October 31 two years ago was the day some of the doctors and ICU nurses thought I would die. That was the day when my blood oxygen wouldn't get any better than 93%-- even though they had the ventilator oxygen level cranked up to 100%. (That's a desperation measure. It can't be left that high for more than a few hours because it will cause damage to organs.) Meanwhile, there was no diagnosis of what was wrong with me. That wouldn't come for three more days.

I thank God for your prayers. I thank God for Patty's vigil at the bedside for days that I was not even aware were passing. I thank God for the nurses and respiratory therapists who kept me alive, while the doctors searched for a cause. (On a visit to the hospital a month after my release, Patty introduced me to the nurse who took care of me on that October 31. That was a pretty special moment, for him and for me.)

Since October 31 was the worst day of my entire illness, today is like an anniversary for me. I thank God for the two years of bonus time I have been given.

When something unbelievable happened on the baseball field, Rich Ashburn used to say to his broadcast partner, Harry Kalas: "Hard to believe, Harry."

Rich would say that about bad things that would happen. But to the true Philadelphia sports fan, the Phillies' World Series victory is even harder to believe -- even though we saw it with our own eyes! Are fans of Philadelphia's teams unique? I think so. Here are some excerpts from a great piece, in this morning's New York Times, by a writer who gets it.

By JERÉ LONGMAN

PHILADELPHIA — After 25 years of waiting, Philadelphia finally won another major professional championship with Wednesday’s clinching victory by the Phillies in the World Series. But the drought was so extended that some parched revelers seemed to need an instruction manual on how to celebrate.

“I don’t know what to do!” a man who gave his age as 18 but not his name shouted into a television camera.

Quickly, muscle memory prevailed and tens of thousands of fans rushed into the streets of Philadelphia after the 4-3 victory over Tampa Bay. All around the city and suburbs, fireworks exploded, horns honked, and pots and pans banged as if it were New Year’s Eve. ...

... To long-suffering Rust Belt fans in Cleveland (Browns, 1964) and Buffalo (Bills, 1965), a quarter-century may seem a pittance of time to wait for a championship. And Chicago fans will quickly note that their beloved Cubbies have not won a World Series since 1908. Recently sated Red Sox fans, of course, went 86 years without hoisting a trophy until the magical mystery tour of 2004.

But Cleveland and Buffalo do not have teams in all four major professional sports, so they do not experience the same annual chances at civic failure as the fans of Philadelphia. And Chicago has had the consolation of Michael Jordan’s Bulls and Mike Ditka’s Bears to salve its sporting wounds, while Boston’s pain was tempered by the glories of the Celtics and the Patriots.

Philadelphia has experienced a particular kind of defeat, perhaps the worst kind, where expectations are raised regularly, only to be dashed with gut-wrenching agony. Defeat here is excruciating. The teams have been generally competitive, but each time fans stick their necks out in hope, those necks end up on a sporting guillotine.

Until Wednesday, anyway, when 25 years of heartbreak finally ended in victory.

No city with major league teams in baseball, football, basketball and hockey had waited so long. Friday’s victory parade is expected to draw millions in cathartic relief and merriment as the city commemorates its first championship since the 76ers won the N.B.A. title in 1983.

This city has long viewed success not as a sign of ultimate victory, but as an ominous warning that disaster was just around the corner.

Even though the Phillies had a three-games-to-one lead in the Series at the time, the suspension of Game 5 on Monday during a cold rain revived the queasy portent of misfortune. “Only in Philadelphia” and “Here we go again” were common reactions. Those of a certain age have never quite recovered from the infamous collapse of the 1964 Phillies, who blew a six-and-a-half-game lead with 12 games remaining.

When Game 5 was renewed Wednesday, and the team won its second World Series title in 126 years, no one cared that the franchise had more than 10,000 defeats, the most of any team in all of professional sports. The victory brought civic validation and at least a temporary cessation of the inferiority complex that many find palpable, given Philadelphia’s location between New York and Washington.

At Citizens Bank Park, the 45,000 in attendance seemed to erupt with every pitch. During the postgame celebration, Manager Charlie Manuel thanked the fans for their support and devotion. Some players, including shortstop Jimmy Rollins, sprayed them with Champagne.

