GEESE AND SHEPHERD SENTINELS

SENTINELS AT WORK, INTERNET

I’d consider our first 2020 outdoor service on the front lawn at church a great success.  Social distancing, face masks and disinfectants were used to facilitate live-stream worshiping in person during this worldwide pandemic.  Our volunteer Shepherd’s Team provides hospitality and security outside the campus every Sunday at worship.  The team name derives from the Biblical shepherds that guarded and defended flocks of sheep during the time that our Good Shepherd walked this earth.  At night the shepherd would guide his flock into a stone pen or cave and then sleep at the entrance to ensure that no predator would disrupt the peace.

While I was walking and standing on the perimeter of our campus bordering Main Street, I was struck by a memory of observing migrating waterfowl while growing up in central Kansas.  I accompanied my father and uncles early on in their pursuit of ducks and geese where they congregated on the cattle ponds and grain fields.  But we couldn’t get within range of these flocks in the grain fields due to the sentinels sounding the alert! 

You would always see the early winter-feeding flocks of geese in the cut grain fields with one or more geese, depending on the flock size, standing on the perimeter with their long necks stretched.  They would instinctively act as sentinels to alert the others of any impending danger while they were distracted.  And just as when they were flying in a “V” formation, individual members of the flock would rotate in and take their place to share the responsibility for the good of the flock.

When geese fly in formation behind one another a drafting effect occurs to enable them to fly farther with 70% less energy.  NASCAR team drivers do the same thing.  Whenever a goose falls out of formation it immediately feels the drag of losing the uplift draft and gets back in formation.  When the lead goose tires, they drop back and another one takes the lead into the wind for the good of the flock.  The geese at the back honk to offer encouragement to those up front to keep the pace!  If a goose is in trouble and has to quit flying, a couple of geese drop out to help protect it.

We’re relational beings that need to look out for one another, especially in times of crisis.

SYMMETRY

Human Face, Chicago, IL

Butterfly, Kiawah, SC

Sainte-Chapelle, Paris, FR

Gourd Vase, Jamestown, NC

I recently photographed a beautiful butterfly on a Carolina Island that was liked by many of my Internet friends.  As I revisited the image it became apparent that although both the colors and setting were eye catching, the symmetry of the butterfly’s patterned wings also drew one into the picture.  That’s when it occurred to me that many of my most liked photographs had similar traits of symmetry.

I think symmetry subconsciously permeates our daily lives more than we realize!  Any sight that we perceive as harmonious with beautiful proportion and balance is very probably symmetric.  Symmetry is a key component in mathematics, science, nature and the arts including architecture, art and music.  It’s considered “the composition of similar parts facing each other or around an axis”.  Examples of mirror symmetry include reflections in bodies of water, wings of butterflies and some human faces.  Some beautiful flowers have a radial symmetry.  And humans are naturally attracted to symmetry!

Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man is often used as an illustration of our human body’s symmetry and the natural universe.  Facial asymmetry is very common and rarely noticeable to others, while the aesthetics of exceptional symmetry is subconsciously perceived.  The body plans of animals including humans exhibit mirror or bilateral symmetry.  It is so prevalent that many scientists don’t believe it’s a coincidence.        

Geometric shapes are symmetric if they can be divided into two or more identical pieces that are arranged in an organized way.  Just a few examples include Gothic cathedrals, the Taj Mahal and The White House.  Teaching symmetry in everyday life to elementary children sets the stage for a more enriched experience in math.  The probability bell curve most people understand is a symmetrical normal distribution of data.   

The invention of the potter’s wheel has resulted in rotational symmetry of clay pots for centuries.  Symmetry also touches many aspects of music creation and perception.  Palindromes in both words and numbers are found in literature where a series of words, phrases or numbers can be read both forwards and backwards.  Examples include “racecar”, “never odd or even” and 02/02/2020.

Mankind was created in God’s image.  And the human job description is to strive for symmetry.

 

FROM THE LIPS OF CHILDREN

St Michael, St Michael Church, Chicago

“From the lips of children and infants You have ordained praise on account of Your adversaries.   ----Psalm 8:2

“Jesus declared, "I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. ----Matthew 11:25

My Saturday morning drives with Starbucks coffee has become a weekly ritual and a great way for me to turn off the world and reflect more clearly on life. This morning I was reflecting on the past four years and all the divisiveness around everyone in this country. And now we are closing in on a national presidential election that in my view is one of the most contentious in my lifetime.  I’ve realized that the majority of my selections for president have been the lesser of two evils that were selected by people not soliciting my opinion.  This is no doubt the end game we have been painfully careening to through an extended impeachment process that was extremely anxious for everyone and now we’re experiencing an extended pandemic lockdown.   

And this glacier movement of the lockdown for the past six months has left most Americans isolated in their homes subjected to a 24/7 vitriolic extension of political bickering.  We have watched in disgust and anger as rioters have hijacked peaceful demonstrations in our cities to loot, burn and even murder for extended periods, including over 100 nights in Portland, Oregon.  As bad as this has become, the murder rates in these cities have increased exponentially without abatement or much attention. 

It would seem that politicians across this country have a pact to visually create a contrived atmosphere of lawlessness and deceit to relentlessly beat down the psyche of the average American citizen before the election.  As I examined my own personal experience today, it occurred to me that the scheme was working.  And one of the key revelations to resolve a disease or addiction is to confront it before it can be eliminated.  Of course, both parties promise to be the salvation for all of our problems.  One pundit noted that we are now in the election “Silly Season.” 

I was considering how this might all be resolved any time soon when I received a text and photo of my three-year-old grandson in the Chicago courtyard of St Michael’s church.  The family was biking in the area and had chanced upon Saint Michael’s statue.  Today, Saint Michael is invoked for protection.  The base is inscribed with the words “Assist us in our battles against the evils of the day”.  Saint Michael the Archangel is the leader of the army of God and the patron of soldiers, police and doctors.  And God knows how much help these professions need right now. 

As the family paused for a rest break near the church steps, my grandson matter-of factly announced that “You can’t sit there because Michael is going to come out!”  I’m not sure that Saint Michael delves in human politics but there’s enough hypocrisy coming from career politicians on both sides of the aisle that they all need to stop the craziness and take note while there’s still time!

 

2020 LOCKDOWN LABOR DAY WEEKEND

Cousins 2019, Emporia, KS

“Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.” —Albert Einstein

People enter our lives for a reason, a season or a lifetime. 

It’s on us to determine if they’re a blessing or a lesson.

This family reunion photo last Labor Day weekend documented the first time most all of us cousins that had grown up together in central Kansas gathered together in many years.  Given the social gathering restrictions this year, it was fortuitous that we scheduled this reunion last year!  We all got together individually off and on, but Sunday afternoons at our grandparents’ home was one of the principle gatherings that united and defined us.  We didn’t always get along all of the time, but we always prayed grace together around the dinner table under lots of loving supervision.  Destiny and divine blessings, not merely coincidence, brought us cousins together for a lifetime.

And although we didn’t know it at the time, those were critical developmental years in a child’s life and my lingering memories over fifty years later are all good.  Our generation has followed our bliss out into this great country like so many others, but we hold onto those cherished memories, especially on this unique 2020 lockdown Labor Day weekend where folks are instructed NOT to gather together!  There’s no question that we humans keep those pleasant memories within our grasp while the unpleasant ones drift out of mind.  I’m certain that no one left the late-in-life gathering with nothing but new and resurrected pleasant memories that will now sustain us this year and into our own grandparenting years, even if it’s often on FaceTime!