Book Thoughts: The Ghost Mountain Boys

It is apparent that James Campbell did a great job of researching information in the writing of his book, The Ghost Mountain Boys. This writing adventure covers the story of the taking of New Guinea during World War II and in particular follows the 32nd Battalion from the Wisconsin  and West Michigan area. It had an interest to me since I have lived in West Michigan for 20 some years. What these soldiers endured was horrific and Campbell uses diaries and interviews as resource materials. There were some very brave soldiers that spent most of their time in New Guinea sick and/or injured, yet continued to fight. Malaria, Jungle Rot, ingenue fever, dysentery, fleas, poor equipment (or no equipment), heat, rain, and starvation were some of the trials they faced. If you were a fan of General Douglas MacArthur prior to reading The Ghost Mountain Boys, you might have to adjust your impressions. MacArthur pretended to the rest of the world that he was right there leading the troops into battle, when in actuality he was miles away in a protected compound and had no real idea about the battles that were fought. He did not know, or care, that, in the jungle environment, there would be days that the troops only made a couple hundred yards of headway and that planning an attack could be impacted by the inability of the soldiers to make it to the battle area. He seemed to be convinced that the reason New Guinea was taking to long to overtake was that the troops were poor and uncommitted, when in actuality they were sick and starving with little or no outside support.
I came away from this book with a new appreciation of the sacrifices our troops made for us. There is so much that we don't know, I'm sure that the casualties go way beyond the end of the war in the impact on the soldier's lives and also on the lives of their families. No one who fought in New Guinea remained unchanged by the experience. I also came away with  negative feelings toward MacArthur. This guy seemed to like the spotlight so much that he did not consider anyone else. At least, when MacArthur left New Guinea to take back the Philippines, his commanders used the lessons learned on New Guinea and because of that, many soldier's lives were saved. It is so sad that a good share of those who fought in New Guinea also died there and things could have been so different.

Occupy

Here in Washington, DC, like in several cities in America, and even overseas,we see a group of people trying to force the ruling entities to listen to their voice. Frustration with how things are going in our country is not a new thing. The impression that politicians, who promised to fix the problems, are themselves part of the problem, is growing. The everyday news that portrays our government leaders as a glorified group of middle schoolers adds to this impression. Why do the politicians from one party spend more time trying to shoot down ideas from the other party, just to "make the president and his party" look bad? These people are supposed to be looking after the country's interests, not playing stupid games. They seem to think that the American people don't really know what is going on. Reality check. The people outside with their Occupy signs are not just poor, ignorant people. There are doctors, nurses, engineers and a plethora of other professionals mixed in with the homeless, under-employed, and the young. This is more than the sit-ins that occurred in the Sixties, where the protesters were portrayed as hippies, and naive college students. The politicians give the impression that if they ignore the Occupy people, that they will get tired of protesting and will go away or winter will come and it will be too cold for them to want to hang around. Even if they do go home for the winter, don't forget politicians, next year is election year.

1. Let's look a bit at exactly why these people are protesting, shall we? The American government has bailed out the car companies and the banks. Fine. There is a bit of a rub when the typical American can barely feed their family and many are losing their homes and jobs, only to see on the news that the very banks that were bailed out have given their top executives bonuses in the millions of dollars. I'm sure that a share of the wealthier population see the protest as one that would take their wealth away to evenly distribute among the masses i.e. communism. I recall that one of the Presidential contenders, Herman Cain, basically has said that the protesters should get off their butts and work hard like he did to get his money. Granted, there are some people that expect to live off the backs of others, but I propose that a good share of those protesting are not asking for a hand-out, but a chance at making a better life. I had a good job, until they eliminated my position to cut costs. Let me tell you, it was not easy to find another job and I have a graduate degree. It does seem awfully unfair that the wealthy get wealthier and the poor get poorer. Okay, wealthy person, if you want the protesters to go away, give them a job and a chance to do well. Don't just hoard your wealth or flaunt it, use it to make the world a better place. Oh, and I think that Congress should share some of the pain. Right now, they seem to be immune to the rise and fall of our economy. Vote in a caveat that, if the budget is not passed, they can be looking at not getting a paycheck with the rest of us. Tie their paychecks to the way the government is going. It has become extremely obvious that Congress is in the pockets of those who hold the most money and influence. "Money talks"--let's let it talk for the 99% of Americans too.  

