What Good is a King?

Since we don’t have kings in the good ole US of A, perhaps you, like me, have wondered, “What good is a king anyway?” Wikipedia describes a king as “a man who rules a country because of inheritance and usually comes to power when one of his parents dies.” For most of recorded history, much of the world, both civilized and uncivilized, have been ruled by kings. Nations have been led into war by valiant nobles and countries have been guided through times of peace and prosperity all under the direction of monarchs. In the book of Proverbs, the behavior of the king determines how the nation fares… If a king judges the poor with fairness, his throne will be established forever. Prov. 29:14; or … By justice a king gives a country stability, but kings who are greedy for bribes tear it down. Prov. 29:4.

"Good King Wenceslas" is a less popular Christmas carol about a king who goes out to give charity to the poor on the Feast of Stephen (observed the day after Christmas). While the king is traveling with his servant, his servant grows cold and wants to give up and return home. Wenceslas urges him to continue and to follow in the king’s footsteps. As the king takes the lead against the bitter cold, the servant’s feet are miraculously warmed as he walks in the king’s footsteps. This carol is based on the life of the historical Saint Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia (907–935), known as the patron saint of the people of the Czech Republic.
Read below the lines of the song…

Good King Wenceslas looked out,
On the Feast of Stephen,
When the snow lay round about,
Deep and crisp and even;
Brightly shone the moon that night,
Tho' the frost was cruel,
When a poor man came in sight,
Gath'ring winter fuel.

"Hither, page, and stand by me,
If thou know'st it, telling,
Yonder peasant, who is he?
Where and what his dwelling?"

"Sire, he lives a good league hence,
Underneath the mountain;
Right against the forest fence,
By Saint Agnes' fountain."

"Bring me flesh, and bring me wine,
Bring me pine logs hither:
Thou and I will see him dine,
When we bear them thither."
Page and monarch, forth they went,
Forth they went together;
Thro' the rude wind's wild lament
And the bitter weather.

"Sire, the night is darker now,
And the wind blows stronger;
Fails my heart, I know not how,
I can go no longer."
Mark my footsteps, good my page;
Tread thou in them boldly:
Thou shalt find the winter's rage
Freeze thy blood less coldly."

In his master's steps he trod,
Where the snow lay dinted;
Heat was in the very sod
Which the saint had printed.
Therefore, Christian men, be sure,
Wealth or rank possessing,
Ye who now will bless the poor,
Shall yourselves find blessing.

Many St. Luke’s employees and units have blessed others this year with their generosity. Whether it was exceeding the goal during the United Way campaign or the recent gifts of toys, clothes, merchandise and gift cards to the families of St. Luke’s with Love, the employees of St. Luke’s have found truth in the words of the king who said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive”. May the blessings of the Christmas season and the joy of giving to others fill you with love and peace amidst the hustle and bustle of the holidays.

Tunesmith

No matter what your age, most of us have a favorite song, group or genre of music. It may be a song that was popular in our youth. They call them ‘oldies’ or ‘golden oldies’ and that can make their listeners feel old and out of touch with music popular today. Maybe it’s a song that is played on the top 40 list of a local radio station or on MTV or VH1. This reference may also make you feel like you’re a little out of touch with ‘modern music’ because you’re still shopping for CDs (I won’t even mention records here because it makes you feel like your grandparents when they talk about their 78’s. If I’ve totally lost you, just Google ‘78s’ on your iPhone or Droid to get educated!) If you’re really hip (sigh, another dated reference…), you probably have some kind of MP3 player or iPod that you have downloaded your cassettes and CDs to listen to while you walk or bike on the Greenbelt. But today’s avant-garde cyber media junkies hold entire libraries of audio and video in the hands disguised as a regular looking cell phone. Today’s audiophile doesn’t even listen to the radio, (see Pandora or even more emergent… see Jango).

Music is all around us… we hear it in the stores when we shop and if you listen carefully, even in elevators when we ride them at St. Luke’s. Patients bring in their media players to listen to their own style of music or to watch movies. Music can be used to motivate us when we are exercising or settle us down when we want to relax. Walk through downtown Boise or in the mall and you’re bound to see all ages of people with ear buds (miniature earphones) hanging out of their ears. Music is ubiquitous (meaning it is everywhere we look!) in our culture and culture wars have been waged over differing styles (and volumes) of music.

