmer required a year of foreign language, so I took the Latin class (having avoided languages until then).

And there we met. Five years later we were married and moved to Cambridge, MA for my second year of Harvard Divinity School.

She went to college in Boston for that year then we moved back to Morgantown so she could finish her degree.

We lived in a trailer and were on food stamps since my promised job as a school teacher fell through once they saw my long hair and beard at the Board of Education.

There were other bumps along the road, without question.

But we bumped through them all, even a six month separation in New Haven.

And here we are, over half-a-century of our lives later.

68,5% of my life I've been married to her.

And I am so full of joy for all we've meant to each other.

Happy Anniversary and so much more, my love....

My Sunday Sermon

 

          In today’s Gospel we learn some troubling things about Mark’s Jesus.

        But we also learn some wondrous things.

        First of all, the Syrophoenician woman.

        In the first century, Jewish law and practice forbade a man from speaking to a woman who was not his wife.

        Over and over, Jesus breaks that rule. And today he speaks to a Gentile woman.

        Though Jesus had traveled to Tyre—about as far north as you can go in Israel—on the Mediterranean Sea. He is trying to escape the turmoil his ministry has caused in Jerusalem and around Jerusalem.

        Some of his followers want to proclaim him King and the Pharisees was to stop his ministry.

        He enters a house trying to not let anyone know he was there, but the woman finds him.

        She falls on her knees and begs Jesus to cast out the unclean spirit that is torturing her daughter.

        Jesus’ answer is disturbing. “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”

        What an insult! He is calling the woman and her daughter ‘dogs’!

        (We might understand his words better if we remember how Jews looked down on Gentiles. The Gentiles were ‘unclean’. If a Jew encountered a Gentile in his business or even on the street, the Jew would perform a ‘cleansing ritual’ to remove the uncleanliness they had been in the presence of.

        That attitude continued in the earliest church—Jewish Christians considered Gentile Christians as beneath them. It was only the missionary travels of St. Paul that began to change that attitude.)

       

        Interestingly, the woman does not rebuke Jesus’ words, but says, instead, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

 

        So, in a wondrous moment, Jesus realizes how harsh he was being and says, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left you daughter.”

        She went home and found her daughter healed.

 

        Jesus can change his mind in this passage. That is good news indeed!

        And he shows compassion to someone very different from himself.

        If only we can have that compassion toward those who are different from us.

        As we heard in James’ Epistle today, “MERCY TRIUMPHS OVER JUDGMENT.”

 

        Have Mercy, my friends, have mercy.

 

        Unable to escape recognition, Jesus returns toward Galilee.

        Again, people know who he is and brings a man who was deaf and unable to speak.

        Jesus takes the man aside, to hide his miracle from the crowds. Jesus put his fingers in the man’s ears and spat and touched the man’s tongue.

        “EPHPHATHA”, Jesus says—which means “be opened.” Then the man was able to hear and speak.

        Jesus tells the crowds not to tell anyone what he had done. Good luck with that!

        The people were astounded and spread the news of Jesus’ power far and wide.

 

        If I could have any wish I wanted today, it would be that Jesus would proclaim to each of us, “EPHPHATHA!” and our eyes and ears and minds would be opened—opened to the neighbors far and wide the James reminded us today to love.

        “Openness” is so much more merciful, more gracious, more compassionate and more productive that having closed mines and closed hearts to all around us.

 

        “EPHPHATHA!” my friends.

        EPHPHATHA!

Amen and amen.

 

Oral Tradition

Today at Bible Study at Trinity, Milton, we were talking about the 'oral tradition'--how stories about Jesus were handed down orally before they were written down.

So, I told a story about John, Jack, Sherry, Bern and me at the beach.

We've known each other for over 30 years--John since college--and every time someone started telling a story about our relationships, someone else would say, "that's not how it happened!"

Hopefully, in the first century, the oral tradition was better than it is today!

But probably not perfect.

Looking closely at the gospels is dangerous business.

Things you thought you knew will be challenged.

Things you didn't know will be shoved in your face.

You need 'faith' to look critically at the Bible.

Otherwise, you'll lose your way....

 

Lovely

It was beautiful on Oak Island. 

Bern and I drove down with Jack and Sherry, our good friends, and were met there by John, Tim, Mimi and Eleanor.

We ate wondrously, sat in the gazebo to watch the sea, and right in front of our house was a sea turtle nest.

Dedicated people came every night to form a walkway and wait for the turtles to be born overnight.

It was day 51 when we first noticed them and the turtles come out between day 50 and day 80, usually in the high 50's. I'm sorry we didn't see them born.

It was a lovely week and I'll write more about it later.

Be well and stay well, umfandusi. (South African for 'good friend'.)

 

Back from Oak Island

We're back.

I was happy to see views of this blog had not fallen off in the 10 days we were gone.

But, honestly, after two days of driving home, I'm in no shape to write anything coherent. 

So, I'll have lots to say about the trip in the week to come.

Tomorrow we get our beloved Brigit from the kennel.

I can't wait. I missed her so.

And missed writing here.

But not nearly as much as I missed Brigit....

 

Republican governors are killing people

OK, in Florida, Texas and Arizona, mask mandates in schools are forbidden by the governors!

Whatever happened to 'local' school boards?

Whatever happened to public safety?

Whatever happened to 'going along' to 'get along'?

Whatever happened to sanity???

All states should require masks inside in public and for the un-vaccinated everywhere.

Covid is not gone--it is growing.

I not only fear but hate those who haven't gotten the vaccine.

People are getting sick--especially younger people (like school kids)--and dying.

What ever would have happened to our children (like me) if people had refused to take the polio vaccine out of some nit-wit political views?

Get two pokes in your arm and wear a mask until Delta dies down.

It's that simple!!!

 

Going, going...Gone!

We're leaving on vacation Friday morning, driving down with Jack and Sherry to be joined by Mimi/Tim/Eleanor and John who are flying to Raleigh and Myrtle Beach respectively. So, we'll have three cars. For what I don't know, we seldom leave the house at Long Beach, North Carolina.

Groceries and wine, I guess.

Bern and I have been going to Long Beach since I was in Seminary. We had friends at school from N.C. who led us there.

Our kids grew up at that beach.

We even owned a house there for a while where we seldom stayed, since it wasn't on the ocean, but rented out.

So, after tomorrow, I won't be blogging until Monday or Tuesday week.

I'll miss you, but not that much, since I'll be at the beach with people I love.