Tag: inspiration (Page 1 of 2)

Communication is a skill often mangled—not necessarily due to complex, confusing use of the English language. Many factors encroach upon it making effective communication difficult; ego, haste, mispronunciation, as well as missing information, often cloud clarity.

A near disastrous example of mangled communication occurred June 1815. British armed forces faced the unconquered Napoleon in the apocalyptic battle of Waterloo. The British waited with bated breath to learn of the battle’s outcome. Their only means of communication was with distant lanterns in a church steeple, using the Morse Code. Finally, the flashing message began; “Wellington defeated…” immediately a fog closed in on the lantern in the church steeple. The British panicked, losing hope. The British Board of Trade swooned in fear. Then as if by magic, the fog lifted, allowing the lantern to send again, this time, the full message; Wellington defeated Napoleon at Waterloo.

Likely one of the most famous comments about mcommunication are the words from the evil Strother Martin in the movie, Cool Hand Luke: while knocking Cool Hand Luke brutally into the pit, said, “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate!” The one sided conversation is, of course, as convoluted as it is cruelly comical. A lot of human conversation turns out to focus on one side only.

An excellent point of imprecise communication is made in the humorous old story of the village blacksmith and his apprentice: The Blacksmith tells his apprentice; “I will take this red hot horseshoe out of the charcoal and put it on the anvil. Take this hammer and when I nod my head, hit it with the hammer.” He did, and now the apprentice is the village blacksmith. Clear communication is crucial.

Rich Sloan, director of community relations for the University of Central Florida’s College of Education and Human Performance, wrote the following about communication;  What I’ve noticed of late is that as a people, Americans are experiencing a heinous failure to communicate, to the detriment of our society and quality of life. Sloan attributes this failure in communication mostly to technology.

He believes technology gives rise to such gibberish (my word not his) as in, OMG, FYI, IDK, BTW, posing as actual conversation between human beings. While it is the “in” thing for the younger generation to think this way of communication “is Fire!”, it actually communicates very little. Too many people elude direct, clear, communication, such as that of masters of language.

Sloan’s prescription for improving communication is this: Put down that mouse, get out of that chair and walk over to the next office. Put away that electronic gadget, get in the car and go see that client face to face. Just think how much more pleasant is a greeting of “Good morning,” than opening a conversation with BTW or FYI. Some of the top rated communicators (in no particular order) are: Winston Churchill, Oprah Winfrey, Howard Schultz, Lady Gaga, Steve Jobs, Chris Anderson, and Warren Buffett. This is a sample of excellent communicators who clearly use our marvelous, vibrant, language for concise clarity.

Shakespeare, in Love’s Labor Lost, uses economy of words in Holofernes’ speech, spurning elaborate, useless verbiage: He draweth out the thread of his verbosity finer than the staple of his argument. Or, as a friend of mine once said, less eloquently, of an acquaintance, “He uses twelve words, when two will do,”

The master communicator, Jesus, taught his followers to make the message clear, not cluttered with elaborate words. Often ego gets in the way of communication; the author’s self aggrandizement gets in the way of clarity of the main message. My high school English teacher often said, “Say what you mean and mean what you say.” The three most eloquent, efficient, and effective messages I think of were uttered by Jesus, The Apostle Paul, and Abraham Lincoln—in that order. They communicate. And they stand the tests of time.

Elvis sang, “I Did It My Way,” (by French songwriters Claude François and Jacques Revaux:)

Regrets, I’ve had a few
But then again, too few to mention
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption
I planned each charted course
Each careful step along the byway
Oh, and more, much more than this
I did it my way.

That is one way of looking at life. We are offered a similar take on regrets by “theologian,” Marilyn Monroe (yes, THAT Marilyn); she was asked, “If you could live your life again, would you change any part of it?” She pondered for a few moments, and in almost a biblical sense, said “No. I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Think about it. What a waste of time and energy to look back and regret anything: 1) We cannot change the past. 2) We cannot change other people. 3) We are very much like what Thomas a’ Kempis described in The imitation of Christ: Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make your self as you wish to be. Regretting tends to be debilitating. Positive results can come by moving on into improvement.

John Greenleaf Whittier’s poem (very long poem!) Maud Muller is a sad commentary on regrets. It’s a story of two young people, a plain farm maiden, and a handsome town judge; he stops beside the hayfield where she is working. They chat briefly, each rather on the verge of flirting. As he departs, she daydreams of a life she might have with him. He daydreams of a life he might have with her. But, they go their separate ways—and over the years, in vastly different lives, they dream dreams of regret for what never happened.

