The Poor and Politics

There has been a lot of press about the poor and those unemployed who live at, near or below the poverty rate. Some of our national leaders seem to think that the poor are lazy, satisfied with being poor, have a "safety net," pleased to be on welfare, and on and on. Dorothy Day, a Christian social activist of the past generation, said "The true atheist is the one who denies God's image in the 'least of these'." Truth is often clear and simple yet neither recognized nor well received.

Those Who Walk With God

How lovely are the faces of those who walk with God, Lit with an inner sureness of the path their feet have trod.
How gentle is the manner of those who walk with Him; no strength can overcome them, and no cloud their courage dim.
Keen are the hands and feet, Ah yes, of those who wait His will; and clear as crystal mirrors are the hearts His love does fill.
Some lives are drear from doubt and fear, while others merely plod; But lovely faces mark all those who walk and talk with God.
(An unknown author, "Those Who Walk With God" bookmark)

Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration

Today is the Sunday of Martin Luther King, Jr's 2012 holiday celebration. I'm at home because of illness in the family. I decided this would be an excellent opportunity to watch and/or hear several church services. So, I tuned in. I watched and/or listened to several evangelical Protestant worship services this morning (where are the others?) None of the churches that I had tuned into spoke about Martin Luther King, Jr. and his message of prejudice that hinders equality. Why were these pulpits silent? One of our culture's significant problems is the failure of equality. That struggle is more subtle than in the past. We've legislated against the most obvious types of social segregation but, we have a lot of work to accomplish with personal and social prejudice. We deny prejudice in ourselves and that makes it difficult to root out. All the churches I listened to had well-planned worship services and they offered a variety of types of music to fit one's personal preferences. All of the preachers were excellent speakers. However, given this special holiday that not only honors the Christian Prophet of this generation but, also, draws our attention to the ministry of challenging prejudice, these churches were silent. I hope they aren't representative of most churches.

2012's New Year's Resolutions

My News Year's resolutions are simple. I like my vocation so I'll continue. I like receiving spiritual direction so I'll continue. I like Member Care with mission families so I'll continue. I like teaching at the Seminary so I'll continue. I like going to the Abbey of Gethsemani every month as a Lay Cistercian so I'll continue. One time a retreatant asked Father Matthew Kelty why so many folks come to the Abbey for a retreat. He answered that it might be because at the Abbey there is nothing to do and you have all day to do it. Being at the Abbey for a few days each month helps to slow one's self so perspective can be regained. I like the idea of not being tied to a telephone so I'll continue not owning a cell phone. I like reading classic spirituality books so I'll continue reading these books. I'm thinking that most new books are basically a restating of what was written hundreds of years ago. I like living simply so I'll continue as best I can. For example, when I purchase one piece of clothing I give a comparable piece of clothing from my closet to the Church's clothing store. In this spiritual discipline I'm not adding to my wardrobe, just replacing. I like going to church so I'll continue. I like the results of keeping a spiritual journal which I review each month with my Spiritual Director so I'll continue. My spiritual journal is based on the Daily Examen with the question, "Where have I experienced God's presence in the past twenty-four hours?" In my Bible readings I've been with the "Sermon on the Mount" so I'll continue. Well, you get the idea of my New Year's resolutions. I know that there are a lot of things I need to change or do better, but I'm not much into New Year's resolutions.

A Different Christmas perspective

It is early Christmas morning in our home. My wife and brother will be up soon. Our son, daughter-in-law and a friend will arrive soon. This morning I'm grateful for a warm house with indoor plumbing. That wasn't true for a home I visited a couple of years ago in Russia. We had to wear our coats in that house. Ice formed on the inside of the windows. The only heat was a small stove in the corner of the main room. Water was brought inside from a well. The toilet was outside. Nevertheless, the extended family had gathered for a simple meal, singing and Christmas. There were no gifts but the house was full of laughter and joy. In a couple of hours we will have our Christmas breakfast. We will have a table full of biscuits, eggs, cinnamon rolls, grits, ham, orange juice, etc. There will be a lot of food for our family and friends. I recall not very many years ago visiting an African bush-Church where the presiding elder prayed for generosity. He hoped their church would have a few coins so that they could buy a chicken. He wanted their children to have meat in their Christmas soup. In spite of their poverty and hunger, that church was full of joyful and grateful people as they looked forward to Christmas. My Christmas perspective has changed.

The Draper Street Hill Fight

Family is important. I grew up surrounded by family and family friends. My uncle Charles and aunt Myrtle lived immediately behind us and the fence had been cut down so we could go back and forth. He owned a bakery and would have donuts in his truck. He never said anything if I took only a couple. My Granny, mother's mom, lived sorta across-the-street. You had to cut through Mrs. Snellings yard and then you were in Granny's side yard. They didn't have fences. Mrs. Snellings daughter was my mother's best friend all through grade school and high school. So, Mrs. Snellings was like Granny #2. Granny's husband died before I was born so Mrs. Romberg rented the side bedroom in Granny's house. Mrs Romberg was like Granny #3. Two houses down from Granny's lived another uncle and aunt. Hugh and Loren were Presbyterians which was unusual in the family because everyone was not only Baptist but members of the Immanuel Baptist Church. They had two kids with whom I played all of the time. In among all this neighborhood family, lived long-time friends who were like family. There are advantages and disadvantages of growing up surrounded by family and family friends. One of the advantages were the many bathrooms accessible whenever you needed to go. You just had to run in a house and yell your name. Also, in these many neighborhood kitchens, someone seemed always to be baking goodies that seemed always available for a hungry kid. A disadvantage was that everybody knew your business. One time David and I were on our way to school when we got into a pushing fight. David was my best friend and we always walked or ran to school together because school was only two blocks up the Draper street hill. In this fight, one of us fell into Mrs. O'Connell's bush and broke some of the limbs. We got out of the bush real fast and ran on to school. We thought we had made it because Mrs. O'Connell hadn't come out and yelled at us. She must have known all of the women in the neighborhood because they came to her back room and had the hair fixed every week. When David and I got to school, Mr. Sercey met us. He was the Principal. He asked if we had fought and broken Mrs. O'Connell bush. We couldn't lie, even though we really wanted to, because he was a Sunday School teacher in our Department at the Immanuel Baptist Church. We had to confess. He told us that Mrs. O'Connell had called him and he had called both of our Dad's who said that we should get a paddling. David and I leaned over Principal's Sercey's desk and he paddled us each one time with a wooden paddle. The hardest thing about being a boy in grade school and getting paddled is not to cry. Getting paddled was hard enough but years later when I was a college student at Oklahoma Baptist University, Mr. Sercey was one of my professors and he not only remembered but, also, told te class about the paddling. That's an example of a disadvantage of growing up surrounded by family and family friends.

Bobby and the penny

Bobby is my younger brother who is developmentally disabled. During a recent colonoscopy a pre-cancerous polyp was found. It was in a bend so it was difficult to completely remove. Yesterday was the third effort to get all of it. If this failed the Physician was going to schedule him for major surgery in order to remove that part of his colon. After yesterday's procedure the Physician said, "I got clean tissue. So, I think we've avoided the major surgery." When Bobby began to wake up in the recovery room, his first thick-lipped comment was did I still have the penny he had found in the parking lot of Wal-Mart and would I put it in his bank account. Well, thanks-be-to-God I had a penny in my pocket. Therefore all is well. We are thankful that he has avoided major surgery.