Depending on your age and musical interests, your perspective on music varies. If you think of Alice Cooper and Ted Nugent as heavy-duty metal rockers, you’ll be interested to know that Alice is now 62 years old and plays more golf than music and Ted (also 62) is a right-wing survivalist and 2nd amendment advocate. No matter who you pick from the past, today’s emergent music scene continues to drastically evolve by its inherent creativity as well as its innate fear of being seen as ‘your father’s Oldsmobile’.

Does any music really last forever? Is there such a thing as a classic for all time? Music that endures from generation to generation? Maybe a Christmas Carol or Happy Birthday??? Songs, bands and styles of music seem to fade as quickly as the next fad appears, only to be kept alive by its aficionados. But one songwriter has written songs that are definitely oldies but may also be considered classics and he’s not yet been parodied like Burt Bacharach in all three Austin Powers movies. Jimmy Webb is best known for his songs about cities. Cities you may say, how can these be considered even popular, much less classics? He didn’t write that overused ‘New York, New York’ song you hear after every Yankees' win, did he? No, but I’ll wager that even the most ardent, emergent, music consumer has heard the following classics. ‘By the Time I get to Phoenix’ was made famous by Glen Campbell’s version in 1967. Likewise, ‘Wichita Lineman’ became another hit in 1968. Campbell had a trifecta with the 1969 hit written by Webb, called, ‘Galveston’. Haven’t heard them? Well you’re one of the few (they’re on YouTube, if you’re interested). Jimmy Webb also wrote ‘Up, Up and Away’ (you know the rest… in my beautiful balloon) for the 5th Dimension.

In my opinion, these songs by Jimmy Webb have stood the test of time and will continue to be covered by artists who appreciate his unique blend of melody and lyrics. Jimmy Webb credits divine inspiration for his song writing abilities. “Sure,” he says, “I could write out hackneyed phrases and clichés, but to write anything meaningful, I have to be in tune with God¹.” The Psalmist used these words to describe the music popular in his day…

Play for Him with the horn section, play for Him with guitars, mandolins and flutes, play for Him with tambourines and dance your pants off! Have the bass player provide a groovy bass line and let the drummer provide a beat with loud, reverberating, cymbals. Everybody that breaths should sing out loud with joy.
(…look it up in Psalm 150 – NHV²)
No matter who or what you like to listen to (Lady Gaga or the Doobie Brothers) and whether you’re high tech (Jango, iPod or Droid), or old school (CD, Vinyl or 8 Track), music punctuates our lives with energy and variety – enjoy His creation of music on your favorite listening device this week.

1. Nigel Bovey’s interview w/ Jimmy Webb in ‘The War Cry’
2. NHV – New Hip Version by BKS

Fear of Flying

Recently I took my first flight in a small plane. I flew from Boise to Missoula, MT. The trip by car through Grangeville is about 365 miles – about 7 hours, but only about 2 ½ hours as the crow flies. The plane I flew in is owned by my brother, who has had his private pilot’s license for about five years. I’ve wanted to fly with him, but I’ve never took the opportunity before now.

Let me first say that I have flown many times during my youth and adult years on various kinds of commercial flights all over the world. During all of these experiences, I’ve never had a fear of flying – I implicitly trust the pilots will make the right decisions regarding my safety. I do however, have a fear of heights… climbing up a 30 foot ladder to replace a fire signal on the side of a building gives me the ‘heebie jeebies’. The anticipation of such a task causes me to sweat and a tight knot develops in the pit of my stomach. I’ve always been able to overcome this fear of heights and complete the task, but it requires an intense exertion of my will and afterwards I need some time to ‘recover’.

As a young boy, I remember being on a plane flying from California to Taiwan and getting a set of TWA pilot wings from the stewardess during the flight. It was exciting looking out my window seat as we took off and landed. I felt fearless as I experienced the physical effects of takeoff and the bump of the plane’s wheels making contact with the runway in a strange new country. As an adult I once experienced flight turbulence so severe that many of my fellow passengers suffered from motion sickness and availed themselves of the air sickness bags provided by the airlines. During the flight we experienced sudden drops of altitude and were required to remain in our seats for the duration of the flight as the flight attendants did their best to help and calm the passengers. Fortunately I didn’t get sick and was able to calm and reassure fearful passengers sitting near to me. “These pilots are experienced and will safely deliver us to our destination,” I assured those whose faces displayed the fear they felt in their hearts.