At the end of the poem (—it does end—) Whittier writes;

Alas for maiden, alas for Judge,
For rich repiner and household drudge!

God pity them both! and pity us all,
Who vainly the dreams of youth recall;

For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these: “It might have been!“(emphasis added)

Ah, well! for us all some sweet hope lies
Deeply buried from human eyes;

And, in the hereafter, angels may
Roll the stone from its grave away!

Regrets are emotions, of course; there are healthy ways of managing them. Writing in Psychology Today, Alice Boyes Ph.D., said, (Emotions are) designed to come on and then go away. When emotions become sticky, it’s usually because we’re feeding them in some way, through rumination, harsh self-criticism, or avoidance…allow your emotions to naturally work themselves out. Regrets are something like a weed from your past infesting your garden of the present.

The Apostle Paul, writing to the church at Philippi, urged them to put the past behind and press on to the higher calling. Regrets can become a distraction from the present; they can weight a person down—and often do—by what I call “The drearies.” The writer of the book of Hebrews cautioned that it is easy to get weighted down by many things—strip off everything that hinders us, we are told. That is dramatic! Some would call it “Cold Turkey.”

I am reminded of the popular children’s book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day; despite its glum, yet catchy title, it points to the positive.  We all have bad days at one time or another, and this story leaves its readers with the hopeful message that all bad days do end, eventually. The Psalmist acknowledges that life has its tough times; they do not last forever. As the poet, Alexander Pope posited, Hope springs Eternal in the human breast! (Emphasis mine). Alexander, of the children’s book, ends by saying, I think I’ll go to Australia! The morning brings hope!

  

Abishag (Ab-uh-shag) was King David’s “Hot Water Bottle.” I will get back to that later, dear Reader. Nearly everyone needs human warmth at one time or another (like a hug). When times get tough, it matters even more so. Two years ago the Pandemic mutilated the world; suddenly a hug could become lethal. Right away most everyone discovered how much a hug meant. Usually we thought a hug was something of a friendship gesture. A good, long, hug underscored the great need for that hug, as well as the closeness of the friendship.

As the Pandemic hung on, we discovered that the lack of hugs sucked the oxygen out of our souls. We couldn’t go into a hospital or other healthcare facilities to visit family or friends; much less hug them. I remember scenes of friends who visited parents or relatives in facilities that had ground level windows. Double pane windows limited sound, increasing the feeling of isolation. Family and friends could only exchange hand-waves; some of the more creative visitors made large posters with love and care messages to show to their loved ones encased inside.

When Paige started teaching Early Elementary school students, most teachers freely gave hugs to the hurting or the happy, and all children in between. Often a child would simply walk up to the teacher and reach for a hug. Sometimes a child would inadvertently say, “Mommy,…” usually not noticing they had called the teacher “Mommy;” revealing the intrinsic value of that coveted hug.

I think one of the most heart-rending discoveries during the Pandemic—related to hugs—was how needy elderly folks were (and are) for a hug. Part of that need is the ubiquitous, unrelenting isolation brought on by the aging process. As one grows older, friends move away (or vice-versa) to live with or near relatives, or into Senior living facilities. Death contracts the circle of friends. Families grow in distance, albeit in number—and in both instances, social ties tend to thin. The world changes dramatically; new and additional ways to care for one another need to be discovered, at a time when mobility, social and otherwise, is lessened.

All this can tend to bring a chill to an elderly person’s life; Unless. Unless— Intentional measures are taken to ameliorate and redirect such emotional downturns. Many people are discovering life-long learning opportunities, new uses for latent talents, or taking up new, exciting interests; enriching the lives of the elderly. Fortunately there are new discoveries daily that turn a growing chill into a glowing hope, a blossoming, growing edge.

At the risk of a reach too far, I found an amusing but practical example of caretaking for someone whose life was developing a physical chilling; The old King David, in his final years, felt cold (as in temperature, cold) all the time. None of his staff could find a way to keep him warm. Too many blankets would be too heavy, or possibly suffocate the frail king. The King’s handlers decided to solve the problem and keep him warm; they searched the kingdom over and found just what they needed to keep King David warm; her name was Abishag. (a friend of mine described her; “King David’s Hot Water Bottle;”) You can click on the link above and get the details, but suffice to say, Abishag solved the problem. (See—the Bible really isn’t a dusty, dull, anachronism).

