OCTOBER 2009

EDITORIAL

On Thursday, July 30th last summer, I heard Julia and Vita playing in front of their house. Julia had a camera and Vita stood about six feet away. She was jumping up and down as Julia tried to get her photo in mid-flight. I walked behind Vita, and Julia told both of us to jump, but after five jumps I told her I had to rest. About a minute later Vita looked innocently at me and asked, “Are you a Christian?” “Yes,” I responded, but was thinking, “I hope so.”

I must admit that there are times in my life when I have wondered if some “New Church people” skipped over being New Testament Christians. That is to say, they seem sometimes to have forgotten about the Golden Rule, the story of the good Samaritan, the concept of loving people including one’s enemies, etc. Yes, they have a lot of knowledge of the Writings and are well-thought of in the community, but, oh, how poorly they appear to regard the neighbor, sometimes. For example, about a dozen years ago, on a very hot and humid summer day, I was standing by the door to the Bryn Athyn Post Office. A man whom I knew parked his car and as he walked by me, as I recall, I said something like, “I am really hot today.” He barked at me, “Well, I am not hot. I just came from an air conditioned house, and drove my air conditioned car here.” He strode, I thought, rather arrogantly past me as I stood sweating in the parking lot. (Neither my car or home were air conditioned.) Yes, he was a member of several church and Academy boards and committees and no doubt, felt that he was a dutiful New Churchman, “one of the good old boys.” However I saw him then at that moment as a person who seemed to have not a scintilla of kindness, mercy or as one who showed any signs of Christianity. I guess that since I was no longer the Cathedral Curator then, he felt no need act politely towards me and he didn’t. Maybe he just didn’t get it – Christianity is about loving the Lord in the neighbor. I think that a regenerating man would be very worried about turning his back to Him there.

But let the sun shine in this issue of SUNSHINE. Let’s enjoy life and its many opportunities to be in loving service to our neighbors.

HUMOR

If the police arrest a mime, do they tell him that he has the right to remain silent?

Are vegetarians allowed to eat animal crackers?

If an oriental person spins around several times does he become disoriented?

Can an atheist get insurance against acts of God?

How do they get deer to cross the road only at those yellow signs?

TEACHER: Harold, what do you call a person who keeps on talking when people are no longer interested?

HAROLD: A teacher.

Most businesses like that our credit card machines automatically print “Thank you, please come again” at the bottom of receipts. However one gentleman called to ask if I could take it off. “Sure,” I said. “But do you mind my asking why?” “It just seems inappropriate,” he answered. “We’re a funeral home.”

“Use your own toothbrush,” she bristled.

“You must be the host,” he guessed.

“I love camping,” he said intently.

“I’m losing my hair,” he bawled.

“I’m not wearing my wedding ring,” he said with abandon.

(I will show some mercy and end this nonsense now. RL) [Apology reluctantly accepted! - Alfie]

BLAISE PASCAL (1623-1662)

The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of.

The Knowledge of God is very far from the love of Him.

I have made this [letter] longer, because I have not had the time to make it shorter.

If all men knew what each said of the other, there would not be four friends in the world.

People are usually more convinced by reasons they discovered themselves than by those found by others.

We know truth, not only by reasons, but also by the heart.

Kind words do not cost much. Yet they accomplish much.

Do you wish people to think well of you? Don’t speak well of yourself.

If we examine our thoughts we shall find them always occupied with the past and the future.

He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust God’s providence to lead him aright.

Truth is so obscure in these times, and falsehood so established, that, unless we love the truth, we cannot know it.

There are only two kinds of men: the righteous who believe they are sinners, the sinners who believe they are righteous.

All of our reasoning ends in surrender to feeling.

PERSONAL HAPPENINGS

On Tuesday, August 25, last summer I was in my backyard preparing to mow the lawn. I saw through the trees that Julia was bouncing on the trampoline and Vita was chasing after a ball. Julia was giving her an order and said rather haughtily, “That’s why you aren’t….” It was a condemning statement. Her voice was so arrogant and Vita’s seemed so beaten that I was shocked. Then later that day, Julia asked me, “Did you hear us today?” I responded, “What happened to the sweet girls who hug and kiss each other?” (I think Julia was ashamed of the state that had overcome her earlier in the day.)

