Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

• Romans 13:9-10

If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.

• James 2:8-9

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

• Matthew 25:31-46

Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.

• 1 Peter 4:9

Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

•  Romans15:7

My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

• James 2:1-4

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.

• Ephesians 4:15

Better is open rebuke
    than hidden love.
Wounds from a friend can be trusted,
    but an enemy multiplies kisses.

• Proverbs 27:5-6

Whoever slanders their neighbor in secret,
    I will put to silence;
whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart,
    I will not tolerate.

• Psalm 101:5

Do not testify against your neighbor without cause—
    would you use your lips to mislead?

• Proverbs 24:28

Boilerplate

I’m Harold Dykstra.  I’m retired, but I go to food bank distributions all over Tracy and talk to people that need someone who will listen to their story.  My time is well spent.  A police lieutenant suggested that I write down the conversations that I had with an angel.  I did not know she was an angel at the time.  The angel, for a little over a year, indwelled a life-sized posable action figure my children bought me, so that I would not be perceived as travelling alone.  And in a way, she was training me for what I do while talking to the needy.  She probed my heart to find out what I believed and how I express love for others.  She changed my life.

In her leaving, she said someone would come.  I had thought that was Jesus, in His second coming, but a new Babs, a little older, the model for the posable action figure arrived.  While I had no desire to start over with romance, Morrie helped her move in, thinking she was the other Babs who had returned.

This Week’s Question

Last week, Babs was busy trying to do everything on the list in Proverbs 31 to become a wife of noble character, but I was able to get her to update those descriptions to more modern equivalents.  I did not know if we needed a field of flax in the backyard.

But this week, she had invited all the wedding party to a meeting room at Lily the Pink.  It was too big of a crowd.  It wasn’t the wedding party itself, but with the extended families, we would have been crowded at our house.  But then again, with extra room, Babs invited those helping with the wedding.

That meant that we had the Purple Four minus Lilith but then adding Menzie.  She had Emmett as the band leader.  But since she had Menzie and Emmett, she might as well invite Samuel and Sophie.

Since she had her meeting with Pink Lady, Babs had added Thomas and Catherine ver Waarloosd.  We now had a good crowd, and a large wedding party.  This was all for Babs.  I would have been fine going to the courthouse.  But this was part of Babs’ dream to put her past life behind her.  She might be in her early fifties, but she wanted a beautiful wedding with all the trimmings.  We both had some profitable investments, so we were not going to spend all our money.

So, let’s see.  The pastor will be Gil Whitefield.  Willie Whitefield, my daughter, was matron of honor.  And their children, Jayke and Janelle would be the ring bearer and flower girl.  Then we had Morrie, my son, who was the best man.  Captain Al Hart was going to walk with Sadie Dykstra, Morrie’s wife.  And Morrie’s children, Matthew and Madison, would be walking down the aisle with Mercedes and Michael Lothrop Kildare.  Thus, Mags and James Kildare were added to the party.  Then we had our friends from down the street, Tony Painter and his son, Joe.  They would be going down the aisle with Mary Jo Lynn and Grace Grunge.  So that meant Frank Lynn and the Grunge family were also invited.  Al Hart’s wife, Gisele, Pink Lady, Naomi Yeggs, and Menzie were the modified Purple Four when Lilith was not available.  Lilith and her husband had a concert the previous weekend to the wedding, which was now set for Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday if you prefer.  If they could catch a flight, they might be able to sing with the others.  At last count, we had forty people for dinner, even though just a few of them needed to get to know each other.

But with Pink, Scrambled, and their three little ones, that was forty for dinner.  This sounds like an extravagance and wasteful spending, but Pink was letting us use the Crystal Mountain for free.  The band would be partially paid for.  The Purple Four would sing for free.  So, why not give a catered dinner, supplied by the Lily the Pink bakery with half the staff of the bakery in attendance as guests?  At some point, it balances out.

But Babs usually finds some way of working in a Bible study with our dinners, but forty people?  Nope, this was going to be strictly a “get to know each other evening.”  Wow!  I had underestimated her.

Everyone was given assigned seating.  Most families were packaged together.  The unmarried romantic couples were paired together.  Four tables of roughly ten people each.  But that was just the start of the evening.  Everyone had a decorated gift box on their table.  Everyone thought the box was just a decoration.

Babs tapped her glass to get everyone’s attention.  “Good evening, everyone.  Many of the people in this room have graciously accepted our request to be in Harold’s and my wedding party, either the wedding party or the music.  Harold and I have been praying about it, and we thought we might benefit by getting to know each other, especially those that might be walking down the aisle together and maybe dancing together, at least the first dance.  For those in the family and Pink Lady and a few others, we always have a Bible study.  In the gift boxes on each table, there are age-appropriate study Bibles or Bible story books for the little ones.  After the dessert is served, we want everyone to open their box and distribute the books.  There is also a Bible verse or two in your gift box.  Discuss that part of Scripture and assign one person to discuss it.  I think studying Scripture is a better way to get to know each other than idle chit-chat.  And this is not a test.  Let’s use this assignment to get to know each other.  And I also know that there are more children at some tables than others.  The older children can contribute.  The younger ones can smile and be cute.”

