August 22, 2021 - No Sunday School or Church Service on Sunday, August 22nd. We hope to get back together the next Sunday, August 29th.
From the Pastor's Desk:
Grace and peace from our teacher and our friend, Jesus. Sue and I went to Nacogdoches for dinner on my birthday. Yes, I am officially a year older. At the table next to us was a couple with two young daughters. They were celebrating the mom’s return to her classroom and her older daughter’s first day of kindergarten. By the end of August, all schools in Texas will have started. I read about a kindergarten student who on that first day handed her teacher a note. It said, “The opinions expressed by this child are not necessarily those of her parents.” I wish I had thought of that when my kids started out!
The Old Testament lesson for Sunday comes from 1 Kings 8: 22-30, 41-43: Solomon said, “But how could God possibly live on earth? If heaven, even the highest heaven, can’t contain you, how can this temple that I’ve built contain you? Lord my God, listen to your servant’s prayer that your servant prays to you today. Constantly watch over this temple, the place about which you said, ‘My name will be there,’ and listen to the prayer that your servant is praying toward this place.”
We believe that no place can contain God, the Ground Being of all creation. We know that the one Temple of the Jewish people was destroyed in the Jewish rebellion against Rome in 66 CE. This was mostly a rebuilt temple and not Solomon’s original building. After the Temple’s destruction, God still resided in the communities of Jews as they met in synagogues around the world. He resides wherever people of goodwill are doing God’s work. The covenant between God and humans was written on their hearts—and not limited to some stone or wood building.
In the Christian Testament, the human body is called a temple. This makes sense because we are made in the image of God, just below angels. That is pretty high up! So our understanding of holy places has changed over the centuries. The house of God can and should reside in us, regardless of our name for God and regardless of our cultural traditions. The buildings we call churches or temples are not so important because God intended for our faith to be lived out in community. God created Adam and Eve not to be solitary creatures, but to live in harmony with others.
Long ago I read about Gunda Tobias, an immigrant from Eastern Europe. She married in the US; she and her husband, on meager salaries, raised four children, sending each to college. She had no money to speak of, no degrees, and no job title. She wasn’t a CEO or a powerful politician. But when she spoke, people in her neighborhood listened. For several generations she had been there for her community in sad times and good times. She visited the sick and those in nursing centers. She volunteered at food banks and food kitchens. She lived out her days in that old neighborhood. When she spoke, it was with moral and ethical authority—not from power but from authenticity and compassion.
The world is full of Gundas. Without a doubt, she and people like her are the very temple in which God resides. God truly does live among us and in us. No building can contain the love and compassion of God.
News from Paxton Methodist:
Grace and peace from our friend and brother Jesus. It is Saturday morning, and I got up at 4:00 (AM, not PM)! Mornings, I check television news, read the Dallas Morning News, and eat my oatmeal. Then Sam, Gunter, and I head to the park, where I do my laps, and my faithful four-legged companions run and play. Once again, Paxton United Methodist Church is not having in-person church because of Covid concerns. We are hoping to return to our regular schedule on Sunday, August 29th.
We have been lucky this summer to have had several breaks in the dry Texas heat. We had about five inches of rain last week, which cooled off our temperatures, although also amping up the humidity. My garden and water bill appreciated the extra rain!
Here in Joaquin, we are all watching Deans Hardware Store’s new beginnings. I realize how much I depended on Deans and their wonderful crew of friendly folks. From getting the right size bolt to buying our appliances, we knew that Deans would take care of us. Sue and I really miss going in. But each day as we watch Jeff and crew working, we know we are one day closer to this Joaquin landmark opening again. Can’t wait!
Joaquin lost a good friend, our Fire Chief, Perry Pugh. I have known Perry since I first came to Joaquin, having him in the senior class my first year of teaching. I also taught his older son, Tony; my wife had Brock in Spanish. And of course, his wife Donna greets us inside and driving through American State Bank. Perry was so bright and had such a wonderfully dry sense of humor. We are going to miss him; our prayers are with Donna, Tony, and Brock.
Working after the sun goes down in my garden, I could hear Meet the Rams and then the scrimmage between friendly rivals Joaquin and Logansport. My dogs ran around the yard trying to figure out where the sounds were coming from. Two of my apple trees have had a hard summer so I ordered some Garrett’s Sick Tree Tonic. It has done the trick; new leaves and growth are happily sprouting. I would sing to them if I didn’t think that would really make them sick! The singers in my yard are all at the “bird cafe” set up in my back yard. The birds (ok, and squirrels) are a joy to watch and hear.
Years ago there was a book about America’s “greatest generation,” my parents’ age group. Both my mother and father answered the call of their country, serving in the Navy. My dad was only nineteen or twenty when he enlisted. People who were Republicans, Democrats, and Independents answered the call. People of all colors, nationalities, and ethnic groups signed up. People from north, south, east, and west volunteered. My mother was the daughter of Russian immigrants, but she too was ready to serve her country. (She also thought it would be an adventure, something she was always up for!)
I remember in the late 1950s, Americans of all types once again answered their nation’s call to join together in the biggest national effort since the greatest generation went to war. Hundreds of thousands of families began lining up at neighborhood schools to take the polio vaccine. My wife’s teenage next-door neighbor was even one of the volunteers who was vaccinated before it became available to the public. My brother and I were not very excited about lining up to get a shot. What a pleasant surprise when they handed each of us a sugar cube!
I saw my mother-in-law at lunch a few weeks ago, when she reminisced about US citizens joining together to stamp out smallpox. People who got vaccinated and had that tell-tale scar wore it as a badge of honor. Thanks to earlier generations, we were able to defeat fascism and eradicate smallpox, as well as polio. No longer do children or their families have to worry about the crippling effects of smallpox or of polio.
Now hope fades for herd immunity and getting a handle on our current pandemic. Not enough Americans are getting vaccinated, allowing the most virulent form of Covid-19, the Delta variant, to run rampant through our nation. The most troubling problem is that this virus continues to change and mutate: If we are not careful, it is going to become immune to the vaccine, growing more deadly than anything we have seen so far. This virus goes after anyone and everyone. It doesn’t care where you live, how old you are, or what your politics are. If you are unvaccinated, it will hunt you down.
My prayers go out to all those who are suffering from this terrible plague. My prayers are with families who feel powerless to help sick loved ones and those who have lost friends and family members. We must try our best—even if we have to will ourselves not to give up hope—and rise to the challenge as one American body.
Whoever you are, in whatever faith you were born, whatever creed you profess; if you come to this house to find God you are welcome here. Paxton United Methodist Church is an inviting church that takes to heart the idea of “Open Doors, Open Hearts, and Open Minds.” Worship begins at 10:00. Our email address is paxtonumc@yahoo.com. If you would like the weekly email newsletter about Paxton Methodist, you can send your email address to the Paxton email address, and I will add you to the list. God’s Speed.
