My Grandmother's Dining Room Set and Other Possessions

In 2 weeks, our move out of South Florida should be underway.  The moving van is scheduled for the morning of Thursday, July 21.  When we were moving ourselves in a U-Haul, we planned to drive part of the way after packing the van.  I assumed we would need to stop along the way because exhaustion would set in.  

Part of our packing process has been getting rid of stuff.  We've taken carloads of stuff to Goodwill and to our church, the 2 charity groups which are benefitting from this phase of our move.  I have a vision of Goodwill dumping our castaways directly into the garbage, but hopefully some of it will find a new home.

Now we are down to the bigger stuff, the furniture that we can take over in the car.  The biggest object, the piano, we've hired someone to take away on Tuesday, July 19.  We think we can get rid of the rest of it.

This morning I'm thinking of my grandmother's dining room set.  We began getting rid of it a few years ago when we got rid of the dining room table and chairs.  While I liked the way it expanded with a hidden leaf, it was never comfortable to sit at, and the chairs scratched the wood floors, no matter what we tried to do.  Plus it had lots of knobs on the legs, which made it hard to keep dust-free.

For this move, we're getting rid of the sideboard.  When we first got it, we used it to store extra tableware and linens in it.  In our last house, before the big kitchen remodel, we used it as extra counter space.  Lately, I had been using it as dresser to store clothes.

We are keeping the china cabinet.  We have a lot of china from my grandmother, and the cabinet holds it and displays it nicely.  Why are we keeping the china?  We will have 2 households for the next few years, so we may as well use the china.  My spouse has always wished we used the china more, and now we'll see if it's as usable as he thinks.  At this point, we don't have a dishwasher at either of the places we'll be living, so the fact that the china can't go in the dishwasher isn't the issue it has been in the past.

We are also getting rid of the radio cabinet that came from my grandmother.  It used to hold very old radio/record playing equipment.  A few years ago, we took that out and made it into a cabinet.  My grandmother used it primarily as a surface to hold her African violet plants.  I feel a bit sorry to see it go, but it doesn't work well as a cabinet--the doors don't like to stay closed.

We are keeping the roll top desk and the cedar chest, as well as a variety of smaller, more portable items.  In some ways, I wish I was the kind of person who held no sentimental attachment to things, but I do--that's how I came to have them.  In some ways, I know I'm fortunate in all sorts of ways, some of which are symbolized in these possessions handed down to me.

 

Of Wounded Wrists and Other Poetic Possibilities

Yesterday I went to the dentist, an appointment I dread.  I usually leave a routine cleaning with a bloody mouth and sometimes worse.  I have very hard teeth, very prone to plaque, and also, very prone to pre-gum disease conditions.

Yesterday I left the office feeling no pain, and it's not because I was given a sedative.  I am saddened to announce that two weeks before we move, I've met the best dental hygienist I've ever had in over 50 years of going to dentists and orthodontists.

I came home, made and ate an early lunch because I hadn't eaten before my dentist appointment, and settled in to file my unemployment claim for the past 2 weeks.  In order to get the puny amount of unemployment money that is due me, the state of Florida requires me to log onto the clunky online system to apply.  I have to list the five jobs I've applied for each week and to let them know if I've earned any money from other sources.

Yesterday was the first time I had money to report, which led to an interesting experience with the clunky online system.  I couldn't make the pull down menu work, the spot where I was to choose from past employers.  I figured out a work around, but it took time.  And this was after the website crashed at an earlier point, and I had to log on again--happily, the information already entered wasn't erased, but the log on process takes time.

It seems a metaphor for modern life somehow.

I know that lawmakers have made this process harder than it needs to be.  I am trying to claim unemployment benefits, not charity.  I am entitled to these benefits because I was let go from my job.  This shouldn't be so hard.  Because I am entitled to this money, I keep trying however.  I will be interested to see if these weekly amounts of money will be reduced in light of what I earned.  At that point, I may change my mind about whether or not this is worth it.  

Then it was off to the physical therapist.  As we work on getting more mobility to my wrist, these visits are harder, both physically and emotionally.  We measure progress in very tiny increments, and I'm making progress, but there's still a very long way to go.

I had a lot of pain through the night.  I probably should have given in and taken some ibuprofen, but I don't always have that presence of mind in the middle of the night.

