211. Winter

I am particularly fond of winter in the United States, especially here in the mountain west. Here winter has all the joy of snow and winter sports but you can easily get away from all the cold and ice if you are so inclined. I live in northern Idaho, and there is no doubt that all of Idaho is affected by winter. For the mountain west, I don’t live at a particularly high elevation—only 2,500 feet—and I’m on the west side of the continental divide so the warmer Pacific storms keep it from being too cold. We do, however, frequently get the arctic cold coming down to turn all of that Pacific rain into snow and at 2,500 feet the snow can be frequent. I love the snow. I love to ski, especially cross-country ski. I love how the forest turns into a magical place when the snow comes. And because it’s so mountainous here I can easily go higher and find more snow than I have at home. I can also easily go lower and get into a more desert climate and avoid the snow. Those different climates are all within an easy hour’s drive from me, so I have the luxury of enjoying several variations of winter.

Of course, I’m getting older, so all the snow and ice can become a little more difficult to manage. Now days I’m just as happy sitting inside by the fire and watching it snow. I have to get out in it some just to be outside, but I no longer ski downhill because I know how rigid my body has gotten both in its ability to be agile and manage the skiing (because I don’t do it enough) and in its tendency to break because I am not as agile as I used to be. But I’ll still strap on the Nordic skis and replace my run with a XC ski trip.

Growing up, I remember going out in the yard of my grand parents who lived where the snow accumulated greatly over the winter. I would try to see if I could walk across the top of crusted snow and as a boy I often could, but sometimes I would suddenly fall through and have to figure out how to get back out. Far from being panicky, I would relish the challenge since the snow could be anywhere from three to four feet deep. Another thing I enjoyed was taking my runner sled out into the field near our house and sled down the path of the frozen creek. That was crazy because when it was that frozen there usually wasn’t a lot of snow, so when the sled came to an edge I would go flying. I don’t remember ever getting hurt, though.

As a teen and young adult, I took up Alpine skiing and went regularly to Brundage Mountain which was only about twenty miles from our home. I loved that but it always seemed expensive and as a poor young teacher I gave it up. Later I bought Nordic skis and have since turned my winters over to exploring the wonders of the frozen world on my Nordic skis.

And now it’s nearing the winter holidays so all the romance of winter is coming to light even before there is any snow on the ground. I always like to celebrate the first snow with some hot chocolate and Christmas carols, but sometimes the carols can be a bit early if the snow comes in October. That’s the way to discover who the Grinches are. Winter is a beautiful time in this part of the world and I’m glad I get to enjoy it in all its reality and romance. 

Perseverance

November 14, 2021 Grace Community Church, Potlatch, Idaho

Introducing a sermon is difficult for me, and I know I’ve said this before. I think that’s partly because I feel like the scripture is the introduction and that I’m going to expand on that, so who needs an introduction? But I also know that as a person in the congregation, I can find it hard to pay attention to the scripture readings at times, especially if I don’t have them in front of me. I’ve also heard that going to church (this from a Christian) is an art in enforced boredom, and I don’t think that that needs to be true. In fact, if we’re doing what it says in Hebrews, we are “spurring one another on in love and good deeds.” I find it all a bit of a balancing act in how to approach a sermon, let alone know how successful I am at it. But I also think that that’s the point of much of what the scriptures are saying to us today. We are in a balancing act of continual conflict. So, what I want to talk about today is our routine lives, and we all know that as far as we are concerned, those are pretty ordinary and not necessarily the stuff of good stories. We also all know that our lives are made up of conflict because that is part of being human, (good stories have to have conflict), we also all know that we don’t know the end of our story in the sense of just how or when, but we should know that we need to persevere in faith in the author of our story and know that the end is complete and perfect. I guess, in a worldly sense, the buzz words for what I’m going to talk about today are “mental health,” but it’s deeper than that. It’s spiritual health.

            On the surface of the Hannah story in I Samuel I can’t relate. Polygamy has never made any sense to me and I don’t even want to try to make sense of it. But I can understand rivals. I tried never to have favorites as a teacher, at least as much as was humanly possible to avoid that kind of rivalry. Kids still wanted to please. You might personally think you want to be the favorite of someone, but favoritism creates jealousy and Hannah was on the negative end of that jealousy. I Samuel 1: 4 Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. 5 But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb. 6 Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. 7 This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat. 8 Her husband Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?” Her husband loved her more than his other wives (so why did he have others???) but she was barren so wife Peninnah had a big opening to just torment Hannah, and torment she did. We’ve all felt similar sorts of conflict with people. People are just hard to get along with, plain and simple. (I don’t remember where I heard this, but someone said that whenever your spouse is not meeting up to your expectations, you should look in the mirror and remind yourself that you aren’t that great of a catch either. 😊 Stay humble.) As people of faith, though, we know we have an advocate, someone who loves us as we are.  Hannah was also a person of faith and she prayed to the point of appearing to be drunk to Eli the priest. I Samuel 1: 10 In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. 11 And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.” And God answered her prayer by giving her a son. She gave birth to Samuel. And in 1 Samuel 2, that we read in our call to worship she gave thanks. 2 Then Hannah prayed and said:

“My heart rejoices in the Lord;
    in the Lord my horn[a] is lifted high.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
    for I delight in your deliverance.

