Saturday

                                                                                Psalm 87:5

The Lord will re-cord as he en-rolls the people, 
“These also were born there.”  

I didn’t want this to be my verse this morning. I do love it, but it's not easily... illustrated. And it’s not easy in that it doesn't stand alone.  But as some wag once said “What is, is.”  As I’ve said, for most of my life, only the last verse made sense to me. I "took what I could use and left the rest.” Or, filed it. Then one day a year or two ago, I got it and I really love it. It speaks of the incredible, even scandalous, all-inclusive love and acceptance of God, a love that knows no boundaries. To understand it at all, you have to go back to verse 3 which says, translated, “I count Egypt and Syria among those who know me:  behold, Lebanon,  Iran and Palestine, in Zion (Jerusalem) were they born.” God counts us all as being born in the Holy City, inhabitants of the new heavens and the new earth.  We so readily count “the other” as the evil one, dividing ourselves into groups of  US versus THEM whatever the "us" IS....  American or North Korean, rich or poor, Muslim or Christian, "maker" or ""taker," immigrant or citizen,, left or right, gay or straight, gun toting or gun fearing, Palestinian or Israeli- we're all divided up neatly into US (the good) and THEM (the bad.)  But God just ignores, bulldozes it all with the Great Commandment: :love, first of God and then love of our neighbor as ourselves. Whatever we think, wherever we stand, we are children of a loving God. And that should make a difference. But it goes against the grain and as I sat with this verse this Saturday morning I was reminded of the Kingston Trio’s song from the 60s,The Merry Minuet. (If you weren't lucky enough to be Around in the 60s. or don’t know the tune, be sure to click on the link below.) As Blaise Pascal said in the 17th century,  Plus ca change, plus c’e’st la meme chose: the more things change the more they stay the same. 

                         They’re rioting in Africa 

They’re rioting in Africa, they're starving in Spain. 
There’s hurricanes in Florida, and Texas needs rain. 
The whole world is festering with unhappy souls, 
The French hate the Germans, the Germans hate the the Poles.
Italians hate Yugoslavs, South Africans hate the Dutch,
And I don’t like anybody very much! 

But we can be tranquil, and thankful, and proud

For man’s been endowed with a mushroom-shaped cloud.

And we know for certain that some lovely day

Some one will set the spark off and we’ will all be blown away. 

They're rioting in Africa, there’s strife in Iran.
What nature doesn't do to us, will be done by our fellow man. 

► 1:37 ► 1:37 www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8-BI89mb9A

If the link doesn't work paste  in "They're Rioting in Africa" and it will bring up the YouTube video…