Back to Blogging

I want to get back to my blog. For the last few years it has been a blog of gratitude. I needed that because I was shocked by the political turn the country had made and how it seemed to be embracing the dark side. I don’t know why that shocked me, but it did. I was in the public education system most of my life and there are very few placed that feel the political shifts and rumblings of the country more than public schools.

Now I want to write about goals and aspirations I have for myself and my communities that are all very interconnected. That includes education, running, politics, and faith. I kind of hope that I get as few readers for that as I did my journals of gratitude, but I really think people are more likely to interact with opinions and that bothers me a little bit. I think the best life comes from gratitude and that comes from my faith and my real-world experiences. I’m never more content and happier than when I just set aside all the strife in my life (and there is much there for all of us as human beings) and think about all the wonderful things I have. So, I won’t leave that behind. I will try to infuse gratitude into every aspect of my thinking, even if I’m working for change.

I think of people growing up here in Potlatch and going to school in a building with no walls between classrooms. They often would say, “If it was good enough for me, it’s good enough for them.” I admire the aspect of gratitude in that statement, but I chafe at the idea of us all having the same things and settling for it. I believe America has always been great because it is dynamic, living. I also believe a more perfect union lives within that dynamic life.

Bloomsday at 60

            Yesterday I ran Bloomsday for the plus twentieth time. Again, as is almost always the case this early in May, I was not in good enough shape to run 7.5 miles. Much of that comes from the lack of motivation due to the long winter and the fact that getting out and trying to push it too fast causes aches and pains. It was no different yesterday, so I did a fair amount of walking, especially up the hills. My right Achilles was giving me fits. But I still came in at an hour twenty-eight minutes. I do think I’m still, if in decent shape and healthy, able to run it in an hour fifteen to twenty. This year was a little different because of the long winter and the fact that we were off to southern climes being touristy so I didn’t get lots of running in. That’s also why my Achilles gave me problems.

            The thing about being sixty is that my motivation to be fast is no longer there. I am very content to just be part of it all. No longer am I worried about the crowds pushing on me or me squeezing through the slow pokes. Now I am one of the slow pokes and very happy to encourage the speedsters while getting out of their way. Of course I am! I was a running coach for thirty-eight years and I just recently retired from it. I will still do a good share of volunteer coaching next XC season. I might even make my way to the state meet. I’m very happy to be able to participate in road races and to coach people on how to train to run the same events, pushing their minds and bodies to their fullest potential. And I plan on being part of the road races until I can’t do it at all. I am now fully embracing the idea of a Fun Run.

 

Sermon for the 4th Sunday of Easter, April 30, 2023: Jesus, the Good Shepherd

Scripture readings:

Psalm 23, Acts 2:42-47, 1 Peter 2:19-25, John 10:1-10

 

Jesus, the Good Shepherd

            In reading today’s scriptures there is a logical progression, though we may not necessarily read it in this order. In my mind we first read Psalm 23 and find that the Lord is our Shepherd and we have everything we need because of him. Second, we read the Gospel of John to discover that Jesus declares himself to be that Shepherd. Third, the Acts of the Apostles tells us how the disciples lived because of their recognition of Jesus as that good shepherd, and finally 1 Peter, where Peter tells us how to follow our Shepherd. Today’s lectionary can easily be read in the order it appears in our Bibles.

You all have probably already noticed that I love the lectionary, especially when it comes to creating a sermon. The lectionary readings all follow a theme around the church calendar and none of the scriptures are left out in the course of three years of Sundays, or in the case of the daily lectionary, two years. The early church designed a perfect school teacher curriculum. And as a retired school teacher I’m all about curriculum and very happy that the early believers gave us one to follow. Today is the fourth Sunday of Easter and the lectionary topic seems to me to be about Jesus, the Good Shepherd.

            “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” For Psalm 23 I like to use the King James just because that’s what I have memorized and it seems more poetic which is fitting because all the Psalms are poems/song lyrics. But the point is that we have everything we need because of the Lord, even in the Valley of the Shadow of Death, or “the darkest valley,” or lowest point whatever that may be. He is always there with us. That is the foundation of our Christian faith. As Paul said in Romans 8, “³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” That’s how much he loves, how much of a good Shepherd he is.

