June 5, 2005

• B"H

  
  

    

  
  

  WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE?

  
  

   

  
  

  When you get to be as old as I am, you will see not only the passing of one season into another, but one era into another as well. For the past several years I have taken up the odd interest of pulling weeds in our front yard. Why is this odd you ask? Hmm, considering that we live in an apartment building, as mere renters, might give you some clue I guess. Even though we don’t “own” this place, I still feel a certain sense of “ownership” anyway. I like seeing a nicely maintained lawn. I feel that by pulling the weeds in this small domain, I might be making some real, although slight, improvement to the appearance of the neighborhood at large. One of the highly respected men on our block recently gave me a sort of back-handed compliment. Since I’m out in the yard nearly six days a week, sometimes for as much as an hour and a half, I see a lot of my neighbors as they come and go. One day, as this fine gentleman and his wife were walking by, he remarked that I was determined, however foolish, in my efforts to remove all the weeds by hand. It was nice I guess to be regarded as steadfast and consistent. Worse things could have been said I’m sure.

  
  

   

  
  

  So, in my own small way, I’m out there; laboring in the yard pulling weeds and trying to “be a farmer.” (Reference a previous post). I’d like to make the world a better place, both physically and spiritually. I talk to people about GOD and what I think it means to follow Him in our world today, but I also believe that He is glorified by the works of our hands, as we care for the domain he has set us in.

  
  

   

  
  

  Being a mere child in the 50’s, I don’t have much first hand memory of the Beat Era. This was the time of the Beatniks of course; Alan Ginsberg, Andy Warhol, Jack Kerouac, Jackson Pollack and many, many others. Their influence was pervasive in many aspects of our culture; art, music, literature, etc. They were rebels for sure, but I think that most of us would do well to be rebels in our time also. Rebellion against tyranny is held in high regard in our western culture. The Beatniks regarded the principalities that shaped and controlled their world as tyrants, and thus they rejected them as best they could. In this, was both their strength and their weakness. Their critique of the world, as they knew it, was accurate and useful, but they were sorely lacking in offering a viable means of making things better. Blind optimism is never helpful in the long run. Just thinking or hoping, that things will be better someday, won’t make it happen. Maybe pulling weeds by hand is a foolish endeavor after all, but I think that such an action points to the possibility of what could be, and thus fosters hope.

  
  

   

  
  

  Coming on the heels of the Beat Era was the 60’s and the Hippie movement. For better or worse, I knew this era very well. Although I never ran away from home and moved into a crash pad, I was a sort of weekend hippie during part of my High School years. For the most part, my interest and involvement with the Hippie culture was external. I liked the psychedelic music, the clothes people wore, and the way they spoke, but I didn’t fully agree with their ideology, then or now. Most of the social commentaries that report on the Hippies tend to write them off as drug addicted dropouts from society. This assessment is not without its merits, but neither does it paint a complete picture. The Hippies, like the Beatniks before them and the New Agers and Punks after them, had a good as well as a dark side.

  
  

   

  
  

  I became a believer in 1973 during an era called the Jesus Movement. Although this movement was of short duration, it had a tremendous and long lasting impact. Two of the largest modern denominations came out of this time period. (Calvary Chapel and The Vineyard). For the most part, the Jesus Movement was populated by Hippies and Hippie-types – low level wannabees. (I fear that to some extent, this is where I fit in. I never experimented with drugs or ran away, but I did embrace the nomenclature and some of the “look” of the movement.) In 1967, when the Jesus Mvmt is said to have begun, the Hippies and street people had a head-to-head clash with the Son of GOD. The Flower Children were swept into the Kingdom of GOD in vast numbers. In 1971, in Calvary Chapel alone, approximately 100 people per week were responding to altars calls and making professions of faith. This level of religious fervor is what gives credence to the notion that this was a true revival in our times.

  
  

   

  
  

  I went to Costa Mesa, Calif. in July of 1974 and visited Calvary Chapel in person. The place was so huge I had to look up to see if it was enclosed. I had the feeling of being in a mall or something. The occasion of my visit was nothing special. I went with a friend of mine (Gary Ray, where are you?) who wanted to visit his Grandmother near there in San Diego. We drove down from Sherman Oaks and attended a Thursday night Bible study. There was no great fanfare, just Chuck Smith teaching his way through the Book of Acts. Although I’m not trained as an assessor of crowds, I estimated that there were no less than two thousand people in attendance that night. It was truly awesome.

  
  

   

  
  

  So, what happened over a period of time to the Hippie/Jesus Freaks? Hmm, that’s a good question. In Matthew’s Gospel chapter 13, Jesus tells the parable of a man who plants seed in a field. Some fell by the wayside and was eaten by fowls. Some fell upon stony ground and died due to the heat and lack of roots. Some grew up among thorns and was choked by the thickets. Others took root in good soil though and grew and brought forth fruit. So also was it with the Jesus Freaks. Some fell away because they didn’t get established in the Word of GOD. Some were drawn away after other interests. Some had their faith compromised by the cares of this world. Others flourished and grew and became faithful witnesses to the grace of GOD. The Jesus Mvmt started outside the boundaries of organized religion. It wasn’t official trained clergy who started the movement or who sustained it either. The Spirit of the LORD was moving like the wind, touching and changing lives according to the dictates of His own will.

  
  

   

  
  

  After the era of the Jesus People (~ 1967-1975), hordes of new believers filled congregations all across the country. In addition to the influx of new faces in the crowd, the Jesus People brought

  
  

  ideas and thoughts from their Hippie days with them. Some of these were good and others weren’t. Penninah, my wife, was one step too late for the Jesus Mvmt. She became a believer in 1980 after the entire era was over. Even though she missed the main event, she nevertheless embodies many of the values and practices made popular then. One thing that I’d like to celebrate about my good friend is her unending sense of caring for other people.

  
  

   

  
  

  Last week Penninah was working at a conference in downtown Chicago. She is a student at Roosevelt University in the Hospitality and Service Industry and from time to time her professors arrange opportunities to either work or volunteer at conferences and trade shows in the area. Sometime during this last event she met a lovely woman from PA named Cheryl. As it turned out, Cheryl is a profession therapist and was attending the conference on business. My wonderful wife noticed that Cheryl was alone and invited her to come join us for dinner and a time out at a local blues club after the events of the day were over. Cheryl was very touched by this act of kindness from strangers, as most of us would be I think. We drove her up here to our neighborhood, took her out to eat and had a great time listening to music (blues) for several hours. Because of this, and other such actions, my wife is rightly entitled to her chosen e-mail address - the hippyhousewife. (Hippie is mispelled due to an error on the part of her husband who set this up for her, grr.) Just as the Hippies were famous for their informalities and spontaneity, so too is my wife known for her genuine sense of hospitality and inclusion.

  
  

   

  
  

  Praise be to GOD! Thank you LORD for the many blessings you have invested in my life through this wonderful servant of Yours. I am inspired and encouraged by her continual example of showing Your love and care in various practical ways. Watch over her and keep her ever near to Your heart. Protect her from evil and harm and cause the works of her hands to always bring glory to Your Holy Name. Ahmayn!! (Amen!!)

  
  

   

  
  

  Blessings to all,

  
  

   

  
  

  Shlomo

  
  

   

  • 8:35 pm
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