Sunday, November 29, 2009

It was a good Sunday in class today. The number was small but I think we had a lot of people still our of town for Thanksgiving. We pray for the safety of all our loved ones who are on the roads.

I was unable to post something for Thanksgiving, so please allow me to say a few words now. I love Thanksgiving. It has always been a simple day of giving thanks to God for the harvest of an agrarian society. While Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday, the harvest festival is as old as mankind, something celebrated ever since men evolved from hunters and gatherers to farming and tilling the land and controlling production of their food. In our own harvest festival, Thanksgiving, we have created a number of myths to enliven our celebration.

Thanksgiving has become one of the more important family celebrations of our times. Christmas is a wonderful religious holiday, but in its secular form it has become a stressful time in which we spend money we should not spend on things to give to people who probably did not want them in the first place. This stress does not usually accompany Thanksgiving. On this family of all family holidays, we eat too much and visit with friends and family whom we do not see often enough in this day and time when we live too far apart.

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. And during the course of the day it is my hope and prayer that you got to eat everhything you wanted, that you got to visit with family and friends and that you took time to thank God for His blessings.

AND NOW BACK TO SUNDAY SCHOOL....................

I apologize for having to leave class before it was over. I simply was not feeling too well and thought I should leave for awhile. I felt better after awhile. I appreciate Madge Chissoe for filling in for me when I had to leave. Please be assured I am fine. I should not have left the class. Had a few more problems when I got home, but I am fine now.

This afternoon we attended the Advent Festival. There was a good number present and everyone had a wonderful time.

Next Sunday look for more opportunities to celebrate the Christmas season at McFarlin. This has always been one of the most important times at McFarlin. Since coming here in 1985 I have tried to take advantage of all the offerings during this season. It has been a faith strengthening experience and one of the most enjoyable times in my faith life.

Next Sunday Tino Harrera will be our guest teacher. He will teach on the seven final utterances of Jesus on the cross. Tino is our director of middle school ministry and is a student at Oklahoma City Universitiy School of Religion. I look forward to what he has to say. Please plan to be there for class next Sunday.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

D.J. taught our class Sunday. He did a very good job in covering the 12th chapter of Mark. D.J. always prepares when he is to teach. The notes and books he brings into the class show his level of preparation and his dedication to the class. We are fortunate to have him in Searchers and in McFarlin UMC.

Plans are, right now, that I will teach next Sunday. The following Sunday I have asked Tino Harrera, our middle school youth director, to teach our class. He has been doing some special study in his classes at OCU on the final utterances of Christ on the cross. I wanted him to share these thoughts with us since they are timely as we are approaching the crucifixion in Mark's story about Jesus.

With Christmas coming on, we will leave Mark for a couple of Sundays. The Sunday before Christmas we will have a lesson about the birth of Jesus. The Sunday after Christmas will feature something other than Mark as well.

I believe we should expect good things from our class. We will elect new officers somewhere around the holidays so be prepared to serve. Thanks to all.

Sunday's Class

We had a good class today with Bob Brooke teaching. Mark, on first glance, is a simple book. For some reason I always considered it my favorite of the gospel stories and the easiest to follow. What was I thinking? For the first time it seems like a difficult book to follow.

Bob did a very good job with the 10th chapter. We did not cover it all in detail, it is simply too long. But we did cover the high points, discussing the topic of divorce, the rich young ruler and the encounter between Jesus and the little children.

It was good to be there this morning. Next Sunday Bill Leidy will teach.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Tomorrow Bob Brooke will be teaching our Sunday School class. The subject will be Mark, chapter 10. There are several different topics within each chapter and this chapter will discuss the subject of divorce and the prediction of Jesus concerning his death. For my part, the most interesting part of the chapter involves the encounter between Jesus and the little children. We learn great lessons from this.

Come worship with us tomorrow, November 8. We start around 9:45 a.m. and we would like to see you there. It will be good for you and we need you.

On Being Called a "Curmudgeon"--Part 1

When I turned 65 recently, on November 1, 2009, I entered the ranks of senior citizens without question. And I suppose I became a full-fledged curmudgeon in the minds of some people. I really don't like being called a curmudgeon, which by definition is a bad-tempered, difficult, cantankerous person. I prefer to consider myself a kind, considerate and thoughtful person. But, I am a kind,considerate and thoughtful person who doesn't abide stupidity easily.

I recently had some leg problems which deteriorated rather quickly. In a day's time I went from hobbling to walking (or shuffling) with a cane. The next day I was barely moving with a walker and when I finally was able to get in to see the doctor, I had to use a wheel chair. We don't know what caused it, but we treated the symptoms and made improvement. (There are still times I feel more comfortable with a cane in hand.)

A few days later I was back moving ever so slowly with a cane. My wife had tickets for a concert by the musical group, U-2, at the football field at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. I wanted to go and it was important to her, so we, with a couple of friends, set out. They drove me as close to the field as they could and then, like others ahead of us, we turned left and stopped so I could walk the three blocks or so to the field while they parked the car further away.

I struggled to rise to a standing position from the car as a young police officer watched me. I then used my cane to shuffle to the trunk where I was getting my coat. As I raised the trunk, the young officer said, "You'll have to move that car."

I turned toward him slowly, looked him in the eye and with deliberation, said, "Officer, I'm moving as fast as I can." Then I remained silent and kept staring at him. It was a pregnant pause.

I thought he might want to say something like, "I'm sorry, sir. I didn't notice you were barely able to walk even with that cane. Is there anything I can do to help you?" Or, "I'm sorry, sir, but I didn't ask about your physical capabilities, I simply want you to know you have to move that car." Or, even, "I'm sorry, sir, but I was born with mental deficiencies and it has caused me to have a lot of feelings of inferiority but this badge and this gun make up for it."

To my surprise he didn't say anything at all. I should have let it go, but I took my cane and hit the car and called to my wife loudly. She got out of the car and asked me what was wrong. I said, "You can't leave the car here." She allowed as how she wasn't going to, to which I replied, "Well, me and this young officer thought you were going to park here all night. And we just wanted you to know you'll have to move that car."

She got in the car and drove off and I hobbled past the young officer commenting on his intelligence, or lack thereof, and probably commenting on his parentage. I also expressed my hope that he would be old someday and unable to walk well and I hoped he remembered this. To his credit, he still had nothing further to say.

Perhaps I am a curmudgeon after all.

Charlotte's Web

Charlotte Kesinger did a wonderful job teaching this morning. She helped place the priorities of living the Christian life in this current time and place. I have always enjoyed her teaching. There was a good number present in class. I would guess somewhere around 70 in number, including some guests from Blackwell. It was a good morning.

Bob Brooke will be teaching next Sunday on Mark, chapter 10. Be there. You will enjoy it and we need you.