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“But I tell you the truth:  It is for your own good that I am going away.”  – John 16:7 

“You’re on your own.”  Have you ever heard those words?  Of course, we all have.  I’m reminded of Sammy, the crusty old foreman in the metal shop where I worked during college.   My first day on the job Sammy took me around to the various machines and taught me how to operate each one.  Only, he didn’t exactly teach, he simply demonstrated the procedure – once! – then sort of muttered as he walked away, “you’re on your own.”  After several blunders I finally figured it out, but it surely would have been easier if Sammy had hung around a little longer before leaving me on my own.

One of the great “you’re on your own” stories involved the prophet Elijah who had taken on Elisha as his apprentice.  “When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind,” scripture says, “Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.  Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Stay here; the Lord has sent me to Bethel.’  But Elisha said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.’  So they went down to Bethel.”  Elijah tried the same trick to leave Elisha “on his own” two other times – once in Jericho and another at the river Jordan – but Elisha cleverly clung to his mentor as long as he could until being promised a double portion of Elijah’s spirit; whereupon a chariot of fire separated them and Elijah was swept away to heaven in a whirlwind.  After that, Elisha was left “on his own” for sure.  (Source:  2 Kings 2)

It’s the story of all our lives where our various teachers and mentors – parents, grandparents, teachers, coaches, pastors, bosses – for whom we served as apprentices go away, leaving us on our own.  Yet, as Elisha did with Elijah we try to cling to them as long as we can, not wanting to give up the comfort and safety of their wisdom.

It is only natural that we cling to our teachers and mentors as long as we can, but the time will inevitably come when they are no longer available to lead, guide and advise us.  “But I tell you the truth:  It is for your own good that I am going away,” Jesus said to his disciples as he prepared them to be on their own.  In the same way, Sammy prepared me to operate those machines on my own.  So, we must in turn teach and mentor the next generations in the proper ways – until that moment arrives when we must say to them, just as old Sammy did with me, “you’re on your own.”

“Watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live.”  – Deuteronomy 4:9 

Breakfast is quite a ritual at our house.  It hasn’t always been that way, like when we were raising kids trying to get them off to school, with me running out the door before sunrise headed to the office.  Breakfast back then was chaos at best, a catch-as-catch-can affair.  No longer!  In these later years Tee and I have fallen into a routine with breakfast, a ritual, a leisurely time with newspapers (the old-fashioned paper version) spread out on the table, mugs of fresh coffee sitting in front of us, and a healthy menu that never varies consisting of fresh cup-up fruit, yogurt, an orange, oatmeal or cream-of-wheat for me, and granola for Tee.  Same ritual every day.

The one thing I can say about this little daily ritual is that it has done wonders for our short-term memories.  No, I don’t mean to imply that a diet of fruit, yogurt, and oatmeal is some sort of magic formula for preventing dementia; rather, what I mean is that because of the importance of breakfast as a ritual, whenever we go to the store we seldom forget to buy bananas.  But that is what rituals, routines, and other good habits are supposed to do, isn’t it?  They help us remember.  We celebrate birthdays to remind us of the importance of that person’s life.  We celebrate July 4^th to remind us of our nation’s independence and the freedoms we have.  We celebrate Memorial Day to remember those who sacrificed their lives to maintain that freedom and independence.

Moses wanted to make sure the Israelites did not forget all God had done in leading them out of Egyptian bondage.  “Watch yourselves closely,” he instructed, “so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live.”  The Passover has been celebrated every year since Moses led his people out of Egypt so that no one would ever forget, and so their children would also learn and never forget, about God’s great miracles – an annual ritual.

“There are two ways of remembering,” says Frederick Buechner.  “One is to make an excursion from the living present back into the dead past. . . The other way is to summon the dead past into the living present.”  And it is the latter form of remembering for which we create rituals, so that we may never let those memories slip from our hearts.

“Other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop – a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”  – Matthew 13:8 

While cleaning out my parents’ house many years ago after they had passed away we came across a copy of a letter my dad had written to a judge on behalf of a young man convicted of drug possession.  The young man had once worked for my dad and had been a decent, dependable, hard-working employee.  The obvious intention of the letter was to urge leniency from the judge as my dad believed the boy to be deep down a good person.  “I think he just got mixed up with the wrong crowd,” my dad stated in his plea.

Who among us would not agree that we are all products of the people we hang out with – good or bad?  It is why parents encourage their children to participate in things like Scouts (boys and girls), team sports, music programs, church youth groups, and other positive activities, so they will be exposed to good influences.  After all, if we hang out with smart people we become smarter, with good athletes we become better athletes, with good musicians we sing or play better, or with generally good people we are more inclined to live like they live.  Likewise, hanging out with the wrong crowd will most certainly influence us in negative ways.

