As your read this, I am in St. Louis, Missouri.  I'm attending a continuing education event at Concordia Lutheran Seminary.  The three day symposium is focused on the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.  October 31st is the day the German priest, professor, and monk Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses on All Saints' Church in Wittenberg, Germany.  When I tried to check in to my hotel, I was told I did not have a reservation.  Mind you, I did not think for even a fleeting moment "there was no room at the inn."  As a matter of fact, in spite of not having a reservation, there was a room and it was made available to me, for a price, of course.  That was only my first surprise.  When I presented myself to receive my name tag, lunch reservations, and symposium materials, I was not registered.  My name did not appear on the list.  No record of my having paid the obligatory fees could be found.  I called Lori and had her rummage back through several months of my End Of Month paperwork to find my registration and it was not to be found.  As it turns out, I did not register; neither for the Symposium or the hotel.  These Lutherans, being kind and generous Christians, allowed me to sign in and have meal tickets and a participant's packet.  And they are trusting me to pay for all of it after I get back to Syracuse.  I will see to it first thing.  And I will remember the kindness extended to this forgetful United Methodist pastor.  And I will do all I can not to let this happen again.  By the way, this is a very excellent event, so far.  I'm glad I came.  

Day before yesterday was the 16th anniversary of 9/11.  I noticed a bit of news coverage concerning the event, but it wasn't the most urgent news item of the day.  Hurricane Irma monopolized the air waves as billions of dollars of destruction was drawn to our attention.  By now the remnants of the storm are being felt as far north as Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and even Kentucky.  It will continue to drop plenty of rain and flood more streets and... The main news story of the day will always put other news stories on the back burner, so to speak.  North Korea is still more than a thorn in the side of the peaceable world.  Mr. Putin hasn't softened.  Twenty trillion dollars of United States public debt isn't going away.  A horror movie about a clown and a troop of eleven year old boys tops the movie box office.  Guess what?  Next week the top news stories will crowd out whatever is making headlines today.  When has it ever been different?  The tragedy that was 9/11 will continue to haunt our nation for decades to come.  And it will not always be on our front burner.  We will remember and we will pause.  But we will go on and we will tend to the business at hand.  That has always been how we live.  Even Pearl Harbor and Little Big Horn and every presidential assassination have had their day and we live on.  And for that, we can be thankful day after day.  May today and your days to come be days of thanksgiving and peace.

Eunoia is the shortest word in the English language to use all five vowels.  It comes from the Greek meaning "beautiful thinking" or "well mind."  I have never used the word in a sentence nor in conversation.  The only time I've seen it in print was among a list of obscure words. Go figure.  Both vowels and consonants are necessary to make our words.  Without the vowels it would be almost impossible to know how to pronounce a word.  lf wld b nrly n fn t ll wtht th vwls.  (Life would be nearly no fun at all without the vowels.)  See what I mean?  I do not know where languages come from or how they are put together.  Over eons of time spelling and grammar and meaning are set in place that we might be able to communicate.  Rules are made for the use of words and before you know it, a language takes shape.  Vowels are necessary and when ordered properly the words they form with consonants are beautiful things.  They are the tools we use to communicate ideas about treasured realities.  "Come live with me and be my love and we shall all the pleasures prove."  The resonance and rhythm of this verse would be mere gibberish without the vowels.  As would "With this ring, I thee wed."  And  "I forgive you."  And "God so loved the world..."  The examples are endless but you know what I mean.  An ice cream treat for the first person to use "eunoia" in a proper sentence in my presence.  

Precision with words is almost a lost skill.  Twitter and texting rely on, even demand, a "shrinking" format.  Limiting the number of characters and odd abbreviations may sound like a workable platform for the exchange of ideas, but I choose to disagree.  Yes, one can be glib and cute and snarky in short bursts.  And yes, bumper stickers can be efficient avenues for blunt messages.  Alas, they are all too easily misused and misunderstood.  Blaise Pascal, the 17th Century French inventor, mathematician, physicist, writer, theologian, and, let's not forget, child prodigy is reputed to be the author of this sentence: "If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter."  I take that to mean he would have been more precise with his use of words had he more time to give those words more thought.  In lieu of more time, he composed less exact messages.  Add to a miniaturized format the failure to count-to-ten or take even a moment to think before you exercise your thumbs, well, embarrassment is sure to occur.  Deleting and regretting will absolutely come to pass.  Not one of us is as quick witted as we'd like to think we are.  I am hoping and praying our social media fascinations will not be our doom.  I know the sting of hearing and even saying (on odd occasions) an imprudent or imprecise or ignorant word.  Oh, to be able to turn back the clock even a few seconds.  Better to slow down and give greater thought to our words than to let spew what first enters our brain.  Fewer tears will be shed and more civility will ensue.

The Calvary congregation is blessed with talented leadership.  We have many dedicated and faithful members who make our congregational life productive and enjoyable.  The nearly uncountable ways our laity make it possible for all of us to be a family of faith frequently astound me.  We are beginning to assess our leadership committees for 2018.  On the 24th of August our Nominating Committee will be meeting to look at each committee's membership.  It will make suggestions about how to staff each of them and make changes where it seems prudent.  It may be you will receive a call or visit asking you to consider serving on a committee for the coming year.  We ask you to think about it prayerfully.  We know very well our congregation cares for its every ministry.  We know every member participates at differing levels.  Be open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit as you make your decisions.  And know God will bless you and keep you and work in you for the benefit of Calvary.