            In the reading from John Jesus told the Pharisees that He was the Good Shepherd. You can see why that might ruffle some feathers, no matter what. He said he was God. Anyone that says that, in my mind, would have to be suffering from delusions of grandeur. But Jesus wasn’t just any man, he WAS God incarnate—God become man. And He proved it by suffering on the cross, dying, and rising from the dead, defeating even death. That’s why we have everything we need, not because we aren’t sometimes sick, or hungry, or uncomfortable, but because He came as one of us to show us the way. That’s all we need. As it says in 1 Corinthians 15:55-58 (KJV)

“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Death has no victory over us because of that. We are fully resurrected with Jesus, our Good Shepherd.

            I know many people just can’t or won’t believe this. For one thing, we all know we are sinful and accepting forgiveness is really hard. I don’t know why we want to cling to our guilt, but we do. We always think we need to do something more than just accept forgiveness. If you’ve ever watched (and I know you have) kids playing any sports you can see so many of them beating themselves up for mistakes. And we all have that tendency to say (hopefully only to ourselves) “What were you thinking?” It’s hard to shake it off, but mistakes and our sins just get in our way of moving on. Forgiveness releases that. Forgiveness from God and each other and ourselves. As Christians we are not only given permission to move on, we can do that. Another reason it’s hard to believe is because the story of Christ is old enough that it seems more like a fairy tale than a reality. But it just as easily seemed like a fairy tale to those during the time of Christ. They were real people just like us. Jesus’ disciples experienced it and believed, just like we have. They had nothing to gain by telling a fairy tale any more than we do. But even Thomas, one of the disciples, had doubts right up until Jesus had him feel his wounds. We need to accept that in our non-believing friends while continuing to live out our faith. Seeing is often believing and along with our faith and love, not excessive nagging, they often will come to believe. I think one of our biggest witnesses to the truth of the resurrection and the Good Shepherd is our living proof through our moving on, our ability to accept and give forgiveness. Again, from John “When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.” We have to listen to that voice that tells us we are never alone, we have everything we need. And I also believe the biggest thing we have to work on all the time is giving and accepting forgiveness which also requires admitting sin. As Jesus said in John “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (Again, sometimes the KJV just rings with me a little better—Abundant life.) It’s not too good to be true, it’s just perfectly good, perfectly true.

            We all can have that abundant life, but the thing that separates us sheep from the others is our belief. Nothing else. We aren’t better, we just know that we’ve been given “goodness and mercy…all the days of [our lives]: and [we] will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.” We shall not want. We also won’t follow other voices that suggest everything He gives us is less than enough. We don’t need to do anything to be forgiven. We don’t need to find “New Age” ideas, because there is nothing more renewing and new than God becoming a man in Jesus, taking on all of our sins, throwing them away, and rising from the death all of that brings. That simple belief is the only thing that separates us from the rest of the lost sheep. That is the voice of our Master. Anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. As Jesus said in John, “2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” That doesn’t mean we haven’t heard a stranger’s voice, maybe even contemplated it, but in the end we continue to follow our Good Shepherd because He gives us everything. “I shall not want.”

            But let’s go on to Acts and hear how the early Christians lived. “⁴² They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³ Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. ⁴⁴ All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵ They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. ⁴⁶ Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” It really sounds like they had the good life together and it’s tempting to think that it was just better for them and that maybe things have fallen apart since then. I mean, we all read or watch the news. We’ve also heard stories of “the end times.” That’s a HUGE temptation of modern American Christianity. But the truth is that we are part of that number that was and is being added daily. Christianity has crossed cultural barriers and how we live our daily lives is now different from the early disciples. And, lest we forget, we are all still human, tempted in many ways and things just happen so that we do experience the “dark valleys” of the Psalm.

            Peter addressed it in his first letter that we read today and I’ll read again: ^“19 For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. ²⁰ But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. ²¹ To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

²² ‘He committed no sin,
    and no deceit was found in his mouth.’

²³ When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. ²⁴ ‘He himself bore our sins’ in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; ‘by his wounds you have been healed.’ ²⁵ For ‘you were like sheep going astray,’ but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”

            Sometimes we throw that WWJD around a little too lightly. But Peter tells us to follow Christ’s example, so we should. And I don’t think Jesus ever said to anyone, “What would I do?” Instead He just did it. That’s how we need to be. It’s only good to ask ourselves that in the same manner of his example of humility and acceptance. According to a recent (this last week) survey by the Wall Street Journal, only 12% of the US population considers themselves “very happy.” That’s the lowest percentage they’ve ever polled. I suspect some of those polled might also have been Christians because sometimes even we Christians forget that we have everything we need even in the darkest valley. I certainly know I forget. I sometimes see my cup and think it’s only half full when, in fact, it’s running over. I have everything I need even in the darkest valley. I have no reason to be anything less than very happy.

