Lighthouse September 9, 2026
Can you over-indulge in beauty?
I’m addicted. Are there any good addictions? I hope so. I’m addicted to beauty, the beauty of God’s creation around here, the beauty of good music, the beauty of art, the beauty of architecture, the beauty, the many different tastes, the smells of spring, fall, cotton and hay harvest, the feel of the surface of water as you float down the Current, the beauty of all peoples. There is an unlimited amount of things to be grateful for that assault all the senses. Can you indulge in any of these too much? I sometimes think that isn’t possible. How can one see too much beauty? Believe it or not it does become possible, when one is fixated on the experience to the detriment of being responsible for what God has called one to do. A young man might get fixated on the beauty of a young lady across the room and not pay attention to the professor. We can enjoy the scenery so much that we don’t pay attention to the road. In other words, these are all good things God has given us to enjoy, but always in moderation. This is why Missouri passed a law that prohibits holding the phone while driving. Some do not realize how focused they are on the phone. We tell ourselves that we just need to make a quick response to this text or look up a number, or to even look for another pod-cast. They all are distractions from our primary responsibility at the time. Sometimes these experiences are great, they are good, but sometimes we just need to give ourselves justifiable time and really allow ourselves to take in that particular beauty. Such might be taking time for a concert. So, yes, take time to go fishing, to go sight seeing. But, what makes these addictions different from opioids, power, sex, alcohol. These latter trigger powerful controls of different receptors in our body. They not only make us want it but to always want more until we are not in control of our lives, even temporarily. In these cases, how many times someone will say that they are not addicted; that they are in control; that these things don’t affect their responsibilities. I think this is one of the reasons God gave us family, friends, others who care about us and are willing to help us face the truth. We should listen to those God has put into our lives, whether it is the wife who thinks you overindulged in too much spaghetti and now need to change shirts, or whether we were too engrossed in something else to the extent that we failed to do what we needed- like get more sleep; or whether our lives might, just might, be getting out of control because of one of these addictive habits. We need to recognize our addictions, good or bad and evaluate them from time to time to see if we are still free and in control. But, do enjoy the beauty God has given us and give thanks.
Lighthouse August 26, 2026
'YOU'RE SAFE!:
What wonderful words to hear, not just in baseball but for salvation. Nowadays though we may hear a challenge for 'instant replay' and you might be called out. Thank God we didn't have that in our days. No matter what we played we were glad to have our couch and an umpire. You know what happened when we didn't have an umpire or referee and just had a neighborhood skirmish. Someone would say they tagged the other guy out only to start a disagreement and finally someone would grab the ball and go home. A referee is such a good thing and allows everyone to play more fully and longer. I'd like to share a scripture today which I hope will help us all work a little harder at proclaiming Jesus is Lord with our actions. In John 17 is the longest recorded prayer of our Lord. And, it seems, if this is His prayer we would work harder to make it a reality. He says: “ They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth. 20 “I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory which you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to behold my glory which you have given me in your love for me before the foundation of the world. John 17:16-24 RSV- Jesus prayed for oneness. Do you realize that in the late 1800s there were about 100 christian denominations? Today there are more than 45,000; and most of these are based in America. America has such a culture of rugged individualism that the song 'I Did it My Way' ought to be our national song. As such it has led to a long history of 'if I don't like your personal interpretation of God's word then I am going to rely on my own interpretation and take my ball and start another church. Scripture says there is good money to be made in religion as might be easily witnessed. But aside from that, and presuming most Christians want to do God's will, why is there such a strong tendency, when someone has a theological objection to what they judge to be a serious departure from the Lord's will being taught by their leadership, why do they seek to start another body. Why is there not ever a real effort to re-examine the teaching of the previous generation of believers and see if there can't be a greater unification rather than a new fragmentation. Do we not all have an obligation to help fulfill our Lord's prayer and seek greater oneness.
