Prepackaged Communion

I don’t know if this is the epitome of modernism or the proof that postmodernism is in full swing. Today I received in the mail perhaps the most ridiculous item ever. I mean, I can handle almost anything in the way of convenience. Years ago I had a church treasurer refuse to buy me a baptismal robe and waders until I convinced him that it would make it convenient for us to do baptisms in the middle of a worship service. He reluctantly agreed.

But this is over the top. Tell me, is it modernism run amuck or postmodernism getting a firmer foothold. The item: It is a prepackaged communion set. It comes in just the right size to fit in our service trays. There is a little cellophane tab that you pull up and the wafer is exposed. Then you pull the foil top and the grape juice is ready to drink.

The advertising says they will last without refrigeration for 12 months. They will be less expensive because there is less waste. No preparation time or clean up time is involved for the deacons/ communion committee. They are packaged and sealed for purity. I mean, haven’t we already sanitized our faith enough? And of course it would save time because the servers would only have to make one pass, you get the bread and cup at one time.

I can think of a couple of other ways we could use them. We wouldn’t need as many Deacons present for a service as they wouldn’t have to be hand passed, they could literally be passed out. If someone dropped one they wouldn’t spill. They are sealed.

If the service ran long, those who don’t have more than an hour to spare for worship could leave early and just pick up a pack on the way out and observe at the first stop light. The scripture is printed right on top of the cellophane so you could read it out loud to yourself as you opened the tab.

We might need to change some of the words. “This is my body, pre packaged for you.” Doesn’t that sound more sanitized than broken?

I am sure my postmodern friends and children will accuse us moderns of this abomination. I don’t know though. There has to be a reason it didn’t find its way to market until 2006.

Please pray with me that the Communion Packaging Company of Sanford, Florida will be short lived.

Think About This Too

In a book published so long ago the copywright date is in Roman Numerals, I think it says 1961, Vance Havner, long time evangelist made this statement.

"In this nuclear age we must remember that survival is not the chief end of man. A little boy was asked what he hoped to be twenty-five years from now. He replied, "Alive!" But it is better to die for a conviction than to live by compromise. 'Tis man's perdition to be safe when for the truth he ought to die,' said Patrick Henry. He did not say, 'Give me liberty, death, or peaceful coexistence with George III.' Teddy Roosevelt said that among the things which would destroy America were 'Peace at any price' and 'Safety first instead of duty first.'

from Pepper and Salt, page 31

Wanted: Dead or Alive

Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. (2 Corinthians 5:9 (NASB95))

Paul has just used “at home or absent” to refer to being alive or dead. (look at 5:6 & 5:8) In this sentence then he is saying that our ambition ought to be to please God whether we are dead or alive. Wow! I think it pretty much goes without saying, we will please God when we are with him in heaven. The question then is, “Do I please God more in life than I will in death?”

What do I need to do today to please God?

Send Me The Trophy

Send me the trophy.  In my bracket challenge group, I am the champion.  After years of fumbling near the bottom of the pack, I have won my first bracket challenge, and the final games haven’t even been played.  All my challengers are out.  None of their teams made the final four.  And who pulled me through?  UCLA.  Go Bruins.  

Jen thinks it is silly to get hyped about winning something in which I don’t win anything at all.  But I do win bragging rights for a whole year, and that is something after being trashed talked to year after year.  After all, I am the 2006 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tourney, McConkey Boys Challenge, CHAMPION.  “Cut down the nets!”

Poor Old Lobos the Worst is Yet to Come, Hey!

The worst thing any team can have happen to them is for me to choose them to win. Mercy! I lost half my final four on Sunday afternoon. Admittedly I didn’t choose number one seeds, but I chose teams that should have at least made it into the sweet sixteen and on into the elite 8. Instead, I only have two left for the final four.

Tonight when I got home from work I turned on the women’s tourney. New Mexico was six points ahead of Baylor. I watched for only a few minutes and the Lobos were down 11 points. A 17 point turnaround. I got disgusted, and Bill O’Reilly came on, so I switched. Only to discover that in the last minute and a half the lobos got it back to four points.

