Not a Religious Person – Simply a Human Being

This past weekend was a good one for Kay and I as we celebrated Laura’s birthday (our third daughter), worked in the yard thankful for the cool breeze, and enjoyed worship and the peacefulness that comes with each Sunday. Yes, the weekend was a good one with maybe one exception. There was no Kentucky Derby!

As a young teen, I was fond of watching Saturday afternoon broadcasts of the Wild World of Sports with host Jim McKay via the ABC Network. Each show began with various images from the world of athletic competition and words familiar to all sports fans, “There’s the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.”

Over time, the first Saturday in May became special. I remember watching the Derby in the 60’s and every year since (when able.) There was the year when I was drilling with a Marine Air Squadron at the Naval Air Station, Marietta, GA, a Friday and Saturday once a month. We secured for the day at 1600 (4:00 pm.) I was disappointed that I would be in transit and unable to watch the Derby on television. Driving along Interstate 20 from Atlanta to Augusta, I did the next best thing. I found a local radio station broadcasting the race from Churchill Downs.

Passing the exit to Madison and Athens, GA, one hand on the wheel, observing the speed limit in the right hand lane, I sat straight up in my seat when I heard the following declaration, “And they’re off for the running of the Roses!” I imagined what the race was like on the back stretch and the charge around the final corner when the sportscaster echoed words from races past, “And here they come down the home stretch!” It was a tight race. The more I listened the more animated I became when I suddenly noticed strange looks from passers-by gazing at me rather oddly. What they saw was a single occupant in a vehicle talking to himself, waving his arm madly in the air and if they could have read my lips I was screaming at the top of my lungs, “Go! Go! Go!”. What they didn’t know was I was pulling for a horse galloping to the finish line hundreds of miles away.

A few years ago, Kay and I hosted a little Derby Party for family and a few friends with connections to Louisville and the state of Kentucky. Living in Louisville during our seminary days, we had heard a lot about mint juleps but for some reason had never tried one. The decision was made to mix a few in order to serve prior to the race. I purchased the bourbon and Kay prepared the sugar water and picked the fresh mint, which she had proudly grown herself. The first round was served as the jockeys mounted their horses. As the choir finished singing “My Old Kentucky Home,” a long-standing Derby tradition, I made my way to the kitchen to discover that half the bourbon supply had disappeared. (Had it all evaporated?) I soon discovered that half of the bottle had been used for the first round. When I returned to the living room, I noticed everyone was having an extremely good time. There was conversation and laughter, and hardly anyone was watching the horses and jockeys make their way to the starting gate. However, compliments abounded. Everyone loved the mint juleps and you know why? The person in the kitchen, whom we shall leave anonymous, had misunderstood the directions. Instead of one jigger of bourbon, she had poured three jiggers for one drink! All I know is that when the afternoon was over, the sugar water had lasted longer than the bourbon and folks enjoyed a Saturday afternoon watching what Jim McKay also described as the fastest two minutes in sports.

“What is the point of this story?” you might ask. I have always admired the story about the wedding feast in Cana where we are told Jesus converted 180 gallons of water into wine. I would say that was some wedding reception. There are a number of nuances to the story, one of which is the large amount of wine for the wedding feast. The point is very simple and has played a role in who we are as a community of faith known as the Sea Island Presbyterian Church. Since the very beginning, there are occasions when we have gathered for no other reason or purpose than to visit and share with one another, to laugh and relax as we do the sort of things that help the human spirit to relax and be renewed, again, with moderation.

Looking down the road, I look forward to the day when we can be together again to celebrate our faith in worship, to share in the ministry and work of the church, and to break bread together on the church campus as we exchange stories, catch up with what’s happening, and relax and rejoice in one another’s company. The stories that are shared via the congregational emails are all true. You have your own stories, too, and our stories all blend together helping us to understand, in the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, that the Christian is not a religious person, but simply a human being, as Jesus was a human being, profoundly this-worldly, characterized by discipline, and the constant knowledge of death and resurrection.”

As the sun sets in the western sky and and evening shadows begin to fall, a new day is just around the corner filled with new joys and challenges. May we remain hope-filled in a time of distress, may we extend compassion to the suffering when and where we can, and may we continue our prayers for the healing of the world. Call if you need me. In Christ +

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Steve Keeler, Pastor