Vita was walking away from us but called out, “Julia doesn’t want to kiss.” Julia confided to me, “Vita is a sloppy kisser.” Oh, how well I know that as I recall an incident that occurred several years earlier. I was sitting on a bench in their front yard when Julia asked if they could kiss me. I agreed. So Julia planted a most lady-like kiss on my cheek. In the meantime Vita had walked close to me and placed her lips on my other cheek. I felt something very cold there and then became aware of a liquid flowing down my cheek. Turning toward her I saw her standing there with a popsicle in her hand. You can see the scene – a bit messy. Anyway in the future when one of my young neighbors gets too critical of their playmates I shall suggest or perhaps challenge them to also find some good qualities in their friends. Being “Mr. L” to ten kids continues to be challenging.

A few months ago I was at the Cathedral where I asked Doug Taylor if he had met any interesting visitors that day. He responded enthusiastically that one lady who had been there many years earlier remembered being told by a guide that “Only God is perfect.” That was a phrase I had often used in conversations with visitors at the Cathedral, especially when talking about human failings. It was pleasing to know that someone remembered what was probably said by me. You parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, former teachers, etc. can know with a deep satisfaction that many of your good thoughts spoken to others are remembered and appreciated. We do leave footprints in the sand of our life’s journeys.

PROVERBS

All that glitters is not gold.

Birds of a feather flock together.

Out of sight; out of mind.

Silence is golden.

One good turn deserves another.

The early bird catches the worm.

It takes two to quarrel.

Laugh and the world laughs with you; weep and you weep alone.

Snore and you sleep alone.

Brevity is the soul of wit.

Forewarned is forearmed.

A man is known by the company he keeps.

Like father, like son.

A stitch in time saves nine.

People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.

Honesty is the best policy.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.

Don’t bite off more than you can chew.

Home is where the heart is.

QUOTATIONS FROM EMANUEL SWEDENBORG

The Lord is present with every man, urging and pressing to be received….

But, my friend put faith in no council, but in the Lord’s Word, which is above councils.

…and therefore He leads every man according to that order which is Himself, guiding the wandering and the fallen into it, and the resisting, toward it.

Everyone in the Christian world, since the Lord’s coming, has the ability to become spiritual solely from the Lord through the Word….

That no evil can be removed except by the Lord, and except in those who believe in Him and love the neighbor….

There are two loves which have long been enrooted in the human race, the love of ruling over all, and the love of possessing the goods of all.

Therefore, kind reader, look into yourself, and find out one or another evil that is in you, and from religion dismiss it. If you dismiss evils from any other purpose or end, you do so only that they may not appear before the world.

Therefore, my friend, form your opinion of a man not from his mouth but from his heart, not from his words but from his deeds….

THE REGENERATED MAN HAS A NEW WILL AND A NEW UNDERSTANDING.

The human mind is divided into three regions, the lowest is called the natural, the middle the spiritual, and the highest the celestial.

These quotations are from the book THE TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, first printed in 1771. See www.brynathyncathedral.org.

WORDS

BOBBY In Britain this is a term meaning policeman. The name comes from Sir Robert (Bobby) Peel (1788-1850), an English statesman who reorganized the London police force in 1828.

FERRIS WHEEL This was named after George Ferris (1859-1896) who designed and built the first such wheel for the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1892, held in Chicago, Illinois.

MILQUETOAST This refers to a timid, spineless person who is easily intimidated. It comes from the name, Casper Milquetoast, a character created by the American cartoonist Harold T. Webster (1885-1852).

SUITS TO A “T” The “T” refers to the T-square used by draftsmen to make sure that their drawings of right angles, parallel lines and the like are precisely accurate. So anything that suits you to a “T” is something that is exactly correct and very much to your liking.

