There's Just Something About a Rainbow

 As June draws to a close we pause for a moment to acknowledge that this is Pride Month.  It is that time each year when we set aside a month to recognize, honor and celebrate the
wide variety of differences in sexual orientation and gender identifications found in the human family.  A veritable rainbow of differences!

I've been thinking about rainbows.  It is the beginning of rainy season here in Florida, and so we are being blessed with more rainbows than usual.  The other day my wife Linda even saw a full double rainbow!  Gorgeous!  

Now don't misunderstand what I am about to say.  All colors of the rainbow are beautiful.  Indigo.  Purple.  Red.  Yellow. Green.  Orange.  Each color brings its own specialness to the overall picture.  But a full-fledged rainbow, with every color, is something else altogether!  It is an exquisite expression of the beauty God has created in this world of ours.  Each color is enhanced by the presence of the other colors.  Each color is made all the more stunning by the others.

So it is when it comes to humanity.  Our differences are not cause for alarm.  Rather our differences are cause for celebration!  For our in our diversity there is great beauty.  And without the whole spectrum, it is just not the same.  Imagine a literal rainbow without red, for instance.  Just not the same!  Thankfully today we can and do acknowledge more freely the wonder of our diversity!  It is a beautiful thing to behold!

 

One More Time: Prayer in Public Schools

I believe in prayer, and engage in it daily.  And prayer is not impossible for children in public schools.  In fact, as one wag once put it, "More prayer happens in school before an algebra test thyan in church before the sermon."  But prayer shouldn't be mandated in schools funded with public monies.  Period.

But here in Florida folks persist in their effort to do just that.  The latest attempt is a new piece of legislation signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis, mandating a moment of silence at the beginning of the school day for all K-12 students in public schools.  On the surface, it sounds like a good idea.  A bit of time to silently pause and perhaps reflect on the day ahead, is good for all of us.  The trouble is, this is a thinly veiled attempt to get around the constitutionally mandated separation of church and state.

On signing the bill, the Governor said, "The idea that you can push God out of every public institution and be successful, I'm sorry, our founding fathers did not believe that."  And the signing took place in a synagogue.  How more obvious can one get?

It is also rather presumptuous to think anyone can push God out of any place!  That of course, is a theological view.  A religious view.  But there you have it.  But the question isn't whether or not God is present in public schools.  The question isn't whether or not prayer happens there.  God is, and prayer does.  Trust me.  But my religious perspective, nor that of any one else, should be forced on students.  Not at school.  
Period.

Books--Can't Live with 'Em, Can't Live Without 'Em!

Books have always been an important part of my life.  I was read to as a child.  From early on, one of my favorite gifts was a new book.  I collected biographies in late elementary school.  The signature series.  Biographies written especially for young people, with an imprint of the subject's signature on the cover.

I continue, decades later, to favor biographies.  Though I also enjoy a good novel and frequently read volumes on religion and society.  Frankly, I can't imagine my life without books.  I have borrowing privileges in three different library systems, and am on a first name basis with the owner of our local independently owned bookstore.

As you can imagine, I own hundreds, make that thousands, of books, and as I consider retiring in ten months or so, I will have to make some serious decisions about what to keep and what to give away.  Some may go to colleagues, others to family members, still others to local libraries.  And some, no doubt, will go to our congregation's used "bookstore."  But many of them I will want to keep, partly becuase I enjoy being surrounded by books, partly because some have sentimental value (my complete set of John Steinbeck paperbacks acquired in high school when I tore through everything he wrote, as an example)
and others because I will have need of them for research and comfort in my retirement.

I'm not sure I'd take on this vital task if not for the prompting of my wife, who has made it clear our condo isn't big enough for all of them.  She's an avid reader as well, but relies on the library for her selections.  I'll keep you posted.  So far--well, so far I haven't even begun! 

FEAR, ANGER AND MASKS

I am part of the Iona Community's Prayer Circle.  Every day I pray for a group of ten or twelve complete strangers who have requested that folks connected to Iona include them in their prayers.  

One of the benefits of being a part of the Prayer Circle is receiving the e-mail letter with updates  sent out from Glasgow Scotland by the Circle's coordinator, Chris Polhill.  Chris often has some real wisdom to share.  Last week I got the June edition of the letter, and was especially struck by part of what Chris had to say: "Fear," wrote Chris, "is a reasonable emotion for life in the time of a pandemic, it motivates us to live more safely and leads us to be more compliant with advice and rules  . . . It is not a very healthy or uplifting emotion however, and the relaxing of it allows space for other emotions to surface."  Emotions, Chris goes on to say, like anger.