“Epiphany Day” is January 6—yesterday; Epiphany Sunday was last Sunday (—to celebrate before rather than afterwards—I suppose.) Epiphany has different meanings (1) in religious matters, Epiphany Day celebrates the traditional arrival of The Three Wise Men; the understanding of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ. (2) in current vernacular, and in literature, epiphany generally refers to a visionary moment when a character has a sudden insight—like a flash of lightning on a dark night-–that changes their understanding of themselves or their comprehension of the world.

Many Christians keep their Christmas Decorations, lights, songs, and activities going until Epiphany Day. So, if you were puzzled by what appeared to be laziness, or indifference in your neighbors, fear not. They could be still celebrating! I once had a friend whose military husband was deployed during Christmas. She not only kept Christmas decorations up past Epiphany Day, but also kept them up through St. Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Holy Week and Easter—adding appropriate adornments for each new celebration day—until he came home to celebrate with her. So, I try to go easy on those who are not wed to a precise time to put away decorations.

Now is a good time to lighten up on the “how,” and the “when,” of Christian celebrations, and focus on the “Why.” In truth, no one knows the precise date of any of these; the birth of Jesus (we celebrate the birth of Jesus, not his birthday), the arrival of the Three Wise Men, nor even the death and resurrection of Jesus. Precise times/dates are not that important; more important is “Why.” Across Christian traditions—in a manner of speaking—the season of Epiphany (depending on which tradition) spans from January 6 to Easter). In my Faith Tradition, United Methodist, Epiphany lasts until January 6, Twelfth Night.

The ‘Why” of celebrating Epiphany Day is to recognize Jesus’ entry into the Human Condition. He is recognized and inducted into traditional rites of human beings, specifically, the race into which he was born. He is recognized as the expected messiah—one who accomplishes the vision of God bringing hope to the nations. As Alexander Pope wrote in his poem, An Essay on Man, Hope Springs Eternal in the human heart.  It is right and a good thing to hold on to hope, and celebrate hope, as in Epiphany Day.

Literature takes a cue from epiphany, in the many references to a character or such, finding insight, or a new vision, or a revelation. I think it is fair to say that Scarlett O’Hara’s famous quote from Gone With The Wind, is something of an epiphany—if a twisted one; As God is my witness I will never go hungry again! No nor any of my folk! If I have to lie, cheat. steal or kill I will never go hungry again!

An epiphany dear to me is John Wesley’s account of his Aldersgate Experience, on May 24, 1738; In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death. (from John Wesley’s Journal).

John Wesley’s moment of enlightenment is bizarre to me. How could one become that inspired by hearing some unnamed person read (Martin) Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans!? How boring can it get, hearing a theological treatise read at the end of a long day!? and Yet! Dramatic inspiration arose from that unlikely moment. I say it was an epiphany! So, take heart! A personal epiphany need not happen in a mountain-top ecstatic experience, or in some mystical moment. More likely, it comes unexpectedly and can be just as genuine!

At midnight tonight you can hear—and possibly join in singing—auld lang syne. Merriam-Webster defines auld lang syne as the good old times. The song raises the question; should we forget our times and deeds of the past? The song answers its own question, offering a redemptive solace from past troubles, by suggesting kindness. What a wonderful way to bring in a New Year!

Also, in recent weeks, maybe you have seen or heard A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens—possibly more often than you preferred. The story, in essence, recounts the coldness and disdain Ebenezer Scrooge held toward his employees, neighbors, and people in general. You and I will not have Ebenezer Scrooge’s chance to review how other people experienced our mistakes and blunders; many of which we did not consider to be mistakes or blunders.

James Thurber wrote, Let us not go back in anger or forward in fear, but around in awareness. Good advice to take into a new beginning. The opportunity for a new start, a new beginning, looms large on January 1 each year. The name, January, comes from the Greek god, Janus, who was the god of new beginnings, war ceasing, and peace beginning. Maybe in all our revelry we will catch sight of new opportunities, hope, joy and the wisdom; and put them into practice. There will be new beginnings; even failures offer new beginnings.

