As much as I like the summer and its heat the early summer we’ve had so far has been brutal. This June was the warmest June since 1953, the year I was born! I’m hoping for a break in the heat for a couple of reasons – electricity and fishing. We’ve done a pretty good job this year of keeping our electrical consumption down, but you can’t simply turn off the air conditioning because of the effects of heat and humidity on the building, furniture, and piano (not to mention me). Part of the downside of having a historical church is that it wasn’t built for air conditioning efficiency. The high ceilings are better suited for allowing the heat to rise and drawing air in through open windows, not to mention shorter sermons (some of the guys will pulling A/C fuses as soon as they read this). Anyway, we will continue to try to conserve electricity, even in the heat, so that our expenses will stay below budget and so that when we ‘crank it up’ on Sunday the costs don’t overcome us.

Fishing, I am not a night fisherman, even though I have fished at night and probably will again, I enjoy the visual part of fishing too much to fish in the dark on a regular basis. But man-oh-man, the last few weeks have even driven me in from the lake during the middle of the day. It’s hard to imagine what July and August and early September are going to be like if this keeps up, I might have to develop night vision because not fishing isn’t an option. Nothing in this life is ever going to be perfect, even if for a fleeting moment everything seems to be right there is always something that is out of place or in the way. What we learn as we mature is to deal with imperfection, accept it and even relish the lessons that imperfection teaches us. If we were only satisfied with perfection we would be in big trouble because just the opposite is the nature of the world and humanity. And think about it, if it weren’t for imperfection there would be no change, no growth, and creativity and imagination wouldn’t be needed. We think we long for perfection, but what I think we’re really doing is challenging ourselves to dream and to work and be a part of something that draws us out of our routine.

In the end, happiness will be measured by the doing rather than the achieving – it’s our nature. I think were created to be this way and that this part of us is reflective of God’s image. God’s perfection is expressed in action rather than stasis, and in relationships rather than the status quo of being the boss and needing some underlings in order to feel powerful. This is the kind of perfection we are called to seek in scripture, because this was the kind that Christ showed us when He took on our nature and our struggle to live with other folks and seeking ways to show them that we care for them, and working to make our world better and consistent with God’s intentions, and seeking to put God’s will to work in a world that often doesn’t want to go along with us or actively disagrees with us. These are all ways that our imperfection becomes part of what it means to be a Christian. I take a lot of grief about fishing rather than catching, but I like it that way because it’s the challenge that intrigues me. And anyway, I want to remind you that Jesus called us to “fish” for people rather than to “catch” people – that’s where the fun is.