Here is Your Mother

 

Anyway is a GOOD SON-DAY!

 Packed in Purple Juice

Yes, Now Go and Do the Same . . . with Passion

The Holidays allow me time to catch up on some shows on my playlist.  One of them is Abbott Elementary.  I binge watched 1.5 seasons of the show.  The premise of the show is about a teacher, Janine Teagues (Quinta Brunson), who is fresh out of college and taking on her first teaching job at Philadelphia's Willard R. Abbott Elementary School, a predominantly black, underfunded, and mismanaged Philadelphia public school.

Janine is naïve but passionate about the second grade kids she teaches. She will do anything to meet the needs of her kids. She works with a experienced kindergarten self-righteous teacher Barbara Howard (Sheryl Lee Ralph---The Mighty Quinn),  a tough South-Philly second grade teacher Melissa Schemmenti, a narcissistic school principal Ava Coleman, and recent substitute hire Gregory Eddie (Tyler James Williams----Everyone Hates Chris) .  A documentary crew is recording the lives of teachers working in underfunded, mismanaged schools. The teachers are followed by a documentary crew.

The show has garnered two Emmy’s so far, Quinta for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, and Sheryl for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

The show excels with displays of compassion to help low-income kids achieve academic success and emotional well being in an environment where the big city public school bureaucracy does not care.

I am blessed to have a job where I can positively impact the lives who are impoverished, abused, in transition, and aspiring something better in life.  Recently, a contingent people south of the border arrived in Minneapolis.  Now, I can do a healthy ramble about the U.S. border and immigration policy. I much rather speak to the human beings who walked 4,612 miles with kids in tow and some women pregnant from South America to Texas.  And then arrived in Minneapolis in the midst of our winter sub-zero weather.  The motivation behind this trek is heart wrenching.  Most of it is based on the savagery of drug cartels, no job, no food, no shelter, and plenty of despair.  Remember, Joseph moved to Egypt temporarily to escape Herod's savagery.

I am surrounded by many people who form their opinions based on FOX, MSNBC, or CNN news networks. All of them thinking they’re experts on public and international policy because they watch those networks.  The opinions of these people dissolve quickly when you have a five year old girl wanting a winter coat or a wee bit of food to eat-----------any food. 

When they are standing right in front of you as living, God-breathed, human beings, toss the politics aside for another day. We must be humanitarians and comfort those souls. Christ spoke to this in His Good Samaritan parable.  A story about a Samaritan immigrant, whose tribe were hated jews, helped a wounded jew on the roadside. 

Luke 10:25 - 37

25 One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”

27 The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

28 “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”

29 The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.

31 “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. 32 A Temple assistant[b] walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.

33 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. 34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins,[c] telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’

36 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.

37 The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”

Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

Back to my new arrival story.  There are a million reasons why we should not help the people who recently came in the town.  The one I hear all the time, “We need to take care of our own first before we help anyone else”.  This reason and others would be supported by endless newspaper editorials and countless news spokespersons on TV.  I submit to you there is only one good reason why you should help . . . Mercy.  Christ said do it without hitches----now do it.  He did it for us without an opinion, but with gusto and PASSION!

SONG OF THE WEEK

Another 2023 Grammy Nominee

“My Jesus”, 2021, Anne Wilson. Song is a real story with lyrics in video. It is about grabbing ahold of Jesus when it appears there is nothing to grab to heal the pain.