Fears come in all shapes, sizes and vary in their intensity. While I never had a fear of flying in a commercial flight, I must admit my first trip in a small plane brought me a couple of moments of anxiety. As I climbed into the plane’s cockpit, I immediately noticed how small and confining it felt.

The takeoff was smooth and the plane’s aerodynamic design lifted us effortlessly into the sky. As the ground fell away from my view, a slight uneasiness began to overtake me. The sensation of flying in a small plane was much different than a large one! I could feel every movement – sometimes when a breeze would push the plane, it would turn a little sideways – something an airliner would just ignore.

As we began to gain altitude, I began to get accustomed to the motion of flight. The views during the sky were spectacular – the mountains seemed so close – like you could almost reach out and touch them. As we attempted to fly around a storm front, our path through the mountains was cut off by dark and foreboding clouds, so we made an unscheduled landing in Challis, Idaho. As my brother aligned the plane to the runway, the winds began to buffet the plane as we descended and I felt the fear that I had once seen on the faces of fellow passengers. The ‘heebie jeebies’ gripped me and a tight knot formed suddenly in my stomach. My brother was ‘testing the winds’ by seeing how the plane was reacting to the shifting breezes. As the fear welled up in my body and mind, my thoughts went back to a time when I comforted my youngest son during his first skiing lesson as we rode together on a chairlift. The wind was howling and rocking us and my son experienced a similar fear. That day on the chairlift I comforted his fears with a children’s song we had sang many times at bedtime.

When I am afraid I will trust in you,
I will trust in you, I will trust in you.
When I am afraid I will trust in you,
In God whose word I praise.
(Psalm 56:3-4b)

I closed my eyes and sang those words to myself as we were descended through the winds to the runway. I sought and received from them the comfort I had once offered my son. As I felt the wheels of the plane touch the runway, I smiled to myself at the memory from his childhood years. Where do you find comfort in the midst of fears? I found comfort that day from my fears in the memories of a children’s song.

Do It Anyway

From time to time, we all face discouragement. Whether discouragement takes the place of obstacles or opposition, we can lose heart in the face of discouragement and want to give up. Maybe you’ve been working on your New Year resolutions for a month now and you find you’re not obtaining the results you resolved to achieve – that can be discouraging. One of the outcomes of discouragement is the temptation to give up. You might say to yourself, “I’m never going to make it to my goal; I might as well just give up now”. Not only might you hear that inaudible voice, perhaps there are other things that stand in the way of your success. If there are obstacles and opposition you are facing that deter you from achieving your goals, read on and see how others have dealt with discouragement.
When the people returned to rebuild the wall protecting the city of Jerusalem under the direction of Nehemiah in the fifth century B.C., they faced both obstacles and opposition. The obstacles came in the form of a city whose infrastructure lay in ruins. Nehemiah said to the King he served, “The city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins, and the gates have been burned down." They would need timber to rebuild the gates and the city walls. Where would poor refuges acquire such resources? Not only were there supply obstacles, there was opposition from other rulers who were angry that anyone might be helping Nehemiah and his people.

But Nehemiah carefully planned the process and when he revealed his plan to the refuges, they replied together, “Let’s rebuild the wall.” But their initial enthusiasm was dampened by those who opposed their rebuilding efforts with words of scorn, “What does this bunch of poor, feeble refuges think they are doing? Do they think they can build the wall in a day? Look at those charred stones they are pulling out of the rubbish and using again!" Another voice mocked their efforts by saying that if even a fox walked on the top of that stone wall, it would collapse. They faced hindrances all around and eventually the workers began to complain of being tired and overworked. Just as their enemies were ready to swoop in and defeat them, Nehemiah reminded them not be afraid of their enemies, saying, “Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your friends, your families, and your homes!"

Sometimes we need such a rallying cry as well when we are weary from discouragement. We too need to be reminded of the good task to which we’ve set our mind to. We can give up quickly when we are faced with difficulties and failures. Just like those that rebuilt the wall, we need determination to keep trying. We will always face opposition to completing any good work. In the late 1960s, a poem was written by a man trying to encourage people to keep on going, to stay the course, to keep on keeping on – to press on towards their good goals no matter what others thought. This poem has been around the world in various forms and reminds us to not give up our goals, no matter what obstacles and opposition we face.

The Paradoxical Commandments

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.

Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.

Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.

Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.

Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.

Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.

Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.

Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.

Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.

Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.

Give the world the best you have anyway.

© Copyright Kent M. Keith 1968, renewed 2001
http://www.paradoxicalcommandments.com/
(used with permission)