Sunday Homily, May 6, 2018, 6th Easter

 Welcome back, Everybody, to our Community Blog.  We are back in business.

 

Thanks, John Cade, for covering so beautifully for the two weeks Rosemary & I were in France.

 

 

 

Hi, Zoe, so nice to see you after two long weeks of us being away

 

 

Readings:  

 Acts of the Apostles 10, 25-26, 34-35, 48-48,  God shows no partiality

Psalm 98,  The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.  

 1 John 4, 7- 10,  God is love.

John  15, 9-17,     If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love.

 Note how conditional the love of God is presented.  Truly?

 

 

 

Hi, Harper, so nice to see you, too.

 

 

Sing to the Lord a New Song

 

Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done wondrous deeds, Ps. 98

I want to talk this morning about singing a new song to the Lord, because I am a richer person than the last time we were together.

I am richer because of our trip to south west France.  I am richer because of traveling with Rosemary and Mike & Judy.  I am a richer person because of a couple with whom we had dinner probably the 4^th night of our river cruise.

 

 

 

Emma, our super candle lighter, doing her magic, while Georgie reads the Blessing For Candles.

 

 

The couple, Leon & Karen, are retired and live in California.  Listen to Leon for a sentence or two and you know he does not come from Texas, not even the States.  He had the beautiful Brit accent.

Karen I could not place.  She was, in fact, German.  They both had been long gone from the countries of origin.  In fact, they met in Switzerland and had been married, I think, around 40 years.  

 

 

 

Two new community members in their doggie carrier?   Are we not an inclusive community or not!
 

 

 

As I listened to Karen I became more curious.  She was not only German.  I began to suspect we were very close in age.  In fact, we shared the same age, 78.  Knowing we were the same age and she was German, oh, no.   The Question immediately came up in me.  I hesitated.  I did not want to disturb Karen with a heavy, personal question when everything had been light and social.

Finally, sensing an inner peace in Karen, I asked, How were you affected by WW2?

 

 

 

And the excellent music plays on.

 

Calmly & without hesitating she responded with 4 experiences.

1. She remembers ’44.  She was 4 years old.
2. She lived in a town that was getting heavily bombed.
3. The family ran to the mountains of Bavaria.
4.  After the war her father returned from being captured and imprisoned by the British.  He was never the same.

 

 

 

 

The elevation with Buddy & Georgie helping.

 

 

As she tells me this, I am so moved I am in tears.  I am humbled.  How old was I in’44?  4 years old.  How come I was so blessed?  While Karen is running from bombs and enduring the reconstruction, little John is living peacefully and without a care in the world in the safe little village of University Park.  His next door neighbor is Sam Berger, a good friend of my dad and a Jew.

I have never met a person like Karen, a person who lived through the War in Germany.  And who was so peaceful.

I went to ask her permission to talk about her.  Of course, I got teared up just asking.  Without hesitation she said, “Sure.”

 

 

 

I am sorry we have no cupcake for you, Brent, but I am so proud that  our community can give you $2,000 a month for Souls Harbor.

 

I come back from this trip, humbled, touched, and singing  to the Lord a new song.

What is your song this morning?

 

 

 

Juliettes eating out.  Jason's Deli?