I am thinking of my trip to LTSS (Southern Seminary) and how strange it was to be surrounded by images of Christ with nail marks in his hands/wrists while I had my own hand and wrist in a cast.  And this morning, I'm thinking of all of those stories of Christ after resurrection, when showing the nail marks established his authenticity.

I'm thinking there should be a poem in all of this.    

Meditation on This Sunday's Gospel

The readings for Sunday, July 10, 2022:

First Reading: Deuteronomy 30:9-14

First Reading (Semi-cont.): Amos 7:7-17

Psalm: Psalm 25:1-9 (Psalm 25:1-10 NRSV)

Psalm (Semi-cont.): Psalm 82

Second Reading: Colossians 1:1-14

Gospel: Luke 10:25-37


This week's Gospel presents one of the stories that even non-Christians are likely to have heard before: the story of the Good Samaritan. Those of us who go to church have heard it so regularly that we may have lost sight of the message. The fact that we hear it so regularly should tell us how important the message is.

We could focus on the fact that it's the lowly Samaritan (a foreigner! one of the most despised/feared members of society!) who helps the victim, not the priest and the Levite, who hold high status in the Jewish society. We could focus on the victim, who, after all, invited trouble by traveling alone. In the details of how the Samaritan doctors the victim, binding his wounds with oil and wine, we see the foreshadowings of Christ's crucifixion.

But go back to the story again. Note the first few verses of the Gospel; in many ways, these verses sum up the whole Bible: Love God and love each other more than you love yourself. Most of us, when hearing those commands, say, "Great. I'm on target. Love God--check. Love other people--yup, most of the time." The story of the Good Samaritan is told to demonstrate what Jesus means when he gives us the Great Commandments. And here we see the size of the task that Christ gives us.

Many of us think of Love as an emotion, something that we feel. Here Jesus shows that that kind of emotional love is cheap, and not at all what he has in mind. We show our love by action, what we do for those who need us. It's not enough to see our fellow humans and think about how much we love them. Frankly, many of us can't even do that. Monitor your thoughts and feelings as you drive around town, and be honest. Are you really feeling love? Most of us are lucky if we can pull off feeling benign neglect. Many of us go through our days feeling murderous rage. Many of us go through our lives numbed by depression and pain, and trying desperately not to feel anything.

There's a way out of this pit. We must go through life behaving as if we love each other. We can behave ourselves into love. We don't have to start out by stopping for every crime victim we see. We don't have to start out by giving away our money.

Although these are worthy goals, we can start where we are. When someone cuts you off in traffic, offer up a prayer for them. Smile at your snarling comrades at work. When someone wants some sympathy, offer it. Leave the waitstaff a more generous tip. Help out, even when you don't have to. Stop keeping track of who has done what, and you must stop right now, if keeping that list makes you feel aggrieved, because you've done so much more than everyone else. Instead of keeping track of your losses, keep track of gratitude. Share what you have, and it's especially important to share what you have with people who haven't had the lucky breaks that you have had.

In this Gospel, it's easy to see the Good Samaritan as a Christ figure: the outsider who stops to help, who takes charge of the victimized who have been left to bleed to death by the side of the road, the one who finds care for the victim and pays for it. We often lose sight of the fact that we are called to be Good Samaritans to the world.

Once you start looking for opportunities to bind the wounds of the world, you'll find it easy to do that task daily. And then you'll fulfill the greatest commandment. God makes it clear that we show our love for God by loving each other.

Returning to Romans

This week in A Women's Lectionary for the Whole Church, we have a reading from Romans. It happens to be one of the parts of Romans that has been important to Christians across the centuries. In seminary this spring, we devoted a week to the study of Romans 5: 1-11, which tries to answer the question, “What shall we do to be saved?” Paul’s answer is that we can do nothing, but through Jesus, we have access to God’s grace, and we can be reconciled. God made these arrangements even before humanity knew it wanted to be saved. In other words, the initiative comes from God, not from humans. This passage can be interpreted through the lens of atonement theology: Jesus had to die so that humans can have eternal life.

In Romans 5: 1-11, I can see the power of Paul’s ideas, but I can also see how they have been misused through the ages. I am most distressed by Romans 5: 3-4: “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope” (NRSV). I read these verses, and I sense a huge history of this passage being used across centuries to tell people not to work to alleviate suffering. Or worse, I see this passage being used to tell people that suffering is actually a positive thing.

I don’t think that Paul would approve of his writing being used this way, of course. I do understand that this passage can be used to give us comfort during the times that suffering does come into our lives. I also think these passages can be dangerous because sometimes (often?), suffering does not bring perseverance, character, and hope. It’s just as likely that suffering breaks a person and for a variety of reasons, recovery isn’t possible.

This theology seems to be a sibling of the “God never sends you more than you can handle.” What do we then say to the person who suffers and doesn’t see themselves as persevering and developing character? What do we say to the person who loses all hope because of the immense suffering they have endured?

I am also troubled by the language of humans being God’s enemies and needing the blood of Jesus to save us from God’s wrath. I understand the centuries of Christian theology that have stemmed from these ideas, but I find substitutionary atonement theology problematic: God, who is so creative in other areas, can't think of any other way to save humanity? The fact that this theology is easy to misuse to manipulate people makes it even more troubling. We know that crucifixion was used for enemies of the state, threats to the Roman empire. Jesus wasn't crucified because of the sins I would commit 2000 years later. Jesus was crucified because worldly authorities saw his teaching as so threatening that it justified this punishment, so that others would take heed and be obedient to the state.

I do see the appeal of God saving humanity without humanity needing to perform actions to prove themselves worthy of saving. I am a Lutheran, and the concept of grace is important to me. But Paul’s theology in Romans has so much potential for misuse that I just can’t escape my feelings of unease as I read this passage.


It's important to realize that Paul wasn't writing for us. Paul thought that Jesus would be returning to earth in a year or two. Does that knowledge change how you see the passage? For a group of seminary students in the spring of 2022, it did. We were able to appreciate the positive parts of Paul's message in a new way.

Independence Eve

As we head towards this July 4th holiday, we have any number of reasons to feel despair. We have a variety of ways to be worried about the future of both this country, the U.S., and the larger world. We know that we live in an ever increasing interdependent web of countries. If things aren't going well for one country, it seems only a matter of time before ripples affect us all.

We may look back to past days and think that it was easier then. But even a quick glance at history shows us that life has always had a fair amount of struggle. Recently I've looked at the movements of Jesus as he preached and taught and attracted followers and always moved on to the new place, the next place. In my younger years, I thought it was about finding new disciples and bringing the good news to people who wouldn't have a chance to hear it if Jesus didn't head to the next place and deliver it himself. The more I have learned about life in Roman times, particularly during the time of Jesus, the more I wonder if he was on the move as part of his resistance strategy in the face of empire.

We don't have to follow this model in the face of hard times. We can look to the example of monastic people, throughout the centuries. In their abbeys and monasteries, monastics saw the hardness of life and responded by creating an oasis of hospitality, with a commitment to learning and to preserving what knowledge had come down from the past. Monasteries and abbeys were often open to all sorts of people, especially those who were marginalized and outcast. And these places of deep hospitality have often reinvigorated the larger community and reshaped it into something better.

Jesus showed us what can be done by finding a core group of people who share a commitment. The history of the church also shows us that hard times offer opportunities for transformation, both personal and societal.

When the founders signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776 they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor, so great was their belief in what they were doing. It's a good day to think about our commitments, our values, what we hold most true.

Here's an interesting thing to ponder: for what would you be willing to pledge your life, your fortune, and your sacred honor?

Today let us say prayers of thanks for those who have done the hard work of fighting for liberties of all sorts. Let us pray for those who are still oppressed. Let us pledge allegiance to our God who sets us free.

Saturday Snippets from a Week of Travel

Before too much time gets away from me let me record a few last snippets from this past week of travel and house buying:

--I am astonished at how hard it can be to wire money. We couldn't do it with our online banking because we couldn't get the right combination of ATM pin and numbers on the back of the card. So we went to the bank. We had multiple forms of ID, most of them with pictures. But the bank had to call the phone number connected to the account for security reasons. Unfortunately we opened that account so long ago that the phone number on file was our home phone so we couldn't pick up the phone and tell the bank worker in front of us what the security number was.

--Eventually we gave up, and we got an old-fashioned cashier's check. I have expected to get to the lawyer’s office and have him chide us for using such an old fashioned way of delivering money. Instead he says he prefers a cashier's check because there is so much wire fraud out in the world.

--He took our check, we signed a few documents, and 10 minutes later we owned a house free and clear. It was the easiest home closing we have ever been part of.

--As we were driving out and about, we saw a small bear across from the Asheville regional airport, which is actually in Arden NC—not a wilderness area. I suppose we should add getting a bear proof trash can to our list of things we need to purchase.

--One of the advantages of having a 6th floor condo is that we have had less trouble with pests of all sorts:  no roaches, no rats, very few bugs. I will miss that aspect of condo life.

--After the house closing, we went to our newly purchased house to unload a carload of fragile things, mostly lamps and framed pictures and four boxes of china from the china cabinet.  Then we needed food so we went to our favorite pizza place. Unfortunately because of staffing issues, dining in was not an option. So we drove in the other direction and ended up having a very good meal at the 12 Bones Brewery. I am not always impressed with brewery food, but this barbecue and the side dishes were delicious. We shared a flight of beers, along with a larger glass of a stout that we were fairly sure we would like; they were all tasty. The beer was the most reasonably priced beer I've had in a restaurant during non happy hour times. This brewery is just a few miles from our new house, so I imagine we will be going back--however next time we will probably share a main dish because the portions are huge.

--On our drive back south on Thursday, we stopped at the campus of LTSS, more commonly known as Southern Seminary. We walked around the campus, which was a nice break.

--Our drive back was grueling:  foggy mountains to begin, lots of rain to end. But we made it home safely. Not everyone was this lucky. We sat on I 95 at Melbourne, Florida for over an hour. When we finally got to the accident site, it seems an 18 wheeler had plowed into the guard rail--and there was a car in between them. I can't imagine that anyone in the car made it out with no injury, but perhaps. I said a wordless prayer--for them and for all of us, trapped between a speeding semi and a guard rail (interpret that symbolism how you like--it seems to apply to most of us, except those at the very top).

Planning, Coincidence, and God

Yesterday I wrote about how we came to buy a house at Lutheridge from a non-spiritual point of view, a more rational point of view. Today I want to write about a different angle. Let me confess from the beginning that if you told me such a story, my rational brain might not accept what you were saying.

I fell on April 15th, and I knew that I had done something to my wrist.  I thought it was likely to be a sprain because I didn't hear any cracking sound and it didn't really hurt too much. But I didn't go to the emergency room or go to get x-rays. I was planning on leaving to go on a retreat in a few days, plus it was Easter weekend, and I had a lot to do. But really, some part of me really thought I had only sprained it.

In retrospect, if I had gone and got an x-rays before I left, I probably wouldn't have been able to go on the retreat because I would have needed surgery. As my sister said, if I hadn't gone on the retreat, I wouldn't have made the comment to my pastor friend about still wanting a Lutheridge house, and she might not have thought of me when she learned of the house coming on the market.

is this the way God works in the world? I don't believe that God made me trip and fall and break my wrist, so why would I believe that God might be involved in other ways? But the pieces have fallen into place almost effortlessly, and when that happens I do tend to believe, even as my rational brain scoffs, that God is at work on some level.  Even if I don't believe that God is at work in my life this way, I do tend to think that a decision is the right one if it's all coming together effortlessly--even as I admit that it may just be coincidence.  On the flip side, if things aren't working out, I don't necessarily say, “Well God must not want it to be this way.”

I do think that we came to have this house through a remarkable series of events:  call them coincidences, call them God sightings, call it luck. The people selling the house have a deep connection with my pastor friend, as do we. A certain level of trust was already there because of these deep connections. We had seen the house before, so we didn't feel like we needed to spend 24 hours in the car to see the property one more time. The people selling the house wanted to sell to someone with deep connections to the camp, which we have--my mother was a camp counselor there during one of its earliest summers being open. And the biggest piece of all:  we had recently sold our house in a flood zone in a hot market, so we had money to invest.

Luck, coincidence, God at work, friends looking out for us, planning both careful and haphazard—perhaps our latest housing adventure is a mix of them all.  I am so grateful.