Presby-Musings

I started watching Ted Lasso  again and realized that it's still the kind of television show America needs more than ever.  If you are unfamiliar with Ted Lasso , here's the "official" description:  An American football coach is hired to manage a British soccer team; what he lacks in knowledge he makes up for in optimism, determination and biscuits. The creator and star of Ted Lasso is Saturday Night Live alum Jason Sudeikis, who plays the character of Ted Lasso to perfection.  His unusual style of coaching, which focuses on player motivation, kindness, and honesty, transforms everyone around him.  And the Lasso quotes, oh, the quotes... they are fantastic.   Above everything else, Lasso seeks to instill hope in his players, coaches, and even the team's management, who hired him under false pretenses. He was brought on to fail but somehow defies everyone's expectations.  Below is one of the Lasso-isms that I absolutely love:  “I think it’s the lack of hope th

When I was younger, I always bought General Admission tickets to almost every concert I attended because I was... well, younger.   In my late teens and early twenties, I didn't mind not having a place to sit while I enjoyed a show, and I didn't mind getting into the middle of "mosh pits" or being nearly crushed against the barricade between the audience and the stage.   But after decades of sitting in comfort in assigned seats far from the maddening crowd, I have recently taken to buying General Admission / Pit tickets again, and I'm loving it.  To begin with, I can see better, which is important as one reaches a certain age.  I'm tall enough to see over most people, and when I wear boots to a show, I can add a couple of inches to my height.   Secondly, believe it or not, it's not as loud in front of the stage. Almost all speakers aim to fill the amphitheater or arena with sound, making the area "down front" slightly less noisy. This is also suit

Recently, I came across a quote from an essay in 2004 by the late Kurt Vonnegut that resonated with me, so I thought I would share it and reflect on it a bit:  For some reason, the most vocal Christians among us never mention the Beatitudes. But, often with tears in their eyes, they demand that the Ten Commandments be posted in public buildings. And of course that’s Moses, not Jesus. I haven’t heard one of them demand that the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, be posted anywhere.  “Blessed are the merciful” in a courtroom? ​“Blessed are the peacemakers” in the Pentagon? Give me a break! Twenty years ago, Vonnegut spotlighted a severe problem of American Christianity, which has since become a tragedy.   What constitutes mainstream Christianity in America right now seems absolutely devoid of Jesus' teachings, and even when Jesus is mentioned, the Jesus that is depicted, described, and lifted up doesn't resemble the Jesus of the Gospels in the least.   The Jesus that far too ma

I promised a friend that while on my solo road trip this summer, I would reread Herman Hesse's most influential and famous work,  Siddartha.     In the book, Siddartha leaves his family as a young man to pursue a contemplative life. He then becomes restless and discards it to pursue wealth, romance, and power. He then becomes sickened by his own lust and greed and walks away from everything once again. Siddartha finds himself near a river where he hears a unique sound. This sound signals the true beginning of his life—suffering, rejection, peace, and wisdom.   The copy I have is around 35 years old, given to me by a co-worker who I had countless hours discussing faith and life with as I was then wholly walking away from Christianity.    He inscribed, "I flatter myself to think that we are kindred spirits; may our paths cross often."  Sadly, our paths have never crossed since then, but I have placed my copy of Siddartha on every bookshelf in every home office or church off

Today, we conclude the three-part sermon series "Flesh & Blood: Mysteries of the Eucharist."   We continue learning from the lectionary what it means to live in the community of Christ. This series is focused on the Sacrament of Holy Communion. Today: The Challenge of Communion What do we do when we don’t fully get what it means?  Or have we been taught that it’s something exclusive? Or feel we’re not worthy?  When we focus on the particulars and miss the meaning…  Goblets, Formality, Barriers...  One of my former churches had an unusual way of celebrating the Lord's Supper. At some point in its 140-plus-year history, it began using tiny silver goblets for Communion, which it only celebrated once a month.  These were honest-to-God, silver-plated goblets that sat precariously on the trays used to distribute them.   You can imagine what happened every single time we passed them around.   We celebrated Communion every Sunday at our casual service because we didn't us

