For Everything a Season

 A time to be born, and a time to die. ( Ecclesiastes 7:17 ): — The verse has two parts: "There is a time to be born; and a time to die": and it seems as if a person has as little control over the one as over the other — over the day of one’s death as over the day of birth.

Recently we have observed both the passing of old friends and the birth of a new baby into our this world, and these events cause me to ponder what is most important in life. And to relish life itself, knowing that we are but sojourners for awhile on this earth.

Jim Bergquist was the pastor in Honolulu when he and wife Lorrie greeted me as I arrived for graduate school in 1963.  After long and fruitful lives they died earlier this year, their passing separated only by a month. There will be a joint funeral service tomorrow to commemorate their lives.  I haven’t heard of that happening before. 

Their life journeys have some similarities to ours in that they served the church in many places in the US and abroad.  Jim was a great theologian and scholar who held leadership positions in the Church and taught in seminaries in various Asian countries, including four years in India teaching at Gurukul Theological Seminary in Madras, India.

Jim and Lauri moved about a lot, as have we. The last time we saw them they were experiencing pain and diminished strength brought on by age (late 80s) - though they had  the ever present positive attitude they always exhibited.  At that time Lauri was reading two or three books on history a week. Judy and I mourn as we think about these wonderful friends, even though we saw them infrequently over the years and kept up via Christmas letters for the most part.  They left the world a better place and their legacy carries on through the many lives touched and taught, as well as through the lives of their children and many grand and great grandchildren.

On the other end of life we rejoice in the birth of our second great-grandchild, Lyonna Velgach on  April 28th, the second child born to our granddaughter Leslie and her husband Filipp.  We held a family gathering in Chicago in June with all three of our children, all but one of our six grandkids, and two great-grandchildren.  It gives us a wonderful appreciation for the continuity of the generations as we look back at our path taken in life and see the paths taken by each of our offspring, both affirming and diverging from ours. 

Jim and Lauri leaving Hawaii in 1964.

Bobby, Chris, Kathy and Mark.

One of our last visits with Jim and Lauri when they treated us to Indian food in Minneapolis, Dec. 2016.

The oldest and youngest in our family. Lyonna at two months, Jerry at 82 years.

Family in Chicago, June 2021.

Morning Has Broken

 

… like the first morning,

Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird

Praise for the singing, praise for the morning,

Praise for them singing, fresh from the Word.

This Gaelic folk tune from long ago was joined together with words written by Eleanor Farejon and was first published in an English hymnal in 1931.  We know it best from the rendition made popular by Cat Stevens in the 1970s, leading to its inclusion in several hymnals and often sung in worship services.  After becoming a pop star Stevens converted to Islam (he is now known as Yusuf Islam), and went on his own spiritual quest for some years before returning to music.  

I’ve sung it as a solo in churches a few times, and many times alone and with groups.  But the image that comes most readily to mind is dancing this lilting folk melody with Judy whenever it happens to come on the radio or when I put the recording on the phonograph and turn up the volume.  Yes, we still do have a turntable! 

The words prompt me to savor the quiet of the early morning as songbirds gently greet the new day while I meditate. But for most of my life early rising meant starting a new day with a to do list and  getting on with the many demands of the day.  Little time for contemplative prayer and silence when we were raising the family, had jobs to go to, or I made a rush to the airport for another trip.  

Now in retirement and old age it is easier to take in “the sweetness of the wet garden” and appreciate hints of God’s regenerating energy.  Just this week we left the heat of the desert here in New Mexico and went high into the mountains to camp below towering Ponderosa pines where we enjoyed the coolness of the morning where warm sunlight appeared through the branches after a gentle rain.  Add to that the joy of spending days in the mountains with our youngest grandchild, Colin, trying to keep up with his enthusiastic appreciation in his own way of “God’s recreation of the new day”.  As the old beer commercial said, “it doesn’t get any better than this”!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Rifby1tVE8

Memorial Day, 2021

 

Once to Every Man and Nation, 

……. comes the moment to decide,

In the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side,

Some great cause, some new decision offering each the bloom or blight,

The choice goes on forever, twixt that darkness and that light.

The words of this hymn are difficult for me to understand correctly.  Are these words about a nation taking up arms for a just cause, or what is perceived at the moment as a just cause?  Is it about an individual standing for truth and on the side of good against evil? Is it a decision of faith in Christ? All of these, I’m sure.  

