Worship in Peace

Blessings upon you all, my friends!

Dear flock, your pal and erstwhile spiritual guide the Reverend Buddy Lee has been hard at work on the streets and byways, spreading like butter the Word of Love upon every nook and cranny I can find!

People, I have been on point, out working every day, shining the Light into every crack and crevasse which presents itself to me;

and, children, while I have often been embraced by magnificent humans who teach me by their brilliant example new ways to appreciate the art science and philosophy of Surfing into the Light, I have on occasion been dashed upon the shoals of hostility, my hardy little vessel of faith run aground upon the sandbars of indifference and jaded hipsterism.

And friends, I have even been accosted by, and scolded by, well-dressed community organizers, villainous billionaires, and chauffeured ne'er- do- wells, who from their station of privilege, have said unto me,

"Woe unto thee, Reverend Buddy, for thou hast cast a fairy tale of religion onto the masses, roiling them into a raucous and disorganized state, from which they are not as easily herded,"

So hath these great personages, cultural leaders, and high office holders, so have they derided me, your humble homilist:

"Thou hast cast aspersions upon our governmental orthodoxy, our venerated separation of church and state, in an immoral attempt to dilute our money-giving power."

They have wrathfully continued:

"Your invocation of God is unpatriotic and so last-century. You should come into the new day with us. Your insistence on celebrating God's love is dangerous and possibly bigoted. For you are not sufficiently tolerant of others when you espouse your own preaching. The Church of the High Beams is a gutter religion, illegitimate, and unendorsed by our pluralistic, diversity-driven paradigm."

Now, friends, it is true that I happened to be standing in the gutter at that very moment. I was watching a distinguished gentleman stand in front of a holy national statue and yell at the world about separating the church from the state, and how this might be our last chance to get it right, and I was saying to myself,

Reverend Buddy, this feller's preaching is far more apocalyptic and threatening in nature than anything you have been preaching since you gave up Thunderbird for inspiration, and I laughed softly to myself when I thought that little thought.

And a lady next to me, she said, 'What are you laughing at?'

And I replied, 'Well, I was laughing because most preachers I know wouldn't wag their finger at the flock, and tell them they should be ashamed of themselves if they don't do what they're told, or think as they're told to think; it's counterintuitive, to say nothing of the fact that it's intellectually dishonest."

"You're just a bigot," she replied.

"Madam, I beg to differ," I said. " I'm just saying that fire and brimstone went out of style a long time ago. If you want people to listen, you've got to offer them something real. Words like 'tolerance' and 'diversity' don't mean anything to people. They're abstractions, and this feller is using those concepts like hammers, hitting folks on the head with them. He thinks by standing in front of the Harbor Lady, everybody will overlook his angry face and arrogant Napoleonic manner, and buy whatever he's selling. But there's too much dissonance. Too much insistence, too much authority, not enough responsibility. Too much threat in his ordering us to be compassionate. It just doesn't add up."

"You're just a bigot, " she replied.

Right then, friends, I admit it, I sighed and turned away. I walked down the block, the words of the man in the suit ringing hollow off the pavement. Your pal the Reverend Buddy felt a mite defeated.

Because, as you know, children, my mission is to spread the joy around; I'm not anyone's enemy. I don't ever call names, and I never tell anyone what to do. I leave the judging to the Judge, if you know what I mean. Usually, I'm just so filled with joy that I can't wait to have a teachable moment with the folks I meet, because, even though I'm the Reverend Buddy Lee, in teachable moments, I'm always the one who learns something. Once in a while maybe I can offer an insight, but friends, I'm telling the truth when I say this world has a lot more to teach me than I it!

Anyway, I was feeling just a wee bit crestfallen after that session, and I stopped into a little shop to pick up some mints. The gent behind the counter didn't look too happy, either, so I gave it a try:

"Something wrong, friend?"

He looked up, and gestured to the show going on outside.

"Bad for business," he mumbled."They don't buy nothing. Scare away the customers."

He handed me the mints, and I paid him.

I noticed a photo above the counter. Three little kids were smiling in a tumbled pile on a sofa.

"Your kids?"

"Yeah."

"Beautiful family."

He smiled.

"Thanks." Just like the smiles in the photo.

"You have a blessed day, now."

"You know what?" he said.

"Where I go to pray, it's so small, no one even knows it's there. I don't care. I know it's there, that's all that matters. I came here to be left alone, just to make money, get a better life for my kids, no rich king or other asshole running my life. Here, they leave you alone. Pay your bills, mind your business, work all day, no problem.

That's why I came here, for a better life."

I shook his hand then, and said, "I truly hope you find it, brother."

I walked out of that shop, friends, filled once again with the spirit of hope and reconciliation.