I decided the best thing I could do for them was to not watch the second half, but ESPN made that decision for me. They went back to another game. Unfortunately that didn’t work and the Lady Lobos went down by 20.

Not a good year for Lobo fans. No bowl game for the football team. No post season for the basketball team, not even a NIT bid. And the ladies didn’t make it to the sweet 16 again. We can only wait til next year.

On Fire for Jesus?

I was reading about a church in a mess in a local paper.  (A church is in a mess when they are writing about the troubles in a local paper.)  One person they quoted though, really inspired me to think.  He said, “The church will be ok.  We have a lot of people who are on fire for Jesus.”

Am I on fire for Jesus?  Is anybody in our church on fire for Jesus?  Do I really know anybody who is on fire for Jesus?  What does it mean to be on fire for Jesus?  I want to be on fire for Jesus!  Does anyone think I am on fire for Jesus?  (I am not asking you to respond to this blog.  I may be afraid of the answer.)

How do we become on fire for Jesus?  I want to be on fire for Jesus.  

I read somewhere the following.  “Some people hate sin, but they don’t love Jesus. Some people love Jesus but they don’t hate sin. The secret is to Love Jesus and hate sin.”

The first person is a legalist.  The second is a libertine.  The third is where we need to be.  I want to love Jesus, be on fire for him, not just hate sin.  

If Sports Championships were determined like Oscars

The Academy Awards are a joke. What would happen if we chose the football championship the same way. There wouldn’t need to be a super bowl. Instead we could have an awards banquet, ala Oscar night and choose the champion by a vote of the league presidents and a few other undisclosed voters. Whichever team evoked the most emotion, tried to break down previous taboos, or had the saddest story would be this years champion.

If you add the box office receipts of all the nominated best pictures it doesn’t equal the take of the number 4 best attended movie. Whoever thinks that Hollywood is about entertainment is mistaken. It is about messages. And that is ok, I guess, but lets at least be honest about it. Which ever of the 5 nominated pictures win, it isn’t the best picture of 2005. Not by a long shot.

I think I will skip the show and listen to Wolfman Jack on my XM radio.

A Starbuck Moment

I stopped by Starbucks this morning on the way to the office.  I usually get my morning Starbuck coffee fix at Albertson’s.  This morning I had no need to go to the store, so I just stopped at the stand alone Starbucks.  After all, I told myself I have two Starbucks gift cards that I have been given lately.  (I also have a couple of Einstein’s gift cards as well.)

As I started to pay for my brew with the card I just kind of wondered aloud, “I wonder why people give me gift cards instead of inviting me to coffee?”  The cashier heard my rambling and said, “Maybe you are just a difficult person.”  

Hmmmm.  Maybe I am.

Greatest Snow on Earth

     I set my alarm for 5:30 Thursday morning.  When I went to bed it was snowing and Jen had to work Thursday.  That means I have to get enough snow off of the driveway by 6:20 that she can get her car up to the road.  Sure enough, Thursday morning showed about 8 inches of snow.  I went out and fired up the snowblower.  It was awesome!  The snow was the type that gives Utah the title, “greatest snow on earth.”  It was dry, light and fluffy, so light the blower shot it all the way into the street from the bottom of the driveway.
     When Jen came out to go to work I told her it would be a great day to call in sick with the Alta Flu.  Of course she didn’t and we missed a great chance for powder skiing.  We tried to make up for it today.  The skiing was great, but the powder was mostly skied down.  

Walk The Line

I went to see Johnny Cash Friday night.  I figured I would have a front row seat to see ole Johnny sing.  The theater was so crowded, I had an almost front row seat.  But it was primarily to see ole Johnny drink beer and pop pills.  

Joaquin Phoenix  and Reese Witherspoon did an incredible job singing.  The story of one man’s battle and eventual victory over drugs was inspiring.  It would have been even more so if they had been a little more clear about how that victory was achieved.  The only reference to a spiritual victory was one short scene showing June leading Johnny to Church.