TOWHEAD This refers to a person – usually a young person – who has very blond hair, like the color of flax or pale yellow. “Tow” is a name for flax or hemp used for spinning fabric.

SALISBURY STEAK This is named for Dr. J.M. Salisbury, a British physician, who was a great advocate of dietary reform. The original Salisbury steak formula included eggs, milk, bread crumbs and other items designed to make the patty more nourishing.

DOUGLAS FIR This is a giant evergreen tree, slightly smaller than the redwood and sequoia. It is named after David Douglas (1798-1834), a Scottish botanist who traveled to North America several times in search of New World plants.

REFLECTIONS ON COUNSELING

About 25 years ago a lady in my neighborhood decided that I needed to be counseled by her. Consequently she called me on the telephone about a dozen times until I finally relented and agreed to walk over to her home. Actually I did visit her about fifteen times thereafter, as I recall. Here is what would happen, I enter her home, sit down and listen. With her alcohol in a glass nearby she expounded on the mixed-up nature of the Bryn Athyn society and the General Church. She also spoke mightily about her pet theories on psychology. Several times I tried to speak of my own views and opinions but she consistently interrupted me with her own dominating intellect.

The basic reason why I went to her house was to take a break from being a 24-7 caregiver to my ailing mother. Then I finally terminated my visits when this self-appointed psychotherapist informed me that she had been writing to the pastor about the state of my emotional progress. What a joke.

No doubt personal counseling with a professional or a good friend can be extremely effective in helping those with complicated and depressing emotional states. The natural mind does get twisted in strange ways during one’s journey through the traumas of life. But we all know who the real Counselor is.

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” And we know how to contact Him when in need of counseling.

QUOTATIONS

“Love is the irresistible desire to be desired irresistibly.” - Louis Ginsberg

“A great many open minds should be closed for repairs.” - Toledo Blade

“Don’t ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up.” - Robert Frost

“I keep six honest serving-men – They taught me all I know – Their names are What and Why and When – And How and Where and Who.” - Rudyard Kipling

“Too often we… enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.” - John F. Kennedy

“When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.” - Charles A. Beard

“A highbrow is a person educated beyond his intelligence.” - Brander Matthews

“Fools take to themselves the respect that is given to their office.” - Aesop

“Let there be spaces in your togetherness.” - Kahlil Gibran

“The best portion of a good man’s life, his little, nameless, unremembered acts, of kindness and of love.” - William Wordsworth

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.” - Helen Keller

“Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be.” - Robert Browning

“Where there is love there is life.” - Mahatma Gandhi

“The first duty of love is to listen.” - Paul Tillich

“Love comforteth like sunshine after rain.” - Anon.

HUMOR

George Phillips, an elderly man, from Meridian, Mississippi, was going to bed when his wife told him that he’d left the light on in the garden shed, which she could see from the bedroom window. George opened the back door to go turn off the light, but saw that there were people in the shed stealing things. So he phoned the police, who asked, “Is someone in your house?” He said, “No, but some people are breaking into my garden shed and stealing from me.”

Then the police dispatcher said, “All patrols are busy. You should lock your doors and an officer will be along when one is available.” George said, “Okay.” He hung up the phone and counted to 30. Then he phoned the police again. “Hello, I just called you a few seconds ago because there were people stealing things from my shed. Well, you don’t have to worry about them now because I shot them” and he hung up.

Within five minutes, six police cars, a SWAT team, a helicopter, two fire trucks, a paramedic, and an ambulance showed up at the Phillip’s residence and caught the burglars red-handed.

One of the policemen said to George, “I thought you said that you’d shot them!” George responded, “I thought you said there was nobody available.”

“It ain’t the heat: it’s the humility.” - Yogi Berra

“Rarely is the question asked: is our children learning?” - George W. Bush

“I made a wrong mistake.” - Yogi Berra

“The single most important two things we can do….” - Tony Blair

“Sometimes we can observe a lot just by watching.” - Yogi Berra