I've been a romantic for most of my life and probably still am somewhere deep inside.  I tend to hold hope in the power of love, but some callouses have formed around my heart over the last several years, mainly because our culture has become so fractured and uncivil.  Many of us are feeling the same way. Add to that the memory of the global pandemic, the civil unrest, and the contentious elections since then, and it's easy to see why.   As if that weren't enough, scores of us have also experienced profound life changes, difficult losses, and other similar experiences that have left us grieving and uncertain about the future.  I was reading Anne Lamott's latest book,  Somehow: Thoughts on Love,  recently and came across the following passage that gave me chills (the good kind):  One thing is certain: Love is our only hope.  Love springs from new life, love springs from death.  Love acts like Gandhi, our pets, Jesus, Mr. Bean, Mr. Rogers, and Bette Midler.  Love just won

In the late 1980s, I got a part-time job at a record store for an employee discount.  Since I had a full-time job at Walt Disney World at the time, I worked about 70 hours a week and only had one day off, but it was worth it to be able to buy my music at half price.  One of my jobs every week was to change out the singles chart behind the counter to match the current Billboard Hot 100 singles for the week.   In case you were wondering, the singles chart took up a whole wall behind the counter, and all of the singles were 45s (smaller vinyl records for the uninitiated).  I also received many freebies when the record labels sent promo material, and by the time I had to give up my part-time job after a few years, I had amassed a record collection of over 600 vinyl albums.  And then, as the years went by, I slowly got rid of them all.  Vinyl gave way to compact discs, MP3 players, iPods, and iPhones.   I worked at the record store on the last day we sold actual records and filled all the

My middle son Jackson recently got into hiking and camping, which happily coincided with my renewed interest in both.   Not long after I returned from my long, solo road trip, Jackson made me promise to go on a hike with him, and I couldn't say no.   We planned to drive to Colorado Bend State Park, about an hour north of Llano, TX and decided that on our journey back home, we would stop at one of Texas' oldest and most famous barbecue spots, Cooper's BBQ in Llano.  Of course, it decided to rain that day, which dampened my spirits a bit more than Jackson's.   And by rain, I mean it poured on us as we hiked, which definitely made things cooler but also turned the ground into a muddy mess and the rocks we traversed over periodically into slip-n-slides.  I was doing my best not to be grumpy about the whole thing, even as I nearly fell a score of times.  Jackson has a naturally cheery disposition and is so undeterred by the elements that it seems shameful to complain about i

I was driving through Arizona on my recent road trip from the Grand Canyon to Albuquerque, New Mexico when I decided to take a side quest based on a song.   More on that in a moment.  Sometimes, when you are on a journey, you must stay focused and ignore the distractions that might keep you from reaching your destination at an appointed time. You may be expected to arrive or have reservations that must be maintained so you keep your eyes on the road.  And then there are journeys where time is not a constraint to you, and what might have been a distraction in different circumstances becomes a welcome detour.    Fortunately, I was recently traveling without many time constraints as I drove through the flat, arid central Arizona landscape when I  saw a sign that read, "Winslow 49 miles."  I need to explain why this was significant for me and why I decided to visit Winslow, AZ, which was a mere 49 miles away at that moment. It's all because of a song by the 70s supergroup, Th

I wasn't prepared for the breathtaking beauty of the Grand Canyon when I first saw it during my road trip this summer.  It had been a longer-than-expected drive that day because I miscalculated when I estimated my drive time.   I had put "Grand Canyon National Park" into my Apple Maps the day before and saw that it was a little over five hours from Salt Lake City, where I had spent the night.  So, I slept in and got a leisurely breakfast before heading out.  Then, I put in the coordinates for the campground I had reservations for that evening and discovered that I had an additional three hours to drive since it was on the South Rim of the Canyon.   By the time I finally arrived at the park's entrance, it was around 7 p.m. As I drove toward the campsite, I saw a turnoff for a view of the Canyon and decided to take a peek.   Some folks call the time I arrived "The Golden Hour," when the sun begins to set, and the light takes on a golden hue. This brings everyt

