SUNDAY, JUNE 15, 2008

THE FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

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Dear Friends in Our Lord Jesus:

A touching story is told about the great Bobby Jones, the only golfer to win all four major championships in the same calendar year. The story is recounted by writer Mark Frost in his book Grand Slam.

Few people remember that Jones died at the age of 69 on December 18, 1971, after battling a painful spinal disease for more than 23 years. The disease -- syringomyelia -- caused Jones to lose control gradually of his ability to walk. As his legs began to deteriorate, Jones first started walking with a cane, then with a leg brace, and finally settled down into a wheelchair.

A friend once asked him if there were a cure for the disease.

“Oh, sure,” Jones replied.

“My word, man, what IS it?” his friend asked, thinking that perhaps a new treatment had been discovered.

But Jones replied in one word: “Death.”

Not only did Jones accept his fate with confidence, but he allowed his faith to override his physical deterioration. Through it all, he remained grateful for the time he was given and for the many blessings he had received. And when confronted by friends who grieved over his situation, Jones replied that in life, as in golf, “you play the ball where it lies.”

St. Paul looked at life in a similar way. “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say it, rejoice!” Paul wrote (Philippians 4:4-7). “Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

There is absolutely nothing in this life that we -- and God -- cannot handle.

-- The Very Rev. Dr. Steve Sellers +