the bad among people. We’ re not all saints or geniuses, and even the ones who are often make silly mistakes or suffer from other problems not amenable to intelligence or moral turpitude. I feel like there’ s a lot more good than evil in the world— it’ s just that evil tends to make a lot more noise, attract more attention, as it goes about its badness.
People are at their best when they recognize themselves as just a small part of the great human herd, when they reach out to selflessly help someone else for no particular reason other than that we’ re all human beings walking around on this one little planet at this particular brief moment in the vastness of time. Help a fella out. Thus endeth the sermon. Into every life, a little rain must fall. It is a privilege to be able to be with people in their time of need, in times of trial, and to be able to help them a little bit, to comfort them with words of faith. It is a rare opportunity to be of value to another human being, to do something good for them, even though you have no personal stake in the matter.
That is a good feeling. You should try it!
As to the preaching, standing up in front of a group of people and telling them what you think about stuff must be the oldest media in the world. In today’ s hurry-hurry world, 20 minutes of their time and attention is just about the greatest gift anyone can give you.
I do think it is important to rightly divide the Word in a time when so many people misuse it and distort it to their own purposes. The Bible is the most-owned, least-read book in the world and is also one of the most misrepresented books in human history. When somebody tells you“ the Bible says this, the Bible says that”— do yourself a favor, look it up for yourself. Like patriotism, the Old Testament is the last refuge of a scoundrel. It’ s not a book in any modern sense. It’ s a collection of ancient religious texts. It is a translation of a translation of a translation. There are no original copies. Most of the real information is couched in poetical and metaphorical terms. When a preacher starts telling you what a Bible verse really means get a firm grip on your wallet. Decide for yourself what the Bible does and doesn’ t say, what it is and what it isn’ t.
“ Gospel” means“ good news” and the good news is that as human beings, we are all called to act and speak in love, to treat other people the way we would want to be treated if the situation were reversed.
“ Act and Speak in Love.” Put that on my tombstone. Never mind about the name, the dates,“ Reverend” or“ Pastor”— just that. •
Jan./ Feb. 2020 • Our Brown County 45