            I’m here to tell you that reading the scriptures will quickly bring you back to the realization that we do have a Good Shepherd. You will hear His voice right there. Look at what Paul told the Philippians: “¹⁰ I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. ¹¹ I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. ¹² I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³ I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Or the King James: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

            I know full well that I am not telling you anything new that you don’t already know, but I know that we sometimes just have to told to be happy. And that, of course, is an oversimplification. But as Christians living in fellowship with one another and our Lord, we can be very happy just by listening to His voice (read the scriptures!), praying together, and knowing “The Lord is our Shepherd, we have everything we need.” And coming together here is just a reminder that Christ is Risen, there is no sting in death, so we need to go forth and be happy, sharing that good news through our faith because Jesus is the Good Shepherd, we have everything we need.

Amen

 

The Current State of American Healthcare

While the founders of the United States said the truths of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are self-evident, they didn’t fully secure the ability to prevent others from preying upon these truths. Now, after more than two centuries, we still struggle to fully obtain these truths. As far as I’m concerned, there is no happiness if you can’t be healthy, but in the United States our health is at the mercy of profiteers who find ways to capitalize upon our diseases and injuries. To obtain good health you have to buy insurance and that can easily cost hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars every month. To keep their workforce healthy, many employers cover those insurance costs and this has seemed reasonable to many, if not most, Americans.

 The problem with employers covering health insurance expenses for their employees has been twofold. The number one problem has been that pharmaceutical companies have not been held in check. Things that are necessary to maintaining good health have been allowed to make astronomical profits off of very inexpensive products—insulin, for example.  These unchecked costs have to be dealt with by insurance companies that in turn pass them on to their customers, making health insurance far too expensive for employers to cover. These costs drive employers to take measures to affordably cover their employees. This might be with high deductibles or minimal prescription coverage. The burden of affording decent health coverage becomes difficult.

 The second problem is that health insurance depends too often on employment. This, of course, proved especially problematic during the COVID-19 pandemic which caused a complete lockdown thus leaving many unemployed and without health insurance. One might as well be left to gamble the Vegas strip for their healthcare in the United States. That hardly makes life seem “self-evident,” let alone being able to pursue happiness.

 And then, during the pandemic, the supreme court overturned the fifty-year-old Roe v. Wade ruling that allowed women to have abortions with restrictions varying from state to state. Now states can ban abortion altogether. Some states, like Idaho where I live, tend to view abortion as wrong in all cases failing to understand how certain cases can endanger the lives of women and their fetuses. Some lawmakers have even suggested that the life of the fetus should be prioritized above that of the mother. And doctors can be prosecuted for performing an abortion by a woman’s rapist’s family if that is how she was impregnated! Here the law clearly interferes with a doctor’s Hippocratic oath. Family doctors now want to stop caring for pregnant women because they can’t risk imprisonment and the well being of their own families. One hospital in Sandpoint, Idaho no longer offers obstetrics because of this. Idaho is far down on the list of doctors per capita, making healthcare scarce as it is. Now our unreasonable abortion laws will make it even more difficult for anyone to get healthcare.

 I fully believe that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are self-evident, but I’m not sure our government, especially in a state like Idaho, sees it as anything more than a platitude to obtain independence from Great Britain. Perhaps the greatest irony is that in the United Kingdom adequate healthcare is a national priority secured by the National Health Service.

 

Opposition to Educational Savings Accounts/Vouchers in Idaho

Note: This is the sort of writing I have been dedicating myself to during the last month or so. It's a testimony to the state legislature in opposition to a bill for ESA/Vouchers. I was hoping to present it remotely via Zoom, but in the end I had to convert it to letter form since I was in Hawaii at the time testimony was given.

