June 17

OT -- 1st Kings 18:1-46
Vs. 21 "Elijah went before the people and said, 'How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.'"

Today, I went and had my fingernails and toenails done at Nails, Talk, and Tan at Abernathy and Mt Vernon Hwy. It is my favorite nail salon for several reasons. The first is that they have a huge staff, everyone is quick and efficient and you almost never have to wait. The second is that they were very, very kind to Matthew all those months I took him there to get his feet done. Cleats and wrestling shoes destroy your feet. Matthew has a horrible tendency to staph infections and blisters and sores from athletic shoes coupled with awful hygenie in locker rooms were a recipe for hospital visits. So, off we went to the pedicure every month. The ladies there fussed over Matthew and took excellent care of his feet.
My final reason for loving this particular nail salon is that while all the ladies and gentlemen who work there are Vietnamese and late arrivals at that, if you will talk to them, they LOVE to practice their English and really strive to speak better. So, you know me, I could talk to stump. I talk a lot to my nail technicians.
Today, I had already read the scripture when I took myself off to the salon. There, waiting just under the desk, is a Buddha with a tiny bowl of rice and water and a beautiful fresh flower. My pedicure technician was a young man wearing cut up jeans and a HUGE crucifix. My manicurist was one of my favorites -- Heena -- and she was wearing a lovely diamond crucifix.
And I thought of the scripture. Which one is God? God or Buddha?
So, I asked if they were Buddhist or Christian? The young man laughed and said, well, it is so wise to cover all, correct?
He said his parents are Buddhist but he went to a Catholic school in Vietnam and they taught him enough of the English to get a student visa to come here. So, he wears the cross to honor the nuns who were 'saving his family from hunger' and pays 'courtesy' to Buddha for his parents.
At this, Heena shot off a string of Vietnamese at him, clearly fussing at him.
Then he said, 'apologize if it offends to honor both.'

I certainly wasn't offended and would have liked to have asked him what 'courtesy' means and about his schooling. But Heena wouldn't have it.

So, does that make me wishy-washy? Serving multiple gods? There is so much about Buddhism that is very attractive to me. The meditation, the inner focus, the living in the present. There is much about Christianity and Buddhism alike that I do not like.

I love that Elijah was so certain that he could light that fire. I would have been quaking in my boots and would have had a secret stash of charcoal starter.
But clearly the priests of Baal were just as certain of THEIR god as well. It takes a lot to make people slash themselves. I don't think they just do that for a casual whim.
This religion stuff is complicated.

Psalm 135
Praise the name of the Lord;
praise him, you servants of the Lord,
you who minister in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God.

It is good that this psalm is the reading on a Sunday. All of us should pray that section of that psalm every Sunday for our pastors. '
Being a pastor is hard work. You have secrets. You know things about people that break your heart and you probably have no one to share that hurt with. You are expected to be 'better than' and to have no temper, no ego, and to know all things Bible. You are not supposed to have addictions, depressions, marital trouble, children trouble, or financial trouble. Hard work, low pay, huge expectations.

I remember watching an interview with Billy Graham once. He said he NEVER went into a hotel room by himself first. Why?, the interviewer asked. Well, there might be a woman there and then a photograph could be taken and all sorts of implications and ramifications. So, he just didn't do it and he always had a minion to go in first.
How awful to have to think about such things!
Please, let's all pray for our pastors, our childhood pastors, and those in seminary the verses above.

Much love and restful Sunday.