One day in 1956, quite by accident rather than design, Johnny Cash and three other young stars, Elvis
Presley, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis were recorded at Sun Records in Memphis while they were just messing around and singing mostly old gospel songs.  The album is called “The Millionaire Quartet.”  I haven’t got it yet, but it might be a good listen.

Times of Refreshing are Coming

Driving home from work this evening, just before dark, I found myself sinking into the mulligrubs because of the winter inversion. In the winter time in Salt Lake City, the city smog gets trapped in the valley and at times it can get very bad. We aren’t to that point yet, but this is the way it starts.

Only one thing reverses this blight on our otherwise beautiful city. A storm! We need a winter storm to move through. First it gets worse. It gets colder, it snows, driving becomes difficult. We have to shovel snow. But when the snow storm has exited the valley, the crud is gone with it.

What a relief. Take a nice deep breath of fresh air. Look at the beautiful blue sky. More relief that the plop plop fizz fizz of an Alka Seltzer. Anyway, I was thinking along these lines tonight on my ride home relishing the thought that on Friday a snowstorm is predicted, so on Saturday there will be a refreshing day of glorious winter sunshine in our valley.

That reminded me of Peter’s sermon in Acts where he promises times of refreshing that come from the presence of the Lord. But just like the storm that brings the refreshing to the Salt Lake Valley, there is a storm that brings the refreshing from God. It is called repent and turn, so our sins can be wiped away.

Sin cause a spiritual inversion to take place in our lives. We get the mulligrubs in our life. We feel the depression that comes from a lack of good spiritual air to breath. And it is trapped by sinful inversion. How to get rid of it? Confess the sin. 1 John 1:9. Turn from the sin. And let the refreshing after storm of God’s spirit bring an atmosphere of refreshing.

Acts 3:19 “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; (NASB95)
----Peter the Apostle

Merry Christmas

When I was a boy around Christmas time we had an old book that had stories, songs, and poem in it.  As I remember they were all Christmassy, but may not have been.  There was one small poem that became a family favorite, called The Snowman.  I am sorry, but I don’t know who to credit as the authority.

The Snowman
Once there was a snowman who stood outside the door,
He thought he'd like to come inside and play upon the floor, 
He thought he'd like to warm himself by the fire light red
He thought he’d  like to play upon the big white bed 
So he called the north wind, “help me now I pray,” 
I'm completely frozen standing here all day,  
So the north wind came along and blew him in the door, 
Now there’s nothing left of him but a puddle on the floor.

Have a very Merry Christmas

Jerry Falwell and Kicking Butts

Does anyone know the source of the oft repeated quote from Jerry Falwell about “kicking butts?”  Jerry is not always the most delicate spokesperson but I would like some proof that he said this.  

"The fact is we've gone on the offense now. We've put them on the defense. We're kicking their butts and they're unhappy."

I have seen it quoted in a lot of places.  No one has said where or when he said it.  I just wonder.

    

Joining the Holiday vs Christmas debate

     This is quite interesting methinks.   On both sides the heat is up and the thinking is down.  Or maybe I am just dense and don’t even know when I am insulted.  When I was younger and heard the phrase Happy Holidays or Season’s Greetings it didn’t immediately jump to my mind that someone was replacing Christmas.  I thought they were being inclusive of the three major holidays in 5 ½ weeks to end each year.  There are actually 5 holidays if you include the eves.  So if you wanted to wish someone a great 5 ½ weeks you could just abbreviate and say, “Happy Holidays”  That phrase was meant to include Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years, and if you were Jewish you could substitute Hanukah  for Christmas if you wanted to, and nobody seemed to mind.

     Christians don’t mind sharing their season.  What they mind is getting kicked out of their own holiday.  The problems began when it became politically correct to avoid the terrible C word.  Whatever you do don’t say Merry Christmas.  You might offend one of the 6% of Americans who carry such a chip on their shoulder.  When a store begins to demand political correctness from its employees they need to be ready to take the heat.  

     There are some great cartoons, (representing both sides in the debate) at http://www.cagle.com/news/PoliticallyCorrectChristmas/main.asp

Sports Nut or Nutty Sports

The last two nights have been unusual sports nights for me.  On Thursday night I saw the Lakers beat the Jazz.  What is unusual?  I am not crazy about the NBA.  I agree with a friend of mine who said “In the NBA they ought to give both teams 100 points and start the fourth quarter.”  