Lighthouse August 5, 2026
Recovery through Service
How many times has it happened to you? You've worked all day and finally take a break when someone approaches saying they just had to have a response at this time? Or, you think you have the kids all settled and you can leave them for a second to go to the sanctuary of the restroom when all of a sudden pandemonium breaks out? I know we have all been there. Well, this past Sunday we heard what has to be a penultimate example of that experience. In Matthew 14 we hear of Jesus getting the message that his cousin has just been executed. This is the guy who first announced Jesus to the world through his mother. “The moment I heard your greeting the baby within me jumped for joy.” How close was their relationship after this? We don't know. But we do know this is not a parable; it is not a story; it is a real life event. And, what does Jesus do? He was seeking solitude and, judging by the fact that some 5,000 men plus women and children (just think, maybe 15,000 people) were able to get around the lake quicker than He did tells us He must have had a little time on the water and the people would have been able to see the boat from any point around the lake. But, once He encounters real needs, what does He do? He begins healing. When the healing session was over He should have listened to the apostles and sent everyone home; but no, He has to do something. Feed them all. I don't know about you but the one thing I think you would do if you ever want solitude again is to use the appropriate moment and send them away. Otherwise it will be like the cat that has been hanging around my house the last couple weeks. I have been so careful to not do anything to encourage him to stay only to find out someone else had mercy on it and gave it something. Well, it's still here. How many of those people were still around the next morning? After all, it was not too unusual to just sleep out in the open, anywhere. In any case I think, as usual, there is a great lesson to learn here. And it's not just trusting God to provide, and He's done so like that many times in history. There are several stories of events where an orphanage had no more food and the director has them gather around the tables trusting in God only to have milk trucks or meat wagons break down and give them the products. But looking beyond that I think Matthew is drawing our attention to another reality. He tells us John has died and then almost immediately has Jesus ministering. Isn't that the secret for getting out of our own down experiences. How many times we would do well to look beyond ourselves and seek some way to help others, whether it be at a local rummage place or hospital or nursing home volunteer. Find wellness by serving others.
Lighthouse July 29, 2026
Who Am I To Judge
Those were the words of Pope Francis when he was newly elected and flying from Argentina to Rome. One of the newspaper reporters on the plane, whether to put him on the spot or just be trendy, asked him what he thought of LGTPQ. Of course, when he said 'Who am I to judge' the news immediately says he supports the movement. That interview made me think of the recent reading we had from St. Matthew ch. 13 where he shares the parable Jesus gave on the wheat and the darnell. Someone had sown weeds in the neighbor's wheat. The farmer said to let them grow together until harvest and then separate the two. Jesus' parable simply pointed out the reality that few could distinguish one from the other and in pulling out the darnell would harm the wheat crop as well. Even in the harvest some darnell seeds would get in and they would have to be painstakingly separated as well because they were bitter and poisonous . We can't even relate to that today as we look at the harvests down in the crop-lands. The beans, cotton, corn all look so beautiful and clean. When I was young, we chopped cotton; really we chopped weeds and thinned out the cotton and then at harvest time went through the beans pulling out the tall weeds. But, of course, Jesus' point was we are not capable of judging. Bishop Sheen, who is to soon be beatified in a ceremony in St. Louis on Sept. 24 (beatification means there is need for one more unmistakable miracle attributed to his intercession for the church to declare him a saint), once said 'If the church were as perfect as you and I would have it there would not be room for you or I in it.' let's read that again, 'If the church were as perfect as you and I would have it there would not be room for you or I in it.' Jesus said he came for the sick. The church is a field hospital where the only requirement for belonging is knowing one is a sinner in need of a savior. So, if someone thinks they are perfect, or more so than others, they need to find a different place to go. If we could only recognize our common sinfulness we could understand St. Paul's admonition to lift one another up to the Lord. That is why we begin each mass with 'I confess to almighty God and you my brothers and sisters that I have sinned, through my fault.' The next time you are tempted to gossip, turn that into an occasion to lift a fellow sinner up to the Lord and recognize that we are not capable of judging.
