Thursday’s Thirst

Wednesday morning we were reading through Ephesians 4 when we seemed to get stuck.  Not so much because the concept was so difficult, but that it was so personal.  In fact, rather than saying we were stuck, it is more like we were struck!  “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”(Ephesians 4.29 NIV)  And we could not stop there but continued on to the verse that is stuck to it: “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4.30 NIV)  We will talk about the Law/Gospel connection of these verses later because my first thoughts as I heard the words “what is helpful for building others up according to their needs”went to Steven Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People.”

I was preparing last night to author a Thursday’s Thirst that basically said, “I am taking the day off,” until I watched the first hour the evening news. Every news story was distressing – missing children, abuse, murder, wildfires, problems in our government, … you name it, not a good or encouraging word.  And then came the sports … “Hey,” they said, “The Lions are great, but let’s not ignore the Wings or the Pistons, either.”  The entire sports account was saturated with good news!  In a world so filled with scary miseries, is there any wonder why we love our sports?

This got me thinking of all the variations of the original Christmas story that we find in cultures and in the songs we sing.  Take, for instance, The First Noel.  The word “noel” long ago grew to refer specifically to the birth of Christ, so my assumption is that the line “the first Noel the angel did say” means the first announcement of Christ’s birth.  I’m fine with that.  I’m even fine with the reference to a “cold winter’s night that was so deep,” even though we have no clue what the weather was like.

It would always disturb my mother when I would say, “I don’t really have many – if any – memories of my childhood.” Though I grew up in a healthy, Christian environment and was, as far as I remember, a happy child, my memories of my pre-high school years are extremely limited. I like to say that I was too focused upon enjoying the present to spend time hanging on to the past.

Bob Seger fans will remember the lyrics. “On a long and lonesome highway east of Omaha you can listen to the engine moanin’ out his one note song … When you’re ridin’ sixteen hours and there’s nothing’ much to do and you don’t feel much like ridin’ you just wish the trip was through.” He and the Silver Bullet Band released this song, “Turn the Page”, the year Monica and I were married.

I am far, far from the perfect husband, so those familiar words of St. Paul (who, I believe never was a husband) in many ways terrify me. “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her to make her holy, cleansing her with the washing of water by the word. … In the same way, husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies.” (Ephesians 5.25, 28)

I’ve never been a particular fan of Gene Autry. In fact, it’s likely that the only reason I’m acquainted with this song of his is because of a comedy album by The Firesign Theatre that was regularly quoted in my dorm during my freshman year in college. Thus, to be sure I have the actual words from Mr. Autry, I googled the lyrics before typing them: “I’m back in the saddle again, out where a friend is a friend, where the longhorn cattle feed on the lowly jimson weed. I’m back in the saddle again.”

I think I first saw the email some time Thursday afternoon, too late for me to deal with it that day.  That night I was driving to Houghton Lake with Joel.  We would rake leaves on Friday, prepare the cottage for the winter on Saturday morning, and then return home in the afternoon.  And, of course, I did not want to bother people on Saturday night or Sunday.  So, on Thursday I simply sent a quick reply with the offer a partial solution.

The election advertisements are behind us (hopefully … perhaps the only good thought I have about them is how much they help the economy).  The weather looks as though it might finally be cooling down (not that I am complaining about the wonderful fall we have had thus far). And I was all set to write about how important our Christian witness is in lifting up the people we meet – and how three words to consider as we seek to be more effective are 1) intentional, 2) inspirational, and 3) invitational.

It may have been listening to a podcast that put me into the right state of mind.  The podcast was from Lead Time (Tim Ahlman and Jack Kalleberg), dated October 29, 2024.  Its topic was “Navigating Ethical Challenges: LCMS in a Politically Charged World with Rev. Dr. Joel Biermann.”  The Rev. Dr. has been an LCMS pastor since 1985 and a professor at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis since 2002.  The podcast, which I recommend you check out, wanders into many topics.