Down from the Door Where it Began*

A January morning - specifically the 26th. A month away from my 72nd birthday. Lying in bed this morning I traveled back in time to my childhood. Not literally -- mentally and, I suppose, emotionally as well. I thought of various events and circumstances, some of which were delightful and some of which could only be described as embarrassingly painful. Most everybody has that mix of remembrances, so I am not devastated by thoughts of my past by any means.

I'm sure you're familiar with that classic reflective comment that goes "If I only knew then what I know now!" Some of that was going on in my brain until I came to my senses with the intrusion of Truth: That's not how life works...never did, never will. But still, I couldn't help replaying on the screen of my mind certain moments of my childhood and imagining how I may have been or what I might have said had I actually known then what I know now. It's a stretch, to tell you the truth. 

Naturally, I had all the right comebacks. And, of course, I was in complete control of every situation. I was a grade school wonder student to be admired by all and I was a super athlete that amazed others by my speed and prowess. (You are following this, aren't you? I'm talking about in my mind, not in reality.) 
The things by which I was embarrassed were eradicated--never happened--and the things that I shouldn't have done, I never did. And, of course, the things I should have done, I did without hesitation or second thoughts.

Then another thought came to my mind: it was time to make the coffee...to wake up to reality and to accept the fact that my life was what it was and is what it is because of what I was. Does that make sense? In other words, it played out exactly the way it was supposed to because of who and what I am.
My story and your story are but an unfolding of our unique purposeful presence in the world. 

Then I thought of a line from one of my favorite plays by Thornton Wilder, Our Town. Emily is a young girl who has died but is given permission to revisit one of her days on earth. She chooses the day of her 12th birthday, but it turns out to be a very disappointing, even painful experience. No one pays any attention to her because they are so busy doing other things. She asks the Stage Manager, "Doesn't anyone ever realize life while they live it?"

The coffee was good, and so has been and is my life. Some lessons have been hard and painful, others joyful and pleasant. And one thing I know for sure: I am still far from perfect at the almost age of 72, but it's okay because I was never intended to be perfect. And that is a universal truth that applies to the whole human family.

[*The title comes from a song by Bilbo Baggins from The Hobbit.]

On the Mediterranean

After-dinner conversation. Topic: you never know. Ancient Chinese folktale:

A farmer had a beautiful horse who was the envy of all his neighbors. One day the horse disappeared for no apparent reason. His neighbors came by to comfort him. They said, "We're so sorry to hear about your horse. This is such bad news!
The farmer said, "We'll see."
A week later, his horse returned with twenty beautiful wild horses. The neighbors said to him, "Congratulations! This is such good news!"
The farmer said, "We'll see."
One day soon after, the farmer's son was attempting to break in one of the wild horses, but the horse threw him off and he broke his leg.
The neighbors said to the farmer, "We're so sorry. This is such bad news. You must be so upset."
The farmer said, "We'll see."
War broke in the country and all young men were being drafted. That is, all young men except the farmer's son, who had a broken leg. The neighbors said to the farmer, "Congratulations! This is such good news!"
The farmer said, "We'll see."

The after-dinner conversation came to an agreeable conclusion: In life, we too easily decide that something is ultimately good or bad, based upon a present moment reality. In fact, many things that have appeared to be bad or even terrible have led to something very good in our lives. i.e.-celebrate or grieve depending on the situation, but don't give up on the ultimate goodness of Divine intentions. We are all on a journey, but not alone.

If you want to think more about this, I suggest Wayne Dyer's book I Can See Clearly Now.

[After a sabbatical from writing for the last several months, doing other things, I am returning to my blog.]

Butterflies Are Free

     

Many of you know that the butterfly is one of my favorite references as a spiritual symbol. I have used the butterfly story countless times in funeral homilies, Easter sermons, and in a number of other settings. I suppose you could say that it has in some ways become a kind of signature piece of my ministry. That’s true to the extent that through the years people have given me posters, cards and stained glass window ornaments. Many times when I’m about to officiate at a funeral service I say to myself, “I won’t tell the butterfly story today because so many people have already heard it.” And, with or without my permission, the words come streaming out of my mouth.

     I first told it as a seminarian at a funeral service I did for a young family who lost their husband and father. The widow called me the next day and very excitedly told me that they had gone out to the cemetery to visit her husband’s grave. While they were standing there, holding hands and hugging one another, all of a sudden a butterfly emerged from the flowers and circled around them and flew off. She said that she believed that that was a sign from her husband that he was fine and that he was saying goodbye to them. She thanked me profusely for telling the story. It’s been with me ever since.