The game ended in controversy.  Kobe Bryant shot a desperation shot as time ran out and missed. Utah and Utah fans thought they had won the game.  The Delta Center erupted in noise.  But—and this is a big one—There was a foul called.  Kobe made the foul shots and the game went to overtime where the Lakers prevailed.  Two days later the Utah papers are crying foul, or rather “what foul?”

Then last night I went to the first college volleyball match I have ever attended.  It is the first round of the NCAA playoffs.  I learned that volleyball scoring has changed since I was in gym.  Some of the other rules have changed too, but since I never knew the rules anyway that didn’t make a difference.  The other thing I learned is that there are an awful lot of really tall girls in college these days.  

I enjoyed the two nights mainly because of the friends I went with.  Thank the Lord for friends, they make the day worthwhile.  

T.V. Must be Sad

I think television must have hit its low point. Yesterday was prime example. First, our local Salt Lake City CBS station thought that showing the Chargers/Patriots was a better choice than the Broncos/Jaguars. Notwithstanding probably half or more of the football fans in Utah are Bronco fans. Then in the afternoon game, for whatever reason, the Fox channel shows the Chiefs/Eagles rather than the Raiders/Cowboys. I don't understand that one at all.

The Sunday night game was between two loser franchises, and was boring so we started looking for something to watch. The news channels were endlessly repeating last weeks news, the movie on the western channel was showing for at least the 25th time this month.

So starting with the local broadcast channels we started cruising the channels and you know what we finally ended up watching? You won't believe it. We watched three episodes of The Andy Griffith Show. Yep with Andy, Barney, Aunt Bea, Goober, Gomer, Opie, and all. The best thing on TV was a 50 year old black and white sitcom.

Oh my.

A Church Dilemma

Squirrels had overrun three churches in town. After much prayer, the elders of the first church determined that the animals were predestined to be there. Who were they to interfere with God's will? they reasoned. Soon, the squirrels multiplied.
The elders of the second church, deciding that they could not harm any of God's creatures, humanely trapped the squirrels and set them free outside of town. Three days later, the squirrels were back.
The deacons in the Baptist church baptized the squirrels and registered them as members of the church. Now they only see them on Christmas and Easter.
--The 50 Funniest Jokes, Readers Digest September 2005, p 101 (only changed slightly)

The Great MooseCapade

What happened that day will never be explainable in human terms though I am sure there is a moose somewhere who could give sufficient information. I was minding my own business early on Saturday morning. We were camping in the mountains not far from home. There was a nice little stream with some beaver dams and ponds. The creekside was filled with willows. I was enjoying my first cup of coffee when I looked up and saw the moose.

I called to my friends and they all came to see the moose, standing in the meadow a few hundred yards from the camp. He was there with a few of his friends and they were nonchalantly browsing their way along the creek bank.

With camera in hand I slipped down to the waters edge to get a good snapshot of them as they wandered past. I was positioned perfectly. I was going to get some good shots. “What was that? Did that moose just wink at me?” I think he did.

“How do you want me to stand for the best pose?”

“Who said that?” I was startled.

“I said it! Who did you think?” And the sound was coming right from the moose.

“I can’t believe I am talking to a moose.” Was all I could think. I looked and he was grinning from ear to ear.

“Well,” he said, “not every one gets an opportunity to talk to a moose. Better make the most of your opportunity.”

“Wow!” I said. “How is it that you can talk?”

“We can always talk,” said the moose. “What is unusual is that you can hear. You have been chosen as MooseMaster.”

“What? What is a moose master and who chose me and why me and what does that mean and ….”

“Hold on a minute buster. One question at a time. And we don’t have forever so make your questions count. What is it you always wanted to know about us Mooses?”

“Mooses? Is that a word?” I asked.

“Do you want to spend your time with grammar questions? Maybe we should choose a new Moosemaster.”

