April 17, 2020
Good afternoon,
Tread on bold paths !
Fireflies flash the direction
" Hope springs eternal " . Haiku for 2020, given to me by Monika Pieper Landoni
All three of the lines from this haiku are extremely relevant to my/our experience in 2020. One of my blogs in January talked about this haiku. I am not going to look at what I said, because the world has turned on its virus edge, exploding any understandings to smithereens. What kind of bold new path has been taken out of my hands, and now I think of walking a path that was thrust on me ? It will take bold ideas to lead the church from this day forward. Small lights from the backend of a firefly , yet to be seen, will lead the way for me, the church and the world. I take a lot of pictures of the sun, and am waiting for the signs of direction from the Son/Sun in the morning, at noonday and at night. I am living in hope that we will find a brand spanking new world, when our physical distancing time will end. I live in hope it will end, and I am hoping that we will learn to take care of the vulnerable, the poor, the refugees, older citizens and persons dealing with mental illness, in more just ways.
" Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. "
This passage is from the last book of the Bible, Revelation 22: 1-5. This is the new Eden, and how can I be part of the new creation on the other side of the pandemic ? How can the church witness to such a kingdom while here on this earth ? This is our challenge and invitation. How can we yell to the world, that we must live with more equality because we are in this together ? The writer of the book of Revelation was speaking in code to the Roman Empire. This vision was not for heaven , but a heaven on earth for everyone.
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
… I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Blessings and hope in our journeys of life and faith.
Fred
Ponder Anew 