Gettin’ Closer

It’s a beautiful day up here at the Old Place. Of course every day is a beautiful day.  People ask me all the time, “Col. Jim what is it about the Old Place anyway? It’s a long drive up there, there isn’t a movie theater and the phone reception is terrible.” I tell them, I just feel closer to my Lord up here. When the Our Lord raised his good friend Lazarus, the Gospels tell us that Jesus "groaned in spirit." Jesus' pain comes from his identification with his flawed, sinful, human brothers and sisters, us.  He goes all the way to the bottom of it, letting this truth deeply affect him. Jesus does not just love us abstractly or from a distance. He comes close to us.  So what’s it got to do with safety?

This groaning of Jesus is the pain of our own imprisonment, not within the tomb but within ourselves. When we risk injury or death by working in an unsafe manner or using unsafe tools, does Jesus groan any less for us?  It is the same groan made by our loved ones when we are injured or killed because we committed an unsafe act. "Why did he do that?  He knew better!"  Bringing this closer, Jesus wept for Lazarus. It is heartbreaking for it is the only time in the Scripture that Jesus is described as weeping. Whatever the result of the unsafe act: be it physical injury, death, psychological trauma or spiritual loss, it is something deeply troubling to our friends, families and to God Himself.

There is another telling moment in the story, when Jesus asks Lazarus’ sister, "Where have you laid him?"  Just as Adam and Eve hid from God, so Lazarus is hidden from Jesus, by the depth of his own grief. While sin alienates us from Our Father, making us strangers to Him, the unsafe act alienates us from ourselves and others.  We effectively move further away when we create the danger ourselves and in effect, hide it. Closeness comes when refuse to commit the unsafe act. The danger is removed by never having been created.

Finally, Our Lord walks up to the tomb. The stone is rolled aside and he shouts, "Lazarus, come out!"  Are there any more stirring words in the whole New Testament? When injury or death occurs due to an unsafe act we committed or failed to stop, we can become locked in the tomb of our own guilt, anxiety, sadness or fear. God, however, gives us a power, a divine power, sent into this world.  A power whose very purpose is to break the stones, deny the tomb. . . to save a life. We can say, “Lazarus, STOP, let me hold that ladder for you buddy; hey turn off that weedeater and lets get you some safety glasses; turn that pot handle in so it doesn't get knocked off the stove and burn someone.

"And the dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth." So Jesus said, "Untie him and let him go." Unsafe acts bind us and blind us.  When we choose to work safe, our work brings us closer to God. 

Sitting in a rocker at the Old Place, I am Col. Jim.

It Follows

The Old Place is known for its blood pressure lowering qualities.  The calling of the birds, the gurgle of the creek as it tumbles over the weir and the gentle soughing of the breeze that wafts through the branches all combine, to create a symphony of peace. It is, the antithesis of Facebook. There is no need to tell anyone, "What's On Your Mind," because you are up there to get things Off Your Mind.  There is no need to "Comment" because there is nothing to comment on.  There is no need to "Poke" anyone because the one you want to be with is already there, yourself.  It is not even necessary to ask any of the other denizens of the lake what's on their mind or even their opinions on a topic.  It is not that we are iconoclast or anything; we have just known each other for so long that each pretty much knows what the other thinks.  So, what's it got to do with safety?  A well worn question, but no less valuable for having been asked a time or two.

There appears to have been a certain degree of displeasure recently over some of the actions of our newly inaugurated POTUS.  Now before you blow your stack, take a deep breath and think of Queen Ilsa or if you prefer, a mother giraffe.  Then, "Let It Go," or just Drop It!   If all the wealthy Star Chamber Illuminati Knights Templar Conservatives could not get rid of former president Obama, then what chance do you lot have?  All you are doing is embarrasing yourselves and establishing your reputations.  Remember your faces and actions will be out there. . . FOR-EVER!  The internet, never forgets.  It will be there when you apply to college and later when you apply for a job.  It will be there when you meet the parents.  It will be there when you try to adopt a child.  It will be there when you try to woo a new client or apply for a loan.  It will be there to ruin your credibility in court or when you testify before a Senete Subcommittee.  Finally, lest you scoff and think all this the ravings of another, "stupid" Conservative, it will be there when you run for POTUS yourself.  Don't believe me?  Just ask former Secretary of State, Hillary Rodam-Clinton. . .

(By the way, these points apply to all rablerousers, regardless of their political stripe.)

The old porch creaks as you rock, sure one nail would probably fix it but why?

Sitting in a rocker at the Old Place I am, Col. Jim.