War

Recently I was present at an impersonation of a man by the name of A. L. Hess. Mr Hess was one of the key persons who founded the town of Hesston, and of the name of the street on which I live. This presentation was very interesting to say the least, and it gave us a very good picture of who this man was and what he did for this community.

A. L. Hess was not a literary man, but he did write a few poems during his busy life. They were mostly poems about things that happened in his personal life and experience. There are only a few copies of these poems, one of which came into the possession of the presenter we heard. I want to share only one here that carries a lot of meaning. It is on war, and the call to peace. It is my recollection that this poem was written at the close of the civil war. By the way, the initials in his name, A. L., stand for Abraham Lincoln.

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War
Inventive man has fashioned great machines
That speed across the earth and cleave the air
They spew their breath of fire and bursting bomb
And carry their destruction everywhere.

Inventive man has found a better way
To deal out death and suffering, grief and woe
Inventive man has found a surer way
To deal his fellow man a crushing blow.

Oh master mind when will you learn to love
When will you learn more merciful to be
When will you seek to emulate a God
Whose dealings have been merciful with thee?

Why are your God-given talents all atuned
To rend and tear, to kill and to destroy?
Resourceful man when will you find a way
To fill this world with happiness and joy?

The dove of Peace lies broken in the dust
A war to end all wars is but a dream
The interval between that men call peace
Is but a prop on which the nations lean.

A time to breathe, a resting spell
Then once again we hear the cannon's roar
The measured tread of soldiers' marching feet
A sight this world has witnessed o'er and o'er.

A. L. Hess

Jeanette - An Incredible Story

This incredible story about a woman in Haiti named Jeanette was seen last evening on NBC news. You can find a video of the story on MSNBC.com entitled, "Rescue offers hope amid Haiti's heartbreak," or turn to the web address below. This woman who was trapped in the rubble and unable to move for 6 days comes out singing. How incredible is that? Her song had to do with not being afraid of death. How incredible is that? My prayer for the Haitian people is still, "Lord, listen to your children praying."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/34926783#34926783

I remain

Pilgrim on the way

Haiti

One wants to write and comment on the situation in Haiti, but there just aren't words one can say in response to this tragedy. I just want to share here the refrain and one verse from the song, "Lord, listen to your children praying." Praying is all I can do and that is all that most folks in this ravaged country can do.

"Lord, listen to Your children praying,
Lord, send Your spirit in this place;
Lord, listen to Your children praying,
Send us love, send us power, send us grace!

Something's gonna happen
Like the world has never known
When the people of the Lord
Get down to pray.
A door's gonna swing open,
And the walls come a tumblin' down,
When the people of the Lord
Get down to pray.
O when the people of the Lord,
O the people of the Lord,
When the people of the Lord
Get down to pray.

"All the people sang:
Lord, listen to Your children praying,
Lord, send Your spirit in this place;
Lord, listen to Your children praying,
Send us love, send us power, send us grace!

Two Kingdoms

A number of years ago I drew a chart with which I was trying to show the difference between God's kingdom and the kingdom of this world. I no longer have one of those around, but I often wish I had. Sometimes a simple chart is easier to read than a lot of verbal explanation.

There really is no simple way to describe either kingdom. Concerning the Kingdom of God, Jesus said: "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you." At His trial, Jesus said to Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place." In the book of Romans God's kingdom is described thus: "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." The kingdom of the world is best described by just reading or hearing the news. The kingdom of the world is referred to in Scripture as all that opposes God and His kingdom, and which is controlled by Satan himself, and which is set on destroying all who are subjects of God's kingdom.

And so just living here on earth one becomes aware of what is going on in the world's kingdom(s). What's going on in God's kingdom is best determined by what's going on the lives of God's people. That would not necessarily be the church, as "church" and "kingdom of God" are not synonyms as many portray. Those who are members of God's kingdom are those who have committed their lives to following the King of this kingdom, Jesus, no matter what comes. They are those who seek to pattern their lives after Jesus' teachings and example. These people may be a part of the "church" or they may not. Regrettably we cannot automatically identify church members as kingdom members. Likewise we cannot rule out people who are following Christ and not members of a local body of believers as members of God's kingdom. Am I making sense?

In other words when I want to know what's going on in God's kingdom I simply need to look for what dedicated followers of Jesus are doing. And there are many, many good things happening in the lives of those people. I will not name those for you but simply ask you to look around at what you can see, in your church, other churches, or simply in the lives of people who are living Christ-like lives.

The words of Revelation 11:15 tell us what the end of these two kingdoms will be: "The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever." Let us all continue to live in the NOW of God's kingdom as we wait for the NOT YET of God's kingdom that is to come. "May thy kingdom come, may thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

Pilgrim on the way

Eventful Day

Yesterday, January 11, was certainly an eventful day in the news. Last week the book, Game Change, found it's way into the news some, but yesterday the news media had their fun with this book.

Supposedly it contains some "juicy" news about a number of politicians who participated in some way in last year's national election. One of the things that came out in this book was a statement made by Senator Harry Reid. Reid was quoted as making what has been deemed as a racial remark about the then candidate for president, Barack Obama. This prompted an apology by Reid and an acceptance of the apology by President Obama. There evidently are stories about a number of other persons that have triggered a lot of flap among the news people. I guess that's what these people like to do. But after I hear their initial flip flap, I'm through listening. I just hope that whatever comes of it all will not hurt those involved anymore than they already have been.