For many years now I’ve been meeting with a group of men on Tuesday mornings for the sole purpose of influencing each other in positive ways.  We use our time together to pray, share something about our relationship with God, what we are reading or studying to help us grow in knowledge and spirit, and things we are doing to serve God and mankind.  Thankfully, over time I have become a product of these fine men I hang out with on Tuesday mornings, helping to distance me from the wrong crowds.

Aren’t we all sort of like seeds in a way, in that how well we grow and what and how much we produce depends on the soil in which we are sown?  If the soil is shallow and rocky the roots will not grow, or if the seeds are sown among weeds the plants will get choked out.  Contrast that to the seeds Jesus describes that “fell on good soil where it produced a crop – a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”  That young man, unfortunately, had gotten sown in some bad soil.  But my dad believed that if he were transplanted into good soil that he too would produce a good crop – and I pray he did.

“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”  – Mark 2:27 

Back in the 1950’s and ‘60’s in the small town where I grew up one could hardly buy a loaf of bread or bottle of milk on Sunday, mostly due to “blue laws” that existed back then which prohibited the sale of most consumer goods on Sundays.  But it also seems there were more people back then who actually observed the fourth Commandment by honoring the Sabbath.  Regardless, the town was essentially closed for business that one day a week and people took the day off.

It has been said that no one on his or her death bed ever confessed, “I wish I had spent more time at the office.”  When I hear that I cannot help but think of my former colleague and dear friend Diane, an extraordinarily smart, talented, and ambitious woman who achieved tremendous success, and seemed to have bright future. She was a tireless worker who put in long hours seven days a week.  It always puzzled me, though, that she worked so much, for I held a similar position in the company, achieved comparable success, and also had a promising future, yet I admit I never put in the hours she did.  She and I had many conversations about this, but I remained unsuccessful in convincing her there were more efficient ways to get things done.  Unfortunately, it finally took its toll on her when she suddenly became ill and died shortly thereafter, at way too young an age.  I still grieve when I think of her, feeling somewhat guilty that I was unable to encourage her to cut back her hours and take a break, and teaching her the importance of sabbath time.  Had I done so, I wonder, would she still be among us, and more importantly with her family?  I wish I had convinced her to spend less time at the office.

That fourth Commandment has always been a tricky one, especially in our work ethic western culture, where we mistakenly perceive that God included it in the Ten so that we might take one day off to pay attention to Him.  Partly true I suppose, but mostly God created Sabbath for our benefit, not his.  Jesus finally had to explain it to us plain and simple, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”  When I think back about my small hometown from many years ago, no one seemed to miss buying milk and bread on Sunday – or anything else.  Everyone simply worked six days, then took the seventh day off to rest, relax, and take a deep breath, not to mention those who paused to worship and give thanks to God.  And life went on without missing a beat.

“Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”  – Joshua 1:9 

Did you succumb to the temptation to play the Power Ball lottery last week?  We did – to the extravagant sum of six dollars, three tickets from which we got one measly winning number.  Oh well!  But who could resist the chance to win a billion and a half dollars, regardless that odds were like ten g-zillion to one?  Okay, so what does such a silly act as wasting a few bucks on lottery tickets have to do with being strong and courageous?  Very little actually, except for what my wife so wisely reminded me: “The one sure way to not win,” she said, “is to not be in the game.”

If you have never read Brené Brown’s brilliant bestselling book from a few years back, Daring Greatly, you’re missing a great lesson on the importance of putting ourselves out there, taking a risk, allowing ourselves to be vulnerable.  “We must walk into the arena, whatever it be,” she says, “a new relationship, an important meeting, our creative process, or a difficult family conversation – with courage and the willingness to engage.  Rather than sitting on the sidelines and hurling judgment and advice, we must dare to show up and let ourselves be seen.  This is vulnerability.  This is daring greatly.”  In other words, if you want to win, you’ve got to be in the game.

Following the death of Moses, Joshua was charged with the responsibility of leading the Israelites into the Promised Land.  This required guiding the people across the flood-swollen Jordan River and into battle against the fortified cities of Canaan, not an assignment for the fainthearted.  Be strong and courageous, God reminded Joshua over and over, who in turn encouraged the Israelites; for in order to gain possession of the Promised Land, sitting on the sidelines was not an option.

The same goes for us in our world today.  In order to live abundantly, sitting on the sidelines is not an option.  Rather we must dare to show up and let ourselves be seen, allow ourselves to be vulnerable, to dare greatly.  The same words the Lord spoke to Joshua still speak to us today: “Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”  If you want to have any chance to succeed or be triumphant, you’ve got to step up and be in the game.