 St Alban’s Episcopal Church Bolivar, Missouri Thursday, February 10, 2022 Looking forward to the weekend Luke 6:17-26   Luke 6:17-26 Jesus came down with them and stood o a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them. Then he looked up at his disciples and said, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets. But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.   My birthday! I took a couple of days off to celebrate my 75th birthday with my family. It has been a great celebration, and a time to reflect on, and tell stories about, my own life through all those years. And I have been thinking about what things I can still do well, and what are really not mine to do anymore. Aging is a spiritual, relational, emotional and physical journey; and it’s a good one. So many are not given the opportunity to become literal elders. I am grateful for it all. A word about traditions – two, actually. At every birthday celebration in my family everyone who is there gathers together around the dinner table and each in turn prays for, thanks God for, the one being feted. That one concludes the prayer with his or her own thanksgiving for the family. It is remarkable how beautifully even children express themselves in common prayer. It is tradition. It wouldn’t be a birthday without it. And we can’t change it. We couldn’t, for example, do it after dinner instead of before. There would be an uprising if I suggested it. Traditions like this aren’t supposed to change! And they are nourishing, predictable, wonderful. And here’s the second. For my birthday we have ALWAYS had a dense, home made spice cake with cooked caramel frosting. Always. It doesn’t change and I make it myself because nobody else is willing to double the spices that the recipe calls for! We never make it any other time. It is tradition. You know what I’m going to say next: Make your own family traditions. Go back and read, “To Dance With God” if you need to refresh yourself on why this is important to children. No matter when they eat it twenty years from now, no matter who bakes it, they will always remember that it was my birthday cake. And that will lead to stories. |
Categories:
Tags:
No responses yet