I am Brian Potter from Potlatch. I am a product of Idaho’s fine public-school system as are my children. I also had the good fortune to teach in Idaho’s public-school system for 35 years. Idaho’s public schools are notoriously underfunded and yet they produce some of the best. Many of the complaints about public schools in Idaho, such as poor buildings, bullying, lack of effective courses, etc. would be solved just by fully funding public education so that the buildings are adequate, the personnel is not spread too thin so that bullying is stopped, and people actually see education as a viable profession so that there is not a personnel shortage. People my age from Idaho who attended one of the many rural districts in the state will remember when we all had art, music, P.E., shop, Home Economics, along with the required language arts, sciences, social studies, and business courses. That is no longer the case as the state has gradually pilfered education funding, while establishing high stakes testing to demonstrate accountability. Students of all abilities meet state requirements and demonstrate that with regular testing in the public-school system. Our school districts constantly raise property taxes through levies to meet the unfunded mandates of the state and federal government in order to maintain accountability.

Now in the name of school choice and the euphemism of educational savings accounts it is being proposed that the state continue to purloin money from these public schools so that parents have options. That makes as much sense as me getting a voucher for my taxes toward the highway system since I don’t use I-15 in eastern Idaho. Does that highway not promote the wellbeing of the residents of Idaho through its contribution to our economy? Of course, it does. So, I pay my taxes to continue the wellbeing of this state’s commerce. We should all do the same for our public education system, whether we use it or not. Public education has contributed to the good of this entire nation because we all drive on those highways that engineers from our public schools designed, not to mention the myriad other occupations that benefit all of us. The foundation of our democracy depends upon an educated electorate. Denying the best education to the neediest through tax breaks to those who can already afford private education is not the best way to nourish our democracy.

The idea that districts will be forced to raise property taxes even more to fund their schools and maintain their accountability while no new choices will be provided is ludicrous. The people who homeschool or send their kids to private school will continue to do so while denying choice to those who cannot begin to afford private school tuition or home school their children because they have to work to pay their rent. Meanwhile all those people getting tax breaks for private tuitions or homeschool curriculums will have absolutely no accountability. How will this improve education in Idaho for anyone? The mere suggestion of the idea of ESA/Vouchers is a dereliction of duty to the constitution of the state of Idaho in its lack of accountability, its withholding of monies from desperately underfunded, but constitutionally mandated school districts, and the wellbeing of our democracy. Please vote no on SB1038.

 

 

 

Admonition to Reuben

 Ah Reuben, eldest of Jacob

Chafing the feelings of your dad,

Mad, not your desire to make him.

Whims o’ertake you and you love that

What he has—look at little brother—

Mothers not shared—he’s a great pain

Mainly in his arrogant thoughts—

Brought on dreams his brothers will

Willingly serve him like the moon

Swoons to the sun and you know he

Sees that your father loves him so,

Oh, more than you or your brothers

Smothered not by gifts like he—

Peeled away from the family nest

Just leaving Jacob inconsolable—

Noble, that blasted rubbish of bowing sheaves

Leaves woven into incredible dreams,

Dreams aching that cause all of you

To want to rip him from the world.

Twirling through your mind the things you

Truly love—old Jacob and his

Mistress, and his youngest son.

Fun to throw him to the wolves,

Gloves on so traces are removed—

Loved even by you. Oh Reuben,

When will you release your jealous

Lusts for what your father has and

Mend the truth within your heart?

Start by admitting you love them.

Same as you’ve always loved within,

Thinly disguised from yourself, your

Poor mourning father and his

Listless loves and all that he has.

That’s your fault that you lost Joseph.

Brian Potter

Cool Cat

 

Cool Cat

I lap my poetry from the saucer

feeling the warmth of the fire 

as I nestle into the perfect spot 

by the window

here on the back of the couch

where I can doze

as the gray afternoon 

of the spring day

showers me in the comfort of

words rhyming

words comparing

words telling

words purring

words lapping up every smudge 

in the fur of my life

words disguising things like me

on the back of the couch

absorbing every poem drop 

falling from the gray spring sky

lapping it up from a saucer of tea

dripping onto this page

where I cough my contentment

onto the page—this hairball—

and my wife doesn’t even recognize

her cool cat

If you want to hear me read this one aloud go to Instagram or Twitter and find it under #poetrywithpotter or find it on my feeds.

The Lord is My Light and My Salvation

 

Sermon for January 22, 2023

The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?

