I like morning. My family thinks I am crazy, and I am sure some of my friends question my sanity as well. For me, morning is a sacred time. I either take a long walk or jog about 6:30 most mornings. I see the faint blush of color in the east, the dark starts to give way to light, a glorious ball of red slowly rises behind the New York skyline. A new day dawns filled with hope, promise, energy, and life.  The Psalmist says: "Joy comes in the morning," "I will sing of your steadfast love in the morning."

In the morning, my mind is not yet cluttered. It is open. Often my best thoughts and the forgiving presence of God are most real in the morning. Following is a poem I used in a sermon a few weeks ago:

We all know that God comes to us in many ways. At 1am the Sunday before Thanksgiving, our grandson Hunter had emergency surgery. His appendix had ruptured, gangrene had set in, and he needed to have 4 inches of his colon removed. God came to us through the surgeon, the anesthesiologist, the nurses, support staff, housekeeping, technicians... the "army" of people who aided in saving his life.

Sometimes we forget about that "army" of people behind the scenes. He was hospitalized one week, and the second week he was home but had to return to the hospital daily. He was attached to a small computer driven pump that infused antibiotics into his system three times a day. Again, an "army" of computer experts, infectious disease doctors and nurses, technicians, suppliers... another expression of God's love.

The 92nd Psalm catches some of my feelings this morning. "It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to thy name, O Most High; to declare thy steadfast love in the morning and thy faithfulness by night. How great are thy works, O Lord."

Thank God for the miracle of healing. Last Saturday evening, our 10 year old grandson Hunter had emergency surgery for a ruptured appendix. He went into surgery at 1am. There was massive infection and complications. When we saw him Sunday evening, he was a very sick boy. His body responded well once the poison was out and the antibiotics started to work. We can see the miracle of healing happening. It is so clear that God heals. We can remove that which blocks healing, but God heals.

I had a wonderful experience two weeks ago. Our son and daughter-in-law, Scott and Joleen, belong to a small struggling Episcopal Church in Franklin, Mass. Currently their minister is a Sunday supply who comes for the day. I offered to help out from time to time which needed approval by the Bishop in their system. Two weeks ago I helped out. I was the preacher for what was essentially a family service. For the sermon, about 30 kids gathered around at the chancel steps with proud beaming parents in the pews.

But the proud and beaming was even more so me. Our son Scott was the usher; granddaughter Morgan was the reader; grandson Corey was the acolyte; and 5 year old grandson Brandon was one of those thirty faces. And and our daughter in law Joleen, with the help of my wife Judy, coordinated the coffee hour. Judy and I went home feeling a powerful sense of family. I was proud of what each one did, but that is not the point. Our being together and worshipping together was empowering, fulfilling, and spiritually rich.

Family is so important especially at this time of year. My friend Todd who is 45 and single just lost his 82 year old aunt... the last of that generation. He feels alone. He is currently reaching out to two friends who have taken him in especially during the holidays. He plays ping pong with them, enjoys their kids, and feels connected. There is a real sense of family.

This past Sunday was All Saint's Day. I asked my grandson what a saint was. He said with a wry smile. "It is a kind of holy person who is not a minister, priest or pope"-in other words no one who is paid to be religious. There is a lot of truth here. It is someone who cares because he cares, not because he is supposed to care. Jesus said, "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another just as I have loved you. By this everyone will know you are my disciple."

There is a wonderful phrase in the Gospel of John, "I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly." He is saying this in response to those who would rob and kill life. This raises a number of questions.

• What are the things that rob and kill life?
  I suppose the most obvious are guilt, regrets, the importance we give work, poor decisions, and the list can go on including the way we practice our religion. I know some "Christians" who are a liability to Christianity. I think Jesus is saying there is forgiveness and a new day is dawning, like the red sky this morning with its 24 hours of promise.
   
• And what is that abundant life?
  I believe Jesus is pointing to a much more joyful life than most of us live. When he talks about "being the salt of the earth" and the "light of the world," he is not telling us to do something. He is affirming a way of being. There is a "tastefulness" and "brightness" to you that everyone will see when we live this "abundant" life.

There is a wonderful verse in the Gospel of John, "If you continue in my word... and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free."

Recently I was asked to give a brief talk to young children, age 4 to 9, on this verse. This was a bit of a challenge. Looking into Bible Commentaries, I was astounded at how complicated theologians could make the verse. They dig into Jewish history and theology. They wonder if Jesus is referring to Jews or to non Jews or both, and on and on. Then it occurred to me that they are taking a simple truth, a truth that kids can understand, and making it difficult. Some sermons are guilty of this.

It is simple and kids can understand it. This is talking about the truth about God... and when you know the truth about God you feel better about yourself. You feel good and free inside.

Every one of us experiences grief.

The Bible said that "Jesus began to weep" when he learned of the death of his friend Lazarus. Grief is a strong and mercurial emotion. It comes when we least expect it. A song, a thought, an odor can trigger it. And then it can pass for a while.

Sometimes it has the power of a big wave taking us under and we feel like we will drown, and then we float to the top until the next wave. When thinking of the person we lost, we go from laughing to crying in seconds and almost question our mental well being. And all of this is grief.

I am often amazed at the knowledge, insight and creativity of children. We, as parents or parenting persons, feel we need to educate, lead, explain, and protect our children.  And of course this is true.  But we also need to LISTEN to them.

It is amazing what you can learn when you listen. We parenting persons often make the mistake of relating to our children as they were 6 months or a year ago. Our parenting does not keep up with their growth. It is important that we frequently how we see our kids and adjust our parenting techniques to who they are today and who they will be in 6 months. We want to be parenting into the future, not holding them back and relating as though they were 6 months or a year younger than they are which can be the source of much anger in kids.

In many Christian Churches around the world, one of the scripture passages read yesterday was Psalm 105:1-6. It is a beautiful Psalm that sees God in all of life. As I meditated on these verses coming to work on the train this morning, I saw three things that were helpful to me.

1. "Give thanks to the Lord."
   
   The so called "attitude of gratitude" is very powerful. When you start thinking "thankful" a smile comes on your face and tensions ease. Other people pick it up and smile back. Thankful helps us be humble. It gets us out of ourselves. We can see what God has done, what others have done for us, and that life is good. Even on bad days.