In 1969 I began my college career at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. It was a fitful year that included dealing with newfound freedom, the ratcheting up of the Vietnam War, the institution of a lottery that determined who would be drafted to fight it, and adjustment to the academics (including the philosophy course that cost me my faith). I didn't know anyone when I arrived so making friends was important, too.
Some friendships became life-long. The following summer a bunch of us got together at my family's place in Massachusetts. It's been an annual event ever since and a highlight on all our calendars. We thought it was downright amazing when we gathered for the tenth time; last weekend was the 41st.
We've lived most of our lives now. Marriages, a divorce, kids, health problems, triumphs, failures, career changes, business partner problems, good times and hard times. We've all lost parents and are concerned about those who are still with us.
For forty years we've charged into this weekend and had a great time just being together. Competition has always been important. Early on we played "touch" football, basketball and water polo; somewhere along the line we transitioned into golf. Usually we're fired up and live in the moment for the whole extended weekend.
Things were a little different this year. Instead of mentally reverting to the youngsters we were when we met, we've been cornered by reality. George can't loosen up in the morning; Mark suggests yoga classes like the ones he takes to help this. Nobody's short term memory is what it used to be; Neil swears by fish-free Algal-900 DHA for it. Steve's been thinking about his own end of life and has his final resting place planned; my wife and I have been thinking about those arrangements, too.
We usually only see each other on this weekend, so we have time-lapse views of each other's lives devoid of day to day clutter. Because of the way we fast-forward through life together, it seems like yesterday that we had a sense of indestructibility and boundless futures. But a heart attack, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, macular degeneration, cancer and the deaths of siblings have demolished the illusion of invincibility.
The end of this life is eventually, unavoidably coming. The question is "Then what?" My wife Lisa and I will cross into paradise and earthly difficulties will evaporate. Only God and my friends know what's truly in their hearts and what's in store for them.
Christianity lets us see beyond the grave. Its optimism and happy anticipation of the future - even after death - is a lifeline to the hereafter that's disregarded by far too many people.
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Entry closes on 7/31/10.
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Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Maz's Miracle
It was an amazing thing. Mantle, Maris, Berra and all the other Yankees were on defense in the bottom of the ninth in the seventh game of the World Series. The game was tied 9-9 when Ralph Terry delivered a slider to Pittsburgh's Bill Mazeroski, which Maz smacked over the left field wall to win the game. It's the only time the World Series has been decided by a walk-off home run ("walk-off" means the game ends with the hit and the players walk off the field).
As recounted by John Moody in The Wall Street Journal, Pirates outfielder Gino Cimoli recalled they were "just a bunch of ordinary guys" who slew the invincible Yankees. Pittsburgh had come from behind to clinch the pennant by winning 30 games in the last inning. It was nerve-wracking: "(Manager Danny) Murtaugh had a bum stomach and couldn't stand to watch the ninth in the dugout. He'd go back to the locker room and drink Maalox."
They won the Series and it's celebrated every year. Moody writes, "each October 13th, often in stinging sleet, a recording of the broadcast of that game is played in front of the last remnant of the Forbes Field wall still standing." Hundreds of fans gather to celebrate the event and savor the moment - at exactly 3:36 PM - when Maz knocks it out of the park again.
Today Pittsburgh is a sparkling modern city. But in 1960 it was a grimy steel town with sooty air and polluted rivers. It hadn't changed much since "O. Henry called it the "low-downdest hole" he had ever seen and its inhabitants as "the most ignorant, ill-bred, contemptible, boorish, degraded, insulting, sordid, vile, foul-mouthed, indecent, profane, drunken, dirty, mean and depraved." You didn't have to coax O. Henry to tell you what he really thought.
The city's renewal saw mills close and jobs disappear. Forbes Field was demolished and the Pirates play in a park on the banks of the Allegheny River. The waters are clean, the air breathable and you can run your finger over an exposed surface without getting a black film on it.
Maz's miracle is a colorful metaphor for what Christians experience. Whether we have an "Aha!" moment where we find faith instantly or come to it gradually through seeking, it's a defining event in our lives. For Pittsburghers that's what Mazeroski's home run was: an unforgettable shining moment in a depressing, declining city on the verge of transformational renewal.
Tough times followed, but memories of the miracle remained.