October Thoughts

Who hasn't had a good deed toward them tainted with the realization that the other person only did the deed to enhance themselves? How does that make you feel? Have you ever done the same thing?

Love supercharges action and brings true meaning to it.

Perhaps God allows His children to go through trials in an attempt to train them as "wounded warriors" in order to better serve others.

God "gentles" a person to do things His way, but we like to grab their life reins out of their hand and drive their "life coach" for them especially when we think God is going too slow. We must stop and think before we grab someone else's reins. Ask: How would we like someone doing this to us? AND Is our "life coach" under control? Even if ours is under control, it is impossible to drive two coaches at a time.

If you tell the mountain to move, don't forget to get out of the way so it can.


Remember the grass may LOOK greener on the other side, but you might want to check into WHY that grass looks greener. The beautiful new car or house the neighbor has might have been purchased from  insurance settlement money paid out because of the death of a loved one.

We can spend our days wishing for something, but the days would be more profitable if we worked toward that thing instead of sitting around wishing.


Are we so focused on getting somewhere that we do not enjoy the journey? What would it take for you to enjoy your life? REALLY?!

Never Alone

There are times in life that God, who we are taught has everything under control, seems to be absent and powerless. Here we stand, alone with the elements beating and battering, barely able to endure the onslaught, wondering where God is in all this. We feel like the picture, that we are caught in one storm after another. God seems so far from the personal God that we are taught He is. It is difficult to imagine that anyone cares and even more so that God cares when our lives move from "tornado watch to "tornado warning" to touchdown. Perhaps it is not so much that God has abandoned us, but that we have lost any control that we had over our lives. Face it, the issue boils down to whether we can trust a God separate from ourselves. God doesn't leave us. We step away. He still has everything under control. The person that does not have everything under control in these difficult circumstances is us. We have a choice at this point. Trust God or trust ourselves. Which do you think is more reliable? We can attempt to handle all our own situations, but there will come a time when that is impossible. I guess the greatest advantage in trusting God is the amount of stress that relieves. I am not advocating giving up and taking the approach that God does all the work in resolving the issue. Give the worrying over to God, and push up your sleeves and get to work helping Him to help you. I recognize that when you work alongside God to fix your problem, it is tempting to take all the credit for getting through the difficulty. If you do, who do you think is acting as if they are God? Who do you think is controlling your world? Be careful that you are not your own god. What is most important to you? Whatever it is, is the god of your life. Is it money, power, control, family, job. . . . ?

Movie: Midnight in Paris

    Ah Paris. Paris is a city that you either love or hate. Some see it as filthy and old; others see it as romantic and captivating. I've heard some say the Parisians are a rude lot; however, I've not experienced that. The rudeness is not any worse than in the States. This movie takes you all over Paris. You see the steps up Montmartre, the Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysee, Arc de Triumpe, and Versailles. .. . I even saw the top of the building that houses my favorite fabric shop. I recognize some of the streets that Sarah and I have explored and the museum where they have the room with Monet's Water Lilies. If you love Paris, this is the movie to see, if for nothing else, but the visual trip through the city.

    The city doesn't change much over time and that is part of the magic. Midnight in Paris makes you revisit the times you wished you lived in another era. It seems that almost every generation looks back and sees a different time as a "golden age". What would it have been like to rub shoulders with the literary and artistic community during another century? I think that it would be very difficult to resist the temptation to change history. We would know already that, for example, Picasso's work would be valuable, that Hitler would come to power, and that Coco Chanel would play both ends against the middle. If 100 people were allowed to go back in time, wherever they chose, and each one managed to change one small thing, how different today might be. It reminds me of when I was drawing route folders for fighter aircraft. If the route was off by two degrees, it wouldn't matter much if the aircraft was only flying one hundred miles, but if it was flying 4,000 miles, it would be a great deal off course by the time it was to reach its destination. The further it flew the more there would be a variance. It could literally turn out to be a hundred miles off course. So, how much change would happen if these 100 people change one thing?

