I believe

 

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

I believe. . .

Galatians 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Our pastor challenged us to write "I believe. .. " statements.  I could not get the Frankie Laine song (I Believe) out of my head, so I had to think of a "back door" to get to my beliefs.  My cousins are often quoting their mother who always said, "Everything will be all right, " and I thought maybe that was one way to get to my core beliefs.  What do I say all of the time?

There are two phrases I find myself repeating. One is, “Go while the gettin’ is good.” Thank goodness, Dave and I have always made quality travel experiences a priority since at this time, our health prevents us from traveling much.  Someone was surprised that I had already achieved 100 things on my “bucket list” but we travelled, skied, hiked, biked when we were young and healthy.  We might not have always lived in the largest house or driven the fanciest cars, but we chose to experience life to its fullest while we could. We loved to travel and hope to again some day.

My other frequently used phrase  is “ Life is too short for uncomfortable shoes.”  This probably began when I was in 8th grade.  I was always short, but suddenly I felt . . . .well, immature compared to my classmates.  So I went out and bought a pair of high heel shoes.  Yes, they were uncomfortable, but they made me look more mature.. . . or so I thought until I saw a reflection in a store window of myself walking.  I looked like a little girl clomping around in her mother’s high heels.  Then, I did the math.  I was 5’ tall and 3” heels made me 5’3” which was not exactly statuesque.  That was the last time I ever wore high heels.

I wore hush puppies, Dr. Scholl’s, Birkenstocks, Clarks and Merrills——insisting that there was more to life than fashionable and uncomfortable shoes.  I also took that credo to other aspects of my life.  I drive a VW Beetle which makes me smile and fits me just right. My kitchen island is shorter than counter tops so I can work comfortably. I seldom wear skirts or dresses which bind me at the waist.  I don’t watch television which makes me squirm with its language or violence.  I shut off all political diatribes on facebook by “hiding” them or blocking the original poster.  

But, lately I’ve noticed that I’ve started avoiding people and groups which make me uncomfortable, also. It probably began when I had to limit my social contact due to being immune suppressed. Also, I’ve had blood pressure issues for years.   I see a doctor regularly, but. . . .when I’m with pessimistic people, toxic people, or angry people, my blood pressure rises. Whether it’s their politics, their slant on Christianity,  or their values, I just haven’t be able to make room in my life for people who are binding and make me squirm.  If I have to limit my social contact, then I want it to be with healthy people in every aspect. So, I’ve expanded my “Life is too short for uncomfortable shoes” to “Life is too short to surround myself with people who make me uncomfortable.”  

Which bring me to my “I believe “statement. . . . I believe in freedom from things, people, places that bind me.  I believe in freedom to choose where I live, how I live, with whom I live.My DNA says that I descend from a slave in America, and now I wonder if my need for freedom and travel comes from something imbedded in my DNA. But, maybe by “choosing my social contacts” I am in truth restricting myself to just people who are like myself.  Maybe I need to break out of my “comfort zone” in order to be truly free of chains. Maybe, as my daughter suggested, those whom I see as negative or shallow, need encouragement to break their chains also.

Psalm 107:13-16 - Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness, and broke away their chains. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron.

Jaclyn Morgan

Joyful, Joyful

 

Monday, May 20, 2013

Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee

 When asked to name a hymn that filled him with joy, Frank Calkins chose this hymn as did Sherry Naylor.  Sherry says," How can you listen to that uplifting music and sing those happy words and not be full of joy?  All hymns are joyful--they praise God.  Easter service is not right without the joyful words of "Jesus Christ is Risen Today!  Alleluia!"

 When we sang it a few weeks ago during worship at St. Mark Presbyterian, I, too, had decided this was one of my favorite hymns.  As an English and German teacher, this hymn is perfect.  The lyrics are beautiful poetry and the music is Beethoven's "Hymn to Joy".  It doesn't get any better than that.  If you don't want an English teacher's analysis of the poetry, stop here and just savor the lyrics.



According to Robert J. Morgan in Then Sings My Soul, 

In 1907, Henry van Dyke was invited to preach at Williams College in Massachusetts.  At breakfast one morning, he handed the college president a piece of paper saying, "Here is a hymn for you.  Your mountains (the Berkshires) were my inspiration.  It must be sung to the music of Beethoven's 'Hymn of joy'"

Beautiful metaphors and similes create pictures that help us understand God's Grace:  Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee. . .Melt the clouds of sin and sadness. . .Fill us with the light of day.

Alliteration takes us to peaceful places:  Field and Forest, vale and mountain, Flowery meadow, flashing sea, Chanting bird and flowing fountain, Call us to rejoice in Thee.

Repetition makes us focus:  Thou art giving and forgiving, Ever blessing, ever blest.

Rhyming is also there for poetry purists:
Ever singing, march we onward, 
Victors in the midst of strife,
Joyful music leads us sunward
In the triumph song of life.

RoMANce

Dancing in Berlin NY Eve

Why are my memories of Germany so vivid?

Was it because that was my first love?

Or because it’s an older memory

recently unlocked.

