I hate Halloween

 I think I've said this before but I'll say it again: "I hate Halloween!"

At some point I must have told you about being nearsighted (nobody knew!) and wearing a mask and being, literally, 'spooked out'.

But what happened in South Korea is yet another reason to hate Halloween.

Almost 200 killed and hundreds more hurt when a crowd, celebrating the Korean form of Halloween, got out of control.

Can you imagine being stomped to death by other human beings?

What a great tragedy.

When did Halloween stop being for kids and have adults walking over each other?

Not a good Holiday.

We shouldn't even call it a 'holiday' since that is a form of 'Holy Day'.

Nothing 'holy' about it.

Pray for the victims in Seoul. 

I play Hearts

     I play Hearts on-line against three artificial opponents--John, Lisa and Wanda.

    I play 100 games most of the time--not all at once but over several days. I usually win between 86 and 90.

    A live player has a big advantage over a machine.

    But in the last several days, I've won the first 25 of the 100.

    I've never won 25 in a row before!

    It's making me a tad nervous.

    Things usually go wrong at some point in the 100 games.

    But not this time.

    And though some of the wins have been come-backs, I've tended to win lop sided games.

    What will I do if I don't lose?

    I'll have to quit playing, I suppose.

    We'll see.

 

Falling leaves

        Although I hate winter and the cold it brings, I really appreciate Autumn.

    I sat on our back porch for 15 minutes this afternoon, watching leaves fall from the trees.

    Nature is re-making itself into something new--though it comes ever year.

    Leaves falling is like a slow motion ballet.

    It is wondrous to watch.

    Enjoy the falling leaves and autumn.

    Enjoy and be glad.

    Spring will come.

    It really will.

    And the whole cycle will begin again.

    Thank goodness....

 

This weeks sermon

 

Luke is my favorite Gospel.

       It is the gospel full of compassion.

       Mark is a New York Times article.

       Matthew has an agenda.

       John’s Jesus is too good to be accurate.

       But Luke reaches out to the lost.

       Like in today’s gospel about Zacchaeus in Jericho.

       Zacchaeus is a tax collector—like the man in last week’s gospel—he was considered a sinner by Jews because he took their money for the Roman Empire.

       I like Zacchaeus, not because of his job, but because, like him, I’m not very tall.

       I reached my full height in 9^th grade and was a very good Junior High basketball player.

       But by the next September, everyone else had grown and I couldn’t make the high school team.

       I know what it’s like to not be able to see over a crowd of people.

       I never climbed a tree to see, but I have stood on boxes and rocks to look over other people’s heads.

       Jesus had never met Zacchaeus, but he called him by name down from his sycamore tree and told him he would stay at his house that day.

       This is what I mean about Luke’s compassionate Jesus. The crowd was horrified that he was going to visit a ‘sinner’, one who had betrayed his own people.

       But Zacchaeus told him the would give half his wealth to the poor and repay four times what he had taken from others. That was a great ‘pay back’ to those beneath him and Jesus was pleased.

       Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and save the lost.”

       THE SON OF MAN CAME TO SEEK OUT AND SAVE THE LOST.

       Talk about compassion!

       Let’s spend a few moments in silence thinking and pondering the compassion we have ‘shown’ and the compassion that has been ‘shown’ to us.

 

Another rainy day

The rain keeps falling--almost every day, it seems.

But today is even wetter--the Yankees were swept by the Astro's last night.

No World Series for the Yanks this year.

Astro's and Phillies (of all teams!)

So, my tears mix with the rain.

 

 

Looking bad for them

The Yankees lost both games in Houston.

It's looking bad for them--they have to win 4 out of 5 to make the World Series.

I don't have much confidence in them.

But I love the Yankees so.

I'll watch part of the game tonight but have church tomorrow.

Probably shouldn't pray about baseball--but I'll keep them near my heart tonight.

GO, YANKEES!!!

 

Indite already!

 A federal judge has said the former President 'knowingly lied' when he signed some papers saying the election figures he presented were accurate.

The document even said 'under threat of perjury'.

An email from John Eastman, the ex-president's lawyer at the time, revealed that Eastman told him the documents were false but he signed them anyway.

Legal scholars agree that if he weren't a former President he would have been indicted long ago.

So, cut to the chase.

Indite already!