    I can't wait to go back to Paris. It is perhaps my favorite city. I like Rome, New York City, Oslo was nice, and I've been to several other "nice" places, but Paris is my favorite. I don't speak French, but I enjoy the history of a city that sparkles in the rain. The narrow cobblestone streets, the small cafes, and of course, the patisseries are those things I miss most. You must go to Paris, at least you will be able to say whether it is a love or hate for you. Let the charm of the city enfold you. Paris has had some rough spots in its history, but that has served to make the city unique. Don't compare Paris or France with the United States; let it be the magic place it is without tainting it with the comparisons of another totally different culture. You should compare the good of the culture and recognize the differences as not bad, but merely different. Americans can be so arrogant. My question is, if you go to another country to visit, why would you want it to be like home? If it were just like home, you might have better saved your money and stayed home. I go especially to experience the country's culture. I dress to fit in and enjoy the times that I am privileged to interface with the citizens. Go with an adventure in mind, and don't be afraid to step out of the guided tour box.


 

Trains

I love trains. I have no idea why, I just do. The first time I rode a train, I was fourteen years old and it was a trip my eighth grade class took. We drove to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and took the Agawa Canyon train into Canada. It seemed like a really long ride. I suppose it kind of was, especially to a teen. It was a challenge to get used to walking around the train, with it gently rocking from side to side as we rode down the track. At one point, we travelled over a railroad trestle that had a curve in it and we could see both ends of the train as it went around the curve. Looking down was not especially exciting. When you think about the fact that you are perched on a set of relatively narrow rails above a several hundred foot drop, it is a bit disconcerting. I was able to make a second trip up Agawa Canyon, this time with my family. It seems kind of strange to drive several hours just to ride a train for several hours, but I'm wondering if it might be the gentle rocking of the train car that intrigues me.

Originally, the train was made up of stagecoaches. I'm sure that even though cinders, ash and sparks flew onto the first passengers, it was intriguing to them too. It probably felt like they were flying along compared to being pulled by horses that tired easily and needed rest. I understand that some of my ancestors used the rails to travel from Arkansas to Indiana more than once. They didn't ride the train; however, they loaded their wagon and set the wheels on the train rails. It was pretty risky, if you ask anyone. It would definitely mean being on alert to when the trains were running and getting off the tracks in time.
Train robberies became quite common in the days of the old west. Jesse James and other outlaws kept the local law enforcement busy. Payrolls and mail were prime targets. So much has changed since the early days of the train, now most trains run on diesel fuel—not many use wood or coal anymore. The speed has increased to the point that there are trains that can travel over 300 mph. Until the widespread use of the automobile, towns grew up primarily along the train route. There were, and still are, hobos that follow the trains. It used to be they had their own codes and they also had a unique brotherhood.

Have you ever met any of the people who build model railroads and ride every chance they get? A train is more than just a means of transportation or of hauling goods from place to place; cars and planes do the same thing, but don't have quite the same appeal. Trains hold a special place in the history of our country. Thousands of people worked to lay the rails from Missouri to California. Good shares of those people were immigrants and yes, they weren't treated very well, but they came to America to live out a dream and many did eventually. Many also died in the process. 
Whenever you ride a train, there is so much history that is encapsulated within the ride. E. M. Forster expresses the appeal of the train so well:

 "Railway termini ... are our gates to the glorious and the unknown. Through them we pass out into adventure and sunshine, to them, alas we return."


 

 

Life Lived Via Book or Reality?

