I was awakened
early this morning by the birds singing their sweet songs. I mistakenly
thought it was 8:00 AM when I awoke from a deep sleep. To my summer
amazement it was 4:00 AM.
The
Lord blessed us with a wonderful weekend. It was sunny and very balmy
Saturday. The temperature at the local High School outdoor sign the temperature
registered at 103 F. People were heading out to the mountains,
beaches, and campgrounds. One of our daughters spent a few days in
Cancun. Mexico. Our family in Boston spent the weekend at Cape Cod,
MA. The Lord blessed us all in our respected places with a fabulous
weekend. He has blessed in His House on the Lord's day. Alice and I
watched the Memorial Day concert that was broadcast from the
premises of our US Capitol building in Washington, DC. It was
breathtaking, heart-wrenching, and very powerful.
I
was asked to participate in Marathon's Memorial Day celebrations and
activities. The Main event was held at the " City Center" on
the Village Green. It was a mega-celebration, filled with patriotic zeal
and fervor. The local veterans were in charge of the observance and
celebration. The High School marching band also participated. Almost
the whole town, it seemed, including the surrounding area came for
this solemn yet celebrative event. I was, for the first time, part of the Memorial Day celebration
hosted by the veterans of the Foreign wars. It was moving and humbling. Memorial Day, in a
deeper way, is a day when we celebrate "Sorrow and tears". It especially a time to honor those who have fought and died
for the freedoms we enjoy, but it also a time when families visit the graves of their loved ones placing
flowers. Memorial Day 2016 has come and gone, the day when nation
pays tribute and homage to the brave men and women who have paid the
ultimate sacrifice for the sake of freedoms and liberty around the corner
and around the globe.
Alice
and I visited the cemetery where my In-laws are buried. It was a
beautiful day yesterday. Our drive through some of the majestic
countryside was heart warming and purely beautiful. We spent the late
evening planting our new garden in a new location. It is mega-garden.
Our friend Keith C, and his wife C. have made part of their farm land our
Garden Home for 2016. It is very large. They have ploughed,
harrowed, and fertilized. We went up just to plant. My
brother, who is a born gardener, helped in planting. We planted
tomatoes, peppers, egg plants, beans, herbs, potatoes, and numerous other
vegetables. Our hearts were jubilant, our hands were swift, and our
hearts were mirthful, praising the Lord for all wonders of creation.
There are hundreds of beehives are near our garden spot. There
is also a spectacular view of the mountains, valleys, and farms. It
is indeed therapeutic and soul filling.
During
the Memorial Day concert from the steps of the US Capitol many were moved to
tears and grief. I read a simple yet a
very profound story by Mary Lewis . The story goes like this:
“Alexander M. Sanders, Jr., is the Chief Judge of the South Carolina Court of
Appeals. When his daughter Zoe graduated from the University of South Carolina
in 1992, he told this story that happened when she was just three years old.
Sanders came home from work one day to find his home — and especially his young
daughter — in a state of turmoil. Zoe’s pet turtle had died, and she was crying
as if her heart would break. Zoe’s mother had been dealing with the situation
all day and declared that it was now Dad’s turn to try and make things better.
Although he was successful both as a lawyer and a politician, who confidently
faced all kinds of complex issues and problems every day, this seemed out of
his league. The mysteries of life and death are difficult, if not impossible
for the mature mind to fathom. The task of explaining them to a three-year-old
was completely beyond either his confidence or experience. But he tried. First,
he told Zoe that they could go to the pet store and buy another one just like
the one who had died. Even at three years old, Zoe was smart enough to know
that a turtle is not a toy. There’s really no such thing as getting another one
just like the one who died. And so Zoe’s tears continued. Desperate to quiet
his little girl’s tears, he said, ‘I tell you what, we’ll have a funeral for
the turtle.’ Being three years old, she didn’t know what a funeral was.
Scrambling to come up with an explanation — as well as something that would get
her mind off the turtle’s demise, he said, ‘A funeral is like a birthday party.
