Memorial or Decoration Day

My Uncle Charles lived with his wife, Myrtle, immediately behind our home when I was a child in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Uncle Charles owned a bakery and on some occasions my parents would let me get up early in the morning so I could go with him on the deliveries. He delivered not only to grocery stores but, also, to some houses. I think this is why I'm drawn to bakeries and fresh baked goods. Uncle Charles had a heart attack and died. I recall the extended family gathering at their house. However, I do not have any memories of the funeral or burial. What I do recall, however, were Decoration Days or Memorial Days when the extended family gathered at the cemetery and decorated the graves of our family members, most of whom I never knew except for Uncle Charles. I recall that we, my cousins, my brother and I, would run and play among the tombstones while the adults placed flowers on the graves and trimmed the grass. We were repeatedly told that our activities weren't 'respectful' and we needed to stop. I guess we were too young to know what 'respectful' meant because after a brief pause we continued with our playing. After all these years, I think Uncle Charles liked the flowers and to have his grave grass trimmed but, I think he liked best to have his young nephews and nieces running and having a fun time around his grave. He was just that kind of person.

How Did We Change?

I came of age in the 1960s while in college, graduate school and Seminary. I was greatly influenced by Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. President Kennedy's statement, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country" captured and influenced the spirit of those times. It has certainly been a significant part of my life's motivation. That spirit motivated our country to establish the Peace Corps, land a man on the moon and develop the war on poverty. Those movements were expensive but we joined together for their payment and involvement. I fear we have changed. As I listen to debates, read letters to the editors and hear about talk radio and television, I fear our attitude has changed. It seems to me that our attitude is "What can the country do for me?" I desire a leader who can help us frame a vision that unites all of us in causes that are larger than our specific interests. Surely such an attitude would lift us above our selfish interests.

Looks like racism to me

For the past several weeks a potential Presidential candidate has raised again the issue of President Obama’s birth. These folks are called “birthers.” They suspect that he is not a naturally born American citizen and, therefore, ineligible to be the President of these United States. This is an issue that continues to raise its ugly head repeatedly in many ways and in various places. I think this is racism. Yes, racism that still says every so subtly, “Go to the back of the bus and let us white folks sit up front.” If President Obama were a white person with a name like Smith or Jones, I doubt that this would ever have been an issue. Certainly, we have much more work to do regarding this issue of racial equality. Much of that work needs to be in our own hearts and behaviors as well as in the public arena. We didn’t eradicate racism with the legislation of the 1960s and 70s. It is still among us and it is primarily lodged in our hearts. It effects our relations with Afro-Americans, Asians, Native Americans, Hispanics, Gypsies, etc. I hope that not only others but, also, myself, will continually search our hearts so that we see the image God in every person, regardless of their culture, language, etc. and not fall into the thinking that because we're white Americans that somehow makes us better than others.

Silence as a Spiritual Discipline

In my Spiritual Formation class we will discuss silence as a spiritual discipline. I like the definition of silence that Dr. Wayne Oates penned in his 1979 book, Nurturing Silence in a Noisy Heart. He wrote, "Silence ... is not just not talking. Silence is a discipline of choosing what to say and what not to say. Nurturing silence, then, is the growth of the power of discernment as to what will be the focus of your attention, care, and commitment. If you limit what you say to what is true, if you limit yourself to what can be spoken in love, then you will have much less to say. What you do say, though, will have a hundred times more influence." (pg. 9-10) His definition sounds like Philippians 4:8 which says that we need to think on things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, gracious, excellent and worthy of praise. Many of us talk too much. I'm a Minister and we have a serious vocational malady--we are too fond of words, especially our own. I think most ministers talk too much, especially when we have a captive audience on Sundays. Not just Ministers but I've grown weary of our national leaders and their speeches, debates, talk shows, etc. In my opinion, they do a lot of talking that doesn't follow the Biblical principles in Philippians, even though a lot of their talking is defending the concept that we are a Christian nation. I wish our leaders, along with us Ministers, would practice the spiritual discipline of silence.

Being "nice" and dipping at the lake house

I recall when I first saw someone take a chip and dip it into something. My parents were with their friends at a lake house for the weekend. My brother, myself and their son were playing on the boat when everyone was called to supper. The folks had grilled some burgers and hot dogs. We came up to eat and on the table sat, among other things, a bowl of chips and a bowl of dip. I recognized the chips but I didn't know what they called "the dip" and I sure didn't know what to do with it. I watched as my friend took a chip, slid it through "the dip," popped it into his mouth and ate it. I did likewise. My mother leaned over to me and said very quietly, "That didn't look nice, put the dip on your plate." Nice was one of Mom's favorite words. So, I had dip on my plate even though my friend and his parents dipped into the bowl with their chips. That incident didn't seem like a big deal because we ate quickly in order to get back to the boat. The next day at lunch, however, I was shocked as Mom and Dad were both dipping out of the bowl with their chips. Mom said it was "Okay." I guess all of life is about learning new things, even figuring out what "nice" really means.

Spring is in the air

We are having rain, lots of rain. There are numerous flood watches and warnings throughout our Commonwealth of Kentucky. There are also every-so-slight evidences of spring. Our front yard Crabapple tree has the smallest green buds poking out of the bark. You have to get close to see them, but they are there. When the buds begin to appear, they push the last of the berries--those that somehow survived the winter--off the tree and onto the sidewalk. It is kinda messy but another sign that spring is close at hand. Sometimes our bad habits are like that Crabapple tree and its fruit. The fruit/habits survive our determined efforts, but then new and healthy habits push, the older ones away. Ash Wednesday is this week, and it is similar to those green buds--a sign that redemption/life has always been present, even if it didn't look like it, and First Fruits (First Fruits is the Biblical word for Easter) is coming. The other signs of spring are the beginning of basketball tournaments, and baseball has begun its spring training games. Go "Wildcats" and "Reds." Yes, spring is in the air with the promise of new life.

Labeling people doesn't seem very helpful

I'm not convinced that labeling people is helpful. If a person is a financial conservative does that mean he or she is always a financial conservative? I know folks who wouldn't spend a nickle on new clothes for themselves yet will give their family members hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. So, are they a financial conservative or liberal? Perhaps it is best to think of conservative to liberal on a continuum depending upon the question, situation, etc. I suspect most of us would fall all over such a continuum.

For example, the news stories of this week have my responses all over that continuum. I support unions but not in situations where they abuse their collective power. I really appreciated this week's PBS interview with the Governor of Montana who entered into a respectful negotiation with the Montana State Employees Union and together they developed a fair budget that involved some give and take. I support small business owners but not when employees aren't paid a fair salary. My parents were small business owners. On frequent occasions I heard my parents say that one of the reasons for their furniture store was to support the employee's families. We need large corporations. I think some corporate executives make too much money. However, some corporate executives aren't paid sufficiently for the large oversight and vision they must have. I support greater restrictions for mountain top coal removal and the need for Federal involvement. I support coal mining because it is a source of energy and jobs. I also support investing in renewable sources of energy. I think our Universities need to be doing research but, also, remember that their primary purpose is teaching. I could go further, especially in religious matters, but you can see my thoughts.

I'm all over this continuum of conservative to liberal. So, don't hang a single label on me because of one issue and I'll try not to do that to you. I wish our leaders would respect each other sufficiently so that they could enter into honest conversations and decision-making. Labeling seems neither respectful nor accurate.