If we had the opportunity to review the past, as did old Scrooge, we would likely find some regrets, or wish for some do-overs. The Scottish poet Robert Burns (also the author of auld lang syne) wrote, O wad some Power the giftie gie us To see oursels as ithers see us! Yet, the refrain of auld lang syne suggests healing, if not redemption from the past, leaving ample room for future hope. So, as the chorus of auld lang syne says, let’s tak’ a cup o’ kindness yet, for auld lang syne (emphasis added).

In the midst of the great travails the Children of Israel faced, the Prophet Isaiah reminded them of their Covenant with God; he spoke of the New Thing God was doing among them. The Gospel writer, Matthew, was trying to show that God was doing a new thing. It certainly perplexed the first hearers. Some had to go to see what was being told them. Rev. Dr. Terry Walton said maybe the angel was trying to say, “Fear not, God is doing a new thing in the world.” Sometimes it is very difficult to take in transformation happening right before your eyes. Then, in the last book of the Bible, while on the Isle of Patmos, Old John The Revelator tells of the vision God promised; to make all things new.

We cannot see what this New Year will hold for us. But we can trust the One Who holds us. We celebrated that just six days ago—Emanuel; God with us. Take heart, and hope, dear reader. Have a Happy—and kind—New Year.

As you are reading this my guess is that, if you have small children, you have said or heard the word “Wait”—a lot today—this being Christmas Eve; It is extremely difficult for a small child to “Wait for Santa Claus…” Wait usually gets bummy reviews…as in wait in traffic, wait for your turn, wait for your flight, and of course, wait for Santa Claus. Ask almost anyone about waiting and you’re likely to get a negative report. But there can be much positive around waiting. Attitude, expectations, and hope play a large role in what it means to wait.

One Christmas Eve, when our daughters were pre-school age, they wouldn’t go to sleep—waiting for Santa Claus. Finally, I sneaked outside and ran around the house jingling bells. They heard the bells and raced to bed (“and covered up their heads.”) As they grew up, I experienced a great deal of “wait time”. Knowing that I would have wait time, I always had a book with me; band practice, swimming practice, whatever activity they were involved in; to wait was “one of the fleas that came with the dog.” And, when I was working on my doctorate, I welcomed the opportunity to wait—I could read—uninterrupted, while waiting.

There are other times to wait; for example—in an anxious time; waiting in a doctor’s office or hospital waiting room puts a different complexion on waiting. Whether waiting with a friend or family member it is an anxious time. But such waiting is very important; it is a time for being present which is seldom time wasted. The content of conversation at such times matters very little. It is the fact that your presence matters, and will be remembered.

Sometimes to wait is to clarify, or learn more about circumstances. I think of that dramatic angelic visit to the Virgin Mary—likely in the night. Was it a dream? Apparently not. For Mary entered into a conversation with the Angel; No. More than that; when the angel gave Mary the news of Jesus’ birth, Mary interrupted the angel, She said, “Wait! What is this news you’re telling me!? Don’t you understand? That’s not the way things work here on earth?” (RWV Revised Willis Version.) How shocking the news must have been!

After waiting, absorbing the impact of that news, Mary committed herself—for the duration. And what a duration it was! Sometimes waiting can be transformative; a whole wonderful new world can open up. It is rather simple, isn’t it? Bakers know this; when all the ingredients are mixed properly, the oven is set correctly, there is a time of waiting; The delicious result is always worth it!

I do not always wait as patiently as old Simeon in the Temple did. For years he had waited for God’s light to the nations. He trusted God. All those years, he had waited patiently, and listened expectantly for the Spirit of God to guide him. Then, on the day, as the law required, the baby Jesus’ parents brought him to the temple; old Simeon was there. Now his waiting was over. He prayed a prayer of thanks to God now that he had seen that light to the nations God promised. He felt God release him from his holy vigil. It is a genuine blessing when waiting reaps remarkable rewards.

What pops into your mind when you hear the word RESPECT? My guess is that nine out of ten of you would say Aretha Franklin’s, (the Queen of Soul) version of the song, R-E-S-P-E-C-T, —-see! Already you have an Earworm stuck in your head; go ahead let her sing it; I’ll get back to you.

If a question lingers, I’ll bring you on board. Aretha Franklin won 18 Grammy Awards and sold a gazillion records of the song worldwide. Her most familiar words ring in our ears…R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me! Aretha was 76 years old when she died, leaving a gap in R&B, Soul, and Popular, music.

