Last week I mentioned the phrase “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” and Marilynne Robinson’s sense of awe about the person who first put that idea to papyrus. The other morning, I had a similar reaction to a couple of phrases in Jesus’ final conversation with his friends before his arrest. 

Today’s title won’t become Smoke on the Water, Deep Purple’s rock anthem. But we might have sung their repeated chorus Smoke on the water, a fire in the sky, Smoke on the water back in June. Our Golden Horseshoe region was blanketed with smoke in the air, hovering over lakes and ponds, drifting in from forest fires to our east and west.  

Did you head out in the dark of night to see the Super Blue Moon on August 30th? Not only was it the second full moon in the month (the proverbial blue moon) but the moon was closer to earth in its orbit making it appear brighter and larger. 

One person’s happy moment is usually matched by someone else’s sorrow. The chocolate souffles and lemon meringue slices I made for our Easter dinner went down with happy nods in my direction on Saturday. Joyful times with family, good food and drink shared- all in the context of the highest points of our faith’s roots remembered. But I remembered friends who are celebrating their first Easter after the death of their spouse, child, or parent – one person’s happy day easily overmatched with another’s sorrow. 

Last week Susan and I drove the back country roads from our home to see a play at the Stratford Festival. The play was terrific, being in an audience was energizing and experiencing the actors got the creative juices flowing.