Isn't this like our faith? We experience a personal miracle when we find Jesus and realize eternity is ours. When tough times come the inspiration stays with us and helps bring us to a clear, bright future. Like the fans every October 13th we celebrate Jesus's miracle, but unlike them the resurrection is remembered by Christians 24/7/365.
Maz's miracle is a great story that coincided with Pittsburgh's impending rebirth. But the only rebirth and redemption that counts comes from Christ.
"The Greatest Home Run Ever" can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=ix848GU0gNo&NR=1
To add or remove an address from the Christian Standpoint mailing list, which provides a link to the weekly post, please send a email to cwgalaska@triadpress.us
As recounted by John Moody in The Wall Street Journal, Pirates outfielder Gino Cimoli recalled they were "just a bunch of ordinary guys" who slew the invincible Yankees. Pittsburgh had come from behind to clinch the pennant by winning 30 games in the last inning. It was nerve-wracking: "(Manager Danny) Murtaugh had a bum stomach and couldn't stand to watch the ninth in the dugout. He'd go back to the locker room and drink Maalox."
They won the Series and it's celebrated every year. Moody writes, "each October 13th, often in stinging sleet, a recording of the broadcast of that game is played in front of the last remnant of the Forbes Field wall still standing." Hundreds of fans gather to celebrate the event and savor the moment - at exactly 3:36 PM - when Maz knocks it out of the park again.
Today Pittsburgh is a sparkling modern city. But in 1960 it was a grimy steel town with sooty air and polluted rivers. It hadn't changed much since "O. Henry called it the "low-downdest hole" he had ever seen and its inhabitants as "the most ignorant, ill-bred, contemptible, boorish, degraded, insulting, sordid, vile, foul-mouthed, indecent, profane, drunken, dirty, mean and depraved." You didn't have to coax O. Henry to tell you what he really thought.
The city's renewal saw mills close and jobs disappear. Forbes Field was demolished and the Pirates play in a park on the banks of the Allegheny River. The waters are clean, the air breathable and you can run your finger over an exposed surface without getting a black film on it.
Maz's miracle is a colorful metaphor for what Christians experience. Whether we have an "Aha!" moment where we find faith instantly or come to it gradually through seeking, it's a defining event in our lives. For Pittsburghers that's what Mazeroski's home run was: an unforgettable shining moment in a depressing, declining city on the verge of transformational renewal.
Tough times followed, but memories of the miracle remained.
Isn't this like our faith? We experience a personal miracle when we find Jesus and realize eternity is ours. When tough times come the inspiration stays with us and helps bring us to a clear, bright future. Like the fans every October 13th we celebrate Jesus's miracle, but unlike them the resurrection is remembered by Christians 24/7/365.
Maz's miracle is a great story that coincided with Pittsburgh's impending rebirth. But the only rebirth and redemption that counts comes from Christ.
"The Greatest Home Run Ever" can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=ix848GU0gNo&NR=1
To add or remove an address from the Christian Standpoint mailing list, which provides a link to the weekly post, please send a email to cwgalaska@triadpress.us
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
The Dunking Dinka
Southern Sudan is an arid land of endless summer and sparse vegetation. The Dinka people who live here are nomads who raise cattle and periodically move to better grazing areas. The cattle, with two-foot long horns that rise straight up, are their lifeblood and are protected by male tribe members who sometimes use spears to fend off lions.
His name in the Dinka language means "special blessing" and was given to him because of his mother's earlier miscarriages. He said he was born in 1963 although no documentation exists. Descended from nobility, he lived a comfortable life and was able to afford a dowry of 80 cows for his wife's hand. The Dinka are a tall, lean people and his family was, too: Dad and Sis were 6'8" while Mom was 6'10". Even compared to them he was tall at seven feet seven inches.
His cousin in Khartoum suggested he try basketball. Disregarding his father's opinion that the sport wasn't appropriate work, he joined a police team despite having a congenetically clawed right hand. When someone suggested he dunk he took one step, slammed the ball and hurt his teeth on the way down. He was eventually spotted by an American coach, played college ball and became a player in the NBA for 10 seasons.
Manute Bol left for the states in 1983, the same year the Arab government implemented Sharia, or Islamic Law. The cultural animosities between the Muslim leaders and the Christian Dinkas intensified with the implementation of a jihad, or holy war. The oppression in Darfur is a result of this.
