University Presbyterian Church
Sacramento, CA
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Supermoon

2/7/2018

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I was rudely awakened this morning at 5:30 am by a strange bright light coming into our bedroom window. My first thought was that we were either about to be hit by a runaway train, or aliens were invading us. It was the logic of my semi-dream state. Finally awake, I got up to see who was shining a spot light into my eyes and ruining my sleep. To my surprise I saw the moon. I don’t think I’ve ever been awakened by the brightness of the moon. I wanted to wake Sue up to show her, but I didn’t want to get punched in the nose in her semi-dream state. So I enjoyed the sight on my own.

I found out that this bright moon actually had a name. It’s called a supermoon.  What I discovered later was that this full moon was a supper blue blood moon and the last time a blood moon, a blue moon and a supermoon happened at the same time was 152 years ago (one can learn a lot from Google at 5:30 in the morning). A "supermoon" happens when a full moon appears at the precise moment the moon’s orbit is closest to the Earth. This makes the moon larger and brighter by 14%, according to NASA (thus my totally “reasonable” error in mistaking it for a train). Blue moons refer to the appearance of a second full moon in one calendar month and are quite rare. A blood moon occurs during a lunar eclipse when faint red sunbeams peek out around the edges of the Earth, giving it a reddish copper color. And all three of these happened together this week.

Some people were calling it a "lunar trifecta." For me it was simply a “rude awakening.” Sitting there in the early morning I began thinking about how often bazaar difficulties or problems can sometimes hit us in bunches, just like these moon appearances. We can lose a job, get an illness, be in a car accident, all in the same month or even week. Can’t you look back to periods in your life when it feels like you’ve had “please kick me” pasted on the back of your shirt?  We might say, “when it rains it pours,” or “that was a one-two punch,” or maybe, “I was just hit with a double whammy.” 

But if we can let go of our tendency toward the superstitious, we might be able to see it more like these lunar moments. Because we live in a constantly changing universe, every so often there will be a full moon, during an eclipse, on just the day the moon is closest to the earth. It doesn’t mean we have been targeted somehow, or have failed to make a proper animal sacrifice. Rather it is something that happens in an environment that is persistently and frequently shifting and moving. It used to be that when bad things happened, people would think that the gods were angry, but that is superstition not spirituality. 

​The promised presence of God does not mean everything will go our way. The truth is God’s presence is with us through all the cycles of the moon and stars and our circumstances. We live in a constantly changing world, which means that good and bad comes our way without warning or predictability. But we can always be sure that no matter what type of moon is in the sky, God will never leave us or forsake us. And we can always count on that.
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Winter Solstice

12/21/2016

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Congratulations to you all. You have just endured the longest night of the year. This morning at 2:44 am our earth was tilted the furthest away from the sun, 23.5 degrees, called the winter solstice, and now we are on our way back. Yippee!!! It is sometimes nice to be reminded that our darkness has a limit. No suffering lasts forever even though we have a hard time remembering that when we are in the middle of a dark night. 

Sometimes hope means remembering that the darkness will, at some point, give way to the light. There is a limit to pain, and the light does return. This is not to diminish or down play the reality of dark times. Sadness and heartache are real emotions that accompany our times of difficulty or confusion. And yet it is sometimes helpful, in the middle of the trouble, to remember that there is a “furthest” in regards to darkness. 

It might be helpful this Christmas, as we reflect on the coming of the light into the world, to remember that darkness will not overcome us. In fact John 1 says this very thing, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” 

I know many of you are dealing with extremely challenging circumstances at this time in your lives. You are having a winter solstice of your own. And during these difficult and dark seasons it can be hard to feel positive or hopeful even during Christmas. The Christmas message reminds us that hope and light are sometimes best proclaimed, not with a bullhorn from above, but quietly and humbly, from a baby in a barn. Hope can be delivered as we stand silently and humbly with each other in the reality of the pain or suffering. We want the people we love to know that they are not alone as we wait with them in the dark. When the nights are longest, hope is most appropriately delivered in silence. So when we sing silent night, holy night this Christmas, let us remember that sometimes the loudest encouragement might be our silent presence among those having a tough time waiting for the light to return. 

​
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Get up and Run

12/14/2016

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I just returned from a celebration trip to Orlando, FL where one of my good friends, Sid, was having his 50th birthday party. This small group of friends have been meeting regularly for about 20 years to celebrate milestones in our lives with a weekend of non-stop golfing, restaurant hopping, silly and serious conversation, and some intense competition (I actually had to play full court basketball for about 2 hours that almost killed me…picture below).  