It takes courage to make a decision on the spur of the moment when that decision may be a choice that changes everything.  Fifty four years ago in a village in the highlands of Vietnam a young American lieutenant played volleyball with us in our backyard on a Sunday afternoon.  On Monday morning he was killed in a battle with North Vietnam Army soldiers just five miles outside of town.  He had made a decision to serve his country and though I didn’t agree with the rightness of that war, we honor his service and remember that sad day when he and many hill tribe militia soldiers were also killed alongside him, some of the many who made choices that “go on forever” from that day. 

This inspirational hymn tune has been used as background for a video of the Red Army going into battle against the Nazis at St Petersburg.   It has been a rallying call for the anti-abortion crusade.  But also for standing up to power that makes wrong decisions to bring a country to war.  And for many individual decisions - what Christians call the discernment of the will of God.

In fact, it is a protest song.  The above are just four lines from a long poem titled “The Present Crisis”,  written in 1845 by James Russell Lowel.  It is a protest against the U.S. Mexican war which Lowel saw as an act of aggression for the purpose of extending slavery. 

I remember the stretching of truth and the falsehood that President Johnson used to escalate the Vietnam war, and the claims that George W Bush made that Saddam Hussain had weapons of mass destruction in Iraq as the rationale for invasion in what became a long drawn out war and a great strategic mistake.  The destruction unleashed by such decisions for what was deemed a just cause are choices that go on forever.  

How do we know at the moment of decision if it is a right or even noble direction?    

These gripping words set to an inspiring tune have been sung in many settings.  Listen to this rendition sung by Christians in a Cathedral in India.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHzXKTwCtg0

East of Eden

 

I finally read John Steinbeck’s novel East of Eden almost 70 years after it was published in 1952.  It is a long book (600 pages), and at times I got bogged down in some of the sub-plots, but I stuck with it as it was considered by Steinbeck himself as some of his best writing.  I was fascinated with the main theme and my attention was drawn to the Hebrew word Timshel.  

In my Cristian formation in the Lutheran tradition, I was taught about the importance of free will.  After all is said about good and evil and God’s love, we humans do have a choice.  We can accept God’s love, but we can also reject it.  What’s more we have the capacity to choose between good and evil. 

The most intriguing character in the novel for me is Lee, Adam Trask’s loyal Chinese servant. Lee acts as the novel’s philosophical and common sense compass. The Biblical story of Cain and Abel and the struggle humans have with good and evil is central to the story.

It seems like Steinbeck uses this character to develop his own thinking about what he called the “most profound question in the world”.  Lee takes the story of Cain and Abel to a group of wise old Chinese scholars for their take on it’s meaning and reports back:

“Don’t you see? The American Standard translation orders men to triumph over sin, and you can call sin ignorance. The King James translation makes a promise in “Thou shalt,” meaning that men will surely triumph over sin. But the Hebrew word, the word timshel–‘Thou mayest’–that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world. That says the way is open. That throws it right back on a man. For if ‘Thou mayest’–it is also true that ‘Thou mayest not.’ Don’t you see?”

One reviewer of the book, Dolly Doyle, wrote:

“The title East of Eden is a reference to the story of Cain and Abel. After killing his brother in a fit of jealous rage, Cain is condemned to a lifetime of wandering by God. In Genesis 4:16, Cain is described as going "east of Eden" into the land of Nod.

The direct references to the Cain and Abel story do not end with the title. Both sets of brothers featured in the book—Charles and Adam, and Aron and Caleb—mirror Cain and Abel (the latter pair are even named after them). Cain and Abel are typically viewed as opposites: Cain is treacherous and evil, while Abel is virtuous and good. Similarly, such dualism is suggested in the relationships between the two sets of brothers, though Steinbeck complicates the idea that one brother is good while the other is evil every time by emphasizing the importance of choice in moral action and the possibility of redemption for those who have done evil things in the past.”

 

Steinbeck tries to point out that the free will to make choices, which God has given to humans, means that though we will not be able to overcome original sin, we may decide to ask for forgiveness and that redemption is possible for everyone. There is plenty of evil depicted in the story, especially in the character of Kate, the mother of the twin boys Caleb and Aron. Is there even redemption for her?

This is a book I would love to discuss with a book club, but I doubt there are enough recent readers of it to form a group.  The movie of East of Eden, with James Dean, came out in 1956. I have not seen it but plan to and will probably be disappointed.