RESPECT was written by King of Soul musician (South Georgia’s own), Otis Redding, born in Dawson, GA; his career was launched in Macon, GA. Redding’s recording of RESPECT never made the impact Aretha’s did; nor did anyone else’s recording come close to hers’. When we hear the word (not even the song!) Aretha’s voice echoes in our brain.

Merriam-Webster defines Respect:  feeling or understanding that someone or something is important, serious, etc., and should be treated in an appropriate way. It is almost a paraphrase of what Jesus said. Love your neighbor and love yourself! i.e. show respect to people, including yourself. Respect for others is an important dynamic in human relations. While honest disagreement can be healthy—even important, disrespect curbs, if not corrodes, relationships.

My spirits are buoyed up when I see a person, or a group of people take the high road and show respect; especially respect for our vital institutions. The same goes for showing respect for local or national leaders who show strength of character or stand up for the downtrodden. It takes courage to stand up, to go for the common good—especially when it goes against the popular. In fact, even when leaders disappoint, we must hold respect for the office, and work to uphold the standards of that office. For example, a police officer may behave disgracefully, but the office requires respect.

I sometimes wonder if diminishing respect could be a reason I do not find sequels to the erstwhile Profiles in Courage books. And. Respect does not always come robed in riches, nor spangled before spotlights. Often, maybe more often, Respect is holding the door for someone with arms loaded, giving a friendly greeting to someone having a bad day, stopping to talk with someone who is lonely, saying “thank you for your service” to a police officer or military member. Maybe respect was what motivated Jesus to invite himself to dinner at the home of an ostracized man. As I said, showing Respect sometimes appears in unlikely places.

It took a while before the down-and-out, wayward son would recognize and respect his father’s integrity. But as Luke tells the story, the father respected his son—not his son’s dumb (selfish?) choice— enough to give him his freedom. As I read the story, the underlying reality is respect; the father’s mature respect held up, allowing the wayward son time to discover and recover his own respect and appreciate his father’s. Respect takes the high road.

Imagine the experience of no light. Darkness everywhere? In the beginning, there was total darkness. No light. I once toured a cave with an organized group led by an official guide. The guide prepared us (sort of) for the lights to be turned off. Then—it was dark. I mean, DARK! At the beginning of Time, when God saw the darkness, he said, “Let there be light!” And, as the Scriptures tell us, And so light appeared. ⁴ God saw how good the light was. God separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God named the light Day and the darkness Night.

Light offers multitudes of possibilities; not the least of which is Hope. The Israelites stumbled in the wilderness —a kind of darkness— even though God provided leadership—and light at night. At the risk of too much ad lib, I posit that the celebration of Advent points to that Hope; it celebrates with God’s gift of light. Our church lights candles on an Advent Wreath each Sunday; Hanukkah is known also as the Festival of Lights. The religious/secular celebration of the season involves a superabundance of colorful lights—as the song goes, “….even stop lights blink bright red and green!”

I love Christmas lights; tree lights, lawn lights, street decoration lights, Parks, attractions, and business lighted decorations. Heck! I even like the little home-styled lawn recreations of Christmas, and Nativity tableaus. Paige and I once drove away back into the inweaves of McIntosh County on a two-lane state road to see a countryside lighted up; Lights, scenes, animations, all created by that tiny rural neighborhood. Sure it was not Callaway Gardens, but it was a statement of joy, hope, and inspiration. Again this year I look forward to seeing massive assortments of Christmas lights.

There is a telling statement in the Gospel of John; The light shines in the darkness,
    and the darkness doesn’t extinguish the light. Light is visible from untold distances. A survivor of the WWII London Bomb Blitz said, During the Blitz we hovered in the darkness near our radio to keep track of the war. An official stormed into our house and shouted for us to turn off the radio—the red “on” light could be seen by the airplane pilots! —putting us all in danger.

I offer an excerpt from my pastor’s message this week, appropriately concluding today’s Blog: Advent is a lot of things. In the secular world, it is shopping season. In the church, it is a season of getting ready. But in my heart, in this season, it is a season of trying to see the church and the world as God gives us a vision of what it COULD be. Because God saw the world in a great darkness, but always held the creative love up to it, and knew what the world COULD be. And so God sent his son to bring us a great light so that we could see it too. (Emphasis added).

The story goes that Mrs. Lindsey, Paige’s grandmother, who was an inimitable biscuit-maker—-used no recipe. She poured flour into her bowl, dashed in some of this and a pinch of that and a chunk of the other; all the while whirling it all into a lump of dough. From that she pinched clumps of dough onto a tray, and popped it into the wood-fired oven. Magically, golden brown, fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth biscuits delightfully tickled the taste buds of all.