Another event in the news yesterday was the confession by ex-baseball player, Mark McGwire. For a number of years McGwire has denied using steroids while playing in the major leagues, including 1998 when he and Sammy Sosa competed for the most home runs hit in a year. McGwire set the record when he hit 70 home runs, and I think Sosa's final number was 66. Sosa had hit 60 or more three years in a row, and now the sports writers are calling for Sosa to 'fess up too. He continues to deny using steroids at any time. Since I'm a sports fan, and particularly a Chicago Cub fan for whom Sosa played, this story was of interest to me. I guess the end result of steroid use in the majors is still to be determined. Some high profile players are still denying the use of steroids while evidence is present that conflicts with that, and other high profile players have come forward and admitted using these drugs and are still playing. That's that story.

There were other stories in the news yesterday that made it an eventful day, such as that of Sarah Palin being hired by FOX news. The political bias of the news networks is very obvious most of the time. Some try to remain politically neutral but sometimes a bias can be seen anyway.

While I walk the paths of this world and seek to keep informed about the events here, I'm first and foremost a citizen of God's kingdom and my deepest interest is in what is happening there. Perhaps I'll do a blog soon about that. I'm just a

Pilgrim on the way

Behalt!

The picture here is a small cut from a very large cyclorama done by a man named Heinz Gaugel. He bagan this 10' x 265' circular mural in 1978 and finished it in 1992, eight years before his death in 2000. You can find the story that was done on this cyclorama here.

This cyclorama is a pictorial depiction of the development of the Anabaptist faith through the centuries. Of course not all Anabaptists (rebaptizers) came from the Amish, as pictured here in this cut My ancestors were Amish/Mennonite, but I traced my wife's ancestors back to the 16th century and found them to be Amish who came from Switzerland.

I often wish I knew more about the faith of my ancestors, and of the Amish of that early era of history. About the only objective thing I know is that my paternal great grandfather, Christian C. King, was a minister in the Amish Mennonite Church. I know also that somehow, someway, the faith I learned in my home was passed down from generation to generation which has given me the opportunity to learn about the Christian faith and make it my own. I desire that for all my descendants, and in our home we tried to provide an atmosphere where that could happen.

I do not know specifically what part(s) of the Anabaptist faith has been retained by my descendants. What I do know is that our children all have claimed the Christian faith as their own and have developed that through the years. Theirs is the responsibility to pass that on to their descendants, and to my knowledge they have been faithful in doing that. I would hope that this would continue as further generations come and go.

Many fear that Anabaptism per se is passing away, even in our churches which claim to hold the Anabaptist faith. I see some of that perhaps, but I do not see Anabaptist teachings totally disappearing from Mennonite Church USA churches. At least I would hope that would not be the case. I still believe that the true teachings of the early Anabaptists were basic truths of the Scripture and that they should not be lost to the church for any reason. I seek always to conform my life to the teachings of Jesus first of all and believe that of all the doctrines, teachings and traditions out there, Anabaptism is the one I will always seek to adhere to.

Those are some of my thoughts for today. I welcome any response you readers may have to share. I continue to press on as

Pilgrim on the way

Third Way Cafe

I invite you my readers to check out the new website I have included in my blog list called Third Way Cafe. This web site has been in existence for many years, but has been continually updated to stay relevant. You might also want to check out the web site listed there for Hesston Mennonite Church, which happens to be the church we attend. This web site is still a bit in construction, but has enough now to be quite informative. You might also want to check our this site.

Outside of the above suggestions, I just have this to say for all you midwesterners, STAY WARM!!! The temperature here tonight is predicted to be about 4-5 below zero! And the NW wind is still blowing. WOW! I'm told it hasn't been this cold in Kansas for years. Hopefully the prediction for next week holds, as they're saying 46 degrees by next Thursday. So the admonition is that if you don't HAVE to go out tonight, don't.

That's all for this post. Perhaps I'll get inspired to do a more "meaty" one in the near future.

Pilgrim on the way

Help!

Well it's 2010 this morning and it just seems like any other morning, and I guess it really is. Or is it? There used to be something magical about the New Year's dawn, but not so much any more. O, we need to get used to using 2010 instead of 2009, and perhaps a new way to say "2010" and remember to put up our new calendars but otherwise its just another day. But that isn't really what I wanted to write about this morning.

Something has happened to my blog spot and I can't seem to find out how to correct it, so I'm asking you techies for help. First of all, the format at the top of this post has changed. Among other things I can no longer choose the font size and type I want. Also, and perhaps the one I dislike the most, is that I cannot upload pictures. After choosing the pic I want and uploading it, the picture shows but when I click "Done" the picture does not transfer to my post, but rather all the programming gobbledygook appears. I've tried a number of things and there seems to be no answer for the problem. Now not being able to post pictures is not "the end of the world," but it is something which I like to do as I feel it enhances what I want to say.

I have some options I am considering. One, quit blogging. I have done this for awhile and often anymore it seems I can't get inspired to do a post for some time. Two, try another way to blog, such as Twitter, My Space, etc., but in looking at those sites I find that they are probably "out of my league" as far as understanding all the lingo etc. Third, blog w/o uploading pictures and use the font I'm given. I really don't like any of the above options, so I'm looking for help in solving this problem. Anyone else ever have this issue to deal with?

I guess that's all for now. I would appreciate any help anyone can give me. Until then I remain

Pilgrim on the Way