                I love a good mystery and growing up I used to think about how exciting it would be to have a job like James Bond. People do, you know—they actually do the spy thing, facing danger and risking discovery every day. These people thrive on heart-stopping terror and the stress of being discovered and what that may entail. The short time I was privy to doing undercover work in the Air Force terrified me and I determined that my extreme risk taking would be confined to the printed page. A good writer has the ability to suck you into the action in such a way that it seems like you are actually in the story. However, reading about the hairs standing up on the back of your neck because you sense someone following you is quite different than actually having it happen. If the action gets too intense in the book, you can set the book down, and walk away. Real life doesn’t come with an escape clause. The pounding of your heart, difficulty breathing, and the sweat running down your face make the fear you feel come close to paralyzing you.

 If we would not want to face danger in real life, why might we want to read about it? It makes us feel like heroes for a few hundred pages. No, seriously, we go along for the ride, and when the story wraps up, the protagonist rises to the top. We like to pretend we are the protagonist and even the weakest personality, for a moment in time, feels strong and in control.

                There are some, who, read exciting adventures and use them to “spice up” what is perceived to be an extraordinarily boring existence. I personally have known at least two people who, finding their lives to be hum-drum, created a back-story that, over time, they not only convinced themselves it was true, but shared their story with others as if it were truth. The inconsistencies began to rack up when they added too many “heroic” deeds into the mix. We are hesitant to tell someone who it seems is embellishing their life story that their story appears to be “horse hockey”. What if their story is true? Some of it may be. Most untruths have a grain of truth in it in order for it to have even a grain of veracity. What should we do if we aren’t sure about a story? Do we confront, make an effort to avoid the person, or what? I had a person tell me that they flew a special aircraft designed only for them. It was a futuristic pre-curser to the SR 71, and was called, “Dragonship”. The aircraft operated via voice command keyed to the person’s voice. It could fly around the world in a matter of minutes and was used to conduct super-secret missions in the dark of night for a clandestine organization. The person had himself convinced this was true and had enough details to make one wonder if, indeed, it was true. Granted, it almost sounded like a mish-mash of science fiction books. The person enjoyed science fiction, by the way.

                Another story this same person told was of how he flew fighter aircraft for Israel in the Six Day War. Small detail, he would have been sixteen years old and living in California. I asked him about his mom not knowing about this adventure. His explanation? The Israelis sent a clone to take his place so he could, as a lieutenant, fly critical missions in the war.

                I would like to be able to say those were the only stories he told, but they weren’t. Looking back at these and the other “life stories” he told, I should have run as far and as fast as I could from him. I grew up with the naiveté of one who cannot conceive of why someone would attempt to pass off a falsehood as truth. Therefore, I suppose, the word “gullible” was figuratively tattooed on my forehead. You may say, “How could you have believed such outrageous things?” It does seem quite incredible that I did, but people fall for cons every day. There are those that weave stories in such a way that even though one can feel that question in the back of their mind, there is not quite enough there to be a glaring falsehood. I bet everyone has at least one time in their lives been lied to or conned. Sometimes we find out and sometimes we don’t.  Perhaps we want it to be true so badly we are unwilling or unable to see the “forest for the trees”.

                I hope that I have learned to question the niggling in the back of my brain, instead of brushing it aside. I will continue to read my risky adventures, living vicariously through them and once in a while I may be daring enough to add excitement to my life. I’m not quite ready for white-water rafting, or jumping out of an airplane, but I’ve done other interesting things. Everyone needs a little excitement in their lives, just enough to get the adrenalin pumping, but not enough to paralyze you with terror. Get out there and live!

Passion

Color of passion—red                        

Symbol of passion—fire

Erasmus—passion is the intelligent balance between reason and emotion.

Passion (from the Ancient Greek verb πάσχω (paskho) meaning to suffer) is a term applied to a very strong feeling about a person or thing. Passion is an intense emotion compelling feeling, enthusiasm, or desire for something.