Have you ever wondered just what salvation means? What are we saved from? Our sins, right? But yet we all keep sinning, getting mired in darkness. How is it then, that we are saved? And sometimes, as a Christian who isn’t new to the faith, you almost forget the basic joy of being born again. It’s the third Sunday of Epiphany and epiphany just means a sudden moment of revelation or insight. It’s also tied in that definition to the Magi, or the wise men coming to Jesus. It’s the time that “The people walking in darkness/ have seen a great light;/ on those living in the land of deep darkness/ a light has dawned.” We are the ones on whom that light has dawned, it is our salvation.  So I think we need to take a look at just what that means, how we sinners can be saved from our own evil and not walk in darkness, nor need we let it infringe on our existence as we so often do. We need to be reminded of that great light every day, especially in the season of Epiphany, the drab of January’s winter weather and darkness, the way people can be so negative and depressed, the glum news cycle, the sin that burdens us. So that’s what I’m proposing for this sermon: a reminder of what we are saved from, and a reminder of that great light so that we don’t walk in darkness.

Recently I’ve been struck by people setting parameters on Christianity: you can’t be a Christian if you believe in …. You can insert anything here. Same sex marriage, abortion, the second amendment, divorce… the endless list of things that happen and are clear evidence that we are, indeed, sinful. Mostly I’ve encountered this in the media with its veiled accusations more than directly from others. But I have also encountered it directly from people I know. The idea that people can set up requirements for being a Christian seems to me to defeat the whole purpose, which is, in fact, salvation from our sins, and we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. I think it’s perfectly fair to have ideas about what Christians should and shouldn’t do. In fact, I think it’s laid out for us in the Bible, but if I think that someone can’t be a Christian because they have sinned, there is really no point in Christianity at all. So we need to beware of even thinking of setting such parameters because that, itself, lets darkness creep in, possibly even making us feel like we aren’t quite up to snuff, not quite Christian or that we are somehow better because we don’t do those things (even as we get exclusive in a way we shouldn’t). As believers we have seen that great light and we don’t need to be confused by the shadows that we unwittingly let creep in.

From I Corinthians: ¹⁰ I appeal to you, brothers and sisters,^[a] in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. ¹¹ My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. ¹² What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas^[b]”; still another, “I follow Christ.” And in verse 18: ¹⁸ For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. But to us who are being saved it is the power of God. That’s a pretty bright light. Believe it. It’s the power of God.

Maybe our desire to set parameters around Christianity is that we want to feel exclusive. We like shadows too much. We create our own divisions based on denominations, attitudes, cultural backgrounds, and our own shortcomings, but the great light that we have seen, and are still seeing because we are being saved, has come to us like He did Peter and Andrew and has told us, ¹⁹ “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”  Christianity is far from exclusive. It casts out the darkness which we are walking in, not by exclusion, but by the inclusiveness of forgiveness of harboring that darkness within ourselves, that way we have of making every day a gloomy, cold January day. That’s been banished by our belief that we are, in fact, forgiven. And anyone can be forgiven, especially those who are “living in darkness.” All of us.

The first verses from the gospel of John leave no doubt that the great light in the darkness that we, the people walking in darkness, have seen is Jesus: “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome^[a] it.” So as people of the light, our best bait as fishers of men is to show that light. You can’t do that if you are trying to look at other things which might be suggesting there are things that the great light, Jesus, cannot banish. Remember that the darkness has not overcome the light, nor will it.

In our day to day living we need to keep the doldrums, the darkness, at bay. That works for each of us a little differently. I like to run long distances and just gradually get to the point that I think about little else but my footfalls, my breathing, and the heavy sound of my heartbeat that drowns out even the sound of cars until they’re right upon me. The act of running for me makes me forget anything so that stress goes away and I start thinking my glass is half full instead of half empty. While it’s difficult, it still makes me feel good. It’s how I meditate. My favorite Psalm, when I’m running up a hill is Psalm 121 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

² My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.

³ He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.

⁴ Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.

⁶ The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

⁷ The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.

⁸ The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

When I’m keeping that Psalm in my mind on some of these hills around here, I make it up them easily. That great light makes my footsteps light.

            I read an article in TIME magazine that said (and I already knew this) that practicing gratitude, being thankful for things and people, even when you might not feel that much gratitude begins to make your mind change and you actually become grateful. In other words, we need to keep our thinking positive because the darkness can’t overcome the light.

    Another thing that keeps me positive is being around other people and just talking with them. Being around friends, being active, all these things keep my attitude more positive. I think, as Christians, we all know the things that keep our thoughts positive and help us focus on the light, not the darkness. It’s important to do those things, and maybe do them even more when they are a little more difficult. Like now when we all want to hole up and avoid the dreary weather. That a good half of our congregation is in the south right now is a sign of the fact that they have seen that great light and they need to keep themselves positive. There is a sense of positivity among us, even in the darkest of times and we need to encourage one another to keep focusing, not on the things that hinder, but on the light in the midst of that darkness.

