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Monday, August 27, 2007
My favorite thing
When I first heard Julie Andrews sing My Favorite Things, in the Sound of Music, I couldn’t help but think
of what were my favorite things. Brown paper packages didn’t make my list, I can assure you. I suppose in those footloose
days, baseball games, swimming, and Burkes Law did make the list.
As we grow and mature we go through a long list of favorite things. We change. Our tastes change. We experience new things.
In these final days of August I am aware of my present favorite things. We take care of our grandson, Branden, over the
summer. He spends some nights with us. On those evenings when he’s with us, I get to do my favorite thing. When I head for
bed, I stop in his room and tuck him in. He gets a light kiss on his forehead. And I commend him to God.
My favorite thing? Tucking my grandson into bed. Pretty simple, huh?
Pastor B.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Dog days of Summer
I’m not exactly sure why dogs get connected with warm, hazy summer days. It might have something to do with astrology.
Sirius the Dog Star rising in the east and leaving evidence throughout the night sky. Or something like that.
These end-of-August days are full of back-to-school excitement while at the same time families are getting in their last
vacation events. If you go around asking people their favorite month of the year, you’ll get lots of Decembers, Octobers,
Aprils, and Septembers. You won’t hear many jump in August.
Still, every year it comes upon us. Excited about a new program year approaching, yet grieved to leave summer behind. Worked
up about the football season about to kick off, yet sorry to see baseball fall into the shadow of what’s left of a 162 game
season.
Anticipate. Enjoy. Plan. Relax. Look ahead. Look to today. Just don’t blame it on a dog.
Pastor B.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Ruminating on the Churchwide Assembly
In its first full day of meetings, the 2007 Churchwide Assembly re-elected the Rev. Mark Hanson to be the Presiding Bishop
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The voting members of the assembly overwhelmingly returned him to office in
the second ballet where 75% of the votes are needed to win (he missed the mark on the first ballot by two votes).
Leading this church for the next six years may be even more of a challenge than the last six for Bishop Hanson. There are
some rather large cracks in our unity, and though they may not yet be able to be crossed, they aren’t coming together either.
We remain of two minds on issues like homosexuality, biblical interpretation, and our ecumenical agreement with the Episcopal
Church. God is working among us, but God sometimes works more slowly than we’d like.
Please put Bishop Hanson and the ELCA in your prayers. May God be a blessing to both.
Pastor B.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
The bridge
(I was in Chicago for the ELCA Worship Jubilee over the weekend so this blog is a day late.)
Last Wednesday the interstate 35W bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis collapsed. It’s not a span I crossed
very often in my youth, but I have been on it a few times. Because of the tragedy’s proximity to my roots, I sat mesmerized
by the unfolding events on the news channels. I called my brother to know he was safe.
Some thoughts:
"I will come like a thief" (Rev. 3:3) Every person on that bridge had plans for the evening, for the weekend, for their
lives. Those plans changed in "the twinkling of an eye" (1 Cor. 15:52) Over and over again Jesus reminds us to be ready.
Making news where there is no news and developing controversy where there is no controversy seems to be the main objective
of the news outlets who are afraid to move to regular programming even though nothing is happening.
Where is God? We certainly thank God for keeping safe those who survived the tragedy. But it’s also true that God is even
with those who died. Those who have Christ were immediately snatched from death to a seat at the heavenly banquet.
The commercial says, "Life comes at you fast." So does death.
Bridges are symbols of mankind’s dominance over nature. They are engineering and architectural marvels. Yet, given time,
nature and gravity will always win.
Bridges also symbolize connecting and overcoming differences. When physical bridges collapse, we are reminded of the precariousness
of our emotional and social bridges that also require care and maintenance.
Let us pray for those who have lost friends and loved ones in the water, concrete, and metal of the 35W tragedy. Let us
pray for the trauma of survivors and the well being of rescuers. Let us pray for the hundreds of people who will pour over
every detail to find a cause. And let us pray that we all are ready to meet God face to face at any moment.
Pastor B.
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