     So one day we were touring the ancient ruins of Rome. I was deeply touched by the experience and as we stood on the ancient road, I thought of the likes of the Apostle Paul, passing through the Forum on those very same stones perhaps and from prison writing the book of Romans to inspire people to not lose faith. It was a deep spiritual moment for me.

     Two days later we were at the Vatican standing in a portico of St. Peter’s Square. We were listening to Pope Francis give mass to literally thousands of people gathered there. One of the readers read from the book of Romans in English. Then I suddenly noticed that Chris was taking my picture, but I didn’t particularly know why until she showed me. At that moment a butterfly had landed on the bill of my hat. And yes, you could say that that wasn’t unusual except for the fact that there was nothing to attract a butterfly in that entire area of the Square—no flowers, no foliage—just thousands of people.

     Bottom line: I’m still thinking about that, although I guess the truth of it is that butterflies are free to be wherever they choose to be.

Marvelous World!

Well, we're back, safe and sound from 17 days in Italy. It was a great trip that will ne'er be forgotten. The following is a summary, if you're interested:

Rome for three days, stayed at the home of Mario Bova, retired Italian Ambassador to Japan and Albania, along with his spouse, Katerina. Wonderful home!
Toured ancient ruins of Rome, including the Colosseum and Pantheon.

Toured the Vatican Gardens, the Sistine Chapel, and heard Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square (there's more to that to be told yet)

Puglia  Stayed at the home of Mario's brother, John Franco and his spouse, Juliana. Participated in the "maiden voyage" of a new business of touring in Italian classic cars throughout the countrysides of southern regions of Italy. Road in Fiats, Alfa Romeos, and some others I can't remember at the moment.

Amalfi Coast for four days. Absolutely Beautiful! Stayed in a flat overlooking the Mediterranean, in a residence recently vacated by Kevin Kostner (He left the rooms in great shape and by the way, the owner didn't charge us a thing!)

Took a boat out to Capri, had lunch, Chris, Tim and Ellie swam in the blue Mediterranean waters.

Venice Two nights...It was okay, but not our cup of tea. However, went to a great concert of Vivaldi's Four Seasons at St. Stefano Church. Spent time in St. Marc's Square, toured St. Marc's Basilica, and had some great food.

Verano Move on to the wonderful city of Verano for one night on our way to Alps. This was one of our favorite cities...clean, friendly and again, great food.
While here we went to Juliette's castle and courtyard. Did you know that Shakespeare's play was loosely based on history? There's a balcony that is regarded as Juliette's but,again, who knows?

The Dolemites (the Italian Alps) Stayed in the Alps just above the quaint Italian village of Luserna. (More also to be shared about that). The place we stayed was Compo Malga, a lodge that mostly hosts cross-country skiers and bicyclists. We hiked and enjoyed magnificent scenery! 

More will be shard about all of this. We're glad to be back but sure had a great time!

GOD BLESS EVERYONE--NO EXCEPTIONS

My sermon this morning was called "God Bless Everyone--No Exceptions." That's not how it appeared in the bulletin due to some kind of  a mix-up. But this is an excerpt from my manuscript should you care to read it. It's quite a bit longer than my usual blog postings, so I won't be disappointed or hurt if you aren't interested (but on the other hand, I won't know anyway, will I?). 
     Some of you don’t know that I was part of the folk song generation growing up.I was also part of the rock and roll era early on, but my interest quickly shifted to folk songs when Peter, Paul, and Mary, the Kingston Trio, Pete Seeger and a whole lot of other people showed up on the music scene. I sang in a few coffee houses, played in a blue grass band, and provided music at the Music Pier in Ocean City on youth weekends. From that, of course, there was a natural transition into the music of John Denver and James Taylor and others of their genre. And I’ve pretty much stayed with that, although for my listening enjoyment these days I also tune in to jazz and classical music on National Public Radio, which is really the only radio station I ever listen to.

     It shouldn’t be too surprising for you then to learn that patriotic songs for me were the likes of “This Land Is Your Land” and “Where Have All the Flowers Gone.” That’s where I came from musically, my friends. Don’t hold it against me.I don’t deny my past because I’m still pretty much in that place now. And that’s the way it is for all of us. We’re born into a particular flow of life based on the era into which we entered this world, and in the midst of it, get into step with whatever resonates most with the rhythm of our innermost being.That’s how it happens—not just in America—but all around the world. People in other countries on other continents are born into a lifestyle so different from ours that there is almost no way we can relate to it.And quite honestly, we often tend to think that theirs is inferior to ours.

