Adventure 790: Day 13/Tucson/2023

Judy and I have been married a few months under thirty-four years. We get along pretty well. Among our early compromises as a couple involved religious worship. I was raised Catholic; Judy, Mennonite. These two Christian approaches are as far apart as the MAGA world from the truth. In an effort to find the right path, we decided to meet in the middle and worship as Presbyterians. It's worked out pretty well. I bring this up because while we're here in Tucson, we're attending Northminster Presbyterian, a church full of friendly people who have a heart for social justice and the means to serve the community with a generous outreach program. The place has a nice feeling. Today's sermon was about getting along. The text came from Philippians 4:2-3. It seems that two Godly women, Eoudia and Syntyche, were involved in a ruckus. Paul took the occasion to teach a lesson on how to treat others when there is disagreement. He condemned what he called the carnage of hurt that manifests itself in  disparagement and ridicule. Instead he proclaimed that love is a servant of the will, not a victim of  the emotion. The message is to find a compromise by understanding that we have things in common: First, we have shared existence. Second, we have the shared promise of rebirth. Third, we have the same calling to respect one another and not succumb to the emotional urge to disregard another's humanity. This lesson could be learned by our country's leaders. While it's true there are many things we can disagree on, we should not stoop to being disagreeable. Name calling, dehumanizing, slandering, all of these practices should be discarded. I'd like to see a return to some political barbs that have a little polish as in the case of Morris "Mo" Udall, a Democratic Congressman from Arizona who had a bid for Speaker of the House in the early sixties. He lost. In his consolation speech he said, "I'd like to thank the ninety members who promised to vote for me, and the fifty-eight who actually did." If we could return to that sort of sentiment life would be good, especially today.

A message for all believers: The Gospel does not wipe out our differences. It does, however, insist we view our differences in a charitable fashion. Can I have an Amen?

I heard this Buddha babe sing: Those who are free of resentments will find peace.

Sixty-two and partly cloudy in Tucson today.

My Bunny under knitting under the lights.

Art shot of the day: It doesn't have to be hard.

Judy tending to Ginny's garden.

The silver flashing is effective at keeping the intruders out of the produce.

Ginny uses reclaimed rain to water her plants.