WATCHWORD:
1-3 Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way,
all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it.
Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins.
Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in.
Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—
that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way:
Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God.
When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item,
that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!
4-11 In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you,
to say nothing of what Jesus went through—all that bloodshed!
So, don’t feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten
how good parents treat children,
and that God regards you as his children?
Hebrews 12:1-11 Message
Humor in Scripture: This is Sorta-Silly Saturday
“Let beer be for those who are perishing, wine for those who are in anguish!” (Proverbs 31:6) (Toby Keith tells us that beer was for the horses!)
You’re so beautiful, my darling, so beautiful,
and your dove eyes are veiled by your hair as it flows and shimmers,
like a flock of goats in the distance streaming down a hillside in the sunshine.
Your smile is generous and full—expressive and strong and clean.
Your lips are jewel red, your mouth elegant and inviting,
your veiled cheeks soft and radiant. The smooth, lithe lines of your neck
command notice—all heads turn in awe and admiration! Your breasts are like fawns,
twins of a gazelle, grazing among the first spring flowers.
Song of Solomon 4:1-5
What happened to the romantic man?
3-4 As an apricot tree stands out in the forest,
my lover stands above the young men in town.
All I want is to sit in his shade,
to taste and savor his delicious love.
He took me home with him for a festive meal,
but his eyes feasted on me!
Song of Solomon 2:4
Or the romantic woman?
Meditation:
What are you doing in this isolation to keep your mind working and your hands active? I could not help but notice so many nests, piles of stuff that I wanted to get to “someday”. Well, I tackled one of those nests a few days ago and I came across a book that was given to me in 1972 entitled Pop/Rock Lyrics 3, Copyright 1971. It was surprising to me how prophetic some of those lyrics were, that I hardly paid much attention to them, back then.
Let’s review. Remember this by Joni Mitchell? Can you name it?
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique and a swinging hot spot.
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone?
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.
How about this:
Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away.
Now it looks as though they’re here to stay.
Oh, I believe in yesterday.
Did you guess The Beatles? You’d be right, John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
One more. This one I had to google before it came to me in the voice of Diane Ross. It came out in 1970, entitled Reach Out and Touch Somebody’s Hand, by Nicholas Ashford and Valerie Simpson.
Reach out and touch somebody’s hand.
Make this world a better place if you can.
Reach out and touch somebody’s hand.
Make this world a better place if you can.
So, What? I hear you. What does that have to do with a morning meditation? I’m not sure, but what I do believe is that whether the song is a hymn, a classic, a pop, or a rock, or rap, blues or jazz, or country or western, or carries a calypso beat, it is the creation of the Creator. It makes no difference if the message is carried by the melody, or the lyrics, or the way it touches your heart and makes it beat, or your eyes water, or your toes to tap, or you can’t keep your feet from dancin’. You know what that is? That’s God talking to us.
Sometimes the songwriter hits the nail right on the head…Make this world a better place. Or the words touch us with nostalgia…Yesterday. Or, perhaps, conjures up guilt…You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.
Oh, I can hear the wheels in your head spinning and your mind racing saying, some of that stuff that’s out there now is not music. It’s rude, it’s vulgar, some of it is plain nasty and some of it should be censored. Some of the words in so-called modern music makes me blush.
Oh, I don’t disagree with you. Yes, some of it is not my cup of tea, it’s not my style, is not what I like to listen to. Not only that but I’m sure some of you were thinking I don’t even want my grandchildren to listen to that. It’s just plain awful.
My kids grew up on John Denver, Neil diamond, Barbra Streisand, James Taylor, while I grew up in a household that treasured The Wittnauer Watch Hour of classical music and every hymn that was ever sung in the Congregational Church. So, you can see my taste in music is above reproach.
Let me hit ‘pause’. What is the purpose of music, painting, sculpture, literature? I believe it is to touch us, deeply, with God’s love. It is, after all, His creativity, His imagination, His communication, reaching out to His children, all of His children.
We don’t listen to the same stuff. We may support different political parties. We may not all be fans of the Chicago Cubs (which is hard for me to understand!).
Okay, the point is, we are God’s children, each person with her/his own bias. Remember that free choice thing? That grace from God. He uses such things as art, and music, and literature, and foods, don’t forget the foods, all other expressions of taste, and appreciation. He is showing us such a broad palate, and we choose.
Back to food; You remember, the good stuff we just couldn’t get enough of? Like liver, poi, kimchi, skink, haggis, blood pudding, calf brain. Yum! Oh, not your cup of tea? Why does God offer all those? Hmmm.
Variety. We like variety, maybe just not so much of it? I think we lean more toward sameness; People that look like us, act like us, listen to the same kind of music, root for the same team, vote for the same political party, eat generally the same kinds of foods, and it would be nice if they attended the “right” church.
Maybe that’s God’s point. We are all God’s children, that is the common denominator. He gifted his children with creativity and free choice, so we have Bach and Beatles, Colts and Patriots, skink and kimchi. I’m not sure how we got haggis!
Do I hear a song coming on? Listen, there it is…what the world needs now, is love, sweet love, It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of, What the world needs now is love sweet love, No, not just for some but for everyone.
Bulletin Board:
Stan – The old man turned off the radio, said; ”Where did all the old songs go? Kids sure play funny music these days. They play it in the strangest ways. Said, “It looks to me like they’ve all gone wild. It was peaceful back when I was a child.” Well, man, could it be that the girls and boys are trying to be heard above your noise? And the lonely voice of youth cries, “what is Truth?… This old world’s wakin’ to a new born day, and I solemnly swear that it’ll be their way. You better help the voice of youth, find “What is truth?” Johnny Cash, 1970.
One of Us — I don’t know about the rest of you, but I know when I watch news broadcasts highlighting heroes who are going far beyond the call of duty, or stories of families who, for the first time, are spending quality time together for extended periods and you can just see the love, or of reports that honor those who have lost their lives in service to others, I tear up; tears of loss, tears of honor, tears of joy, tears of respect and knowledge that we, indeed, are in this together. Even though it’s sad, you honor their lives by watching, even when it creates a lump in your throat that’s hard to get rid of. I’m just saying that heroes I worth our honoring. So many of our heroes are right there in your families, in our communities, in our circle of friends. Your neighbors down the hall, and on staff.
Too, often, though, I come away angry. Some of us come away depressed. Some come away feeling lost, without hope. We need to be aware of those feelings within ourselves and within our circle of contacts, and reach out. We are in this together. You, me, God. Together.
Closing Prayer:
Dear God, thank you for your amazing power and work in our lives, thank you for your goodness and for your blessings over us. Thank you for your great love and care. Thank you for your sacrifice so that we might have freedom and life. Forgive us for when we don’t thank you enough, for who you are, for all that you do, for all that you’ve given. Help us to set our eyes and our hearts on you afresh. Renew our spirits, fill us with your peace and joy. We love you and we need you, this day and every day. We give you praise and thanks, for You alone are worthy! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
