It's WATER DAY for the St. Stephen pre-school children! They're all outside on the playground, wearing their bathing suits! Splashing, spraying, shrieks -- pure glee!

All that fun makes me wonder: why are we grownups too often so serious, so intense, so concerned with our schedules and our list of things to do because if we don't accomplish everything that's on our list the world will simply stop turning?!

Such intensity makes it difficult to receive the opportunities God offers each day, for enjoyment, for pleasure! (We're talking about sabbath time here.)

What will you do today that's FUN?

Today's New York Times reports the moving visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the site of Auschwitz. He is reported to have said:

"In the end, there can only be a dread silence, a silence that itself is a heartfelt cry to God.

"Why, Lord, did you remain silent?" he said, his voice wobbling. "How could you tolerate this?"

God was not absent at Auschwitz. God was suffering with those who were suffering. (That is a consistent witness of Scripture: that God takes the side of the poor, and the suffering.) Concentration camp survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel, in his book, Night, described the scene of camp inmates watching several fellows dangling from the gallows. One inmate asked, "Where is God?" Another answered, "God is there, hanging." The scandal of the cross means that God suffers with us. In the Pope's words, God tolerates evil.

For human beings in the face of such evil, sometimes, there are no words. Sometimes our only response can be silent openness to God.

Well, it's gotten hot and humid right on cue -- for the Memorial Day weekend. This is the traditional beginning of summer. I guess that's because the three months of June, July and August are sandwiched in-between Memorial Day in late May and Labor Day in early September. It all works out neatly, huh?

I pray that you will notice the rhythm of time that God gives to us. Summer often provides opportunities for rest, for sabbath time. Sabbath time is not mindless time. It is time to give thanks to God for God's blessings, and to spend time doing what gives you rest and refreshment. (When someone asks, what kind of work am I allowed to do on Sunday, I say: "Work that you enjoy doing!") Sunday is our weekly day of sabbath time. But there is opportunity for sabbath time during each day, and sometimes you can get away for holiday time (from "holy day"). Time for rest and refreshment is indeed holy time, a gift from God!

We're losing a family from the congregation because of an immigration snafu. The husband, wife, and baby are Canadian. He's been teaching at the College and is an up-and-coming academic star. (She hasn't been able to work professionally because she couldn't get the proper visa.) Now they have to return home because the lawyer they hired and the College let them down, by missing a crucial deadline set by the Immigration Service. Once that deadline is missed, evidently, there's no second chance.

The family has landed on its feet. He'll be on the faculty of a Canadian university, and she'll be able to return to her work. But what a shame that our community will lose them!

I guess it's the price we Americans have to pay, to keep out those dangerous Candadians. (Excuse my sarcasm. The President and Vice President would scold me for my "pre-9/11 mindset.")

With the release of the movie, there's renewed interest in The Da Vinci Code, and renewed interest ina 500 word essay I wrote three years ago entitled, "Corrections and Clarifications to The Da Vinci Code." A number of folks found it to be helpful. If you'd like a copy of the essay, send me an e-mail! pastor@saintstephenlutheran.net

I so much enjoy living in an older neighborhood with lots of mature trees -- which means lots and lots of birds!

Have you ever noticed how joyous the birds are when they are greeting a new day? The bird chorus begins at about 5:30 AM, just before the sun appears. One or two exuberant birds begin as soloists, and soon the whole chorus joins in. "It's a new day! It's a new day!!"

Each day is a wondrous gift from God. The bird chorus sings a witness to that joyous truth!