Mrs. Lindsey’s grandchildren rebuff the notion that she used no recipe. Yes. There was no written-down prescription. Yes. She did not use any metered utensils to measure ingredients. And yes; she did not set or check the temperature of the oven (well, it was a wood-fired one!). And yet. And yet, we all know her procedure had been refined several times a day for decades. So her recipe was precision by feel, or by heart. And it was perfect.

The first recorded use of receipt is a reference to a medicinal preparation in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (c. 1386). Recipe didn’t arrive until the 1500s, and it was also first used to describe medicine. Both words began to be applied to cooking only in the 18th century; (note)

Cooks/chefs have followed something of a pattern in preparing their cooking ingredients and procedures for aeons; their practices were more or less haphazard until the end of the 19th century. Fanny Farmer, a Boston Cooking School principal, introduced the use of standardized measuring spoons and cups, as well as level measurement in recipes for cooking. She became author of many cookbooks. However, Little-Brown, her first publisher, did not believe cookbooks would sell. Fanny Farmer had to finance personally the publication of her first cookbook,The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book.

There are “How-to…” books available today on just about anything that is made. Some are better than others. The better ones are like Mrs. Lindsey’s method; Tried (over and over) and true (without compromise.) Some instructions require significant, precise, labor, as was required for the lampstands in the Holy of Holies. The first indication of something of a recipe in the Bible is God’s instruction to Noah for building the Ark.

More important than building things is building up the interior framework of the heart. The Apostle Paul counselled filling one’s self with the fruit of the Spirit (which is) love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against things like this. He had found the church in Galatia in trouble—they were not following God’s recipe, in a manner of speaking. This was Paul’s offer of help.

Even in the event that things go wrong, redemption is possible. I have a friend who is wizard at cake decorating. On the way to deliver a carefully crafted wedding cake, traffic interceded. Her husband stomped the brakes and stopped the car, avoiding a traffic accident. It crumpled the cake. Most folks would have tossed the remains. Not my friend. She and her husband turned aside and set to work redesigning the cake in a marvelous way. My take on this is that from the beginning, she had meticulously followed the recipe and redemption was possible.

Psalm 139 describes the recipe God used for creating you and me. More than that, it describes God’s compassion, companionship, and constant love for you and me.

Our celebration—or consternation over football scores of the previous weekend were eclipsed for all time, at 9:11 on 9-11-2001. Four jetliners loaded with passengers and fuel took off in New York City. 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al Qaeda hijacked the four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States.

Two of the planes were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C.; the fourth plane crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Almost 3,000 people were killed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The events of that day triggered major U.S. initiatives to combat terrorism and defined the presidency of George W. Bush. A war on terrorism ensued, resulting in the longest, costliest, if not the most brutal, war in the history of the United States. A president was blamed for starting the war—(he is a Republican); a president was blamed for ending the war—(he is a Democrat). It is a metaphor for how conflicted we are as a nation.

Substantial solutions are not simple; they are seldom quick. Our culture wants both. We are addicted (if that’s the correct term) to instant-everything. The COVID-19 Pandemic is yet another chronicle of our impatience. We want it done now. We want it simple and easy. We tend to resist paying attention; to pay attention requires in-depth involvement and usually pulls us away from our fantasies. It is hard to pay attention to the difficult.

One of the temptations the Devil laid on Jesus was to have the Kingdom of God instantly. It is a human temptation; we want quick, clean, achievement of a worthy goal, to have it right away—especially if it comes without sacrifice. But creating what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called “The Beloved Community,” does not come easily or without significant i.e. meaningful, sacrifice. Jesus told his disciples how difficult this is. He said love is the key; not easy but it is essential. He illustrated the cost of love with his own life.

I do not pretend here to have answers. I do have Hope. The Apostle Paul assured the church at Rome that there is Hope in spite of difficulties— even in the midst of difficulties. “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” from the movie Carousel is a poetic illustration knitting together Jesus’ teaching and Paul’s attitude;

When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don’t be afraid of the dark.
At the end of a storm is a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark.
Walk on through the wind,
Walk on through the rain,
Tho’ your dreams be tossed and blown.
Walk on, walk on with Hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone. (Emphasis added).