In a couple weeks, the wider church will celebrate the rather pivotal ministry of Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frederick Handel, two of the most influential figures of the music we still sing today in the Lutheran church and beyond. So, on the weekend of July 26 and 27, we will sing a few of the hymns that were shaped by the two German artistic geniuses, to be sure, but we will also take time to be mindful of the pianists, organists, choir directors, singers, guitarists, drummers, and other instrumentalists, who found a way to captivate our soul, leading us to hum a tune into the parking lot, on the drive home, and for God only knows how many days after. In their own rather pivotal ministry, they found a way to make the Gospel stick with us beyond an hour for the weekend.
For a few summers, I worked at Lutheran Memorial Camp (now HopeWood Pines) in Fulton, OH, about 40 miles north of Columbus. With a couple of those June-August stints, I served as a camp counselor to mostly middle-school aged youth with a few elementary and high school groups thrown in as well. They would come Sunday afternoons and leave by Friday after lunch. And yet, within those six days, attachments unexplainably develop. Even as an early twenty-something with some selfish tendencies, to be sure, it doesn’t take long to be thoroughly convinced that you would do absolutely anything for the betterment of those youth.
Since my side of the family has included a fair share from the Columbus end of things, we have frequented the state capital’s annual Red, White & BOOM! Granted, I’ll be the first to admit that Independence Day isn’t my favorite holiday of the year. That probably has more so to do with me being a winter than a summer guy. I’m not overly excited about parades. And I suppose since having a dog, who was frightened over the loud cracklings, for several years, and then children, who supposedly should be in bed at a decent time for world-preservation’s sake, the fireworks observance has fallen by the wayside.
Amidst all the chaos seemingly running rampant in our world, it’s always helpful to be reminded of the sheer kindness carried out by those who may never receive any direct benefit from their most unselfish acts.
When our twins were born, we received this red folder seemingly packed to a breaking point with all these documents we supposedly responsible parents needed to fill out as if their very lives depended on it. But one was rather different from the legalistic rest. It was for this thing called Imagination Library. We had never heard of it, so we researched the website:
In recognition of our upcoming Vacation Bible School next week, with the theme “Road Trip: On the Go with God,” hopefully one of the inspirations for the big kids of Divinity and beyond is considering some of our own cherished road trips in our lifetime. For as much as we children of God of all ages are fully aware that we are on this beautiful and scary and captivating and terrifying and majestic and heart-wrenching life-long “road trip” with God, it is rather re-assuring to know that we have other joint-journey venturers to go alongside us. The ones who will serve as the visible sings of God’s love, the tangible upliftings of God’s compassion, the in-the-flesh embodiment of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The ones who will allow us to long for the eternal destination of this mortal undertaking, but to also inspire us to believe that there just might be a precious bit of heaven on this earth as well.