“Are they going crazy?” Rollins said to a television interviewer about the citywide reaction. “They better be going crazy. If they weren’t, I’d be out there slapping all of them.” ...

... Fans in Philadelphia have a reputation for boorishness, but they are as undyingly faithful as they are sometimes ill-tempered. The World Series victory, though, will require a kind of emotional readjustment.

“Emotionally, we get into comfort zones,” Joel Fish, the director of the Center for Sports Psychology in Philadelphia, said. “Philadelphia fans are so used to being cautious and cynical that it is going to take a period of transition. In the long term, I think this will leave the average fan liberated and the self-image of the city liberated.”

People were smiling and friendly Thursday in the glow of victory. Perhaps the Series will lift the city’s collective aspiration as well as its mood. Some believe Philadelphia is long overdue to shed its image as a blue-collar, underdog city where the hero of the movie “Rocky” is the patron saint and ambition is restricted by an outdated self-appraisal.

Even with a World Series title, that familiar underdog image may return as soon as the Eagles lose their next game, said Connie Korz, 45, who identified herself as a great granddaughter of Connie Mack, who managed the Philadelphia Athletics to five World Series titles between 1910 and 1930.

“It defines Philadelphia,” Korz said.

And while the city was exultant Wednesday, some cautioned against getting carried away with victory.

“This is Philadelphia,” Ken Krieg, a police officer in the suburb of Havertown, said. “The curse is never really over. They’re toying with us.”

I love it!

THE PHILLIES WIN! THE PHILLIES WIN! THE PHILLIES WIN!



As I watched the final outs last night, I thought of the generations. The last time the Phils won the World Series, my now-28-year old son (who I taught to be a rabid Phillies fan as soon as he was old enough to know what baseball is) was a six-month old, asleep in his room. And, as I watched the game last night, I wore my father's old Phillies cap. It was the second anniversary of his death. Quite a range of emotions.

So I've been going through a few days of being frustrated because I haven't been seeing RESULTS in my work, right? So -- what has been one of the passages over the past few days in the daily lectionary that I use? It's the story of Jonah. And what's the basic dynamic in that story? Jonah is frustrated/angry/resentful because things haven't been going as HE thinks they should.

To Jonah, it's all about him!

But God is making the point: "No. It's not all about you. In fact, it's not about you at all. It's all about me."

"Ok, ok," I say in my prayer, "I get the point. It's not about me. It's about you, and simply doing the work that you give me to do. The results will come, if you decide to give them."

I find that this kind of thing happens to me frequently, while engaging in the faith practice of daily Bible reading. In my prayer, I come to see how God is speaking to me through the Bible.

It doesn't happen all the time, and I certainly can't make it happen. Sometimes it all seems like a waste of time -- for days!

But when I sit with the daily Bible verses, and sit in my prayer, in openness and patience, the Spirit enters in often enough to be significant.

All I can do is to keep to the discipline of the faith practice, open to the gift that may come.

When is it working for you to do your daily Bible reading? Early morning? Noon? At night?

Last week, in suburban Richmond, someone tore down a yard sign advocating the election of Barack Obama, and put in its place a Confederate battle flag. Even the very conservative Richmond Times-Dispatch editorialized against that. I have come to realize that, to many African-Americans, the Confederate battle flag evokes the same fears as the Nazi swastika for Jews. In both cases, they symbolize barbarism and murder. What was done in that suburban Richmond front yard is beyond the pale.

However, that pales in comparison with a display that Reuters reports today:

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – An effigy of U.S. Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin hanging by a noose as part of a Halloween display drew complaints on Monday, but local officials said the homeowner was covered by free speech rights.

A mannequin dressed to resemble the Alaska governor, with her trademark beehive hairdo and glasses, was hung by the neck from the eaves of the home in famously liberal West Hollywood.

On the roof, a mannequin of Republican presidential candidate John McCain, protruded from the chimney surrounded in flames, holding his head as he was apparently burned alive.

"We have been getting some phone calls this morning complaining about it but if (the homeowner) isn't in violation of municipal code we have no reason to cite them," West Hollywood spokeswoman Helen Goss said.

"People have First Amendment rights (to free speech)," Goss said. "I would speculate that if it's part of a Halloween display then its political satire."

