The Joy of Obedience

“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him." (John 12:23-26)

In this Gospel lesson, Jesus reminds us, as he had proclaimed many times before to his disciples, "If you really want to be my disciple, take up your cross and follow me." And if we listen carefully and deeply to the lessons of today for a few moments, I think we will discover in a very deep way what Jesus means by that, and also we will be aware of the challenge it takes truly to follow Jesus. And first of all, I think it's important for us to realize that in what Jesus is to undergo.

You see, we have to understand that the incarnation, Jesus in his humanness, is totally separate from his identity, and so he's one like us. He had to trust in God just as we do, and he found that very difficult, just as we do. If you listen carefully to that passage from the letter to the Hebrews, you find Jesus described in a way that I think is almost shocking: "In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him." (Hebrews 5:7-9)

The Dangers of Isolation

I have been thinking a lot about isolation lately. Since my divorce a year ago, my life workflow looks radically different. When you couple that life change with selling our house and moving to an apartment, and at times I struggle to even recognize my "new" normal.

‘Time-alone’ is a sought after treasure.  A time to think, read, and ‘do what I want to do.’  The menu is simpler, conflicts are reduced, and no one is around to question decisions made or decisions postponed.  We all need ‘time-away’.  Time to seek God’s voice, reflect, relax and recover.  We ask ourselves important questions and listen for the Spirit’s voice.  Jesus was reported to regularly retreat and seek out places of solitude and prayer. However, I am coming to understand the dangerous differences between being alone, loneliness and isolation. Social distancing has consequences.

However, the very first warning in the creation story is “It is not good for man to be alone.”  When people are alone, many struggle with burdens, anxiety, addictions and the sorrow of opportunities lost.  Temptation knocks. Loneliness can enhance feelings of depression and can flood your mind with accusations and bitterness.  

But you know what is worse than loneliness? 

Isolation. 

My Favorite, (well okay), My Only Mickey Mantle Story

If you are even a casual observer of this blog, you have probably picked up on some of my gentle hints regarding my loyalty to the Atlanta Braves. As a kid growing up in Chattanooga, TN, our stations broadcast Atlanta baseball on the weekends and covered them in our local news at 6 and 11. But I also grew up in an era where in the month of October, our teachers in our school would roll in a black & white TV on a cart and we would watch the World Series games which were played during the daytime hours. NOTE: Trivia factoid, the first World Series to play a night game was in 1971. (Game 4 between the Pirates and the Orioles) 

During the 60's and 70's, the New York Yankees were frequent participants in the World Series. And even though their greatest player, Mickey Mantle, best years were in the 50's, he had still achieved legendary status by the time I became a baseball fan. My dad would often speak of Mickey's best season that happened in 1954. He won the American League Triple Crown by leading the majors in batting average (.353), home runs (52), and runs batted in (130). Additionally, he topped the league in runs scored (132), slugging percentage (.705), and total bases (376). Mantle also led the AL in walks with 122, which helped his overall offensive production. His stellar performance earned him the AL Most Valuable Player award that year as well. 

Surrenders of the Civil War | From Appomattox to Citronelle