            Like I said, Hannah’s story is pretty far removed from my life, but the human element of conflict is still there. We all understand that. When we don’t have such a direct personal conflict we have the conflicts of being citizens of this country and this world. In the present time we don’t even have the luxury of one “Walter Cronkite” reliable source of news, so we have to work extra hard to discern which slant on a story is acceptable and there is no longer a “That’s the way it is,” voice to reassure us. Sometimes our conflict is not knowing the “way it is.” And all of us, because of the uncertainties, create our own conflicts because we are, like it or not, human beings with big inclinations toward sin, not trusting the author of our faith. Our conflicts, no matter how they are presented to us, create friction. We get over 40, 50, 60, whatever, it starts building and we end up taking blood pressure medication, getting joint replacement surgeries, stents put in our arteries… I don’t need to tell you any of that. That’s a result of conflict that builds. So:

“My heart rejoices in the Lord;
    in the Lord my horn[a] is lifted high.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
    for I delight in your deliverance.

            As you know, I taught English for over 35 years, so I am one who loves a good story. No matter how dull our lives may seem to us, we are still the characters of an amazing story. Those conflicts make us who we are. Hannah didn’t just whine about her situation, she prayed and worked to have her conflict resolved. We are called to do the same thing. Anna Vowels sent me a recent NPR article about Julia “Hurricane” Hawkins, a retired teacher from Louisiana who just set the female record for her age category in the 100-meter dash. She crossed the line in a minute, 2.95 seconds. She said she was disappointed because she wanted to break a minute. Julia was the first woman over 105 to run the 100-meter dash. We have to just persevere in living, in praying, in believing. Julia said she wanted to get the message across that you have to stay active and healthy to be happy. You have to work with what you have. As people of faith the question for us isn’t whether or not the glass is half full or half empty, but what to do with all the water flowing out the top. Our cups are overflowing!

“My heart rejoices in the Lord;
    in the Lord my horn[a] is lifted high.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
    for I delight in your deliverance. (This is worth memorization, a mantra when you’re feeling down.)

            We are in the middle of a story of which we know the ending, but the particulars of getting there have a way of overwhelming us so that we forget. We don’t know all the particulars, so we need to persevere. We need to keep reading the book that is our lives and do it like 105-year-old Julia, staying active and healthy; doing it like Hannah, maybe shedding a few tears but praying fervently.

I’m just going to re-read Hebrews here:

Hebrews 10:11-25

11 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. 14 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:

16 “This is the covenant I will make with them
    after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
    and I will write them on their minds.”[a]

17 Then he adds:

“Their sins and lawless acts
    I will remember no more.”[b]

18 And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.

A Call to Persevere in Faith

19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

            The last part of that says so much about our perseverance: “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together…” We are doing the right thing by being here. Our job is to share love and good deeds, not worry about all the conflict, which we know is greatly reduced by love and good deeds. I do believe in being responsible citizens, but not worried citizens. I was reading comments at the bottom of an online article (never a good idea) and the person said that the COVID vaccine was the mark of the beast. I will not add more commentary to that.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the disciples that everything is going to be “thrown down” when they were commenting on the amazing structure of the temple. We know that happened in both the sense of the temple being destroyed and Jesus body being crucified. But then (in verse 5), “5 Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 6 Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. 7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 8 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.” We’re feeling the beginning of birth pains, but we should not be deceived by crazy rantings in the comment section of online articles.

            I have run several marathons and the worst thing that anyone could ever say to me when I hit the 20th mile was, “Only six more to go!” If you have run 20 miles, the next six are going to be twice as hard as the first 20 so it’s not “only six more.” It might as well be 90 more. Even if we really are close, we have a long, hard way to go. But we’ve got this. And that’s what we need to remember.

Jesus also told the disciples in Matthew 24: 36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[f] but only the Father.” If we get caught up in the difficulty of our conflicts we start looking at our glass and missing the water trickling over the sides, then imagining it to be less than full, that maybe we are running on empty. That is crazy talk. We probably miss this part of the 23 Psalm, but it’s the best part.

4 Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,  (the valley of the shadow of death)
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.”

So, like Hannah, we need to pray: “My heart rejoices in the Lord;
    in the Lord my horn[a] is lifted high.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
    for I delight in your deliverance.

Our job now is to do as the author of Hebrews exhorted us to do: “23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” And why not? We know the end. Our cups overflow! We’ve got this because he’s got this and he’s got us. Amen 

210. Ice Cream

I am a fan of ice cream—good old American ice cream. The standard flavors found in a Neapolitan blend are our tradition—vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry—but we’ve gone way beyond that now. There was a time when I would probably eat it every day, but now I’ve learned to make it more an occasional, celebratory treat because too much of a good thing is probably not the best for you.

