An Elder Pilgrim's Reflections

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Appoint us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory." (from Mark 10:35-45 ) I have a passion for historic train rides. That’s why I drove 6 hours to ride the Conway Scenic Railway to Crawford Notch. That same passion led me to New Hampshire and the Mount Washington Cog Railway, the world's first mountain-climbing cog railway, The epic ride, however, was the narrow-gauge rail through the San Juan Mountains along the Animas River from Durango to Silverton, Colorado which has run continuously since 1881 transporting silver and gold ore. Along with the history came the breathtaking view of the river flowing along the canyon’s floor and the canyon’s walls which one could almost touch from the open-aired coach. As the train ascende...

“Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (from Heb. 4:12-16 ) Empathizing with the suffering experienced by the people devastated by the hurricanes is beyond my capacity. I see the damage, I watch evacuating traffic, I hear the stories of people coping with unimaginable situations. What must it be like to dig through the rubble and mud to search for remnants of one’s life? This morning in my devotional reading I came across a quote from Julian of Norwich: “But all will be well, and all will be well, and every kind of thing will be well”. This often-quoted passage is from her book, Showings, where she deals with the concept of sin. Why, she asks did God allow sin in the first place? The question I ask is, “Why, God?” Why have you allowed the suffering and devastation of so many people? When I look at the world and into my own soul, it’s hard to believe “All will be well,” that we will receive gr...

“Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.” (from Mk 10:2-16 ) Kids Say the Darndest Things a television program that ran 1959 to 1967 and hosted by Art Linkletter would begin by asking a child question about a life topic, such as “What do you want to be when you grow up?” The child usually responded with their own innocent, timeless wit and wisdom often comical perspective of life through a child’s eyes. Previously, Jesus heard the disciples arguing about who was the greatest, so he scolds the disciples, takes a child – a first century image of having little rights, seen as a nuisance, and merely tolerated – takes it in his arms and says, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” Here, Jesus does something else. Children are approaching Jesus who welcomes them scolding the disciples who try keeping them away. In the...

"The law of the LORD is perfect,     reviving the soul; decrees of the LORD are sure,     making wise the simple;" (From Psalm 19:7-14 ) On our way to Brattleboro, VT, we were following directions I downloaded from Google Maps.  We had been following Rt.9 when it seemed as though we had made a wrong turn when we came to an intersection where we had to turn right or left.  I knew this was wrong, but realized our accommodations were on Main Street. Following that prompting of the Spirit, we turned left and in faith we kept on eventually we arriving at our accommodations.  Psalm 19 celebrates God’s ordering activity through the use of two different literary elements. The heavens give witness The psalms' initial claim is that the heavens provide a witness to God’s establishment of order (verses 1–6).  Though the heavens cannot speak the words of humans, they tell a clear story nevertheless. The sky stays high above the world. The movement of the heave...