An Elder Pilgrim's Reflections

Matthew 11:16 "To what do I compare this generation?" Did you live through the Great Depression? You are part of the Greatest Generation if you were born in 1924 or earlier and lived through the Great Depression and fought in WWII.  The Silent Generation was born 1925-1945; Baby Boomers were born between 1946-1964; Generation X was born between 1965-1980; a Millennial was born between 1981-1996; Gen Z was born after 1997. (ref.,  Generation Fast Facts  ) After his baptism Jesus tells John's disciples to tell John what they have heard and seen -- the blind receiving sight, the lame walking, the lepers cleansed, the deaf hearing, the dead raised, and the poor receiving good news. These must be signs of God's kingdom drawing near. The problem with his generation was that people weren't listening. John's lifestyle is offensive, so he is accused of having a demon. Jesus' habit of eating and drinking with sinners is scandalous. Actually, these reasons are excuse...

Morro Rock, Morro, CA Matthew 7:24 Everyone then who hears these words of  mine and acts on them will be like a  wise man who built his house on rock.   Morro Rock is a remnant of an extinct volcano which the Salinan people consider a sacred site.  They climb it for their biannual solstice ceremonies celebrating the time in legend when Hawk and Raven destroyed a two-headed serpent-monster, Taliyekatapelta. Thus Morro Rock is a sacred rock in their religious faith. Like everyone else, I have had a time of inner struggle. With the loss of my father I went through an inner struggle on the journey of grief. I dealt with denial and isolation,  anger, bargaining, and  depression. Finally I accepted that this is life. Some people will show these emotions outwardly. Others, like me, will experience their grief more internally.  Shortly after my father's death, I received a sympathy card from my D.S. on which she wrote, "losing a father is like the shaking...

How long, Lord?  Will you forget me forever? Psalm 13:1 A spiritual crisis for me is missing our weekly communion. I miss the breaking of the bread and pouring of the cup. I I miss gathering as one body and hearing the liturgy reminding me: "We pray for all who are in sorrow or in pain, all who are ill or alone . . ." The untold spiritual crisis is that more than 416,000 Americans have died from Covid 19, and they often die alone.  There is powerful image of an elderly woman in a nursing home placing her hand on a window and a young relative placing her hand on the other side of it. This image, for me, raises questions about our living and dying. Will we live separated, isolated lives? Will we die alone?  It is part of being human to face a spiritual crisis. It may be anxiety about personal finances, the uncertainty of our times, dismay for lack of human dignity, and fears related to the Covid 19.  For me,  Psalm 13  is source of strength in a spiritua...

The Seawall, Acadia, NP Revelation 21:1  "Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away." "The Times They Are a-Changin'" is a song written by Bob Dylan and released in 1964.  The song is a conscious effort to verbalize the changes of the 60's. For me its release influenced my views on society because the lyrics are general yet universal giving the song a lasting message of change similar to Mark 10:31  where the last verse says: The slow one now will later be fast As the present now will later be past The order is rapidly fading And the first one now will later be last For the times they are a-changin' The times seem to be changing to a "new normal". New Normal? What does that mean? Perhaps more working at home, continued social distancing, or more frequently wearing masks? Does it mean an increase in overt violence or a more subtle violence such as suspicion, mistrust and humiliation? John...

1 Corinthians 10:16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?   I held these sacred symbols throughout my ministry. The Bible is particularly sacred to me because it is my "preaching bible". For over 50 years I stood before a congregation and read and interpreted God's Word. The cross is especially sacred to me because I brought it home after visiting Wesley's chapel in London. It stands before me as a symbol of my Christian and Methodist heritage.  The chalice is truly sacred to me  because it is a gift from a good friend upon his return from Taize', France.  It reminds me that blessing the cup and loaf brings us together as one in Christ. To me the opposite of sacred is profane. To take any of these sacred symbols and use them for something other than their sacred purpose is sacrilegious. To desecrate them is nothing less than the powers of darkness at...

Psalm 46:10  "Be still, and know that I am God" Wonderland, Acadia, NP In these trying times there is much noise around us. There is noise from armed protesters, school shootings, and the desecration of Jewish synagogues and Muslim mosques. There is the noise of people being in food lines for the first time. There are the disturbing cries from the weak being abused  and the vulnerable being neglected. There is alarming noise from violent protesters and deeply unsettling scenes of destruction. It makes me feel like Elijah hiding in a cave as God passes by in wind, fire and earthquake. It makes me ask, What's coming next? Will it be some sort of social upheaval? Will it be a further fracturing of our world? Will it be a new source of fear? So I turn to God in prayer. I ask God to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and heal the sick. I ask God to bring peace in our troubled times. I ask God to "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ...