At War

I came across a Vietnam War documentary on Netflix this week.  I am embarrassed at what I must have learned and forgotten, and more embarrassed about how much I never cared to know.  Not just the details, but the major storylines were brand new to me, as if it was a fictional film that had just been released.  The war started with a fear of communism in the north threatening something like democracy in the south.  The United States takes notice and fears that if communism can move through that country, that it can spread through the rest of the world.  US war specialists are sent to "advise" South Vietnam, but not engage in combat.  That lasted only a short time until young boys and men began being drafted into active duty.  Many felt that blacks were being drafted at a disproportionate rate to the whites, which angered blacks back home, creating the first round of dissent for the war.  As a response, the "birthday lottery" was established to quell the protests.  Each day of the year was placed into a rotating basket, and drawn out one at a time.  If your birthday matched the one drawn, it was your turn to be drafted.  Success in Vietnam was measured by body count - who was killing more people.  Soldiers had areas where they could kill anyone they saw without determining whether it was the enemy or not.   The sheer brutality led many soldiers to resort to alcohol and drugs to soothe the pain.  Opiates were legal and readily available in Vietnam at that time and a jelly jar full of heroin could be purchased for five dollars.  The political leaders in the US were warned that there was no way to win the war, but they deceived the public so that support for the war would continue.   The political cover up began to be exposed, and as it did, protests erupted.  One of the worst was at Kent State University where 4 students were killed.  As soldiers returned home, instead of being honored for their service, they were spit at because of the stories of the atrocities that had been committed.  Many soldiers were already addicted to drugs.  Many more became addicted to drugs after returning and and some committed suicide.  I know that the boys and men that went to Vietnam had different experiences, but I have never heard of anyone that went whose life wasn't changed forever.   This soldier from Australia talks about his experience there which is nothing less than gruesome.   I hope things are better now, but I don't know if they are.  

Talented

In Matthew 25, Jesus tells the parable of the talents.  A man gives three workers five talents, two talents and one talent respectively.  A talent was a common unit of measure in that time, probably about 75 pounds, and was used mainly to measure precious metals.  Before doing some research today, I thought a talent was a type of coin of marginal worth, but as it turns out, a talent could represent multiple years of wages for a worker.  The man giving the talents left for a long period of time, and upon his return, found that the workers who had received five and two talents had doubled their value while he was gone.  The man praised them saying "Well done, good and faithful servant.  You have been faithful over a little. I will set you over much."  But the worker who only received one talent buried it in the ground and earned nothing more.  The man scolded him calling him a wicked and slothful servant.  In the parable, the man giving the talents represents God, and the talents represent all of the gifts that we have been given by God.  The parable is about stewardship and our responsibility to use those gifts for the good of others.  Jesus echoes the instruction reported in Luke when he says, "to whom much is given, much is required."  Some may think, "I don't feel like I have that many talents to share".  Talents come in many forms.  Do some soul searching and think about what you are good at and what you love to do.  If you  need some help, ask close family and friends what they think your talents are.  Then find a way to do those things more, thereby creating an offering to God.

Renewals

I love the New Year's holiday.  Not only is it preceded by the second best holiday of the year - Christmas (Easter is #1 for me), the calendar starts out at 1/1 and offers the chance for renewals.  A renewed focus on family.  A renewed focus on friends.  A renewed focus on diet.  A renewed focus on exercise.  A renewed focus on work.  And most importantly, a renewed focus on God.  I think about these things almost every New Year and make progress on some, but not others.  But no matter what my track record is, the New Year offers hope.  Hope for a better me in the coming year.  I hope you have hope for the New Year, and I hope you have success at improving any of the things that are most important to you.  I encourage you to write them down and/or tell someone you trust about them. Happy New Year.

The First Christmas

 

On December 25th, we celebrate one of the most important days in the history of the earth - the birth of Jesus.  One third of the world's population believes that Jesus is the son of God and has chosen to follow him.  Over the last 2000 years, we have added a lot to the celebration - Christmas trees, gift giving, card sending, Santa Claus and eggnog to name a few.  It's easy for even the strongest believers in Jesus to become distracted, or even overwhelmed, by the accoutrements.   David Cunningham is a film producer and recently released a project called "The First Christmas" with Kevn Costner hosting.   David starts with the text found in the Bible, but then weaves it together with historical facts to help paint a picture of what the first Christmas may have actually been like.  Jesus was born into a brutal world that desperately needed to be saved.  The First Christmas is streaming on Hulu and Disney+, and is also available with commercials at ABC.com.  If you are interested in finding out more about the project, you can watch an interview with David here.  I would love to hear what you think if you choose to watch.  Merry Christmas.

Sounds Like Christmas

I love the Christmas season for a lot of reasons, but I particularly love the part that music plays in it for me.  This week, I got to go see my grandson, Levi, play the trumpet in his middle school band's Christmas concert.  The finale was Sleigh Ride, which my wife and I played when we were in the band together in high school.  Tonight, I get to go see two of my granddaughters sing in their school's Christmas production.  Listening to these groups perform warms my heart knowing the hours of preparation that was required to present something that is meaningful and well done.  I don't have recordings of their performances, but I do love to return to one of my favorite Christmas songs, "Mary Did You Know?" every Christmas.  This arrangement is amazing.  The voices are near perfect, and the message of seeing the birth of Jesus through Mary's eyes helps me to focus on the reason for all the celebrations this time of year.  I hope music is a part of your Christmas this year.

Artist Skyrocketing

If you follow the Christian music charts, you probably noticed there is a new artist skyrocketing to the top.  Solomon Ray, from Mississippi, holds the top spot for new single with, "Find your rest".  Most of the reviews are positive, but some have complained that even though the songs are promoted as soul music, Solomon has no soul.  And that would be technically correct.  You see, Solomon Ray is an artist whose image and music are completely generated by AI.  Of course, AI is exploding into every part of our lives.  You can choose to use it or not use it (sometimes), but there is no debate that it is here to stay.  The ethical debates about how far it should go are here and escalating.  While many have commented that it is not right for AI generated music to potentially reduce demand for music from real people, Solomon's creator disagrees.  Christopher Jermaine Townsend is the soul behind the avatar, and he feels like Solomon is just an extension of his creativity.  I think there is a lot to work out, but if Solomon/Christopher can deliver a message to someone in need of it, I think God can find a way to bless it.

Honoring My Mom

This is a different Thanksgiving for us.  My brother died this year, and we are burying my mom's ashes this week in Big Stone Gap, Virginia.  I wanted to honor her at the graveside service, and this is what I came up with.  Special thanks to Caroline for having the idea that got the ball rolling.

For Mom (GiGi)

2500 years ago, in a far away place, there was a young Jewish girl named Esther.   Her parents died early, and she was raised by her cousin Mordecai.  Esther loved to read and study, especially about God. 

Back then, there were two groups of people in that region, the Persians and the Jews.  The Jews worshipped the God we know, but the Persians worshipped a lot of other different Gods.  The Jews and the Persians didn’t get along with each other very well. 

King Xerxes was the King of the Persians, and he was looking for a new queen.  The king found Esther to be kind and beautiful, and he picked her to be the new queen - but he didn’t know that Esther was a Jew.  Eshter was grateful for all the things that her knew role as queen brought to her, and she did all she could to serve her family and all the people in the kingdom.

There was an evil man named Haman that served the king.  Haman got mad at Mordecai, Esther’s cousin, because Mordecai wouldn’t bow down to him.   Haman made a plan to kill Mordecai by hanging him on a tree.  But then he thought, why stop with Mordecai, and Haman devised a plan to kill all of the Jews in Persia.

When Mordecai learned of the plan, he went to Esther and told her that she must go to the King and ask him for help, but in those days, it was dangerous for a woman to approach a man, even her husband, without being asked to.   Mordecai told Esther that she may have been put in this place to save the Jews “for such a time as this.”   

Esther was scared, because as a Jew, her own life was at risk.  She didn’t know what to do so she prayed for three days asking God for direction.  God gave her courage and told the king of Haman’s plan to kill the Jews, and revealed that she was also a Jew.   The King was furious with Haman and had him hung on the tree that Haman had intended for Mordecai, and the King put Mordecai in charge of all that Haman had been responsible for.  Then the king made a new law that gave all the Jews freedom and the right to defend themselves, saving them from destruction.  Eshter’s courage saved an entire people group, the same people group that Jesus would be born into 500 years later.

I see a lot of Eshter in GiGi.

Gigi was an avid reader.  I especially remember her reading along with the bible study group that met at our house.  One of our last conversations before she died was about what our group had studied earlier that week.   I am thankful that she had the ability to do this until the very end.  Gigi loved to read and study - just like Eshter.

Gigi taught kids about Jesus in Sunday School for most of her life.  Gigi served others – just like Esther.

Gigi woke up most mornings thinking of the things that she was grateful for and thanking God for all that He had done for her.   She also asked God for direction in dealing with difficult situations.  Gigi prayed – just like Esther.

I am thankful for all that mom did for me and our family and can't wait to see her again one day.