It's the 13th Sunday After Pentecost, and we will continue learning from the lectionary what it means to live in the community of Christ. This series is focused on the Sacrament of Holy Communion. The sermon series we are working on for next week is entitled Flesh & Blood: the Mysteries of the Eucharist. We are exploring the meaning of the sacrament of Holy Communion.   Today: The Blood of Jesus or The Cup of Salvation  There are different traditions about what we drink during Holy Communion. In my experience, some denominations are pretty adamant about drinking wine during communion—Catholic, Lutheran, and Episcopal, for example.  This often depends on a particular word: ecclesiology, or the study of church structure, doctrine, and practice.   Those with a high ecclesiological view of Communion tend to stick to wine, while there are often divergences between those with a slightly lower ecclesiology.   Practically speaking, we use grape juice here at Shepherd for several reason

During my recent visit to Seattle, I saw the Kenny Chesney/Zac Brown Band in concert at Lumen Field, where the Seattle Seahawks play football.  I bought a ticket for the "Sand Pit," the General Admission, the standing-room-only area right before the stage.  By carefully working my way to the front, I got behind a group of young women who were right against the barricade, separating the stage from the crowd.   They were there primarily to see one of the opening acts, Megan Moroney, who I can best describe as Taylor Swift for the country music-loving, mini-skirt-and-boot-wearing female crowd, which was well-represented at the show.  The young women in front of me sang every song Moroney performed, word-for-word, dancing and screaming intermittently when she passed in front of them on the stage.   At one point, Moroney reached down and grabbed the hand of one of the young women, who then turned to her friends, screaming and holding out her hand, seemingly contemplating whether s

I visited Salt Lake City, Utah, during my recent road trip. It is a city I've never experienced before but one I'd love to return to someday to spend more than just a day, which is all the time I had to visit.   I was pleasantly surprised by all that Salt Lake City had to offer and how forward-thinking and artsy it is.  I guess I had preconceived notions about what I would encounter, considering how powerful the Mormon church is in that part of the world.   The locals that I met and hung out with later in the evening (who eventually convinced me to go sing karaoke with them until the wee hours) had some pretty harsh things to say about Mormons and Mormonism in general. Nearly all of them had been raised Mormon and had left the Church.   The city is beautiful and clean, with breweries, restaurants, and great nightlife. Signs and posters advertising Pride events from June were still up, and the public art I encountered was unique.  One art installation caught my eye, though. It w

Located next to the Space Needle in Seattle, Chihuly Garden and Glass is one of the city's most visited sites.   I paid a leisurely visit to the Garden while in Seattle on my recent road trip in July, and I was absolutely gobsmacked by what I experienced.   The artist behind the incredible glasswork in the Garden is Dale Chihuly, who holds a degree in Interior Design from the University of Washington, a Master of Science in Sculpture from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture from Rhode Island School of Design.  He also received a grant from the Tiffany Foundation and was a Fullbright Scholar.  Chihuly apprenticed at the Murano glass factory near Venice and then returned to the U.S. to begin his life's work: creating some of the most intricate and fantastic glassworks the world has ever seen.   Below is a photo of one of the works that was created for the garden area of the exhibit, designed to look like an incredible tree:  The fascinating thi

No visit to Seattle is complete without a full tour of Pike Place Market.   Established in the late 1800s, Pike Place Market was a true-to-farm-to-market co-op that brought vegetables, meat, fish, and flowers directly from the farms of Eastern Washington over the mountains and to Seattle during the heady days of the Gold Rush.  It has since become an iconic part of Seattle's tourism industry and a convenient place for Seattle residents to shop, eat, and socialize.   The sights and sounds of the market are absolutely incredible, and when I stayed in Seattle for a few days recently, I found myself drawn to it several times.   Pike Place Market is also home to the original Starbucks Coffee shop, which has become a destination for visitors and fans of the international coffee chain over the last few decades.   In fact, every day that I visited the market, I was astounded at the line that would form outside the original Starbucks, filled with people who wanted to say that they got a cup