I first met Sid when he was a college student at John Brown University where I was the chaplain. After he graduated we stayed in touch and our friendship outlasted our time on that campus as well as our obvious age difference. This particular group of friends are connected in various ways through many shared experiences, many happy and some sad. It has grown because occasionally someone new will be invited to the gathering who hasn’t been there before but is a friend of another participant. It is interesting to me how quickly they become incorporated into the conversation and the experience. Before long it is hard to tell who is the newcomer and who is the long-time member. When the three days are over, we are all exhausted from the constant activity, but somehow completely refreshed and invigorated. 

Maybe this is the way the church was designed to work. People that, over time, develop a sense of experiencing life together because we have been a part of each other’s happy and sad times. When new people are invited to join, they are immediately brought into the developing story and before long it is hard to tell the newcomer from the long-time member. Everyone is included and all have a voice and a contribution to make. The group creates a kind of gravitational force that pulls people into its embrace and all of a sudden we are no longer alone. As long as we don’t resist out of fear, I believe it will happen naturally over time. It can’t be helped. We are designed to join-in and become a participant. 

Occasionally at Christmas time, some people experience an intensified feeling of not fitting in or being connected. For some reason that demon of isolation works overtime during this month to convince people that no one cares, that no one is there for them. Looking around we sometimes only notice those who make us feel less than desirable or wanted. But maybe this year we can also have our eye out for something else. Maybe we can notice those people and places where we are actually being pulled into the group and invited to participate.

In this group of friends I was with this past weekend, I’ve noticed that no one checks anyone’s credentials at the door before including them fully. There are no sets of behaviors or beliefs that are required before being welcomed. Because we are all different and have our own collection of challenges and circumstances, we assume that each person is on a unique journey, working through their own set of complicated issues. Also, the unity and togetherness is so inviting and invigorating that they need not be forced. It happens but no one is making an effort to make it happen. There is an unspoken rhythm to our time together that moves almost effortlessly as if spontaneously choreographed. There are occasional arguments or minor tensions, but the overall experience is so powerful that these aberrations are quickly marginalized under the pull of the communal dance. 

I’m sure you have all had these exact experiences from time to time with people you’ve known through the years. You may not have thought about it quite this way, but I believe it is happening all around us. It even occurs in society as a whole, only much slower and with many more divergent and deviating challenges. God is working to bring the kingdom of God to earth, just like we pray every week or maybe everyday. And this kind of togetherness, this mutuality, and this bonding is what I think God’s kingdom is mostly about. It isn’t something we have to try and make happen, but rather it is something that is happening all around us if we have the eyes to see and ears to hear.  And when we do see it, we can’t help but get up out of our chairs and get involved. One thing I’ve learned in these occasional reunions among these friends; there is no way to stay seated if everyone is on the court trying to throw a ball into a hoop. No matter how bad your knees are, you just get up and run.
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The Way of Peace

12/1/2016

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​December is upon us, which means daylight hours are lessening, plants are almost freezing, and Christmas shopping pressure is growing daily. We are in the middle of the season of Advent, which is a time of anticipation and expectation for new things that are coming our way. We will soon be remembering again the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, and the surprise that this infant would become the one to point the world toward peace, unity and compassion.
 
He was born into a culture that was being oppressed by the Roman Empire; a time when peace and compassion seemed very far away.  Jewish faith was being tested daily, and yet it was also ripe for change and inspiration. We are living in one of those ambiguous and confusing periods as well. I wonder if remembering the birth of Jesus can cause us to take courage in the face of impossible circumstances and troubling times. Maybe it can create a wider perspective in our living and believing, so we too might find hope about the future.
 
I’m not sure it is very easy for our hope to stay strong alone. It seems that we need a loving and engaged community, where we are known and loved by others, in order for hope to take root, blossom, and endure. Advent is one of the special times in the liturgical year when we concentrate on our reasons and motives for trusting in possibilities and potential.
 
