Black Friday

             I trust you survived “Black Friday,” the day after Thanksgiving.  The original name of “Black Friday” was used by the police, bus drivers and taxi drivers in Philadelphia to describe the traffic congestion in downtown Philadelphia as shoppers flooded in on the day after Thanksgiving.  In more recent years the name has been used to mean the day on which retailers moved into the “black” in annual revenues.

            This traditional beginning of the Christmas shopping season can be a “Black Friday” for many in another sense.  Many see Christmas as a reason for spending.  We want to bless each other, our families and especially our children and grandchildren with material gifts.  Plastic allows us to buy for them things for which we don’t have the money, and puts many into a “black hole” of debt.

            I certainly do not oppose spending and gift giving at Christmas.  These are part of the celebration of Christ’s birth and enhance the season for all, especially children.  But I would remind us that Christians particularly have a responsibility to manage our finances in an exemplary way.  This is part of the overall concept of stewardship.  We all want things.  I have often been blessed on receiving or purchasing something that I really desired.  But we must be careful to keep our desires in bounds. We are reminded in 1 Timothy 6:8-9, “we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.”

          And the truth is we can be happy with less. Contentment does not come from things, it comes from a right relationship with God and resting in His assurances.

Grace and peace.

Homecoming

            

             A couple of weekends ago Liz and I took our grandsons to Homecoming at Samford University.  We had a good time eating Bar-B-Q, and watching Samford football.  Liz and I are now considered “Golden Bulldogs,” i.e. alumni who graduated fifty or more years ago. 

            Homecomings, whether at school, or at church or any other venue, are good times of reunions.  Seeing people we haven’t seen in many years, catching up on others and remembering the good times of the past.  Homecomings also have an element of melancholy.  We saw very few of the other “Golden Bulldogs” from our classes.  The reality is, we receive word every couple of months or so of a classmate who has departed this life.  This is not surprising for a group who can count fifty or more years since college graduation.  The truth is, we are old and getting older.

            This reality is a reminder of the great and final Homecoming we will experience.  I don’t know your concept of Heaven, but we are taught in the Bible that we have a home in Heaven; Jesus is preparing a place for us.  I personally believe that we shall know others and be known by others.  This means family, friends and long lost classmates. I hope a bonus will be that we can remember all of their names.

             In John’s vision of Heaven he reports “I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, tongues…”  (Revelation 7:9)

            Now that will be some kind of a great homecoming.  Be sure you can make it.

Grace and peace.

Time is Time

            Like most of you, for about a month, I’ve been rising while it is still dark outside.  I don’t like that and never have, even as a boy when I rose at 4:00 A.M. to deliver newspapers. Saturday the fifth of November, I’ll set my clocks back an hour ("fall back in in fall") so that I may rise Sunday morning after dawn.  The flip side is that it will be dark Sunday shortly after 5:00 P.M.  The light I gain in the morning will be taken from me the evening. 

            The arrangement is called Daylight Savings Time, a system devised to give us more light in the evening during the Summer.  The truth, of course, is that we don’t “gain” any daylight.  We will have the same amount of daylight no matter where we set our clocks.  We can’t gain any daylight and we can’t gain any additional time.  We will still have twenty four hours each day. 

            We will adjust our lives to the daylight we have, and we will adjust our hectic lives to the twenty four hours we are given. (Wouldn’t it be great if we could manufacture another hour each day!)  We just have to do the best we can with the time we are given.  

            This is also true of the days of life we are given.  We only have a certain number, even though we don’t know that number.  It behooves us to use each one wisely and to the fullest.  That is why Paul instructs the Ephesians and us, “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”  (Ephesians 5:15-16)

Grace and peace.

Happy All Saints Day

            Halloween, of course, is the Eve of All Saints Day.  In 609 A.D, Pope Boniface IV began All Saints Day in May.  The Roman church had canonized so many saints and established “days” for each one, the calendar was filled with celebrations for various Saints.  So the church established “All Saints Day” to consolidate the celebrations and to recognize all saints “known and unknown.”  In 735 Pope Gregory III moved the date to November the First.

            I don’t know how many saints had been canonized by then, but the Roman church did not canonize them all.  That is because, scripturally, everyone who is in Jesus Christ is a “saint.”  Throughout Acts and the Letters, all Christians are referred to as "saints.”  While certain individuals were sainted by the Roman church for exceptional ministry or exceptional sacrifice, only God knows how many, unheralded and unknown, rendered even greater service or endured greater sacrifice. 