Homeowner Chad Michael Morisette told local KCAL-TV the display should be considered Halloween "art" and said his neighbors would probably be more offended by a similar scene invoking Democrat Barack Obama.

"I know if we had done Barack Obama, people would have probably thrown things through our windows," Morisette said. "The image of a hanged black man is a lot more intense than the image of a hanged white woman for our country, the history of our country."

Earlier a cardboard likeness of Obama was strung up from a tree at an Oregon university and an Ohio man who told local media he didn't want to see an African-American running the country hung a ghostly figure bearing an Obama sign from a tree in his yard.

Does all of this scare you as much as it does me? Meanwhile, Reuters also reports today:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Two white supremacist skinheads were arrested in Tennessee over plans to go on a killing spree and eventually shoot Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, court documents showed on Monday. The rest of the article is at http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081027/pl_nm/us_usa_politics_plot_6

That, of course, is chilling.

And all of this violates the the Fifth Commandment, as Luther interprets it in the Small Catechism. Indeed, according to Jesus' radical interpretation of the Commandments in the Sermon on the Mount, each step along the continuum -- from words to symbols to "artistic" displays to planning to committing an actual act -- is equally violent.

THE PHILLIES WIN THE FIRST GAME OF THE WORLD SERIES!!!

I found that out when I fired up the computer, and went to www.cbssportsline -- at 12:30 AM.

You see, I had watched the whole game: Chase Utley's first inning home run, Cole Hamel's masterful pitching through seven innings, the Rays chipping away at the three run lead, the Rays' fans ringing those stupid, tacky cow bells, Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard flaying away helplessly with runners in scoring position, Ryan Madson getting the Rays out 1-2-3 in the 8th inning to set up a save for Brad Lidge, Lidge warning up in the bullpen, about to come in for the ninth inning ...

... and then when I woke up on the couch, the local Fox news was on.

I missed the bottom of the ninth! So, it was off to the computer to find out the final score.

I guess the nap means my sleep deprivation won't be so bad today ...

When I'm Commissioner of Baseball, the games will start at 7:00 PM.

The World Series begins tonight! (Or, as Pogo would call it, "the World Serious.")

Wow, I really date myself when I refer to Pogo, huh? No one younger than 30 would know who Pogo is! In fact, no one younger than 30 remembers when the Phillies were last in the World Serious. Well, that's an exaggeration. But, consider this: the Phillies were in the Series most recently in 1993. Their opponents this year, the Tampa Bay Rays were established five years later!

Have you ever heard someone say, "When I'm king of the world ..." and then the person tells you what he's going to change? I don't have such grandiose notions. But -- when I'm Commissioner of Baseball:

-- Playoff and Series games will begin at 7:00 PM, rather than 8:30, so old guys like me don't stumble around the next day, suffering from sleep deprivation. In fact, at least one game per series will be a day game, so kids can watch.

-- All playoff and Series games will be played on real grass. If a team's home field features plastic grass, tough. Find another field.

-- Regular season records will be more of an advantage during the playoffs. The best two teams in baseball this year? The Angels and the Cubs -- both of which were bounced during the first round by other teams that weren't nearly as good. So, this will be my solution, when I'm baseball commissioner. For the first round of the playoffs, the team with the best record in the league over the entire season will be paired against the playoff team with the worst record AND all the games will be played in the best team's ballpark, to give them total home field advantage.

What will you do, when you're Commissioner of Baseball? Leave a comment!

I'm generally a glass-half-full kind of guy. But there are times when my experiences (what's going on outside of me) or my moods (what's happening inside of me) cause me to be a glass-half-empty person.

Do you know whereof I speak?

If so, one of the prayers appointed for today in the daily prayer book and lectionary, For All The Saints, is helpful. It goes like this:

Father in heaven, God of power and Lord of mercy, from whose fullness we have received, direct our steps in our everyday efforts. May the changing moods of the human heart and the limits which our failings impose on hope never blind us to you, source of every good. Faith gives us the promise of peace and makes known the demands of love. Remove the selfishness that blurs the vision of faith. Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

An unfamiliar sound this morning, when the timed thermostat hit 6:00. The heat came on! 'Tis the season ...

One of the joys of living in Virginia are the changes of the seasons. Spring and Fall are my favorites. Both feature weather that's beautiful and invigorating.