We all know that there is great darkness right here. We have been watching the news about murder right here in our own county. We see the divisions in Congress and the government and what that all could mean if they don’t get their act together. We have plenty of prayer requests for those who might be dealing with some of the darkness that we still know is here. That doesn’t mean we haven’t seen the great light, that we can’t still look at that light.

The Lord is my light and my salvation—
    whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
    of whom shall I be afraid?

            If Jesus is making us fishers of men, if he lives within us, then we need to focus our energies on him, the great light that we know he is. That doesn’t mean we don’t get help if we need it. That doesn’t mean we don’t face the realities of our world. We do what we are called to do. We roll up our shirt sleeves and do whatever it is that he’s calling us to do. This morning it is to be right here talking about the light we’ve seen, listening to a sermon (or preaching one), praying for one another, our country, our government, our world, reading the scriptures, having a cup of coffee and talking with each other.

            The truth is that that great light has always been with us, but we were so busy walking in the darkness that we didn’t see it. The Old Testament lesson is from Isaiah, well before the birth of Jesus, the incarnation of the living God, when God became one of us. Because, like John says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And then later in his first epistle, chapter 1:4-9

 ⁴ And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

⁵ This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, (epiphany, like the cartoon lightbulb going on in your head) and in him is no darkness at all.

⁶ If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

⁸ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

            King David knew this too. In today’s Psalm he says:

Hear my voice when I call, Lord;
    be merciful to me and answer me.
⁸ My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”
    Your face, Lord, I will seek.
⁹ Do not hide your face from me,
    do not turn your servant away in anger;
    you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
    God my Savior.
¹⁰ Though my father and mother forsake me,
    the Lord will receive me.
¹¹ Teach me your way, Lord;
    lead me in a straight path
    because of my oppressors.
¹² Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
    for false witnesses rise up against me,
    spouting malicious accusations.

            It doesn’t matter how consumed you have felt by the darkness, there is no sin, no darkness that He can’t overcome. John 1 verse 5 says: “⁵ And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” I like the King James in this case because I like the word “comprehend” in the sense of understanding: the darkness can’t even understand the light. It just disappears in His presence. And John again in his first epistle chapter 1, verse 7: “⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all^[b] sin.” By becoming a man, God fully understands us even as we can’t fully understand him. And if you want to think about big sins, David knew how to commit them, yet he constantly went to God in prayer, confident that he would be heard and saved not only from his sin, but from entire armies waging war on his kingdom. Lest you doubt, look at how he closes today’s Psalm: ¹³ I remain confident of this:
    I will see the goodness of the Lord
    in the land of the living.
¹⁴ Wait for the Lord;
    be strong and take heart
    and wait for the Lord.

            I’m going to conclude today by putting some of these scriptures together again to point out what our salvation is: The people walking in darkness (us)
    have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
    a light has dawned. That… ⁵ light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome^[a] it./The darkness comprehended it not. That’s our epiphany, and now we need to walk in the light as he is in the light so that like the first disciples (because if we are walking in the light as he is in the light…we are also his disciples) we can cast off our divisions and bickering among ourselves to be made by Jesus into fishers of men. We don’t need to wallow in darkness because we have seen a great light, now we need to share it out of confidence just like David said in the Psalm:

Be strong and take heart and wait for the lord. Amen.

 

 

A Poem is a Photo

A poem is a photo                   a photo is a poem

crafted by the poet                  focused on a theme,

spying an image                      a point splotched out

light not quite right                 to others in the light

discard image                          crafted with design

wilted memories                      black words on white

like clouds framing                that couldn’t be

autumn’s splendor                  staying again

or icicle’s fragility                  in frozen moment

melting into the tulips             it draws out

the beginning spring               every breath you wanted

subjects chosen neatly            and you never needed

highlighted against colors       like glint of gold

adding or detracting                cast in doughty details

from youth or age                   or of a youth

crop out crow’s feet                you all but cast out,

of mother not ready                the touching of a hand

to be grandmother--                never grown old

emphasize magnanimity         never meant to be seen

father’s softened eyes             now shining

grizzling beard                        with gracious light

in sunset fading                       dawning

 

Brian Potter