MEETINGS

My early morning walk.

Down past Coyote Creek.

I see  an older Asian lady dressed very poorly,  walking towards me looking for cans and bottles. I give her the one  I have picked up and she gives me a big smile and says a lot I do not understand but I understand she appreciates this simple gift.

I also meet an old friend Vera,  She is cleaning up by the townhouses.  I stop for a visit.  She wakes up early like I do about 4:30 or 5.  She laughs and says if she sleeps in to 6 she checks her pulse to see if she is still alive.  Even staying up later makes no difference she still wakes up early just like me

Next I hear a voice talking to me from under a bush.  Looking down I see a man sitting on a blanket which was his bed I presumed.  The funny thing was he was talking on his cell phone.  I do not know who was more surprised him or me!

When I arrive back home the black cat is sitting on the driveway waiting patiently.

The meeting at church was stimulating especially trying to puzzle out the reading from Luke 16. A rich man had a manager who was running up huge personal expenses. Sound familiar?  The manager in order to gain friends went to the people who were in debt to his master and lowered the amount that they owed.

Now here is the surprise the master praised the manager!  He used his adversity to prepare for his future.  Shocking! 

Jesus is telling this parable to convey a message. I think that we can learn from the example of other people in our lives, whether they are good people or not so good.  There is always the problem how do we love the unlovable?

In those days one was regarded as righteous if you were wealthy and healthy.  One message is that the manager was called to account for his cheating. The other message is that he was concerned about his future. 

One of the more difficult passages to understand.

We started discussing the meaning of this reading with Pat and Bob and ended up going out for lunch with them.  We have not done this for a long time.  We got into a discussion about the meaning of the story and I think that was what Jesus would wanted his hears to do was to have them discuss and find what the story meant to them.

Dad and I drove over to see the progress Sandra and Randy are making on their new home.  The dogs are happy there but the cats are very upset as cats always are with a move.  Maybe they need Jasmine to carry them around and make them happy.  A good neighborhood for walking.

So an interesting day of meetings!

"So if you're honest in small things
You will be honest in big things."   -The Message by Eugene H. Peterson

Monday the library and Tuesday the dentist!