The term is also often applied to a lively or eager interest in or admiration for a proposal, cause, or activity or love - to a feeling of unusual excitement, enthusiasm or compelling emotion, a positive affinity or love, towards a subject, idea, person, or object.--Wikipedia

Chase down your passion like it's the last bus of the night.  ~Terri Guillemets

Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive.  And then go and do that.  Because what the world needs are people who have come alive.  ~Attributed to Howard Thurman

You can have anything you want if you want it desperately enough.  You must want it with an exuberance that erupts through the skin and joins the energy that created the world.  ~Sheila Graham

The opposite of passion—boredom.

Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.—Oprah Winfrey

If there is no passion in your life, then have you really lived? Find your passion, whatever it may be. Become it, and let it become you and you will find great things happen FOR you, TO you and BECAUSE of you. ~  T. Alan Armstrong

Passion requires focused direction, and that direction must come from three other areas: your purpose, your talents, and your needs. ~  Steve Pavlina

A musician can play perfect technically, but without passion the music is mere noise. It has no feeling. The passion of the piece is expressed through the passion of the one who performs it. Passion can be seen as well as heard.

Passion is what keeps our lives from boredom. The amount of passion in a person’s life is relative to the amount of boredom. A person with a great amount of passion is so focused on the thing they are passionate about it almost consumes them. You can see it in their eyes, their actions, and hear it in their words. What do they seem to talk about most? Their passion makes them animated when they are talking about it. This feeling of excitement draws others to them, almost as if they too want to share the fire from the torch of passion. It can be like the Olympic torch carried around the world.

The Bible has a verse that says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” I say, where there is no passion, the people perish. They have no goal in life, and in fact, some see no reason for living. Granted, passion requires a lot from a person. It requires commitment, work, and sometimes self-sacrifice. What kind of a musician would Mozart have been, or what would the world have been like if Marie Curie had not followed her passion? We complain about being just another cog in the wheel of life, but we don’t have to be “just another cog”. Think. What is it that you love? Is it something that you could be passionate about? Look for your passion. Light your torch. Lead the way. Make a difference. Most likely you will need to start small, but hold onto that torch, even if it is raining. Thomas Edison learned from all the failures he had trying to invent the light bulb, but we now have incandescent light because he kept going. It will not always be smooth sailing. An Olympic athlete trains for years to just get a chance to compete.

Perhaps you can find another person that shares your passion and you can make the journey together. What is important is to make that journey. Boredom saps your energy and makes it difficult to get up in the morning. Not so when you have a passion to follow. So, find your passion and get going.

Water Walking

Matthew 14:22-33  

1.       Immediately after the 5,000 ate Jesus made the disciples leave. Why?

a.       (Jn) The people wanted to make Jesus king by force

2.       Jesus wanted some time alone to pray. He prayed after ministering.

3.       There were two evenings in a day 3:00pm and sundown. The people were fed at about 3:00pm (v. 15) Verse 23 was sundown—the 4^th watch was between 3:00-6:00pm.

4.       Jesus must have been exhausted after ministering all day. Perhaps the reason Jesus withdrew to this solitary place (v.13) was to pray but the crowds prevented it, therefore rather than telling the crowds to leave he ministered THEN prayed.

5.       Jesus sent the disciples into the boat (knowing there would be a storm)

6.       Perhaps Jesus told the people a storm was coming and they should head home, of course, the disciples would not have heard this since they had already left in the boat.

7.       Sometimes God send us knowingly into a storm and had we known the storm was coming, would we be willing to go into it?

8.       The disciples had left before sundown and were still on the lake at 3:00-6:00am. What should have been a couple hours of rowing turned into an all night affair?

9.       The boat was 3-3.5 miles from land.

10.   The disciples in the boat were probably those closest to Jesus and would have been fishermen; therefore, they were not unfamiliar with the quick way storms came up on Galilee. It does not mention that the disciples were afraid of the storm but only of ghosts. (Things they did not recognize).

11.   What were the disciples thinking?

a.       Where is Jesus?

b.      Why did He send us out here?

c.       We are never going to see land again?

d.      When is the storm going to stop?

12.   They had been fighting the storm for hours and when they saw Jesus walking on the water they may have4 figured that because of their fatigue they were beginning to hallucinate and that at that point they were doomed for sure.

