Funeral today

Today I did a funeral at St. John's in Waterbury of a woman I don't remember.

She was a life-long member and I was there for 21 years--but I didn't remember her.

There was a photo board with dozens of pictures. I looked at them all before the service.

But I didn't remember her.

Was I just not paying attention?

Or was she one of those folks who showed up a lot but didn't do anything else and I just didn't know her?

It bothers me that I don't remember her.

A niece gave a remarkable 6 minute reflection that told me a lot about her.

But I still didn't remember her.

That made me sad, but I talked to her only child, her son, and his three children and they appreciated the service so much it made me feel better.

But I'm still sad that I don't remember her.

 

 

This sunday's sermon

September 26. 2021

        At the end of today’s gospel, Mark’s Jesus tells his disciples—AND US!—“Salt is good; but if salt has lost it’s saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

        The next part of this sermon will be a lecture on Sodium Cloride—what we call “salt”. You might want to take notes.

        (Just kidding….)

        Salt is one of the most marvelous and useful substances on earth. It comes from salt mines—usually where a salt lake has dried up. There were lots of them, eons ago.

        Salt prevents fruits and vegetables from turning brown by putting them in salt water. You can also peel potatoes the night before them and save them in salt water and they won’t lose their color.

        Salt is an excellent exfoliant and deodorizer—that’s why your skin feels so good when you come from the ocean beach.

        Salt water relieves itches from bites and stings.

        Salt is great oral care—salt and baking soda make a great organic toothpaste and gargling salt water heals sores and freshens the breath.

        Keep salt nearby you stove or grill for grease fires.

        You can scrub with salt on burned on debris.

        Salt removes stains from fabrics—even blood and wine. Salt in washer keeps clothes fresh and bright by removing sweat stains and odors.

        Salt down your sink ends odors.

        Remove water marks from wood with salt water.

        Put old sponges in salt water overnight to give them new life.

        Of course, we all know, salt removes ice from roads.

        Store cheese in napkins soaked in salt water. Cheese makers have done it for many decades.

        Salt sets colors in fabrics when ¼ cup is added to first few washes—also prevents them bleeding on other fabrics.

        Put salt on paper and run your warm iron over it to clean smudges from the iron.

        Many plants and creatures live in salt water that couldn’t survive in fresh water.

        Finally, though it’s not for everybody—salt Tastes Great! It gives flavor to everything it touches.

        How wondrous salt is!

        And Jesus tells his disciples—and US, my beloved—to have salt in ourselves and be at peace with one another. But we must not lose our saltiness for we won’t be able to re-season ourselves.

        If we have salt in ourselves, we can give healing, we can clean up messes, we can preserve what is good, we can give flavor to the world and give life to others who need it.

        We must keep our saltiness to do all that and be at peace with one another.

        We must keep our salty faith to do all that and be at peace with one another.

        Be salty, my friends. Be salt for the earth.

        Shalom and Amen.

 

First day of Autumn

 I'm still feeling like it's summer.

Short sleeves is all I need.

Very few leaves had fallen.

Granted, most of the birds seem missing, but by no means all.

The air conditioner behind me as I write is still on.

But I love Autumn--it may be my favorite season.

Warm days and cool mornings make for days of joy and nights of good, sound sleep.

Come on Autumn--show us what you've got in store.

I'm using a cane

 I have gimpy knees. One is a replacement and other probably needs to be.

I have had balance problems because of my knees for months.

But recently, my limp has caused my right hip to hurt.

I don't want a hip replacement--save me God!

So, at Bern's urging, I am using a cane and will until (and 'if') I don't need to.

What works best is to have it in my left hand and support myself when my right leg moves forward.

My hip doesn't hurt when I do that.

Is this 'what is' for me?

I don't like it--but I like it more than pain in my hip.

Alas and alack!

A man with a cane....

My Sunday Sermon

 

AND A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM

          Isaiah said, “A little child shall lead them.”