Bol's story was told after his death last month. The gangly African was a committed Christian who spent his money trying to help Sudanese refugees. As recounted by Jon A. Shields in The Wall Street Journal, "Most NBA cats go broke on cars, jewelry and groupies. Manute Bol went broke building hospitals." After his retirement from basketball he made money to give away by becoming an absurd clown posing as a jockey and hockey player; he once boxed William "Refrigerator" Perry, the massive former Chicago Bears lineman. Through it all he maintained his legendary sense of humor.
Bol's Christian charity cost him his life. He died from a painful skin disease contracted while doing relief work in Sudan. But, as Shields put it, the "Christianity exemplified by Bol is rarely understood by sports journalists. For all its interest in the intimate details of players' lives, the media has long been tone deaf to the way devout Christianity profoundly shapes some of them."
"Obituary titles for Bol, for example, described him as a humanitarian rather than a Christian. The remarkable charity and personal character of other NBA players, including David Robinson, A.C. Green and Dwight Howard, are almost never explicitly connected to their own intense Christian faith. They are simply good guys."
The world will miss Manute Bol, the dedicated Christian.
To add or remove an address from the Christian Standpoint mailing list, which provides a link to the weekly post, please send an email to cwgalaska@triadpress.us
His name in the Dinka language means "special blessing" and was given to him because of his mother's earlier miscarriages. He said he was born in 1963 although no documentation exists. Descended from nobility, he lived a comfortable life and was able to afford a dowry of 80 cows for his wife's hand. The Dinka are a tall, lean people and his family was, too: Dad and Sis were 6'8" while Mom was 6'10". Even compared to them he was tall at seven feet seven inches.
His cousin in Khartoum suggested he try basketball. Disregarding his father's opinion that the sport wasn't appropriate work, he joined a police team despite having a congenetically clawed right hand. When someone suggested he dunk he took one step, slammed the ball and hurt his teeth on the way down. He was eventually spotted by an American coach, played college ball and became a player in the NBA for 10 seasons.
Manute Bol left for the states in 1983, the same year the Arab government implemented Sharia, or Islamic Law. The cultural animosities between the Muslim leaders and the Christian Dinkas intensified with the implementation of a jihad, or holy war. The oppression in Darfur is a result of this.
Bol's story was told after his death last month. The gangly African was a committed Christian who spent his money trying to help Sudanese refugees. As recounted by Jon A. Shields in The Wall Street Journal, "Most NBA cats go broke on cars, jewelry and groupies. Manute Bol went broke building hospitals." After his retirement from basketball he made money to give away by becoming an absurd clown posing as a jockey and hockey player; he once boxed William "Refrigerator" Perry, the massive former Chicago Bears lineman. Through it all he maintained his legendary sense of humor.
Bol's Christian charity cost him his life. He died from a painful skin disease contracted while doing relief work in Sudan. But, as Shields put it, the "Christianity exemplified by Bol is rarely understood by sports journalists. For all its interest in the intimate details of players' lives, the media has long been tone deaf to the way devout Christianity profoundly shapes some of them."
"Obituary titles for Bol, for example, described him as a humanitarian rather than a Christian. The remarkable charity and personal character of other NBA players, including David Robinson, A.C. Green and Dwight Howard, are almost never explicitly connected to their own intense Christian faith. They are simply good guys."
The world will miss Manute Bol, the dedicated Christian.
To add or remove an address from the Christian Standpoint mailing list, which provides a link to the weekly post, please send an email to cwgalaska@triadpress.us
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Pearls Before Swine
Jesus said "do not throw your pearls before swine or they will trample them under their feet." Pigs were contemptible because they were ritually unclean and anyone touching them was unfit for temple worship. Jesus's metaphor taught the futility of trying to spread the word to those who will never accept it.
Stephan Pastis, who began his cartooning career doodling in law school classes, draws a syndicated comic strip called "Pearls Before Swine." Its unique features include the injection of the artist himself as a character (smoking a cigarette although he doesn't smoke in real life) and collusion with other comics.