Lighthouse July 22, 2026
Do Not Judge
These last couple weeks we have been looking at Jesus' famous parables, especially in Matthew. Matthew records Jesus' story of the farmer who sowed wheat which then had darnel sown in it. When the servants offered to pull up the weeds the master said: 'if you pull up the weeds you may pull up the wheat as well.' When driving around our agricultural basin in the bootheel this past week I saw fields of beans looking pristine with no weeds protruding and the same with the cotton and the corn. When I was young I chopped cotton (chopped the weeds and thinned the cotton), and pulled tall weeds out of the beans when it was time to combine. Today weeds are mostly controlled by poisons. So it really does make it hard to appreciate this parable today. Besides, darnel was supposedly very similar to wheat. If servants were to try and pull it up the master said they would pull up wheat as well, besides tromping down much. In waiting for the time for harvest one has to appreciate how painstaking that was and how valuable the wheat would be. They couldn't just cut everything down with a sickle. Then they had to hand sort the grain as the darnell grain could be harmful. In other words we are not to judge who should be removed from the kingdom. In the fourth century there was a group called Donatists who thought that anyone who had offered incense to the emperor during the Christian persecutions should not be allowed to rejoin the church. St. Augustine won the day by arguing otherwise as he himself was an example of a great sinner. Not long ago Bishop Sheen, who will be beatified in September in St. Louis, once said: 'If the church were as perfect as you and I would have it, there would not be room for you or I in it." Let me repeat that: "If the church were as perfect as you and I would have it, there would not be room for you or I in it." Jesus had said that he came for the sick, not the well. The church is a field hospital for sinners. As such, the main qualification for being in it is to recognize that one is a sinner in need of a savior. The next time you might be tempted to gossip about a fellow believer make sure you are able to cast the first stone. When Pope Francis was elected and flying from Argentina to Rome one of the reporters asked him about the LGBTQ and he said 'Who am I to judge.' Some immediately said that he was giving approval. No, he was saying that we are all sinners and will continue to teach the truth but that God alone can be the final judge. On the other hand, a couple weeks ago there were two bishops who ordained four men to the bishopric against the pope's specific direction not to. In doing so they were deliberately separating themselves and forming a different church even though they said otherwise. In either case, we do not judge. At the end of time. As Jesus says later in the parable: "At the end of time the Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of the kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. ... then the righteous will shine like the sun." Let God do the judging. Meanwhile, as sinners, let us lift one another up to the Lord.
Lighthouse June 17, 2026
250 YEARS
In two weeks we will begin celebrating the birth of the United States of America. Before it becomes too quickly just another holiday come and gone it would seem that we would do well to reflect on what we are doing and are still, in this age, ready to commit our fortunes and our lives for this great experiment in history. Our ancestors did well in thinking through what they wanted to be committed to and know that it was not to be a pious statement, all fluff and no meaning. In their debates they recognized that their dream could not be maintained by another value system but only by that of a christian people committed to their God. And so they begin. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, (first of all, they are truths. There are no conflicting truths. They are self-evident. They can be discovered by any reasonable group of people looking at natural law, asking themselves ‘what rights would I want for myself’) that all men are created equal, (do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This would of necessity have to apply to every conceivable human being whatever race, ethnic background, age, —all have biases and may take time to overcome these; such as our attitude to blacks, Indians or certain religions.)—that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, (they had the wisdom to step out in faith and recognize these rights are unalienable, they come from the great Creator and therefore are not dependent on the whims of people; they do not come from the government and therefore cannot be taken away by the government and so they are unalienable ), that among these are Life, (all life come from God and so every human life must be recognized from the moment of conception; the fetus of any creature cannot be anything but what that fetus is.) Liberty (is not a right to hedonism, anything which pleasures me but rather a true freedom to see a wrong or a need and address it. A real freedom to do what is right. A true musician is only really free to create when they have been thoroughly disciplined in the scales) and the pursuit of Happiness. (And, of course, our founding fathers considered real happiness as the ability to live in such a way through which they could come to their eternal happiness.) --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes;' With these words a new government was begun. And, lest we make the mistake of past civilizations let us remember that these rights can only be maintained by eternal vigilance and full willingness to participate as full members of this great experiment.