Of course, this Fall is very unusual in the Old Dominion -- because the presidential candidates are actually paying attention to us! For the first time since 1964, the commonwealth is competitive, with candidates' visits, TV ads, the whole bit.

It's motivated me to begin re-reading Doris Kearns Goodwin's masterful book Team of Rivals, which is about the election of 1860, and then the dynamics of those in Lincoln's cabinet, which he formed by including in it his rivals for the presidential nomination! In one passage, Goodwin writes:

"This, then, is a story of Lincoln's political genius revealed through his extraordinary array of personal qualities that enabled him to form friendships with men who had previously opposed him; to repair injured feelings that, left untended, might have escalated into permanent hostility; to assume responsibility for the failures of subordinates; to share credit with ease; and to learn from mistakes. He possessed an acute understanding of the sources of power inherent in the presidency, an unparalleled ability to keep his governing coalition intact, a tough-minded appreciation of the need to protect his presidential prerogatives, and a masterful sense of timing. His success in dealing with the strong egos of the men in his cabinet suggests that in the hands of a truly great politician the qualities we generally associate with decency and morality -- kindness, sensitivity, compassion, honesty, and empathy -- can also be impressive political resources."

I pray that this might describe the president we will elect in a few weeks.

From Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson, of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:

October 16, 2008

Pastoral letter to the ELCA on the U.S. Presidential Election

In the Lutheran community of faith we value both public and private discourse, because we believe God works in vital and redemptive ways with human words. In the closing weeks of a presidential campaign, we share with our neighbors of all faiths high expectation for our public discourse. The words uttered by those seeking office and those voting have power, not only to provide the substance necessary for good decision making, but also to bring hope.

Let us maintain a level of discourse worthy of this important moment in our nation’s history and the pressing issues demanding our attention. Let us focus on the vital issues facing our nation and the world. The ELCA’s social statement, "The Church in Society: A Lutheran Perspective," calls this church to "promote sound, critical, and creative citizenship and public service" and encourages us to join in public deliberations. As we are called also "to contribute toward the upbuilding of the common good," we can express the expectation that the candidates call for an end to personal attacks, and focus on the issues and things that matter to all of us.

With the current financial crisis sweeping the United States and the world, it is too easy to forget those who are most vulnerable, people who live in poverty here at home and abroad. They deserve our attention too, as we prepare to determine this nation’s direction for the next four years. Instead of personal attacks, I appeal to the McCain and Obama campaigns and related message groups to bear in mind and recall for all of us the situations of our sisters and brothers who will suffer the most from our current economic turmoil.

Finally, I call on all of us eligible to vote to exercise faithful civic engagement on November 4. Lutherans acknowledge the instrumental role of government in society, and participation in the electoral process is an example of our affirmation of baptism to "serve all people, following the example of our Lord Jesus" and "to strive for justice and peace in all the earth."

The Rev. Mark S. Hanson
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

It's been 15 years since I cared enough about who won the post-season baseball games to watch until the final out. I was better able to deal with sleep deprivation when I was only 39 years old!

Actually, the night before last, the Phillies looked so bad that I decided to get to bed a little after 11:00. I figured I'd watch to see how they'd fail in the 8th inning, and then turn off the TV. (You see the way a Phillies fan thinks?) Anyway -- so what did they do? They scored four runs, to take the lead! (Two two-run home runs: one by the Flyin' Hawaiian, and one by 40-year old journeyman Matt Stairs! Is this a great game or what?) Then, of course, I had to stay up to watch the rest of the game. Jubilant at the huge win, I was successfully able to crawl into bed without waking Patty at 12:30 AM.

Last night I didn't have to stay up late. I mean, the only game on was the Rays-Red Sox game, and who cares who wins the American League series? (Although it would be nice if Boston could at least be competitive against Tampa Bay, so the Rays wouldn't have such an easy time of it before meeting the Phils in the World Series.) But then, wouldn't you know it? After getting up at about 4:00 AM to take my anti-fungal medication, I couldn't get back to sleep ...

So anyway, if you see me stumbling around in the daylight, be gentle with me.