We are getting ourselves ready to remember a very small and obscure event, which seemed unimportant and insignificant at the time, but later would become an inspiration to all people who felt passed over and forgotten. This obscure insignificant birth, humble and unimpressive, would eventually become a hopeful beacon for a divided and disconnected world. The world needed another image besides power, control, and dominance over others. I hope the coming celebration of this birth event in a manger will be as inspirational for us as it was for those earliest followers of the way of peace. 
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Strength to Carry On

11/24/2016

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The tradition of the Thanksgiving holiday has meandered its way through American history until congress finally established it as a permanent American Holiday in 1941. Although its beginning can be traced to the pilgrims and the harvest festivals of the 17th century, possibly the most moving Thanksgiving celebration was in October of 1864, when President Abraham Lincoln, during the civil war, issued an executive proclamation ordering a day set aside for gratitude. Lincoln’s proclamation read, “Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do hereby appoint and set apart the last Thursday in November next as a day which I desire to be observed by all my fellow-citizens, wherever they may then be, as a day of thanksgiving and praise to Almighty God, the beneficent Creator and Ruler of the Universe.”  

The order came in the midst of our country’s most difficult years, a time when gratitude seemed the most distant emotion imaginable. Some may not realize that behind this proclamation, was a woman by the name of Sarah Josepha Hale, the influential editor of the popular women’s magazine Godey’s Lady’s Book.  For decades she had been working to get our presidents to call for such a national holiday and she finally succeeded when President Lincoln realized how important such a day could be for our country, especially at that moment of tremendous need.

In our day, many people in our world are suffering and struggling with the realities of their challenging circumstances. And so it is a perfect time for a call to give thanks. If we forget how we are blessed, we will not have the strength or resolve to carry on with hope. Gratitude does not deny the difficulty. We simply refuse to believe that our painful circumstances are the only things to notice.

So this year let’s help one another do that. Let’s demonstrate that in spite of the problems we see in the world, both personal and otherwise, that we will choose to see other realities as well. Abraham Lincoln wanted the country to recognize that the trauma and discord were not all we should recognize, remember, and hold onto.  

Sue and I started a Thanksgiving family tradition when our kids were young. On the dinner table, by everyone’s plate, we place 3 pieces of corn. After dinner we pass a small basket around the table three times. As it is passed, each person drops in one corn, and names something they are grateful for and then passes it on to the next person. We did this when the kids were too young to think of much more than a special toy or pet (and usually repeated what someone else had just said), it persisted through the teenage years when at least one was sure to be pouting over a bad week or month, and on into adulthood when they were navigating complicated and exciting lives of their own. It has been gratifying now to see our grown children, some with children of their own, view this tradition as a central part of Thanksgiving Day. Whoever is hosting the dinner will usually remember to put out the corn and the basket as readily as the turkey and dressing. 

Through the years, Thanksgiving has sometimes happened when someone around the table was going through a personal rough patch. Sue and I have taken our turns at being the ones in pain. It takes a little more effort during those times to express gratitude or remember the areas of goodness and blessing. But I can say that the discipline has been beneficial even during those challenging seasons. That simple routine of remembering and articulating our blessings with people we love, can sometimes help us find a small measure of strength to keep carrying on. 

So I continue to give thanks for Thanksgiving.  A day set aside to remember our blessings as best we can, no matter what we are experiencing in the moment. I am grateful this year again for all of you who are part of University Presbyterian Church. And my prayer is that we would continue to develop our sense of togetherness, so that in all circumstances, no one would ever feel alone or forgotten. 

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Insecurity

11/16/2016

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In our conversation about Zacchaeus, we examined the idea that he was dealing with the typical insecurities we all face as human beings. His insecurities might have been related to his stature, and possibly a few other things as well. Zacchaeus tried to compensate for those feelings of inadequacy by becoming a very successful and powerful tax collector. Normally tax collectors in that day used the age-old tactic of intimidation as they attempted to get as much money out of the public as possible. But clearly no matter how much Zacchaeus tried to overcome his feelings of insecurity, nothing seemed to work.  He was still motivated to climb that Sycamore tree in order to see Jesus.

So the philosophical question that I want to address is this. Why don’t our efforts at compensating for our insecurities work? Why is it that no matter how successful we become, or how talented, or how intelligent, or how powerful, or how controlling, nothing seems to fix those feelings? Why is that? Most people just assume they need to do a little bit more, or work a little harder, or differently. We rarely think to question the assumption that becoming a little better, or having one more achievement, or a little more success, will surely do the trick. But our experience tells us that this is not accurate. 