     But even just sticking to our country, there is a multitude of differences of opinions, styles of life, preferences of place to live and move and have our being, chosen religious affiliations and beliefs, favorite food, music, and things to do. Yet here’s the thing—and it is an undeniable truth: none of us has had a thing to do with where in the world we were born and into which family we were born and whether we came into the world rich or poor,athletic or clumsy, musical or “can’t carry a tune in a bucket,” as they say.None of those things are either to our credit or are our fault. It’s just the way life is.

     Each member of the human family is born into the particular conditions of the time and place in which they entered the world.We come out of our mother’s womb curiously looking at the faces that are staring back at us, trying to get our bearings as to what just happened to us and where we are. And eventually we find our place in this little blue planet and come to terms with its peculiarities and quirks, and discover what we think we believe, and what we like, and sometimes what we want to do with our lives.

     My father used to say to me, “Son, you’ll never regret the experience.” He said that to me even when I was drafted into the army. I can’t say that I agreed with him when I was doing KP or going through basic training or standing at attention during inspections while someone was especially interested in being able to see his face in my shoes. But when the army experience was finally over, it turned out that my father was right--I didn't regret it.

     The point is that each of us have our own stories that are being written in the annals of human history. It’s true for us on the soil of this great country in which we live and it’s true for the people all over this planet who consider their country great.And all of us in the human family are in this thing called life together. But, of course, we have no choice, do we? There's nowhere else for us to go.We are all on this tiny globe in space somewhere in the vastness of the universe.
     One day when Jesus was asked what are the most important commandments he said, that the first is to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. Then he said the second commandment is to "Love your neighbor as yourself." In another place he said, "You have heard that it was said,'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."

     In other words, as a bumper sticker I saw one day driving through Princeton said, “God bless everyone—no exceptions.” Now when I say that, I imagine some of you saying to yourself, "Everyone?" And my response to that is, "Yes--everyone--no exceptions." But I also want to make clear exactly what is meant by God's blessing. It doesn't mean that God blesses everyone, whether good or evil, as in an approving Divine gesture. Instead God's blessing gives to each just what is needed to empower us with goodness. God's blessing is filled with the power for healing, changing, renewal, as well as peace, love, joy, and hope. And that's something that everyone needs.
     So to ask for God's blessing for everyone--no exceptions--is to ask that all humankind receive what is needed to bring about a world that is energized by love and goodwill for everyone--a planet of harmony and peace, including the transformation of those with evil intent into people of good intent. As Paul wrote to the Church in Rome, "Overcome evil with good." It's a pretty powerful concept. If we could only all sing the "one song." The word "universe" can be divided into "uni" meaning one and "verse" meaning song.

Generous Hearts

We have been gifted a trip to Italy! That's the second time in our marriage that the generosity of other people has sent us to places we never expected to go. The first was a wonderful trip to Ireland for our honeymoon. Our usual vacations are either camping, renting a house on LBI, or day trips. We're very excited, of course, along with a little apprehensive regarding our travel skills for Europe, but we won't be traveling alone. Our son, Tim, and his girlfriend (who grew up in Rome, just three blocks from the Vatican) will be our tour guides. 

But the thing that's mostly on my mind in the writing of this, is the generosity of the human spirit. 

We live in a world that easily causes people to feel insecure, fearful, greedy, distrusting, and angry. Society has created a sense of life that in some ways feels threatening to our well-being. And, of course, there is a truth to the fact that people do get hurt in hundreds of ways in making their way through life's journey.


But generosity in its deepest and most meaningful sense is the calling of everyone who would earnestly seek to make this a better and more congenial world for the whole human family.  When I say "human family" I mean everybody regardless of age and background, how much money you have in the bank, how many degrees you have hanging on the wall, and regardless of your religious affiliation. (Religion, by the way, is irrelevant if it is merely a way of practicing some form of ritual for the sake of having completed a spiritual obligation and/or represents a form of elitism and doesn't create a generous heart.)

A truly generous heart doesn't require the spending of money.It is completely free for those who choose to express it. It merely involves being loving, open, compassionate, forgiving, sympathetic, empathetic, kind, inclusive, nonjudgemental and sensitive to the feelings of others. 

Sound trite? I don't apologize for that. For those of us who claim the Christian faith, that is the Way of Christ--nothing less. But beyond that, for anyone who would seek to make the world a better place--even in simplest way--having a generous heart is the greatest contribution any of us can make toward that end.