13.   Jesus went to them at the 4^th watch (3:00-6:00am.)

14.   Jesus IMEDIATELY told them not to fear.

15.   Peter wanted to be sure it really was Jesus.

16.   How many people do you know walk on water?

17.   Mark 6:48 Jesus saw the disciples straining at the oars even before He went to pray, but He did nothing about it.

18.   Why didn’t the disciples turn around and head back if the storm was coming up while they could still see land?

19.   All that time they had rowed only 3-3.5 miles (Jn6:19)

20.   Peter many times spoke impulsively and this is no exception. Peter asked, “If it’s you prove it”. Do we ask, “How do I know it’s you, prove it, Lord”?

21.   Peter could have said (after Jesus said come) that’s okay now I know it’s really you and not walked on the water.

22.   The disciples had three choices (just like we do).

a.       They could have turned around.

b.      They could have given up fighting the storm and let it win.

c.       They could keep on rowing into the storm hoping to reach the other shore, hoping the storm would stop, hoping for a miracle.

23.   This is the second time the disciples were caught in a storm (Mt 8:23-27) the first time Jesus was in the boat with them.

24.   Even though they were doing Christ’s will they still meet with a storm.

25.   Jesus manifested himself to them in a great way IN the storm.

26.   Demonstration of Jesus’ power over nature—the storm did not cause Jesus to hesitate, He walked into it on the water.

27.   We cannot “walk on water” under our own power.

28.   The effect of sear—sinking.

29.   The effect of faith—walking on water—doing the humanly impossible.

30.   The solution to sinking (fear) Prayer.

31.   Peter saw the wind and had fear—the next time he experienced the wind 3000 were saved.

32.   The wind was as strong in the boat as it was outside/

33.   Peter was the only one that wanted out of the boat and the only one that got out.

34.   Mark and John do not mention Peter walking on the water.

35.   If God says, “Come”, He will provide the means. He will also be right there if you have problems however, there was no reason why Peter should have had a problem unless he started thinking about what he was doing, resulting in him focusing on self instead of Christ.

36.   Why is it that Peter had faith enough to get out of the boat but not to walk on the water? The first step is always the hardest. Is it like us many times when we agree to do something, take the first step and suddenly realize what all is involved, then want to back out? Where is our commitment? The same place Peter’s was—sinking! We, like Peter are yelling to be saved from the situation.

37.   In order to get closer to Jesus we need to commit ourselves to walking on the water and to following His commands.

38.   Sometimes we are not absolutely sure that it is God speaking to us, if we are fairly certain we should be willing to step out on faith.

39.   Christ promises peace when He saves us (the wind died down).

40.   Even if everyone else stays in the boat—you follow Christ.

41.   When Jesus got in the boat they were at their destination.

42.   By saying, “Truly you are the Son of God”, the disciples were more likely meaning to say—only God could have done that!

43.   The crowd was out to get what they could from Jesus—most had no long range plan to follow Him. Do you ever remember reading where Jesus complained to His disciples that He wished the people would go away if all they wanted was to take advantage of Him? I don’t, I know that if it were me in Jesus’ place I probably would have said that.

Small Town America





            Garrison Keillor’s tales of Lake Woebegone have struck a chord in the hearts of many Americans. Even though we are ferociously proud of our individual independent spirits there is something about small town America that warms us heart and soul. Perhaps we recognize that within our individualism is a small spot that cries for the fellowship of community. It is in time of pain or hardship that the veneer of individualism cracks, exposing our need for the touch of a caring spirit. The community in which I have lived has more than once reached out with its small town heart and embraced the hurting of the community. Raising funds for the expenses of a mom suffering with cancer, pulling together to make a home possible for a woman who was defrauded by a contractor and ministering to the families of two high school boys killed in a car accident. The pain of those hurting became the shared pain of the community.