So here is why I think that is the case. The reason our efforts cannot take away our insecurities is because all insecurity is rooted in a faulty way of seeing ourselves as human beings. These insecure feelings are founded upon something that is not actually true. So what happens when we try to fix something that isn’t broken? Often we make matters worse. When we look at ourselves, we immediately notice our less than perfect selves, or our mistakes, or our negative attitudes, or something else we don’t like, and assume that these are the reasons we feel so insufficient. We then assume that if those weaknesses were not a part of our lives, or if we could somehow compensate for them, then we wouldn’t feel this way. But what if it isn’t the presence of weaknesses or shortcomings that are making us feel inadequate?  What if it is the other way around?  What if many of the things we experience as weaknesses are actually created, or at least enhanced, as a result of feeling so inadequate? Maybe the root of our insecurity is about something else?  So clearly if it isn’t the perceived flaw that is creating the insecurity, then all my efforts at fixing it or compensating for it will not generate the security I am looking for. (Can you see now why I didn’t try this in the sermon?).
       
Like Zacchaeus we can easily believe that if we had no weaknesses, or nothing about us we didn’t like, we would feel secure and competent. And when we don’t feel secure, we sometimes choose to alter something that we believe will help us feel more capable and sufficient. In Zaccheaus’ case, since he couldn’t make himself taller, he chose to seek stature through power, wealth, and influence. He even became a “chief” tax collector, which is the person in charge of other tax collectors. But no matter how successful he became he still felt small. So he climbed up into that sycamore tree to figure out what he was missing. Obviously, there is nothing wrong with self-improvement.  We all have areas of needed growth. But our sense of what must be changed, or how to improve and to what extent, will inevitably be skewed if we see that as a path toward a secure identity. 
        
So here is the point. Zacchaeus wasn’t actually missing anything no matter how he felt. Jesus looked up into that tree, looked past his questionable reputation, called his name, and invited himself to lunch. There was no requirement to become more of anything to warrant the interest, intention and respect of Jesus. And because Jesus treated Zaachaeus that way, and Zacchaeus actually came to see it, he became free from the burden of trying to fix his insecurity through his own efforts and plans. Our well thought out self improvement plans will never bring us the security we think will be the result. But when we embrace our true value, which already exists in each one of us, right now, for free, we can begin to live that freedom toward ourselves and toward others. Which means that true and helpful change is actually possible.          
         
Zaachaeus’ decision to give back any money he took from others dishonestly, was not motivated by an effort to finally become acceptable. It was the result of realizing that his acceptable identity was not rooted in his compensating achievements. He realized that he no longer had anything to prove, anything to hide, or anything to lose, so he could begin to discover a truly free, human life.          
        
His security and value did not rest in a lack of weaknesses or shortcomings, but in the fact that he was a loved, gifted, and precious human being from the moment of his birth. Jesus says, “Salvation has come to this house because he too is a son of Abraham.” Zaachaeus finally recognized that, even in his imperfection, he lacked nothing in terms of a secure value. He was accepted, received and cherished from the moment he showed up in the world. This is what I think it means when the text says that Jesus came to seek and save the lost. He came to rescue us when we get lost in that never-ending fruitless effort of fixing the feelings of insecurity through self-improvements and compensation techniques.
        
When we see each other as accepted without condition and without limits (sawubona), we are free to acknowledge weaknesses, while seeing something of value beyond them (forgiveness). We give one another the power and motivation to live at our best, as we help each other hold tight to our non-negotiable acceptance.
        
So the next time you are feeling insecure, which we all do from time to time, don’t be tempted to start on a self-improvement plan to fix it. That won’t work. Instead, go hang out with a good friend who loves you unconditionally and can mirror your worth.  And once you’re feeling better, feeling at peace, go ahead and start on any growth plan you want.  Those plans can work…
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Going "Viral"

4/9/2016

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​One day, while still a campus minister in VA, I was reminding our group of students about what to pack for our overnight trip to the beach.  A trip we always took to kick off the new school year. I reminded them to bring a sleeping bag, a towel, normal toiletries, and then I said, “and of course don’t forget your thongs.”  What happened next was as shocking to me as, evidently, my use of the word “thong” was to them. Their eyes grew wide and their jaws dropped to the floor, and they were suddenly speechless. I could see that something was wrong but I couldn’t figure out exactly what. After staring at each other in silence for what felt like a long, long time, one of them finally said, “Uh Bob, why do we need thongs?” It finally occurred to me in a revelatory moment that there was a generational difference in the meaning of the word “thong.” I, of course, was referring to beach sandals, and they were thinking of a kind of revealing bathing suit, not very appropriate for our kind of beach trip.
 
