Lord, have mercy upon us...

 Dear Friends

The challenge of taping your Sunday service and sermon a few days before it is “delivered”, is that the news can change. (Also, you can't change the hymns, as I used to do sometimes!) 

If I were preaching on the Day of Pentecost this Sunday in real time, it would be hard to ignore what has/is happening in Minneapolis, and what continues to be heard from one of the residents at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. 

Two verses from 2 of the 18 hymns in our Hymnal about the Holy Spirit come to mind.

I dedicate the fourth verse of hymn #508 to the memory of George Floyd: 

Breathe on me, Breath of God, so shall I never die;

But live with thee the perfect life, of thine eternity

And while many are guilty of sowing seeds of division, the tone is set at the top. And so, to all who are tempted to keep it up, I would ask them to consider praying the third verse of hymn #513:

With the healing of division,

With the ceaseless voice of prayer

With the power to love and witness,

With the peace beyond compare:

Come, Holy Spirit, Come!

(And it would also help to review the fruits of the spirit 

as listed in Galatians 5:22!)

John

P.S. Fruits of the Spirit picture is painted on the wall in the St. Dunstan’s nursery.

Birthday Blog May 25, 2020

Dear Friends

Mindful that he is a controversial figure, which came to light again when he was under the microscope during his hurdle filled path to sainthood, I like these words written by Fr. Junipero Serra. But I don’t take them literally.

Life is to be lived forward (day by day, of course!). We should adopt Paul’s mindset as he writes to the Philippians (3:14), “Forgetting what lies behind, and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.”

But as I celebrate my 68^th birthday today, I cannot help but look back and give thanks for so many wonderful memories, more than I could have ever imagined, more than I deserve. And as I near the end of my first three years of retirement, my recent memory book is overflowing. Who knew I would be blessed to continue to serve congregations in Hawaii, Alaska and now Carmel Valley, California?

During this pandemic, I, and I suspect others in their “seniorish” years, look back knowing that some opportunities and adventures may no longer be possible, or at least will have to be postponed. I still dream of a grand road trip across America to see things “one more time” and discover and visit new sites. I hope to sing in a full church again someday. I want to drop in on my Dodgers during spring training and enjoy another Dodger Dog under the bright Arizona sun and skies.

We all must go forward; it is the best way and direction to live. But it is okay to look in the rear view mirror once in a while. It is okay if only for a quick glance, if only for a reminder that the good Lord who brought all of us safely to May 25, 2020, is not going to abandon us now or prevent us from enjoying different and surprising fresh blessings, in the new world being created before our eyes.

John

Change

Dear Friends

Change. I’m not talking about coins in a pocket or coins in a fountain or coins lost in a car seat. I’m not talking about changes in seasons or styles, diets or moods, or changes that come with “a new sheriff in town”.

I am talking about the current phrase that is coming at the end of the sentence, whenever we speak of anything in the future. I will be staying at St. Dunstan’s a bit longer than first expected, subject to change. Kathleen and I will be going home in a couple of weeks to take care of some business, subject to change. I will be having lunch with Clayton Kershaw, (Dodger’s pitcher), next week…well, that’s not subject to change...it’s not happening for sure.

Even the most important information we long for right now, including rules and guidelines about dealing with and understanding this virus, is subject to change. Changing the channel can change your mood from being hopeful to being alarmed, but I’m talking about what apolitical doctors and scientists and studies are saying. The honest ones are admitting “it’s subject to change”. A vaccine might coming sooner than expected. Or not.

How is one to plan for anything in this “subject to change” world? How can anyone be sure about what to do or not to do when even experts’ opinions are subject to change, like a weatherman and all his or her data and metrics and models and maps, still only making the best prediction at that time.

Phrases from two hymns and a prayer help me. “Changed from glory into glory, till in heaven we take our place” reminds me that I am a lifelong “work in progress” under the supervision of a God who loves me along the way, no matter what. “Me through change and chance he guideth” gives me the same assurance. And that phrase leads me to the prayer which says, “may we who are wearied by the changes and chances of life, rest in His eternal changelessness”.

Change? Well, that’s my two cents worth for now. Subject to change!

John