There seems to have been a lot of anger about masks in this country.  I know there have been fights over them on airplanes and in stores.  Fortunately there have not been such outbursts here at church.  This past Sunday I was able to announce that we are changing our mask policy to coincide with the CDC recommendation that those who are fully vaccinated will no longer be required to wear masks in worship.  It was received with applause.  But I also said we continue to recommend that those who are not vaccinated do wear masks.  I wonder if that made anyone angry?  I hope
not.  It is being offered up for the good of those who are unvaccinated as well as the community at large. 

Perhaps we would all do well to closely monitor our own emotions as the fear engendered by the pandemic begins to wane.  And if we find ourselves feeling anger, perhaps we can follow the good advice offered up by Chris in that same letter.  It is my view that the safest place for anger is before God."  In other words, pray your anger.  Shout at God.  Punch a pillow as you mutter your words of anger to the Holy One.  For God can handle it.  As Chris writes, "God absorbs our anger and continues to love us."  And that is good news!   

 

What Do You Remember?

What do you remember?  having an 88 year old Mom with Alzheimer's I realize how important and at time poignant question that can be.  Mom can't remember what she had for dinner last night, but she still remembers details about her childhood, and, fortunately, who her own children are.  Even her eight grandchildren.  She does get a bit fuzzy about the eleven great-grandchildren, and she may not even remember she has one great-great.

She probably can tell you who the president is, she's followed current events fairly closely over the last couple of decades, but I am not sure she knows who the VP is.  Memory is a fragile thing, and intentionally or not, often very selective.  I think that is part of the reason why we set aside certain days to remember important events and people.  Days like Memorial Day.

As many of my readers know, and others may have long since intuited, I am a pacifist.  I am opposed to war.  But I still think it is important for us to remember and honor those who made, as we call it, the ultimate sacrifice.  I think it is important for a variety of reasons, not least of which is that it is a regular reminder that war comes at a great cost.  Not just to the enemy.  Not just to our own nation.  But to real families just like yours and mine.  Moms and Dads, sons and daughters, husbands and wives, who can't forget, don't want to forget, their loved ones who died in battle, who died in service. Memorial Day can and should prompt us to ask, how many more lives must be given over to war?   It is certainly my hope that in those memories we can find the key to peace, for without days like today, we can too easily forget.

First World Problems

Right at the moment there are two tile workers in my bathroom here to fix my new walk-in shower which was improperly installed when it was originally put in place.  The tile on the floor was all at the wrong pitch.  Or actually, at no pitch.  So water built up on it by the end of a shower and had to be squeegeed off.  So they are resetting the tile at a slight angle, thereby directing water flow down the drain.

The fellow who originally laid the tile was a new member of the crew, and very young and inexperienced.  The owner of the company is doing this reset himself.  He wants to make sure he ends up with a happy customer.  He gave me no hassle when I first called and told him of the problem.  And it is being done at no cost to my wife and me.  That is except for the inconvenience of not having a functioning shower for a few days.  But we'll manage! 

Our improperly laid tile shower floor is what some folks would call a first-world problem.  And so it is.  I can't help but think of the folks in Gaza and to a lesser extent in Israel, who are faced with far more serious rebuilding issues.  Many if not most of them don't have the resources needed to undertake such projects.  Nor are they covered by a warranty.  I suspect they aren't even covered under whatever insurance policies they may or may not have.  Acts of war rarely are!
  

As a white, middle class, male American I am very prone to forgetting just how fortunate I am.  I am prone to forget that I didn't do anything to earn that good fortune.  I didn't choose to be male, or American, or white--arguably I didn't even choose to be middle class.  But I am all of those things.  And as a result I am privileged.  I would be wise to remember that next time I am tempted to complain about my shower floor.  At least I still have a roof over my head--that and a whole lot more!

Heart Broken and Tongue Tied

I'll be honest with you.  I want to write about what's going on in Gaza and Israel.  I want to say something profound about the value of human life, no matter the religion, the ethnicity or the nationality of any particular individual.  I want to say, "Knock it off!"  But I just don't know how.

Partly that's because I feel underinformed about the whole matter.  I've been to Israel, twice.  I've been to the border with Gaza.  I've seen the wall and been stopped by Palestinian and Israeli soldiers in crossing between the two regions.  I have met Muslims, Jews and Christians in the region who are working on the ground for peace. I've read a fair amount about the issue.  But it still feels too complex to address in any meaningful way.

And maybe that's the problem.  It is complicated.  And it does feel like no matter what one says somebody will be upset, somebody will feel you are being unfair.  Maybe that's why peace talks have inevitably fallen apart in the region.  Maybe I'm not the only one who doesn't know what to say, how to address the issue.

One thing I do know for sure.  Lives are being lost.  Innocent lives.  Palestinian lives and Israeli lives.  And property is being destroyed, laid to ruin.  And none of this in the long run can do much to advance the cause of peace.  Violence, as I see it, only begets violence.  Not an original thought--but at the moment it's all I've got to offer.  That and my prayers.  My deeply felt and sincerely offered prayers.