Was dancing in a ballroom really 

more romantic than dancing

 in a low ceilinged rented room ?

Who am I kidding?

Waltzing in a ballroom with soft lights

is always better than a dark rented room

with bodies standing and swaying to the rhythm.

Dancing in ski lodge

Was skiing in the Alps really

more romantic than Colorado or Michigan?

Who am I kidding?

Skiing in the Alps with lunch in a mountain pub

or our evenings of drinking, dancing and laughing

in a warm wood-lined chalet

is better than a cheap hostel room with flourescent lights .

At 21, the romance was important—-the fulfillment of many teenage dreams.

At 25, the reality of a good partnership was more important 

than any fantasy.

I missed some of the German romance but,

my priorities had changed.

While I loved both men, 

one would have never passed the test of daily life together.

While the other, not colored by the fantasy of romance, 

saw success together

despite several bumps in the road.

And now, this 80 year old woman sees that 

I always needed both: practical realism

with a touch of romance and fantasy. . . .

if it’s not too late.

(P.S.  I don't recall the names of the men in the photos, 1966/7)

The Ties that Bind

 

Monday, July 8, 2013

Blessed Be the Tie that Binds

 Phil Keim said "Blessed Be the Tie that Binds"  was his mother's favorite hymn and has become one of his favorites, too.  For me, I am taken back 50 years to a play in high school:  Our Town.  I had never sung the hymn until this play. (Yes, I am in the photo above) Singing it three times nightly, it became a favorite of mine, too.

1 Blest be the tie that binds
our hearts in Christian love;
the fellowship of kindred minds
is like to that above. 

 

2 Before our Father's throne
we pour our ardent prayers;
our fears, our hopes, our aims are one,
our comforts and our cares.

Although most people think of the ties as being Christian ties that bind us together, for Thornton Wilder, the author of Our Town, to have it sung three times during the play, it meant something else to him.  The first time it was sung was when Emily and George met at church in the choir.

3 We share our mutual woes,
our mutual burdens bear,
and often for each other flows
the sympathizing tear. 

 

4 When we are called to part,
it gives us inward pain;
but we shall still be joined in heart,
and hope to meet again. 

 

5 This glorious hope revives
our courage by the way;
while each in expectation lives
and waits to see the day.

The second time it was sung was on their wedding day.  So, "the ties" here were marital ties for a couple beginning their lives together with "mutual woes" "but we shall still be joined in heart."

6 From sorrow, toil, and pain,
and sin, we shall be free;
and perfect love and friendship reign
through all eternity. 

The third time it is sung is after Emily's death.  "The ties" are this time the ones that join the living and the dead.  Emily is seen below in her wedding dress in the cemetery with other townsfolk.  She ponders her life.  With the hymn again being sung at her funeral, the emphasis is on death being a part of life---it is another stage often misunderstood by the living. "We shall be free; and perfect love and friendship reign through all eternity."

Betrayal

 

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Betrayal

The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

47 While Jesus was yet speaking, a crowd came. And he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss Him. 48 But Jesus said to him, “Judas, do you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”

49 When those who were around Him saw what would follow, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” 50 And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.

51 But Jesus said, “This is enough!” And He touched his ear and healed him.

52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, and captains of the temple guard, and the elders who had come for Him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as against a rebel? 53 Daily, while I was with you in the temple, you did not lay hands on Me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness!”

Luke 22: 55-62

Betrayal. . . . while I don't recall many incidents of being betrayed, that feeling of having betrayed someone has never gone away---the guilt and the knowledge that I had hurt someone.  I don't think I've intentionally betrayed someone. . . .usually it's a betrayal of not acting. . .of staying in the shadows and watching injustice being done to someone undeserving just like some of the disciples at Jesus's arrest.

But sometimes, the betrayal has been more like Judas-- so focused on a goal that I didn't realize the consequences of my actions: that I had trampled on someone to reach my goal.  Those times are the most gut wrenching.  When Jesus said, "Judas, do you betray the son of Man with a kiss."  I can imagine Judas's eyes getting wider, getting focused with what he had done.  Suddenly he was seeing clearly what the priests had intended to do all along once Jesus was identified. He could clearly see that he had sparked the fire which was going to set the world ablaze.

...And, then when he  saw what the outcome could be, panic set in with that punch in the stomach feeling. . . . 

But, is it any more of a betrayal than those who stood by and didn't defend  Jesus?  Those who stood in the shadows, watched and remained silent as Jesus was arrested. Betrayal is betrayal---whether it's from standing by and watching or from identifying Jesus with a kiss.  And, don't we betray Jesus every time we stand by or let our pursuit of our goals hurt another.

Dear God, open our eyes to the many times we have betrayed Jesus and his teachings with our actions and our inactions.   Open our eyes to injustice, suffering, hunger, strife before it's too late.  Open our eyes when we unintentionally hurt someone on our way to fulfilling a dream.  Open our eyes to the consequences of our actions.  Help us to step out of the shadows and into the light on His path:  being faithful to Jesus's teachings and not betraying Him.  

From Maundy Thursday Worship Service 2017 by J. Morgan