Epiphany Continues

Worshipped this morning and sat through 2 annual meetings - actually, they were bifuricated annual meetings. In attempting to get more participants, the practice developed in previous years of holding one session following the 8 a.m. service and then another session following the 10:45 service. The HUGE assumption made is that no changes, nominations, or resolutions would be made at either session from the floor. If this happened, there would be big problems and probably another congregational meeting would have to be rescheduled in the future. It was a classic case of "we have done it this way before" and have consoled ourselves by saying more people attended the two sessions as compared to the time when there was only one session. Spell us "quiet Lutherans."

Speaking of spelling (which is really the reason for this blog entry), I was given by one of my Rosie's Diner 10 a.m. coffee cronies a piece he had pulled off the internet. It had a special appeal to those, like my wife, who enjoy "word games" and involved shuffeling letters around from one word or phrase to spell another. Example: Presbyterian can be rearranged to spell, "Best in prayer". I wonder how many Presbys know that? Or George Bush can be respelled as "He Bugs Gore". And my favorite was "Eleven Plus Two" rearranged to spell, "Twelve Plus One." Maybe I'm "Johnny come lately" in discovering this blurb. But it seems to me Epiphany's message also seeks to rearrange the assumptions and understandings people made before the time of Christ....and afterwards...regarding God's plan for salvation and the recipients of God's grace and mercy.
Why should the Son of God get baptized? Why was the good wine saved until last? Why would Jesus alienate his home town folk to the point of they wanting to throw him off Nazareth cliff? Jesus didn't just rearrange spellings - he threw all the conventional religious assumptions up for grabs. Which reminds me....I have more than a few patterns of behavior which need to be rearranged....patterns like prayer, Scripture reading, use of my time, etc., etc., etc. What about you? Yes, it is much easier to sit quietly in the pew and let the world go on as is. There still are a few more weeks of Epiphany to find some answers or surprises. As for spelling, I'm stumped. Dean is Dean

From whence I came

To begin the new year, I have joined the zillions who want their 15 minutes of fame via the internet.....or is it a matter of being famous to 15 people.