An Elder Pilgrim's Reflections

1930 Steel Worker    The LORD himself goes before you  and will be with you;  he will never leave you nor forsake you.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." Deuteronomy 31:8 Here  is one place you would never find me.  My Swanton, MYF wanted to go to an observation tower in Montreal,the Observatoire Place Ville Marie. We rode up the elevator, the doors opened and I found the tower was glass from ceiling to floor. The youth went dashing to windows looking down on Montreal. Terrified, I leaned against the wall looking straight out. The youth wanted to linger and I wanted to leave... quickly. "Do not be afraid.?" Fine on paper, not in the tower. I was more than ready for the Lord to go with me to the elevator. In Deuteronomy 31:8 God reassures the Israelites that all will be well. God was removing Moses giving him an eternal rest. This was a monumental change since they relied on Moses for so long. God then appoints Joshua as Moses’ successor to lead...

 I am moving ahead with my pandemic planning. I am fascinated by steam trains. I have ridden the Strasburg RR to Paradise in Strasburg, PA.;the CSRR in Conway, N. H.; the Scranton Limited based in Steamtown, PA.; and the D&S RR in CO running along a canyon river and then its steep side. Naturally, I'm making plans to visit 5 different steam train rides near Portland ME as well as the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, ME. Pandemic Planning says, "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven." (Ecclesiastes 3:1)  In other words, don't go steaming along with your plans because they may go off the rails. Ecclesiastes' author is a sage grown weary of life’s uncertainties. Therefore, he says, recognize your own mortality in the face of God’s eternity and be appropriately humble: “I know that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it." (Ecclesiastes 3:14).  There is a rel...

 For you shall go out in joy,  and be led back in peace;  the mountains and the hills  before you shall burst into song,  and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Isaiah 55:12 Trees of The Field is one of my favorite songs. I like the tempo especially as it increases with each verse. I enjoy the rhythm and clapping hands as we sing. I can almost hear the mountains and hills bursting into song. And I really love the imagery of trees clapping their hands. For me its not just the spirit and imagery of the song, its the hope within it. The song and text are saying that signs of hope can be seen as God does the impossible with creation. Isaiah is speaking to folks in desperate need of a word of hope. The trauma living through the Babylonian Exile was too much to bear. Some Israelites are questioning their beliefs in the God of their ancestors. Isaiah presents the doubters with a word of hope from a Lord who transforms broken lives. The prophet desc...

"There is no longer Jew or Greek,  there is no longer slave or free,  there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:28 Shortly after Pastor Sungduk Kim moved in to the parsonage and got settled, I met with him and asked how he was getting along. Had he found a doctor, a grocery store, and the like. I then asked a question that revealed my ignorance, "Had he experienced any racism?" Of course he has. Webster's Dictionary says racism is a belief that racial differences produce a built-in superiority of a particular race. It is also a political or social system founded on race.  The Bible in Leviticus says: "When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God." Jesus says: "For I was hungry and you gave me som...

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...