ODDS & ENDS XII: Ronnie’s Obit, Stewardship Stories, Heroes [F, 10-29-21]

CHRIST IN WINTER: Reflections on Faith & Life for the Years of Winter

“Life is known only by those who have found a way to be comfortable with change and the unknown. Given the nature of life, there may be no security, but only adventure.” Rachel Remen, Kitchen Table Wisdom, page 67.

RONNIE’S OBIT

Ronnie’s obit was in the [online] newspaper. He had turned fifteen three months before I started preaching at the church where his parents were mainstays. I was still short of twenty. His parents often invited me to dinner, hoping that my youthful churchiness might rub off on him, seating us beside each other so we could chat. Ronnie wasn’t a bad kid, but he wasn’t much interested in church.

I had a lot of good meals at their house, but Ronnie usually gobbled quickly and ran off to hang out with his “hoodlum friends.” I preached there for almost three years. I never had the impression that it did much good, at least as far as Ronnie was concerned.

But in his obit, it said that “…he enjoyed praising the Lord and praying for others.” He wanted memorials to go to that church that we shared when we were both so young.

STORIES FOR STEWARDSHIP SEASON

It's stewardship season in churches, so our pastor, Jimmy Moore, told these stories in worship…

A frail little old lady went to the strong man show [probably at the county fair.] The strong man squeezed a lemon until it was dry and then he said he’d give $200 to anyone who could get even a single drop of juice out of it. The little old lady went up and squeezed out three more table spoons of juice. “How did you do that?” “Oh, that was nothing. I’ve been the stewardship chair in our church for 42 years.”

The Sunday School teacher said, “And where do children go who don’t put their offering in the plate?” A boy answered, “To the movies?”

IS EVERYBODY A HERO?

I was in the Dollar Tree Store, buying candy for Trunk or Treat at church. I feel fairly safe there--folks wearing masks. And they take credit cards now, so no cash to handle.

Like everyone else, they are hiring. Their sign said, “Dollar Tree Hiring Essential Heroes.” Really? Heroes?

I get the “essential.” That’s a term we have learned well during this pandemic. Many of the essential workers are the folks who make minimum wage in mundane jobs, but if they don’t do them, we’ll not have stuff to eat, or soap to wash the virus off our hands.

But an “essential worker” isn’t automatically a “hero.” We use the term “hero” so casually these days. People are called heroes not because they do anything heroic, but just because they put on the uniform, from police blue to soldier tan to Home Depot orange. What then can we call a person who actually does something heroic?

            Well, maybe I’m too picky. With all the anti-maskers and anti-vaccers spewing on you while you check them out, maybe just showing up for work is heroic.

John Robert McFarland

“The greatest part of faith is patience.”