It is fascinating to find that the English folk rock group Mumford and Sons wrote a song directly inspired by John Steinbeck's novel East of Eden.  The song Timshel refers to the Cain and Abel account as an important symbol in East Of Eden's storyline.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8D7MLsNAb8

Prompts from Old Songs and Psalms during the Pandemic: #10

                                      In Peace I shall both lie down and sleep, Lord, make me secure.. From Ps 4

Hear My Words, Oh Lord… at dawn I will plead before you and wait,  from Ps 5

During the night I occasionally fret, but I am not overly worried as life flows on and I ponder in silence.  These times are slow and I am slow as I try to enjoy each day as age advances. 

But then there are disruptions and the unexpected happens.  In Psalm 6 the writer is in distress, weary with sighing, weeping in sorrow with trembling bones.  I dare not complain, as my suffering was acute, not chronic like some friends who live with constant pain.  

I was in the hospital for ten days.  These weeks have alternated between pain, anxious waiting and tranquility.  Finally I had a procedure called “Biliary Duct dilation percutaneous, with SJB”.  The radiologist thinks it went well.  But the doctors in the hospital had given me too much of an antibiotic and I came down with an allergic reaction - hives and extreme itching all over my body.  One of the seven plagues, I guess.  

Thankfully we are able to take a break from the medical regimen and go out to find a quiet place to camp along the Big Hole river.  We had a magnificent view of towering cliffs above with pine trees silhouetted against the blue sky and puffy clouds in quiet majesty. 

 I am reading Kathleen Norris’s book “Acedia and Me”  Acedia, which I was not familiar with, is defined as a state of listlessness or torpor, of not caring or not being concerned with one's position or condition in the world.  This is the way it is in life.  There is a lot of acedia happening these days as people feel listless, restless and out of sorts with isolation. Acedia has been written about by Christian monks and mystics for centuries.  No matter how we may want to pray the psalms and be in tune with the divine presence, life presents us with times of aridness and acedia.  Yes, even boredom.

One day we took a ride over a mountain road with magnificent vistas of  snow capped peaks high above and a herd of elk in the river valley below.  We were the only ones on that road.  It was so easily available - you just have to know where to go.  Every day is not a mountain top experience, but some are.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCjhhvj7mv0

Prompts from Old Songs and Psalms during the Pandemic: #9

                                                           Come let us sing joyfully…  Ps 95

Sing a New Song to the Lord. Ps 98

Some of my favorite Psalms encourage us to sing joyfully; definitely one of the joys of my life.  Almost daily I strum my guitar and sing “old songs”..  Songs like “A Wayfaring Stranger”, and “Keep on the Sunny Side” , or popular songs from the 60s, hymns and chants. I long for the day when we can sing the great hymns of the church in the sanctuary accompanied by a full throated pipe organ.  

We went to in-person worship for the first time in a year.  It was a very worshipful Lenten service - based on the evening compline.  I sang the simple liturgy along with the worship leaders.  Afterwards Pastor Wayne complimented me on my singing but nicely said we are not yet allowed to sing in church because of Covid 19 precautions. I said, yikes, don’t turn me over to the pandemic police!  We laughed together - but I did feel a bit foolish.  

I continue to learn some of the old songs by heart as well as listen to new songs. It is hard to beat the joyful song by  Marty Haugen, Sing Oh God of Earth and Skies. I even try to strum and sing this one by myself at home alone, but some songs just have to be sung in the community. Marty, a cousin, about three removed, grew up in Wanamingo, Minnesota, only about 8 miles from where I grew up. He has become somewhat of a legend in both the Catholic and Lutheran churches for his easy to sing along with compositions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTYOglt9ab0

Prompts from Old Songs and Psalms during the pandemic: #8

 When cares increase within me, Your comfort gives me joy.  Ps 94

I care about, I wonder about, think about many things every day.  What I care about is life, well being, loved ones and more..  But “cares” here means to worry, be concerned and have anxious thoughts about.  The news overwhelms me with information about the pandemic and especially the plight of others.

  

 Both forms of cares are with me daily. …. It does little good to worry, but how to avoid it.

 Last night I didn’t feel well, an upset stomach and breathing issues.  My mind immediately raced to worst case scenarios.  This morning I am fine.  Comfort comes with the dawn;  Joy maybe, but comfort for sure.  

The image of the Good Shepherd comes to mind.  Marty Haugen’s wonderful song, Shepherd me o Lord reminds me to look  beyond my wants, beyond my fears, from death into life.  Fear no evil, for You are at my side.   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdiusy9YUYc