Legacies of Faith - Remembering Chip Thullbery
In the spring of 1983 in the northeast, I had not seen the sun since the previous perhaps November. I was in my second year of seminary and my spirit, in my Florida born and raised self, was sagging. One of my apartment mates pulled out some acrylic paints she dabbled with from time to time.
“Let's paint something!” she said. Though I had no eye to see things and re-create them in an artistic way, I joined in for fun. In a bit of nostalgia, I painted the back deck of my mom and dad's home, which later became Chip's home, (on Campbell Ave) from the perspective of one sitting in the back room and looking out over the deck and back yard.
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Death and Life (Ash Wednesday sermon)
I recently read some practical advice given to a young man who has been struggling with the idea of death. The advice approached the issue from several angles.
First, it summarized Socrates, who suggested that if one could look back at one’s life and see that you had been responsible and responsive to the people, responsibilities and challenges, that would bring a good measure of contentment. If one lived a long life and was physically spent, then those together would be helpful. Therefore, be attentive to those priorities today. Fair enough.
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Seeing Jesus
When Moses came down from Mount Sinai in today’s reading, the two tablets of the Covenant contain the Ten Commandments. This is his second try. You may recall that the first time he came down with the Ten Commandments, he found that Israel had turned away from God. They had coerced his own brother Aaron, who had been his right-hand man and will become the forerunner of the Levitical priesthood, to cast an idol, a golden calf. Things got, shall we say, a bit tense. God was angry, Moses was furious and it got rough.
But God called Moses up the mountain again. Moses was allowed to see God’s back, any more would have killed him, and God gave him the new set of the Ten Commandments. This morning, let’s focus on his shining and the Ten Commandments, and how they compare to the Transfiguration of Jesus in today’s Gospel.
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