And today, my friends, that is what I wish for you:

That, when you find yourself enmeshed in a swirling maelstrom of misunderstanding and mistrust, that a friend or stranger will reach through the miasma, take your hand, and lead you out of the chaos, back to where all is good and real, back to a place where you can be still, and grateful, and clear, and joyful; that someone will take your hand and help you find a calm space where you may worship in peace.

We know that place need not have GPS coordinates, or be found on a map; no, friends, it need only be a refuge where your spirit may once again get its bearings, rebalance, and continue its great journey. That is what I wish for you today, a rest stop of tranquility when you need it, as you keep on surfing into the Light,

Wishing you Peaceful Worship,

Your Friend,

Reverend Buddy Lee

Love's Labors

Hello Friends!

Blessings of saucy spicy juicy love upon you, each and every one!

I, your friend the Reverend Buddy, have been busily buzzing about the region since last we spoke, huffing, puffing and hefting the unbearably light blessings of the Lord, singing His sweet Song of Love on my rickety, slightly out-of-tune instrument, yea verily playing for all I am worth to any who will listen; and children, may I say, I have been enriched beyond wealth and words at the beauty I have witnessed.

O flock o' mine, your pal the Reverend Buddy has been copiously blessed by the many wonderful folks I have encountered in my recent travels. I am living proof of the Human Spirit's kindness, generosity, and Divine Grace, blessed as I have been by the legions of angels My Friend sends me daily!

In recent days, I have met mothers who have lost sons; instead of wrapping themselves in the comfort of grief, they have embraced the world and given it joy!

I have met strong young men who have lost arms and legs. Instead of retiring from life, they have grabbed for glory, climbing mountains and reaching across the world, conquering hatred and fear with love and courage!

I have met women, previously fallen from grace, now standing strong on their own, cradling babies bursting grandly into adulthood, growing up strong and giving life back to a world others would call cruel and unkind; transforming the very planet with love and grace;

I have seen the sick leap from their beds, saying, I have something to give, I shall not yet lie down, my life is not yet over!

And I have seen scores of people from all walks of life, from hedge fund manager to cab driver to garbage man to lawyer; I have seen them all, each day, laugh, cry, sweat, curse, and shout, as they work each day to bring their loved ones' dreams closer to reality. So many people, normal, flawed, imperfect; bless them as they drop their child at college. As they drive away, they think, I can't really afford this.... but she / he is my child, and I want them to have the opportunities that I did not have; I am investing in my baby, in the future. I believe in tomorrow, it will be better, if not for me then for my child; and I will work for twenty years more so it may happen, so my child may have a chance; because I believe in the future, the promise of tomorrow.

I may not love my work, but I love the child my labor will benefit.

I may never get a chance to become a tennis pro, but my child will get a chance to live her dream;

My great American novel will have to wait, because my child needs tuition money for college;

I may never sail my boat around the world, or lay on the beach, or invest the cash I've saved, because my son needs it to follow his dream;

And I will be a success because my children will have opportunity; and I will leave this world better than I found it, because I will have raised good children who have been educated and who will make the world better.

To you all, my brothers and sisters, to Iola,who lost her son Keith, but still held a race across the Brooklyn Bridge in his name; to Richie, who sent his son to become an engineer, even though he wanted him to join the family business; to each and every real person who gets up each morning to go to work because your kids need you to; to the RNs and EMTs who work all night so their kids can go to school in the morning; to the thousand million salt grains of the earth, I say to you, you shall all know heaven, because in your hearts you know love; you shall all be rewarded, for each day have you sacrificed; You will know joy, because with love in your hearts have you labored.

My brothers and sisters, think of the hope, pride, anxiety, and pain you have tasted each time you have left your child at another milepost; from the tearful first goodbye at kindergarten, through high school or college graduation. Remember the joys shared with their every accomplishment, the tears shared with their every frustration. Those moments are among your life's most intense.

Now imagine every face in the world, every grain of sand, every sparrow falling. Imagine sharing each moment of joy, pleasure, agony, and pain, as intently felt as when experiencing it with your own child.

If you can do this, friends, you can begin to imagine the beginning of the Lord's investment of Love in each of us. God cries at all our graduations, and funerals, and retirement parties; and His hand is on our shoulder in the moments no one else can see; the moments when we ask, Can I do this, I don't know; can I keep going when I want to quit; can I keep on coming through for the people who are depending on me?

Even when, yea, especially when you feel most alone, God is there at your shoulder, wing-man of wing-men, friend of all friends.

Just as love is the fuel of your sacrifice for your college kids, so is love the food of life, eternal life.

You're not alone friends, even though it may sometimes feel that way, as you pursue your life's labors of love; remember there is One who is always with you, through all of Love's Labors. Take the strength you need from the love, so you may keep it up , so you may

Surf on into the Light,

Your Friend, Reverend Buddy Lee