In our rapidly changing culture, words seem to pop up daily that are either completely new, or re-purposed with new meanings. Another word like that is the word “viral.”
As a medical term, a virus is an infection or disease that is easily and rapidly passed from one person to the next. But in today’s culture, it is also used to describe an idea, or video, or product that has quickly spread to a large percentage of the world’s population. When something “goes viral,” it means that a lot of people are thinking about it, buying it, or watching it. 
 
I was listening to a podcast interview of business guru Seth Godin recently describing the difference between good ideas that go viral and those that do not. After years of observation, he said, it was really only one thing. Something goes viral if it is captivating, or life changing, or amazing enough that people tell their family and friends about it…or in Facebook lingo, “share it.”  That’s it…when people are compelled to immediately pass it on, it goes viral.
 
He gives the example of the most famous “great idea,” which has been used for decades as the standard for all other great ideas…“sliced bread.” But Godin says that there was a time when sliced bread was not viewed as the great idea it would soon become. When it was first invented, it did not catch on right away, and was even viewed with some suspicion. Bakers thought it would cause the bread to go stale more quickly and so they didn’t trust it. And since they didn’t trust it, not many people were willing to try it. For about fifteen years sliced bread was available but no one was calling up their neighbors about it. That finally changed one day when a new bread company, “Wonder Bread,” decided to make it the focus of their marketing campaign and persuaded people to give it a chance. When that happened, the idea spread so fast it quickly became known as the “greatest thing since…??” 
 
But how does one go about actually getting something to “go viral?” That has been the focus of thousands of business and entrepreneurial conferences, business seminars, publications, and MBA dissertations, ever since people began making their living selling things to each other.
 
So, we might ask, how did an obscure carpenter and rabbi, who never wrote a book, never had his own podcast, was never interviewed on the local radio or TV stations, become remembered and talked about and celebrated for over 2000 years?
 
In Luke 24, When Jesus met up with those two on the road to Emmaus, and played dumb about recent events, they said to him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” They were shocked that this person walking with them wasn’t aware of all the amazing and staggering events that surrounded the final days of Jesus’ life, including his missing body.
 
When we open a loaf of bread in the 21st century we take for granted that the bread will be sliced evenly, ready to pop into a toaster. When we hear of people that are standing up for justice and equality, for love without condition or limits, for hope in the face of tragedy or heartache, we can sometimes be equally nonchalant and casual. It is easy and common to miss the “amazing” in it.  And yet there are still many places and people who are suffering under the mistaken understanding that love must be earned and acceptance given only to the worthy. 
 
But fortunately, over 2000 years ago, a group of people were astonished and surprised enough to call their friends and tell Jesus’ story, and together create a new community dedicated to remembering and living His message of kindness and mercy. So from that time forward “sliced bread” has been available for all to enjoy.  Jesus wasn’t the only or even the first to talk about unconditional love, but he was the Wonder Bread Company of the world, taking the message of God’s unmerited favor and love, viral.
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Preemptive Forgiveness

3/11/2016

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Having just finished a five-week Epiphany sermon series, we will now turn our full attention to the season of Lent. When Easter comes early, as it does this year, what is shortened isn’t Lent, but the season prior to Lent, Epiphany. So I’ve recently decided that this is my excuse for not ending my Epiphany series on time. If Easter had been a little later, as it should be, I could have finished. 

Speaking of good and bad excuses (mine is definitely the latter), the real message of Lent is that we don’t need to waste our time on them. It doesn’t matter who is to blame, or why something happened in our lives, but only the recognition that we are in a fix and may need to do something about it. We are already forgiven so no need to worry our minds about coming up with common sense reasons how it all happened. Preemptive forgiveness gives us amazing freedom to evaluate our situation, and make a course correction if necessary (the real definition of repentance by the way). We don’t have to waste our energy fighting against the power of shame or disgrace by scouring around for excuses or blame. 
​
No one ever told me that when I was younger, so many of us would spend a lot of time fretting over the why’s and how’s of our troubling circumstances. We would stay awake at night wondering if our mistakes were big enough to awaken God out of his compassionate slumber and visit us with a bit of brimstone. The real meaning of Lent tells us that we are free to focus on the “what” of our lives instead. When shame is no longer attached to the reality of our weaknesses, we can spend all our time thinking about how to make great changes. We can also remember that God's compassion as anything but sleepy.
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The Wandering Date of Easter