We’ll have ice cream and cake and lemonade and balloons, and all the children
in the neighborhood will come over to our house to play. All because the turtle
died.’ Well, the prospect of a turtle funeral did the trick. Instantly, Zoe was
her happy, smiling self. The turtle’s death was no longer cause for tears, but
reason to rejoice So, with visions of cake and ice cream in their heads the two
beamed down on the deceased turtle lying at their feet. As they did, the turtle
began to move. And a few seconds later, he was crawling away as lively as —
well, as lively as a turtle, but an undeniably LIVE turtle. Then an even
stranger thing happened. Sanders — a politician and a lawyer — was speechless.
Zoe had no such problem. After considering her options, she looked up at her
father with her big beautiful eyes and — with all the innocence of her tender
years — she said quietly, ‘Daddy, Let’s kill it.’” Jesus our Lord said:
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted
Zoe’s solution may have been a little off center, but her conclusion was right on. She understood from her father that he was going to make everything all right; that her mourning would be turned to joy; that a celebration of laughter would make her forget her tears. Our Father is telling us the same thing: He is going to make everything all right and restore our fortunes; our mourning will
Zoe’s solution may have been a little off center, but her conclusion was right on. She understood from her father that he was going to make everything all right; that her mourning would be turned to joy; that a celebration of laughter would make her forget her tears. Our Father is telling us the same thing: He is going to make everything all right and restore our fortunes; our mourning will
be turned to joy, and
a celebration of laughter, greater than anything we could ever imagine, will
make us forget all the sorrows we have experienced.
The message of the Gospel, is that the kingdom of God has overcome the kingdom of this world. A day of ultimate justice is coming when our Father will heal the wounds of our hearts and fill us with inexpressible joy. Isaiah prophesied of the day when the people of God “will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away” (Isaiah 35:10). Isaiah said that God’s purpose for his people was, “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair” (Isaiah 61:2-3). The Good News of Jesus our Lord, in the beatitudes is that heaven will more than make up for any wrongs we have had to endure here. Are you poor? You will inherit the kingdom of God Are you hungry now? You will be satisfied Are you weeping now? You will laugh Are you being persecuted? Leap for joy, because you have a reward coming
Stanley Hauerwas and Will Willimon Pastors and theologians in our United Methodist church, in their book Resident Aliens remind us that the beatitudes are not imperatives, they are indicatives. These are not new rules of morality that Jesus is commanding us to follow. These are simple statements of how life sometimes is. Living in this world we are sometimes poor, if not materially, we are poor in spirit — humiliated, shamed, rejected, downcast. We are often hungry, if not for food, for reality, for the reign of justice and righteousness. We often weep, over our own condition and the condition of our families, as well as the rest of the human race. But all of that is going to change. We are looking forward to a new day. Peter wrote: “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness” (2 Peter 3:10-13).
In Christ,
The message of the Gospel, is that the kingdom of God has overcome the kingdom of this world. A day of ultimate justice is coming when our Father will heal the wounds of our hearts and fill us with inexpressible joy. Isaiah prophesied of the day when the people of God “will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away” (Isaiah 35:10). Isaiah said that God’s purpose for his people was, “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair” (Isaiah 61:2-3). The Good News of Jesus our Lord, in the beatitudes is that heaven will more than make up for any wrongs we have had to endure here. Are you poor? You will inherit the kingdom of God Are you hungry now? You will be satisfied Are you weeping now? You will laugh Are you being persecuted? Leap for joy, because you have a reward coming
Stanley Hauerwas and Will Willimon Pastors and theologians in our United Methodist church, in their book Resident Aliens remind us that the beatitudes are not imperatives, they are indicatives. These are not new rules of morality that Jesus is commanding us to follow. These are simple statements of how life sometimes is. Living in this world we are sometimes poor, if not materially, we are poor in spirit — humiliated, shamed, rejected, downcast. We are often hungry, if not for food, for reality, for the reign of justice and righteousness. We often weep, over our own condition and the condition of our families, as well as the rest of the human race. But all of that is going to change. We are looking forward to a new day. Peter wrote: “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness” (2 Peter 3:10-13).
In Christ,
Brown