          In today’s gospel, after Jesus told the disciples he must die, they argued with themselves on the road about who among them was the greatest.

          When Jesus found out what they had been arguing about, he said to them, “whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.”

          Then he held a little child in his arms and said, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”

          But that’s hardly the only time Jesus uses a child to make his message.

          In the very next chapter of Mark, this happens.

          “People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me, do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the Kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.’  Then he took the children up in his arms, laid his hands on them and blessed them.”

          Six other times, in Matthew and Luke, Jesus says much the same thing about children.

          So, what is it about children that Jesus so admires?

          I don’t know for sure, but I have some ideas.

          Children are ‘guileless’, innocent, without deceit.

          Children are trusting and depend upon those around them to protect them.

          Children are open to possibility, longing to learn and know, excited about being alive.

          Children are gentle, curious, loving and wanted to be loved.

          Jesus loves them and tells us to welcome them in his name and to ‘be like them’ to enter God’s Kingdom.

          So why do children suffer so much in this country and around the world?

          There are 3 million cases of child abuse reported each year in the US. That’s 9000 a day. And that’s JUST the cases that GET REPORTED!

          6 of 10 girls and 4 of 10 boys will be sexually abused in some way before they are 18.

          And ‘neglect of children’ is rampant—‘neglect’ includes lack of food and shelter. Lack of affection. Lack of supervision, education and medical or dental care.

          This is what the world does to those Jesus loves.

          I spent two years as a Child Protection worker in Fairmont, WV, before I went back to finish seminary and be ordained.

          Much of abuse and neglect stems from income inequality in this country. Some families just don’t have the means to provide adequately for children. The current administration is working to correct that and bring millions of children out of poverty. God bless them.

          I could remove a child from a poor family with no trouble. But I had a case when I knew a young boy was being abused by his mother. I went to court 4 times to seek his custody, but his father was a doctor and their lawyers stopped me every time. Finally, his mother killed him.

          She spent one year in the county jail and then was freed.

          A song from my Sunday School days went like this: “Jesus loves the little children/all the children of the world/red, yellow, black brown and white/they are precious in his sight/Jesus loves the little children of the world”.

          And so must we, beloved, and do all in our power to keep them safe.

          Shalom and amen.

 

 

I'm still stunned

I don't like to keep harping on something, but covid is becoming more and more an issue we can't avoid, especially in Red states.

Everyday there are reports of people dying--not from Covid--but because hospitals have no beds for people with treatable conditions. One guy in the south was taken to 28 hospitals in 3 states before one had a bed for him to die in. A child with an appendix attack was kept waiting in an ER for 12 hours because ER was full of Covid cases--finally, after his appendix ruptured, he was saved, but with more problems than if he'd been seen earlier.

And Republicans against vaccine mandates and mask mandates, exposing people to a deadly virus, continue to work on laws to restrict a woman's choices about her body and to restrict who can vote!

I'm still stunned by what's going on in the country where I was born and raised and love dearly.

COMMON SENSE, FOR GOD'S SAKE!!!

My rights stop when they endanger someone else.

We're all in this thing together.

Quit talking about your 'rights' and get vaccinated or cause others to die or die yourself.

This should all be over--like Polio is over and Whooping Cough is over and Smallpox is over.

Get the shot, you all!

Just get the shot and we'll get on with it and back to normal.

 

Butterflies

I've been watching butterflies all summer, asking myself, 'why do they fly in such jerky, irregular patterns?'

Today, I thought of a reason.

It may be stupid and crazy, but I'll stand by it until someone proves me wrong.

If the butterflies few straight, birds would be able to catch them.

So, in evolution, only the jerky flying butterflies avoided capture, most of them.

And most who flew straight died for being straight (no political statement intended).

So irregular pattern butterflies, reproduced and made more of their kind.

And butterflies fly in jerky patterns because it worked for their ancient ancestors.

Works for me.

And for butterflies.