The dinner was filled with animated chit-chat.  I was placed at the table with Willie and her family and Pink Lady and her family, just the three youngest.  Babs put herself with Dev Yeggs, Morrie’s wife, Sadie, the Harts, and the ver Waarloosd family.

But then when the dessert was served, the room changed to a serious mood.  The discussions were thoughtful, what I could hear from the other tables.  Everyone was taking this seriously.

When Babs had roamed past the four tables, one person from each table was selected to speak.  Babs asked Pink Lady to speak first.

Pink said, “We were instructed to focus on Romans 13:9-10 and James 2:8-9.  There were a lot of other verses that could have been used, but these Scriptures tell us to love our neighbor.  But the James 2:8-9 says to not show favoritism.  We should love our neighbors regardless, because if we love others as God loves us, He loves us while we are still sinners.  And we should not have any barrier between us and loving our neighbor.”

Babs asked, “That was good, but why didn’t the preacher at your table do the talking.”

Scrambled said, “He didn’t want to get carried away and give an hour-long sermon.  We did not want him to do that either.”

Thomas ver Waarloosd spoke for the second table.  “We had the parable of the sheep and the goats from Matthew 25.  The point with that parable and the parable of the Good Samaritan is that neighbors need to serve one another.  When someone is in need, that could be God testing us to see if our heart sees the need and then puts their love into action.  The needy need to be seen, but unless love becomes action, there is no love there.”

Babs smiled, “I was at your table, but why was Thomas chosen?”

Gisele said, “Simple, he is the most passionate one at our table regarding helping the needy.

Sophie reported from her table.  “There are only three at our table younger than me, but someone said I had been on the hot seat at a hearing in Washington, DC, so they thought I could handle any questions from the other tables.  We had 1 Peter 4:9, Romans 15:7, and James 2:1-4.  They speak of hospitality.  We shouldn’t have unknown neighbors living next door.  We should invite them to dinner.  As a minimum, we should let them feel welcome.  But in our hospitality, we should not be prejudiced and show favoritism.  Different verse from James 2 as Aunt Pink had but the same idea.”

Tony spoke from the last table.  “Thank you for finding the perfect girl for Joe to walk with.  They’d be best friends if they went to the same school.  They both will go to Moon Maid Middle School, but that is a few years away.  We had love in truth.  We might have to help our neighbor see that what he or she is doing wrong that is harmful to himself or those around him, but that has to be done in love or we might get a fat lip from our troubles.  But we should never lie.  We should not deceive.  We should not withhold information for our own gain.  And before you ask, we voted Frank to be our spokesperson, but he just laughed.”  And on cue, Frank, all of two-years-old, laughed.

Babs smiled, “I want to thank everyone.  Hopefully over the next few months as the wedding gets closer, we can be neighbors and friends for each other.  February 17 will be here before we know it.  We do not have to be friends to walk down the aisle at a wedding, but it helps.”

Sadie asked, “Mom, have you decided who will give you away?  You know, walk down the aisle with you?”

Babs grinned, “He was sitting at our table the entire time.  Dev Yeggs investigated a report from a nosy neighbor that I had gone into the house across the street, and I never returned.  But I was in Arizona, packing my stuff to move here.  So, Dev felt obligated to take on that role.”

Several people in the room knew the true story, but her answer is what most of them believe happened.  They wouldn’t believe us if we told them that the neighbor saw an angel that looked like Babs.

As it turned out, Matthew liked Mercedes, who likes being called Mercy.  Madison and Mike hit it off.  And Tony already reported on Little Joe and Grace.

But Tony told Babs later that he had seen the episode of the Storm Chasers that showed the birth of Frank in a bathtub in Florida while the hurricane was pounding the house. He asked Mary Jo over to his house for supper, but she asked him to be her Bible study partner at Stinker’s Sunday school class. And that meant a weekly commitment to get together. And Frank and Joe could play while the grown-ups could read the Scriptures and talk. With a young adult female named Stinker and delivering a baby in a bathtub during a hurricane. I was going to have to pay for that streaming service. The television show sounds interesting.

Credits

All these conversations remind me of my conversations with my wife.  We would talk about anything and everything.  And most of the time, it sounded like a discussion in a Sunday school class.

Giving the bride away, or simply walking her down the aisle, can be done with any family member if the father is deceased.  The bride can walk by herself and that little question in the ceremony skipped.  But sometimes, the emotions of the event make it prudent to have a strong arm to hold onto.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.