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News, some good, some bad ...
I am amazed each morning when I awaken that some desperate soul somewhere hasn't created a smoking hole in the ground somewhere in the world.
Certainly, there is enough turmoil, frustration and anger in every corner of the world to ignite the conflagration.
The U.N. General Assembly last week set the stage for the world and put such nefarious characters as Muammar al-Gaddafi at the center of the arena. His ramblings have become great fodder for American comedians, but what a disquieting rambling it was.
Also offered on that world stage were the more coherent words from Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Or perhaps they are only coherent if you read the transcript. Which I did, last week, with great care.
Ahmadinejad not only took center stage at the UN General Assembly but appears almost nightly on the news as well with the recent announcement of a second uranium-enrichment plant and Iran test-firing missiles. That information, combined with his rhetoric on the UN stage is enough to keep any sane man up at night.
"You will hear of wars and rumors of war, but see to it that you are not alarmed." Matthew 24:6
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Well, it wasn't "rape, rape."
Another "excuse me" moment. I grow weary of them.
This one came from Whoopi Goldberg, opining on the show "The View" that Roman Polanski ought not be imprisoned for the rape of a 13-year-old girl some 30+ years ago.
Originally charged with rape by use of drugs, perversion, sodomy, lewd and lascivious act upon a child under 14, and furnishing a controlled substance to a minor, these charges were dismissed under the terms of his plea bargain, and he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of engaging in unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.
Polanski was 44 at the time. He fled the United States prior to sentencing and was only recently arrested in Switzerland, where he had traveled to accept an award.
If you can, Ms. Goldberg, define "rape, rape." Or does a young woman, or young man, for that matter, have to come home beaten and bruised, or never come home at all, for it to be "rape, rape?"
"A fool finds pleasure in evil conduct." Proverbs 10:23
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Another "excuse me" moment came when I heard about the grumblings that followed the McCook High School Varsity Choir's rendition of "You raise me up" during the McCook High School graduation ceremony last spring.
According to eyewitness accounts, the choir, under the direction of Sandy Weigel, moved many in the audience to tears with their performance. It is a moving song.
The grumbling involved the usual separation of church and state issue, which is interesting because nowhere in the lyrics is any deity mentioned by name. Originally released in 2002, with music by Secret Garden's Rolf Løvland and lyrics by Brendan Graham, the song has been recorded by numerous artists, including Josh Groban and Selah. Listening to the song, or singing along with it on the radio while driving down the street, however, there is little doubt as to who it is that comes in the silence, or who it is that raises me up to "stand on mountains" or "to walk on stormy seas." The second verse, which Josh Groban leaves out of his version, clinches the deal. The good news is that Selah will probably sing the song, undoubtedly in its entirety, Saturday night at Memorial Auditorium during a concert celebrating McCook Evangelical Church's 30th anniversary, providing a "glimpse (of) eternity."
"Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth." Psalm 96:1
State budgets are starting to show the strain on the economy. And once again, the "least of these" are set to suffer. An article in the Denver Dialogue, a publication the Gazette prints that is distributed in Denver, details how the least of these are set to suffer by budget cuts enacted by Colorado Gov. Ritter. He has proposed, subject to legislative approval, suspending a program that provides a $200 stipend to Colorado's disabled population as a stop-gap as they wait for benefits from the Social Security Administration to kick in. Furthermore, he has targeted programs designed to break the cycle of substance abuse and its almost inevitable link to incarceration and will eliminate beds at Fort Logan's mental health facility.
We would all do well to remember that when Jesus says in Matthew, chapter 25, "Inasmuch as you did it to the least of these my brothers, you did it unto me," is a two-sided coin. Jesus points out the good that is done as being done unto him, but the other side of that coin is that when we turn our backs on someone in need, when we spit in the face of someone who is somehow different or "not like us," when we put on those oh so well-fitting black robes of judgement to condemn, we do that unto Jesus as well.
The annual harvest is in. The Lord blessed us immeasurably this year. Although we planted two tomato plants, only one survived to maturity and that in itself became a blessing. That single tomato plant has provided at least 20 quarts of frozen tomatoes for soups and stews through the winter, innumerable servings of fried green tomatoes -- even some of the grandchildren got their first taste -- and fresh sliced tomatoes at every turn. We pulled the plants Friday before the frost and filled a five-gallon bucket over the rim with green tomatoes that are ripening inside, more than enough to share.
The Anaheim chilies provided weeks of harvest with several Saturday mornings spent roasting, skinning, seeding and chopping before cooking up another batch of Danny's green chili, an ever-changing but always pleasing recipe. This past Saturday was no different, with two batches cooking, numbers 8 and 9 for the year. Once again, an abundant harvest with plenty to share.
"As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease." Genesis 8:22
On so many fronts, the world seems to be on a course of self-destruction. If not by weapons of mass destruction, then by our own willingness to abandon all that is good and right in us, even our very souls, in exchange for fleeting glory, fame or fortune.
Still, there are bright moments every day, if we look for them. There is purpose in each day and there is a peace that comes to the heart that has learned to trust God, because his promises, and only his, stand true -- through time, through tribulation, even over the threshold into eternity.
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world." John 16:33
Tickets to the Selah-Avalon concert are going fast. Order online at www.mccookefc.org, call 345-1661 or pick tickets up at Schmick's Market, Burrows Vision Clinic, New Life Christian Bookstore or Wilcox Financial Services in McCook. Tickets also available at The Shepherd in North Platte or The Solid Rock in Kearney.