On September 12, 1971 my parents had just dropped me off to begin my first year in college. I had met my roomate. I started to unpack my steamer trunk. And, buried within the clothes, I discovered a little wall hanging that my parents had placed there. (I still have it!) It was a quote from Louise Garfield Munroe:

Dear God
Be good to me --
The sea is so wide
And my boat is so small.

Well, to quote a frequent call-and-response in an African American worship-style: God is good -- ALL the time! But there certainly are times when that wide sea is rough and stormy, and we are afraid.

Many are particularly anxious during these days of financial turmoil, especially those who are retired or approaching retirement. Many of us have a special need to practice prayer, to remain secure in the hope and confidence that is ours in God.

I think of this stormy-sea passage, from the gospel of Mark:

On that day, when evening had come, [Jesus] said to [the disciples], "Let us go across to the other side." And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" (Mark 4:35-41)

If only Jesus could say to the financial waves threatening our retirement livelihoods: "Peace! Be still!" If only it were that simple. But you're keeping track of the news as well as I am, and you know how complicated this problem is. You know what high-caliber leadership we need, nationally and internationally, to renew peoples' confidence and to bring stability to the financial and credit markets. There is much that is beyond our control, and that's very difficult.

Meanwhile, however, if this is a time of special anxiety, this passage from Mark could well be a passage to pray over. Receive the words of Jesus as addressed to you:

"Peace."

"Be still."

"Why are you afraid?"

Remember: God is good -- ALL the time.

When I was on sabbatical, it took weeks for me to get into a sabbatical frame of mind. It was wonderful to rest, and to relax into the fact that I didn't have a schedule. (This is after I returned from Tanzania, of course.) I did accomplish a great deal. I read a pile of books. But I learned how to resist doing anything because I thought I "should." I simply pulled the book off the shelf that was calling to me on that particular day. That openness is probably why the time was so Spirit-drenched.

And because of that sabbatical learning, I'm better able to receive the refreshment of a day, like today, that is unscheduled. For me, today is the first day in weeks without a schedule. I'm better at resisting the pressure to create an artificial schedule for myself, out of a compulsion to measure what I've accomplished. This allows for sabbath time, a gift from God.

Last night was a great prelude to a day of sabbath time. The Phillies won the second game of their best-of-five series against Milwaukee, beating C.C. Sabathia, who's been Sandy Koufax-like in his dominance over the past few months. The game started at about 6:15 last night -- and I had a Stephen Ministry meeting at 7:00. Oops: I was a couple of minutes late to the meeting. I couldn't help it. The Phillies scored a run against Sabathia and then loaded the bases with two outs. I had to see what would happen -- which was that "the Flyin' Hawaiian," Shane Victorino, hit a grand slam to make the score 5-1! (Or, as the Phillies Hall of Fame announcer, Harry Kalas, called it, "THAT BABY IS OUTTA HERE! GA-RAND SA-LAM HOME RUN SHANE VIC-TOR-I-NO!)

Well, I made it to the Stephen Ministry meeting, wearing my Phillies cap, of course. I brought them the great good news of the progress of the game. And I put the cap on the table, in case anyone might forget that the game was still on and so couldn't we be a little quick with this meeting?

I got home in time to see the Phillies win, which happened just as the Vice-Presidential debate was beginning. What another entertaining event! Sarah Palin's handlers allowed her to be herself, and Joe Biden can't help but be himself, so it was a lively time. They often smiled at each other's verbal jousts. They had just met each other, but it looked as if they actually liked each other. And what theater! It was the first time in American history that a Vice-Presidential nominee winked at us -- following a saucy toss of her head. And it was the first time in American history that a Vice-Presidential nominee mentioned Union Street in Wilmington, Delaware (where Cappriotti's sells their sensational turkey subs, of course, right down the street from Mrs. Rubino's Italian restaurant). And then Biden mentioned Claymont, Delaware! Wow! When I was in kindergarten at Zion Lutheran Church in Wilmington, we rode the choo choo train to Claymont and back. (It takes all of 10 minutes to get to Claymont. I seem to remember we got ice cream that day, too.) Claymont is the first stop on the commuter line north out of Wilmington, about 10 minutes south of Marcus Hook, PA, on the line to Philadelphia.

Speaking of Philadelphia, did I mention that the Phillies are 2-0 in their playoff series against Milwaukee?