In one strip Pastis is on a phone call from Jeff Keane, who does "Family Circus." Keane complains that one of his characters is getting hit with sunflower seeds and Pastis is mystified. But in the final panel two "Pearls" characters are looking down past the panel's border. One says "Bet you can't hit him in the ear." To which the other responds, "Watch me." In Keane's comic Mom is shown sweeping, glowering at her son Billy and asking "Who threw sunflower seeds all over this floor?'
The strip's name isn't faithful to its biblical source. Its main character is "Rat," who is self-absorbed, cynical, megalomaniacal, insensitive, insulting, condescending, sarcastic and smarter than the other main character, "Pig." Likeable but hopelessly naive, Pig routinely talks to inanimate objects, eats pork products like corn dogs, and is the unreceptive recipient of Rat's nuggets of "truth."
While Jesus talked about believers speaking of God to unhearing swine, Rat speaks of secularity to the clueless Pig. In one strip Rat offered a "pearl" in the form of a letter:
"Dear life...
I am writing you to express my dissatisfaction.
First, I didn't ask to be here. You put me here.
That started us off on a bad foot.
Given that rocky start, I'd think you'd strive to be a good host.
But no. You fill this place with unpleasant surprises.
As if that's not enough, at some point I apparently cease to exist, in a manner that is most likely shocking, painful and tragic.
Can you say "rip off?"
Please provide a refund."
Then he turns to Pig, of all people, and asks "WHERE DOES ONE SEND THESE?"
For unbelievers it's great black humor because it's a widespread sentiment with no answer.
We all have the same questions but secularists have no hopeful answers. No answers at all, in fact. But Christians know they're in an imperfect world where we're called to act in a humane, caring way with faith in a God who will ultimately remove us from these trials and provide a peaceful eternity.
And unlike Rat, Christians know who to bring their concerns to. While hapless Pig is supposed to be the naive character, it's Rat who cluelessly misses the boat on the biggest question in life.
To add or remove an address from the Christian Standpoint mailing list, which provides a link to the weekly post, please send an email to cwgalaska@comcast.net.
Stephan Pastis, who began his cartooning career doodling in law school classes, draws a syndicated comic strip called "Pearls Before Swine." Its unique features include the injection of the artist himself as a character (smoking a cigarette although he doesn't smoke in real life) and collusion with other comics.
In one strip Pastis is on a phone call from Jeff Keane, who does "Family Circus." Keane complains that one of his characters is getting hit with sunflower seeds and Pastis is mystified. But in the final panel two "Pearls" characters are looking down past the panel's border. One says "Bet you can't hit him in the ear." To which the other responds, "Watch me." In Keane's comic Mom is shown sweeping, glowering at her son Billy and asking "Who threw sunflower seeds all over this floor?'
The strip's name isn't faithful to its biblical source. Its main character is "Rat," who is self-absorbed, cynical, megalomaniacal, insensitive, insulting, condescending, sarcastic and smarter than the other main character, "Pig." Likeable but hopelessly naive, Pig routinely talks to inanimate objects, eats pork products like corn dogs, and is the unreceptive recipient of Rat's nuggets of "truth."
While Jesus talked about believers speaking of God to unhearing swine, Rat speaks of secularity to the clueless Pig. In one strip Rat offered a "pearl" in the form of a letter:
"Dear life...
I am writing you to express my dissatisfaction.
First, I didn't ask to be here. You put me here.
That started us off on a bad foot.
Given that rocky start, I'd think you'd strive to be a good host.
But no. You fill this place with unpleasant surprises.
As if that's not enough, at some point I apparently cease to exist, in a manner that is most likely shocking, painful and tragic.
Can you say "rip off?"
Please provide a refund."
Then he turns to Pig, of all people, and asks "WHERE DOES ONE SEND THESE?"
For unbelievers it's great black humor because it's a widespread sentiment with no answer.
We all have the same questions but secularists have no hopeful answers. No answers at all, in fact. But Christians know they're in an imperfect world where we're called to act in a humane, caring way with faith in a God who will ultimately remove us from these trials and provide a peaceful eternity.
And unlike Rat, Christians know who to bring their concerns to. While hapless Pig is supposed to be the naive character, it's Rat who cluelessly misses the boat on the biggest question in life.
To add or remove an address from the Christian Standpoint mailing list, which provides a link to the weekly post, please send an email to cwgalaska@comcast.net.
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