            Beyond concern for its citizens, the small town exhibits community pride and camaraderie. Take for example, the hundreds of people lining the streets for the Christmas parade. The parade portrayed little more than local kids, tractors and local organizations, yet the frigid weather keeps few away. It is a time to see friends and neighbors and to swell with pride when a child or friend passes in the parade. I firmly believe that the types of things happening in my small town are mirrored across America. Still, America has lost a lot of the small town caring and in this time of terrorism, wars and uncertainty we need to cultivate what we have lost and to nurture that part we so tenuously still maintain.

            I’m sure that those who lost so much in the recent tornadoes are thankful for the help coming to them from the small towns across America. Their family and neighbors are just a little more precious to them and I bet that even though they lost everything, you will find them helping where they can.

            John Mellencamp captured the uniqueness of the small town in his song lyrics:

No I cannot forget where it is that I come from

I cannot forget the people who love me

Yeah, I can be myself here in this small town

And people let me be just what I want to be.

Yes, the big city holds an important place in America too, and we need both big city and small town in order to embrace the world with the heart of American caring, but for those who have lived there, there is nothing quite like the small town.

An Entry in John's Diary

Photo: Nuttakit

            Thursday was a long day, Peter and I didn’t intend to fall asleep in the garden, but we had been sent early to prepare for the Passover feast that evening. Finally, when everyone arrived, we began to eat. Jesus appeared stressed. The Jewish leaders had been particularly hard on Him lately. My first indication of His stress came when He took bread and wine, and called it his body and blood. He was difficult person to understand at times. One of us would betray Him He said. Why? We loved Him. Naturally, we wanted to know who the traitor was, but when Judas asked who it was, the rest of us were arguing over who was greatest and we didn’t catch Jesus’ reply. Peter motioned me to ask Jesus. When I did, Jesus dipped a piece of bread in wine and handed it to Judas. That didn’t seem like an answer to us. Strangely, Jesus told Judas to leave; we figured Judas was on a special errand.

            Jesus said some strange things that night—what did it mean that Satan wanted to sift us like wheat? Peter was offended when Jesus announced that he, Peter, would deny Him. We went to the Mt. of Olives after supper. Jesus wanted us to wait and pray with Him. We, being tired from the long day, fell asleep. A short time later, Judas appeared with a crowd of armed people who took Jesus to the house of the High Priest. Because of family connections, I was able to enter the High Priest’s home. It was a cold night and Peter was outside, so I asked a servant girl to let him into the courtyard. Meanwhile, in the house, Jesus was being questioned. Since He admitted being the Son of God, Jewish Law said He must die. The Jewish leaders were powerless to sentence anyone to death. In order to carry out the death sentence, they needed to convince the Roman authorities that Jesus should die. Pilate did not want to kill Jesus, but it would have been political suicide to do otherwise. The true issue had been unveiled. Jesus was a threat to the power base which the Jewish religious leaders had carefully nourished. They played their cards carefully, taking Jesus to Pilate knowing that Pilate would not risk an unfavorable report to Caesar.

            The sign over Jesus’ head was in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. These were the languages of the common people, the aristocracy, and the religious. Interesting. It was difficult to watch Jesus on the cross, yet I felt I had to be there. Even in death he was more concerned about others than He was about Himself. Just before His last breath, he committed His mother’s care to me. The next day was a High Sabbath so He was taken down from the cross. It was late in the day, and we had to hurry with the burial. We did only the absolutely necessary. The women would finish the burial requirements after the Sabbath.

            I remember passing people coming from the Temple as I made my way home that evening. Word on the street said that about the time of the afternoon earthquake, the veil of the Temple was torn completely in two—from top to bottom.

            That Sabbath was a long one for those of us in grief. What would happen to us? Our whole lives had been devoted to a man who did not meet our Messianic expectations.

            At sunrise, the women went to the tomb with spices. How my heart leapt when they came running to Peter and I crying, “He’s Alive!” We found it difficult to believe. Even entering the empty tomb left questions in our minds. Reality did not set in until Jesus came to the room where we were staying. He was the same, yet different. He had tried to tell us what was going to happen, but until we saw with our own eyes that He had risen from the dead, we did not realize that the teacher from Nazareth was our Savior and God.

