I use an experience I had with a police officer when I was a boy to focus on a fundamental aspect of being a true Christian: being someone who always forgives. We also look at the Lord's Prayer from the Sermon on the Mountain, where Jesus taught us this prayer - which does indeed focus on forgiveness.
Trumpets and cymbals rang out in celebration when the long-awaited Temple of Solomon was opened. I heard and felt the sounds of those instruments when my vision was restored with corneal transplants. It's too bad that many people - like me - have to wait until something this magnificent happens to them before they decide that it is time to give.
I talk about the need to live in a giving way, the impact we can have on children by raising them with faith and a belief in living ethical lives, and the fact that as we proceed through life, God will always be with us. I use a story of a friend of mine and me, along with a Catholic sister from our grammar school coming across John Wayne as a vehicle for delivering this message.
The Israelites traveled through the desert for 40 years, with God providing constant guidance and constant sanctuary. My father was a Marine in the Pacific in World War II. He emerged from that war, where he killed many Japanese soldiers, refusing to be corrupted morally or ethnically by the experience. He then welcomed with joy the news that his daughter would serve as an exchange student in Japan a couple of decades later. We treat all people as our friends - and make sure that all enemies become friends of ours. That is what living in God's sanctuary does for us.
Perhaps the most ignored, critical consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic is the explosion of anxiety disorders and drug/alcohol related problems. We look at developing a spiritual relationship with God as a way of handing off our anxiety, fear, and anger - and being prepared for whatever might happen in the future.
A true, non-hypocritical Christian is one who is willing to care for others, even to the point of taking a risk. Gail, an EMT, was horrifically injured while racing to the scene of an injury accident. Years later, I met her in the chapel of a hospital.
Christians live among humans, but we live in the Kingdom of God. That Kingdom is meant to be full of joy. We don't live simply for some far off promise of an eternal life. God wants us to have fun.