Tsutomu Yamaguchi was visiting Hiroshima, Japan, in his capacity as an engineer for the Mitsubishi company.  He was in the shipyard that morning when the Enola Gay dropped the first atomic bomb.  The date was August 6, 1945.  He was burned rather extensively, taken to an air raid shelter, and treated.  He was then sent home.  Mr. Yamaguchi was explaining his ghastly ordeal to a fellow Mitsubishi employee when he recalled, "at that moment, outside the window, I saw another flash and the whole office, everything in it, was blown over."  The date was August 9, 1945.  He lived in Nagasaki, Japan.  Mr Ymaguchi survived not one atomic blast.  He survived them both.  He might qualify for being the luckiest man on earth that day seventy-two years ago.  He was twenty-nine years old that fateful August.  He died of stomach cancer sixty-five years later on January 4, 2010.  What Hand of Providence cradled this man to see him alive through two of the most horrific days of the 20th Century?  I don't know Mr. Yamaguchi's religious affiliation.  But, if that had happened to me, I don't know if I would ever get off my knees.  If you know what I mean.

Over a month ago I was at Staples.  I had a $5 coupon that could be spent on anything; even sale and clearance items.  I know $5 isn't a lot of money nor is it a significant discount.  I am well aware Staples wants me in the store in hopes I'll spend considerably more than $5.  I never know what I'll find at Staples that will catch my eye.  I wander the aisles and peruse the clearance shelves.  Not a single item cries out to be bought.  Then, along an aisle I'd been down before, there it was.  The 2018 appointment/date book I couldn't resist.  I buy just such a book every year.  I always buy it at Staples.  It's not even July.  I could wait a couple of more months.  But that $5 coupon was in my hand and it had an expiration date on it.  It was a done deal.  Now, almost a month later, I'm amazed at how many 2018 dates are already penciled in.  A wedding, a gathering of clergy, my next physical...  How quickly we schedule our time when not one second of it is guaranteed. Could buying a 2018 appointment/date book be an act of faith more than a $5 savings at Staples?  I'll wait and see.  It could be both.

People are funny creatures.  We are full of contradictions and even a few paradoxes.  We're never as consistent in our thinking as we would like to believe.  Take the two images above, for example.  The "COEXIST" image is a bumper sticker. It is a compilation of religious symbols.  It says, at least to me, "Let's all of us just get along."  It's both a statement and a prayer.  I never know which takes priority.  I see it as a "consummation, devoutly to be wished."  The last time I saw the "COEXIST" sticker it was on the bumper of a car ahead of me. It was not the only one on the vehicle.  The "DON'T TREAD ON ME" bumper sticker was also affixed to that car.  I was confused.  Does the driver want us to get along or does he want to be left alone?  Both messages bear the weight of some passionate political emotion.  I don't know how to do both at the same time.  Perhaps there is a Kingdom-of-God-choice for us to make? But, isn't that always the case?

Two years ago yesterday, the 10th of July, found me sitting on the main office floor laughing.  I reached the floor by falling.  Gravity will do it every time.  Lose your step and down you will go.  My right femur broke just below the ball of my hip.  By 4pm I was on my way to the emergency room and by 7pm I was being told I would need surgery.  An hour or so later the decision was made for a complete right hip replacement and the procedure was scheduled for 10am the next morning.  The surgery went well and by 2pm (just 22 hours after the fall) I was walking on my new hip.  That was two years ago.  I'm due for a hip x-ray next week to see how well things are progressing.  The time has slipped by almost without notice.  I don't run anymore.  Well, I didn't do too much running before my fall.  But when my orthopedist told me never to run or jog again (except to save my life) I wanted to place gold, frankincense, and myrrh at his feet.  More welcomed news could hardly have come my way.  Joint replacement is just one more daily occurrence in medical treatment.  I am the beneficiary of an incredibly talented and skillful surgeon, dedicated nurses, and other staff; at the hospital and the rehab nursing home. I walk and stand among you because they chose to do what they do.  And, because your prayers and God's hand were ever present.  And Julia.  All my love to her.

Marge Bailey died yesterday; on the Fourth of July.  She was 92.  She was one of those women who taught me and scores of other kids the faith.  She knew me since I was four years old.  She knew all those baby boomer children of the '50s and '60s who populated Main Street United Methodist Church in Kokomo,Indiana.  My family began attending Main Street when we moved to Kokomo in 1957.  Mrs. Bailey was one of those women who taught Sunday School and Bible School and chaperoned school field trips.  She moved right up the grades with us.  I don't  remember when she wasn't my Sunday School teacher.   Along with others, she taught me the faith.  She modeled it with her life.  I remember her as patient and kind.  And she always had a smile for the children.  There are at least seven United Methodist pastors from Main Street in that group of baby boomers.  Our pictures hang along the corridor that leads from the offices into the sanctuary.  They wouldn't be hanging on that wall without the love and grace and faith of Marge Bailey.  God bless you Marge Bailey.  Rest In Peace.  And Rise In Glory.