“No, I mean O.K.. I will ask a question. Let’s see. The one thing about Moose, or Mooses that I have wanted to know is how deep you can go under water. The ranger at a museum in Montana said that you could dive 15 feet under water. Is that true?”

“You must have moose understood the ranger. Why would I want to go 15 feet under the water?”

“I don’t know! But I am sure that is what the ranger said.”

“Well,” said the moose, “he was moosetaken. I don’t think I ever knew a moose who would go that deep under the water.”

“Have you ever tried?” I asked him.

“No.”

“Would you like to try?”

“Well, not here. The water is only two feet deep.” And I am sure I heard him chuckle to himself when he said it. “Where was this ranger that told you this fine story about skin diving moose?”

“It was last summer in Grand Teton National Park.”

“Grand Teton National Park!” the moose exclaimed. “Why the water there is so cold even wading to your knees is a mooseareable experience.”

I was about to ask him what the deepest he had ever been was when off in the distance a dog barked. He turned to look, turned back to me, and as he was preparing to leave he said, “well I gotta go.”

“Wait!” I said. “That dog won’t bother you. He is a long ways off.”

“I know but my buddies are leaving and I have to go with them, after all we are the three moosekateers.” And with that, he was gone.

I waited each morning for the rest of my vacation. I was hoping that my moose friend would come back by. I saw a moose off in the distance on the last morning but he never came very close.

I know you probably think I am making this up or perhaps relating a dream. I have a picture of my moose friend to show you. If you look closely in his eyes you can tell that he has just finished a wink. And it just goes to show that you may not want to believe everything you hear a ranger say.

Next time one of them tells you that moose can dive 15 feet under water ask him if he ever saw one or if he is just relating what he has heard. Then tell him it probably isn’t so, and you heard it straight from the moosemaster who heard if from the mouth of the moose.

Finally, the end of the ski season

July 4 was the last day of the ski season here in Utah. Snowbird was open for the last day. People were skiing in shorts and hawaiian shirts. It looked like fun, but we went and picked cherries. Yep, skiing and fruit harvest at the same time.

Today, to celbrate the opening of the gate to the upper reaches of Mill Creek canyon, Jen and I went to Elbow Fork. Leaving the road there, Jen, Uma, and I hiked out of Mill Creek Canyon and over the pass into Lamb's Canyon.

The temperature was in the 90's when we started, making for a pretty hot hike. It was two miles up to the pass, then two miles back. It was a sweaty, tired threesome, (well two of us were sweaty, one was just panting) that arrived back at elbow fork.

For 3 hours though we were beyond the reach of Al Queda. I suppose they could send a suicide bomber to Lamb's Canyon Trail, but what would be the point. But then what is the point of blowing up a lot of innocent Londoners?

Not only were we out of the sights of Al Queda, we were also out of range of Fox news telling us about Hurricane Dennis. Mercy, they sure get stuck on a subject and go over and over and over it. But for three hours all we saw was blue sky, not a cloud one, and no threats of 150 mile an hour winds, or even the reports of such.

Enjoying the beauty of God's creation is one of the blessings we have. The flowers were varied and beautiful. The creeks were roaring with crashing water. The views were magnificent. The only thing that would make it better would be wildlife. All we saw were a few bees, some birds, including a woodpecker, one black beetle, and countless black biting flies. As bothersome as they are, black biting flies are not as troublesome as back biting people.

A New Yankee Stadium

Today I heard the news. The Yankees and New York are building a new Yankee stadium to be ready for the 2009 season. Even though it has been remodled several times, the stadium is still the space roamed by the greatest players to ever wear a uniform.

Some of my earliest baseball memories are of Yankee world series games. They were the first team of any kind I had any feelings for. Before the Denver Broncos, L.A. Lakers, UNM Lobos or even the Aztec Tigers, I was rooting for the Bronx Bombers playing at Yankee stadium.

The Mick was my first hero outside my family. This is where he roamed center field and smashed the tater into the upper decks.

I know it is probably time. And it will be a good thing for the team and the city. I am only glad I was able to finally attend a couple of games at the stadium in my 53rd year.

Maybe I will have opportunity to attend another, I have the rest of this year, and then three more seasons.