Fond childhood memories include summer gatherings with a hand crank ice cream freezer. We would put the creamy mixture of milk and cream and vanilla and sugar in a canister—usually add some huckleberries or chocolate or maybe pureed peaches—put it in the freezer, then surround the canister with ice cubes that had layers of rock salt thrown in, and then everyone would take a turn cranking the freezer until it just couldn’t be turned anymore. The canister would come out of the slush and the paddle would be pulled from the now frozen mixture and it was all like a magic trick with a delicious end result.

At other times ice cream was that wonderful soft serve from the drive-in that would magically swirl into a cone that the server might sometimes dip into a chocolate syrup that would harden over the ice cream. We would walk down the street trying terribly hard to balance our desire to cool down with the cone, our tongues slathered in white, while also eating it just fast enough that not a drop would mar the sidewalk.

It seems like now, in adulthood, that I am the only one in the family with such intense devotion to the frozen treat. Not that everyone doesn’t enjoy their pie a la mode, but none of them seem to relish it quite the way I do. Complaints of it hurting their teeth or freezing their brains seem nearly ludicrous to me.

Now that I’m older I don’t fiddle too much with making ice cream, though I will try it in new ways now and then. More likely I’ll buy a half gallon or go to a shop to get my fill. I have very much enjoyed gelaterias in Italy. They really know how to hit the citrus flavors out of the ballpark and I have not found any gelato here in the states that comes close to those limon and arancia flavors of Italy. But, of course, I seldom go to Italy. Another distant but favorite ice cream shrine for me is Ben and Jerry’s in Vermont. It even has a cemetery of discontinued flavors, making it seem like a real church! But again, how often do I get to Vermont? I get to England more often than I get to Vermont.

My favorite place around here is Ferdinand’s at Washington State University in Pullman. They have the best creamy ice cream I’ve ever had, for a price next to nothing compared to other ice cream shops. You can get a scoop of Cougar Tracks in a dish and have enough to share with a friend. To order two scoops would mean giving up your next meal and calling your cardiologist to set up an appointment for a stent! There’s also another great shop in Moscow and Sandpoint called Panhandle Cone and Coffee that I enjoy, but it’s their flavors that make them unique. You will definitely pay the price of a trendy tourist town when you get there. And I’ll even go for a scoop at Baskin and Robbins if I can find one. I can’t say I’m overly picky, but I do have my favorites. I could never go to Elk River without stopping at the General Grocer and getting some huckleberry soft serve. At any rate, I certainly do love ice cream.

209. Road Trips

Americans love driving and cars and road trips. I am no different. While I don’t go crazy over the cars themselves, I love road trips. As I get older I can’t go the great distances in a single non-stop stretch so I may enjoy the road trip even more because I do have to stop every couple of hours or more to stretch. Those stops make me look around a little more. I see trees that I wouldn’t have noticed otherwise. I stop at rest areas and observe people (I love to watch people), sometimes talking to them and finding out a little bit about them.

The reason I started realizing I love road trips is because I just went to Boise and back over an extended weekend. That’s a road trip I frequently take and therefore take for granted, but I shouldn’t because Idaho is beautiful. The trip was for the purpose of state cross country and I extended the sty after the meet to celebrate my youngest son’s 23^rd birthday. Every road trip has a purpose, so sometimes you forget to enjoy the drive but I’m not doing that so much anymore.

Road trips are a thing I’ve don all of my life. My parents took me on a road trip to North Carolina from Idaho when I was six months old. I obviously remember none of it. We came back to Idaho when I was three and I don’t remember that road trip either, but that’s probably when I began to view road trips as part of life.

When I was 23 I went on my first cross country road trip, travelling from Idaho to Vermont across the interstate highway system. I saw the Badlands of North Dakota for the first time. I watched the sunset over the Missouri River in Bismarck and was amazed at the extreme beauty of the Great Plains. I saw fields of fireflies in Illinois that looked like Tinker Bell had just sprinkled pixie dust over them. I never remember seeing such a sight before or since. I learned that Pennsylvania really is a vast expanse of forested land and I actually fell in love with a part of the country that I had previously thought over populated. The Green Mountains of Vermont are beautiful and Vermont is every bit as rural as Idaho.

A couple of years later I did another road trip to Vermont and New England with my wife. We saw the Great Lakes for the first time together. We camped in Quebec. We walked through Manhattan holding hands, terrified of being separated, then explored the Museum of Modern Art and the heights of the Empire State building.

In this century I took my family to England where we rented a car and drove to Italy and back. We ferried the English Channel to drive through fields of sunflowers in France. We boated in Venice. We rode a cogwheel train to the Jungfraujoch in Switzerland. We learned how fortunate we are to live in America where people adhere to traffic laws!

Of course, there are countless road trips we do every year. Trips to Boise. Trips to Seattle. Trips through Montana to eastern Idaho. Trips to Oregon to see family. They all have their own stories of bonding, of wild weather, of beauty, of monotony. I love road trips and I have never really thought of it much before, but I’m fortunate to have the chance to drive the open road.