A Bee or Not a Bee

Two bees ran into each other. The first bee asked the other how things were going.

"Really bad," said the second bee. "The weather has been really wet and damp and there aren't any flowers or pollen, so I can't make any honey."

"No problem," said the first bee. "Just fly down five blocks and turn left. Keep going until you see all the cars. There's a Bar Mitzvah going on and there are all kinds of fresh flowers and fruit."

"Thanks for the tip," said the second bee, and he flew away.

A few hours later, the two bees ran into each other again. The first bee asked, "How'd it go?""Great!" said the second bee. "It was everything you said it would be."

"Uh, what's that thing on your head?" asked the first bee.

"That's my yarmulke," said the second bee. "I didn't want them to think I was a wasp."

rehearsal

It was unusual. Rehearsing a rehearsal. A colleague of mine had asked me to
help her out. She had committed herself to perform a wedding, then found out that she would be out of town the night before--the night of the rehearsal. So, she asked me to do the rehearsal for her. I agreed.

Today I went over to the church and she ran me through the service the way she does it, with the variations decided on by the wedding party. This was the first time I had ever rehearsed a rehearsal. Luckily we both use the Book of Common Worship for the wedding service.

Most people do not realize how many little details have to be worked out for a wedding service. The fee a minister gets for a wedding isn't just for the service itself (which usually ends up taking most of a Saturday afternoon). The fee includes many telephone calls or emails, the preparation of the service itself, paper work for the government, counseling of the couple, a Friday evening for the rehearsal, coordination with others--organist, custodian, sound person, etc. It ends up being many hours juggling many details.

Paul calls the union of marriage "a profound mystery" (Eph. 5.32) The anonymous author of the letter to the Hebrews says, "Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure." (Heb. 13.4) John, in the book of Revelation, describes the Second Coming of Christ by saying, "For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready." (19.7) Every time we celebrate the Lord's Supper we are rehearsing the Wedding Banquet of the Lamb.

concert

A former parishioner (in fact, an Elder) gave Pat and me tickets to a concert last week. He was one of the singers. It was held in a UCC church in downtown Dayton. I had never been there before. The sanctuary reminded me of the church I grew up in. My home church had 900 people in Sunday School; and about 1200 in worship (two services). And like this church it had a large balcony, and the whole sanctuary was rounded. For the concert this old church was almost full. People of all ages gathered on a cold winter night to hear voices sing both sacred and secular Christmas music.

One song was particularly poignant. It was about a person wanting to attend Christmas Eve services, but was afraid that he wouldn't be accepted. Finally he found a church that welcomed him.

This was the first time I had ever heard the Dayton Gay Men's Chorus. They were very good.

(I kept waiting for them to sing the Christmas Carol that says: "Now we don our gay apparrel...Fa la la, la la la, la la la." But they never did.)

letter

Dear folks,

I feel miserable cause I have to keep writing for money. I feel ashamed and unhappy. I have to ask for another hundred, but every cell in my body rebels. I beg on bended knee that you forgive me.

Your son, Marvin

P.S. I felt so terrible I ran after the mailman who picked this up at the box at the corner. I wanted to take this letter and burn it. I prayed to God that I could get it back, but I was too late.

A few days later, he received a letter from his father:

Dear Son,

Good news! Your prayers were answered. Your letter never came!


This joke was reprinted from "Laugh Yourself Healthy" by Charles and Frances Hunter, with

The dead horse

[photo made in Xenia]


Someone said that in the course of life a small number of people will like you, a small number will dislike you, and the vast majority won't care one way or the other.

Anne Morrow Lindbergh once said, that our health and our regard for ourselves will be compromised "if day after day you do the opposite of what you desire, you say the opposite of what you believe, you allow yourself to be pushed and pulled where you do not want to go. The most exhausting thing in my life is being insincere."

Here's a bit of wisdom: "When your horse dies, get off!"

Garrison Keillor said on A Prairie Home Companion, "Give up your good Christian life and follow Christ."

Alan Watts wrote: "Rigid people feel some basic disgust with wiggles. They want to get things straight. But who can straighten our water?"

Gregg Levoy, writing about how we need to face our problems and fears head on, says, "You've got to be willing to boogie with the boogeyman."

(All of the above quotes are from Callings: Finding and Following an Authentic Life by Gregg Levoy)


Lord, give us the courage to boogey.... Make us less rigid... Help us to follow you--really follow you... Give us the courage to be sincere and authentic, not just playing a role... Let us give up living to be liked... Get us off the dead horse. Amen.

Race

I've had time to go back to Obama's speech on Race.
It's a courageous and wise speech.
Use it as an Advent meditation:

Obama Race Speech: Read The Full Text

Awake

The first Sunday reading for Advent is about Christ's second coming and tells us to 'watch' and 'stay awake.'

My problem has been getting to sleep, waking up. But the Advent call is to Wake Up!

What does that mean to you and me in our daily lives? How do we stay spiritually awake? I suppose it means that we have to keep our eyes open and pay attention. Did you see the Spirit at work today? Or were you asleep? Did you hear the voice of God today? Or were you asleep? Did you notice the angels today? Or were you asleep? Did Jesus have to to 'shake you' today to get you awake?

Perhaps Advent is a season to let God shake us.