Rituals

I was surprised to feel the tears streaming down my cheeks. That seldom, if ever, happens when I am watching television. But it happened last Monday while I was observing the inauguration of the USA president. My tears were not related to the politics of the day. Rather they flowed because of my emotions being caught up in the ritual. I was moved by the singing of the ancient American classics like “America , The Beautiful” and “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”. My eyes joined the poet as he verbally toured us from the redwood forests to the lobster traps of Maine. The waving of handkerchiefs by the thousands. The peaceful passing of the torch. Yes, the ritual stirred up patriotic  feelings aroused by Zion Lutheran School picnics in Walburg, Texas to hot dogs at the American Consulate in Hong Kong. All it took was the ritual to lead to remembrance, pride and petitions.

That’s what rites and rituals do. And that is why each of us must play our part in preserving them. Keep those family rituals alive. Recreate those birthday party rituals with birthday cake loaded with candles, and home-make chicken salad sandwiches and ice cream.  Some are silly like singing  a crazy version of the O Tannenbaum Story told with a new twist each Christmas Eve. Others are formal like the prayers and blessings of late night family devotions.

Lovers of all ages need to keep the rituals alive, the time and way we kiss, the gifts we exchange, the looks we sneak, the special touches.

Those of us who are spiritual know that all faiths have rituals around births and deaths and new beginnings. In my church The Holy Eucharist and Baptism are absolutely essential.

And so, too, our country is well served by all those wonderful rites around inauguration. Regardless of our political persuasion we reflect as the oath of office is taken, as the National Anthem is sung, as the pledges are made, the prayers spoken. the military parade…

Rituals connect us to the past, ground us in the present and propel us into the future.

Lazy Saturday

I an having a lazy Saturday. Got up late, ate a leisurely breakfast, took my walk, watched golf, replied to emails. Nothing scheduled for this evening. This is a new experience in my life and I am enjoying it.

Saturdays were big when I was a young kid. My father was a teaching minister in a rural Lutheran church and school. We lived in the “teacherage” - ala “parsonage”. There were a couple acres of land that went with that. So there were gardens to weed, what seemed like acres of grass to be mown with the hand mower, corn to be  husked for the chickens and cows and manure to be piled up

  

While I was doing this my dad was “up at church”. He cleaned the church, posted the hymn numbers, practiced the pipe organ and prepared the Bible Class he taught every Sunday for decades.

I felt like a had a role in helping dad in his ministry. My job was to polish shoes, especially his. They were always patent leather black. They had to be able to give off a reflection from the buffed shine. I loved getting them ready for him.

In my high school days I attended Concordia Academy, a boys only ministry prep school. We had classes until noon on Saturday. During football season we ran directly from class to the University of Texas football stadium. For 25 cents each we could sit in the end zone and cheer on the Longhorns. In my four years there twice I had a date. They were nice - and led to nothing exciting.

Saturdays at college were wonderful. Sports and dates, especially the three years with Jane who is now my wife. If I had set enough pins in the bowling alley to have a bit of cash we would take the El to the Chicago loop and see a movie. Always (except for one 1:30 a.m. permit per semester) required to have her checked in to her women’s dorm, by 11:00 with the house mother waiting to make sure our good-night embrace did not last too long or ever dare to end in a kiss witnessed by another person.

Then came 50 years of teaching, administering, raising kids, traveling the world. Saturdays were always full.

But now I have passed my 85^th birthday and I am keeping my vow (most of the time) to be retired. Today I am doing that. I wonder if it will be true for me that on this Saturday I will be ready for bed at around 9:00 pm.