            I don’t know any Baptists who celebrate All Saints Day.  But many of them really party on Halloween, from the children who go “trick or treating,” to adults who dress up in costumes, and many families that decorate their homes and yards as much as they do for the Christmas season.

            Maybe we need to begin to celebrate the following day. The old saying is every dog has its day or every person has his fifteen minutes of fame.  I assume in heaven we will know the merit of all the saints of God.  You, as a saint of God, may not have a special day in your honor, but you will be honored, by the other saints and the by the angels, for all that God is able to do in and through you.

            And All Saints Day is your day and my day.  Happy All Saints Day!

Grace and peace.

It Bothers Me

            Alabama’s Immigration law has been much in the national news lately.  Some provisions of it have been stayed by the courts.  Whether you favor the law or oppose it, there are some things that bother me as a Christian and should bother you.  For example, the law would criminalize people who offer a ride or other humanitarian aid to an illegal alien, making “good Samaritans” criminals.

            But the thing which bothers me the most is the effect the law will have on the status of families. Some small children were brought into the country illegally by their parents. English is their primary language, they have progressed through our school systems, and they are qualified for employment.  Many of these have no memory of the land of their origin.  They are “Americans” and proud to be American.  If these young people are deported, they will be sent to a country they do not know and a culture with which they are not familiar. In essence, these young people will suffer as much as one of our own children would suffer if they were snatched away and deported to a foreign land.

            Another case in the news this week concerned an immigrant mother who is now a citizen and her two children, both born in the U.S. and U.S. citizens.  But her husband is an illegal alien.  If he is deported, she has great concern for how she will be able to provide for herself and her children, as well as the trauma of being separated from her husband.

            I haven’t read through the whole law, but I don’t recall any provision to fast track such young people or family members into citizenship.  But that would be the only fair way to handle the situation

            Whether you support the law or do not support the law, please pray for those who lives will be disrupted.  And pray for

the politicians and the judiciary to ease the transitions. 

Grace and peace.

Now I Know

            Over the years I have visited with, prayed with and sought to comfort hundreds of people with pneumonia.  Until last week I did not know for what I was praying.  I had never had pneumonia.  But as some of you already know, it was my turn.

            On Saturday I experienced a severe exhaustion.  Sunday I was still exhausted but went to the church for a deacons meeting and the worship service.  That afternoon I had a teeth chattering chill that lasted five hours.  Liz also said I was running a fever although we did not check it.  Monday morning I felt some better and went to the tennis court, but I was out of it.  Finally going to the doctor, the clinic diagnosed pneumonia, and the doctor put me in the hospital for two days of IV antibiotics, which I continued by mouth after release.

            To say the least, the experience was one of the worst I have ever known.  For days I was beset by weakness, breathlessness, loss of appetite, trouble sleeping and I could not concentrate or work at the desk.  In fact, I didn’t have the motivation to try.

            The episode reminded me of how vulnerable and frail we humans happen to be.  At the height of our strength, we need the Lord’s help.  And when we are weak we need Him more.  And the promise of His help is ours.  “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”  (Isaiah 40:31)  And I thank Him for the antibiotics I continue to take, antibiotics discovered and produced by men but inspired by Him.

Grace and peace.

A Hungry World

             This Sunday (October 9^th) is “World Hunger Sunday” on our denominational calendar.  Most Christian groups observe World Hunger Day at some point, usually in the fall.  Churches are encouraged to collect special offerings and send them for hunger relief.        It has been said often that the Christians of the world have the resources to end world hunger if they chose to do so.  At one point, some years ago, I believed that was true.  It may still be.  People identified as Christians control much of the wealth of the world.

            Now I don’t think the problem of hunger will ever be eradicated.  Crippling droughts have seized many lands, from the horn of Africa to areas of the United States and lands in between.  Floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, typhoons and tornadoes have interfered with food production.  Warring factions have even denied relief provided by the U.S. and other governments from reaching the populations for which it is intended.

            And in the U.S., one of the most blessed nations on earth, hunger still exists.  Religious and government entities have addressed the needs of the hungry, but have been unable to overcome it.

            Although I feel we cannot eradicate hunger, I believe it is God’s purpose for us to do what we can.  The Jimmy Hale mission reminds us on television of how little money it takes to provide a meal for one person (less than two dollars).  And we have multiple opportunities through the church and other charitable organizations to help.  And we can encourage the government to continue to provide relief around the world.

            One of the things Jesus will note at the final judgment is; “I was hungry and you gave me food.”  (Matthew 25:35)

Grace and peace.