In searching for the proverbial peg upon which to hang this weekly hat, I keep returning to the calendar as the muse that will inspire us this year...in this fragmented and diffuse society sometimes the day and date is about all we can count on having in common.  The trouble is I hate to repeat myself...I have already employed before both the church calendar, with all its saints, commemorations, and festivals, and the traditional civic calendar, with all its holidays and occasions, as grist for the mill.  Since my trusty Thrivent calendar has yet to arrive, I toured the internet and discovered there to be quite a few charts that traffic in neither the religious nor the well known civic events with which we're most familiar.  So since it was a muse I sought, I hope I shall find it (this week at least) in an amusing list entitled "Weird Holidays in 2018."  If the shoe fits...

Before we reveal this week's entry, we have some catching up to do.  You might have thought January 6th was Epiphany, and you would be correct.  But did you know it is also celebrated as "Bean Day?"  Of course you did!  Just to refresh those who didn't, the day that honors the oldest and most widespread of all the crops is observed on the death date in 1884 of scientist Gregory Mendel, whose breeding of the bean plant formed the basis for his becoming the "father" of modern genetics.  (If I felt a need to connect to "churchy" stuff, I would remind you he was also an Augustinian friar...but since I'm not needy, I won't).

If you're reading a traditional calendar you will note next Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day...but it is also "Blue Monday."  This is not to be confused with Blue Christmas, observed by many churches in December on the longest night of the year.  On that date we extended comfort to those who are saddled with or saddened by loss in what is supposed to be the happiest time of the year.  Blue Monday, on the other hand, is the result of a pseudo scientific formula that purports to factor the confluence of the arrival of post Christmas bills, the abandonment of New Year's resolutions, low sunlight levels, and cold weather...and fixes it to the nearest Monday (the most dismal day of the week.) 

Look, I'm not saying that persons of faith are to be constantly "happy, peppy, and bursting with love."  The reality of disappointment and discouragement and the resultant sadness and even depression are not to be wished or prayed away... outside sources of insight and comfort are indispensible in the face of pain and loss.  I am saying what I desire to be a word of hope.  Recognize why you're down and feeling the blues.  Know that the feeling is transient and healing could be right around the corner.  Never give up, especially when it's the shortest light and the coldest of temperature...just wait.  God knows your experience and God's resolution to love you always and see you through in all circumstances is what counts.   That is both the negotiable scrip and the script we follow that leads us through the valley and to the top...from the muddle in the middle to the happy ending.

Besides blue is my favorite color... bright blue skies, deep blue seas, baby blue eyes.  A blue Monday often precedes a terrific Tuesday...even if it takes more than the standard 24 hours to arrive.  Remember that it's God's time, not ours...so go ahead and take it.  At the very least, if you've got the blues, don't whimper or mumble...sing 'em!

Pastor Brent,

Next up...Jan 18th:Winnie the Pooh Day