2/15/2016

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​Have you ever wondered why the date of Easter moves around so much from year to year? Sometime ago I thought I’d find out the answer so I could appear smart and knowledgeable in case one of my students were to ask me that question. Unfortunately, I’ve been waiting now for over two decades and no one has ever asked. That is either because everyone already knows the answer, or because it’s not a very interesting question. Consequently in my weekly today, I decided I’d just ask it myself.  “So Pastor Bob, why is it that the date of Easter moves around so much from one year to the next?” “Well, Bob, I’m so glad you asked.”
 
The date of Easter is connected to the Jewish date for Passover. Passover is celebrated on the first full moon following March 20th, the vernal equinox in the Gregorian calendar (pay no attention to the fact that the date of the vernal equinox can occasionally be March 21st, but don’t ask me to explain that). The council of Nicaea in 325 AD, the first major all-church council of the church, decided that Easter should occur on the first Sunday following the first full moon following the vernal equinox (this is the same church council that established the doctrine of the Trinity and the Nicene creed). However, Easter is delayed by one week if the first full moon after the vernal equinox lands on a Sunday in order to not have Easter and Passover on the same day (no wonder no one ever asked). This means that Easter can occur as early as March 22, or as late as April 25.  The importance of the full moon in the Jewish calendar is a hold over from the days of the lunar calendar, when the dates for the Jewish Holy Days were determined by the lunar cycle. 
 
So this year, the full moon will happen on Wednesday, March 23, only three days after the vernal equinox, which means Easter is celebrated on Sunday, March 27th. There has been some effort to fix the date for Easter on the same day each year but nothing has ever been officially adopted. For example, one proposed reform occurred in the United Kingdom, where the Easter Act 1928 was established to allow the Easter date to be fixed as the first Sunday after the second Saturday in April. However, this law was not implemented, although it remains on the UK Statute Law Database.  
 
For full disclosure, if you were a member of the Eastern Orthodox Church, which still uses the Julian calendar among a few other dating variances, you would celebrate Easter this year on May 1st. Clearly there has been a great degree of reform and variation through the years on the topic of how we mark the passage of time. Even this year, February will have an extra day in order to insure that the time it takes for our globe to circle the sun remains accurate and constant. It is my personal opinion that every four years, February 29th should be celebrated as a national paid holiday. Let’s start a movement.
 
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The Station by Robert J. Hastings

1/25/2016

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Tucked away in our subconscious minds is an idyllic vision in which we see ourselves on a long journey that spans an entire continent.  We're traveling by train, and from the windows, we drink in the passing scenes of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at crossings, of cattle grazing in distant pastures, or smoke pouring from power plants, of row upon row of cotton and corn and wheat, of flat lands and valleys, of city skylines and village halls.
 
But uppermost in our minds is our final destination – for at a certain hour and on a given day, our train will finally pull into the station with bells ringing, flags waving and bands playing.  And once that day comes, so many wonderful dreams will come true.  So restlessly we pace the aisles and count the miles, peering ahead, waiting, waiting, waiting for the station.
 
“Yes, when we reach the station, that will be it!” we promise ourselves.  “When we're 18...when we win that promotion...put the last kid through college...buy that Mercedes-Benz...pay off that mortgage...have a nest egg for retirement.”  From that day on, we will all live happily ever after.
 
Sooner or later, however, we must realize there is no station in this life, no one earthly place to arrive at once and for all:  the journey is the joy.
 
The station is an illusion – it constantly outdistances us. Yesterday's a memory, tomorrow's a dream.  Yesterday's a fading sunset: tomorrow's a faint sunrise.  Only today is there light enough to love and live. Yesterday belongs to history: tomorrow belongs to God.  So gently close the door on yesterday and throw the key away.  It isn't the burdens of today that drive men mad but rather the regret over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow.
 
So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles.  Instead, swim more rivers, climb more mountains, kiss more babies, count more stars.  Laugh more and cry less.  Go barefoot more often.  Eat more ice cream.  Ride more merry-go-rounds.  Watch more sunsets.  Life must be lived as we go along.
 
“Relish the moment” is a good motto, especially when coupled with Psalm 118:24: “This is the day that the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

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