Eric’s Sunday Sermon; 230 Some Things are Just Plain Weird

Again I wrote a wonderful sermon. Read it, tagged it and into the dump bin it went. For some reason I am completely reliant on Sunday being the day to write and publish. I mention this as the earlier workday sermons, are really smart. That is right they are all about the intellectual. When I read them they are near heartless. They look like they should have references and footnotes and credit, citations and copyright attached.

Most folks would at least be aware that our conventional churches read scripture for any given Sunday Service and that that is what the sermon is all about. There are song books and missals and books of common prayer. This fits into a cyclical liturgy or protocol using a rotating litany. Some refer to “rites”. So that on the second Sunday of March 2010 is the same for every third year.

These sermons do not do that. I mean, just look at that above second paragraph boring!! If I did it that way, I could write ahead with ease. Note that I have attended a church where the same sermon is used year after year for a certain Sunday. That is a trip. And that is how my first sermons read and it is wrong to my way of thinking and praying….

Just took a break to catch some sunrise and the birds are out in force. Humming bird feeder active, Ravens already a pain. And Chickadees all over fruit trees. Sylvester the lazy old fat cat is on the fence watching. Silvester would not go after anything except her feed bowl. (Oops we named a she a he name.)

And there is the sermon. These animals do not shy from us neighbor humans. Years of habit due to no threat makes them comfortable and I guess it even makes them feel safer. “Complacent”? Falcons, Hawks and Owls avoid us humans and therefor avoid our birds. But there is always a newbie coming through and getting a fright from us humans. On the other hand that means we have field mice. We use a keep out method as we aren’t into anything else.

I think Jesus was talking one time about Lilies not worrying and yet were taken care of by God, dressed in the finest of colors – hmm it seems to my old addled brain that he also was referring to birds. Somewhere written about by Matthew.

So the idea is planted. No Fear! Or we would hope no worry or anxiety. This becomes the case through love. Yes it is the basic order of things and possibly the most rudimentary of loves. Cause no fear in others. We do that around here. The eight year old is not threatened. Well maybe a little by mom over doing numbers ;-) We do a logical perception notion. If that then that. And nobody wants that second “that” whatever it may be. Perhaps no fear here causes some complaisance issues. Well that is for the last section here.

The birds and plants around here get taken care of in love. We love them and would not hurt them and they know this. We don’t really care for spiders, aphids and flies. A garlic base insecticide keeps them at bay. But the aphids generally just sick to the weeds left alone in our gardens. Our water here is so bad that if I spray off the plants the aphids die.

If a human is still using a Roundup Glyphosate perhaps they should be sent to a “re-education” camp. Vinegar and Salt works just fine but washes away fairly quickly. And duh, that is half the point. A copasetic kind of synergism and plant animal love fest. We had a resident Newt. But he got so comfy he would just hang out on the kitchen floor. My boy and I had to relocate him to the garden with lizards. Mom would have freaked out if she saw him. Plus he needed some water.

Perhaps we should be more conventional. Like normal people and just eradicate our “pets”. Yes that is not a typo, I meant to say pets instead of pests. Ray next door is a pest. These guys are our buddies. It would seem they are to a degree tamed. Kind of like me taming my anger, or better my appetite.

Yet to this point it may seem I am braggadocios. The answer to that thought is that we do it for ourselves. Is having a dog, even a pound rescued dog for the dog or the owner. Think of those “companion” dogs on you next flight. Just think of the people who are best friends of nature. Many say they do it for their children and that seems correct.

I suppose that brings us to the necessity of fear.

I have these two spots that are kind of brutal to get to, rather than a link just input this into the Google God; Vasey’s Paradise Grand Canyon and Thunder River Grand Canyon. One time,,, well I will save the hiking stories and being stranded another time. While I give reverence to these, I suffer the grueling hikes for me. And let me tell you getting there with a 50 lb back pack is scarier and harder than this writer can relate. But I do it for me. I have taken my son, the elder, to these marvels of nature. Now he and his mob take me. By golly I do this for me. Maybe I preach here for me. And isn’t that great. Doing nature and being a part of it creates blurred lines. It is in the arena of helping that makes me all giddy. My wife is unabashed that she gives to our beggars, for Christ and she teaches our young son the same. I think maybe the teaching and passing it on and forward she does somewhat for herself.

Some folks like to insist that if you do good works for yourself they are not redeeming. Happy day they are wrong. If loving makes you loving then love away. Love begets love and that love begets more love and into infinity. It does not need to “circle” back. It is everywhere.

Looky here friends the formally is easy. If loving makes you joyful, joyful away! What would happen to a love gift if the giver does not love? And yes we are also talking about loving one’s self. I get all confused sometimes. Did I put out some milk for Sylvester or did I relocate Mr. Newt for me or for them.

I am talking about a win win. Even Karma would work here. Helping even creates a new birth for our connections with the divine. And you guessed it, nature is of divinity. Nurture is natural. I just stopped for a moment and breathed deep and meditated just for a moment to say; thank you Jesus for giving me the ability to love. We must not take that for granted.

So let us wrap up on a good note. You do not need to know me. You do not need to directly love in my way. You just put love out there and bingo it goes into the “atmosphere” and I get some of the whole. Not just your love but all of the love out there.

I have to end now. I am going out to try to nurture by Bougainville. I hope it will be good for me and her. Just to throw a wrench. I played Berkeley. On the train stop with others, vagrants and loved it though it kind of embarrassed my son.

Please be very afraid to lose love.