All That Jazz

                                                               

            
All That Jazz    

             Jazz is such awesome background music.

 Can’t you just imagine, as I did, listening to jazz at The Kennedy Center, being in a dark, smoke-filled bar, jazz pianist playing softly in the background? A stranger enters the bar dressed in the quintessential gangster suit complete with fedora. He plucks the cigarette from his lips and taps the ashes to the floor. “Whiskey”, he tells the bartender, and taking his drink, finds a table close to the piano. Why do you think he is here? Maybe he is meeting someone, maybe he just came to listen to the music. Where is he, Chicago, New Orleans, St. Louis, Casablanca? He lights another cigarette and orders a refill, all the while watching the door and listening. The other bar patrons go about their business, not even acknowledging his presence.  His fedora sits next to him on the table, as he leans back in his chair, one hand on his drink, the other combing through his hair. The music plays on and our stranger recalls someone saying, “Music is what feelings sound like”. "A Jazz man should be saying what he feels: humor, sadness, joy... all the things that humans have."(Bob Brookmeyer) 

Looking into his glass, and seeing it empty, the stranger pushes it to the center of the table and slowly gets up. He places his fedora on his head, nods to the pianist, and heads out. Who is he? Where is he going?

                                The night is dark, and rainy, headlights reflect off the puddles in the street. The year  is 1941, FDR and Churchill are contemplating what to do about Hitler and all you hear on the radio these days is doom and gloom. Perhaps our stranger merely wishes to purge his soul. Jazz does that.                                  

"I undertook great projects. . . "

 

      

      “I undertook great projects. . . “(Ecc. 2:4) Do we break our lives up into a series of projects designed to bring meaning to our existence? The writer of Ecclesiastes goes on to say that even though he put his hand to several projects there still remained a lack of meaning in his life. The word “project” has negative overtones. When one begins, the “project” seems to take on a personality of its own. It looms over you waiting to be acted upon. The mere word, “project” connotes work, stress, impersonal involvement, time factors, and material acquisition.  These negative aspects should help us to recognize that “projects” should be confined merely to non-personal encounters. At no time should personal contacts be relegated to any form of person-to-person project status. No person should have to suffer the denigration of being perceived as a project. To do so devalues the person so as to negate his worth. We, who detest being treated as worthless oftentimes, inflict others with that very thing. It makes us feel comfortable and secure when people and things are confined to equally shaped boxes. Things may belong in boxes. People do not! The churches’ job is to teach us how to see people as Christ sees them and things for what they are—things. Looking at the Gospels, we see Jesus in His personal encounters. Notice He did not build hospitals to contain the sick. He personally took time with them—even with those who were considered beyond hope. Jesus spent a lot of time with those thought of as hopeless. Chances are, Jewish society had had a series of “projects” designed to “help” some of these less fortunate, but because Jesus treated them as people instead of projects, He could actually have an impact. Jesus never asked people to be someone other than who they were, yet the impact of Jesus’ life on His followers served to rub off the rough places in the individual’s personality. Peter was still Peter at Pentecost, but his impetuousness had been refined into boldness, Paul’s earnestness for Judaism was turned into a driving force for Christ and the Christian Church. John’s vindictiveness was so transformed that he is now considered the apostle of love. By refining the negative qualities out of a personality the positive qualities are purified just as the value of a precious metal is increased as the degree of impurity is decreased.

            How many times have I viewed my Christian life as a series of projects to complete? Do I “work” on someone to get them to come to church, to do what I perceive as right, or even to accept salvation only to go on to my next “project” when the goal has been met? Why can’t we merely accept and love people without expecting them to perform for us? Perhaps Jesus’ success with the downtrodden was greatly influenced by the fact His love was given without enslavement. Jesus is not interested in creating clones on the outside and a rebel on the inside, what He wants to create is an inner transformation whose light would be expressed outwardly. We as people need to keep foremost the Biblical admonition to, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”.  If you don’t want to be treated like someone’s project, don’t treat others that way.