Wisdom from Moses and…Yogi
Yogi Berra, born and raised in the Italian Hill neighborhood of St. Louis, and famously played baseball for the Yankees, gave us much to be thankful for. Aside from his remarkable play as both a gifted catcher (he threw right) and a creative hitter (he batted left), he may be best remembered for his "Yogi-isms", malapropisms that twisted words and yet made so much screwy sense. Below are a few of my favorites.
"A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore."
"Baseball is ninety percent mental. The other half is physical."
"He hits from both sides of the plate. He's amphibious."
"I always thought that record would stand until it was broken."
"I don't know (if they were men or women fans running naked across the field). They had bags over their heads."
"If people don't want to come out to the ballpark, how are you going to stop them?"
"I'm not going to buy my kids an encyclopedia. Let them walk to school like I did."
"I never said most of the things I said."
"I think Little League is wonderful. It keeps the kids out of the house."
"It's like deja vu all over again."
"Nobody goes there anymore because it's too crowded."
Maybe my all-time favorite Yogi-ism I apply to how I feel about growing old. He is purported to have said of a smaller town, "It gets late early out there." Like most folks, I don't see myself getting older, but one look in the mirror tells a different story. I can't imagine not doing all the stuff I used to do, but it's getting harder all the time. I'm one fall away from being done skiing or biking or dancing the lead (again) in Swan Lake. It sure has gotten late, early! I remember my mom sounding crazy when, in her 70s, told me she still had the mind and heart of a young woman. I thought she was nuts. Now...I get it. Life is getting late...early.
A while ago in our adult class at church, we looked over Psalm 90, a song attributed to Moses. One verse in it reminded me of that line of Yogi's. Psalm 90:12 reads,
Teach us to number our days, so that we may present to you a heart of wisdom.
The older I get, the more I realize it's getting late and time is running out, so this is a timely reminder. It seems like a smart thing to be aware of the dwindling number of days we still have to invest in things that matter, and doing that helps build a heart of wisdom. Wisdom takes what we know and intentionally, carefully, prayerfully applies it to the situations we face. This verse seems to say we will have a chance to present stuff to God when we see him face to face. Presenting a heart of wisdom relates to giving an account of what each of us did with what we have been given. A heart of wisdom fills its wagon with good deeds and worthy pursuits.
Numbering our days doesn't look like Debbie-downer with a countdown clock, but more of an awareness that we are mortal and time does fly where the nights seem longer but the years much shorter. Memento Mori, the Stoics would remind one another, "Remember, you must die." So, let's really live in the meantime!
One woman in the class mentioned a talk she heard that taught the Hebrew word translated "number" can also be written as "treasure." To treasure our days rightly. That's an interesting twist that implies our task is not just to recognize our mortality, but to greet each day with expectant eyes. That each day holds time worth treasuring. So, maybe...
Greet each day as another gift given — even before your feet hit the floor
That gift is to be opened and made the most of — ask the Spirit to give you eyes to see
Value your time — Do an accounting of the stuff that devalues your gift (for me it's the velcro of TV)
Treasure the chance for another chance — each day is a new start
Remember in Dead Poets Society when Robin Williams takes the lads out to the trophy case and has them read a stanza from To the Virgins? It ties to what we are getting at here:
Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles today
Tomorrow will be dying.
Friends...it's getting late, early.
This day, this Tuesday, ponder what it might look like to treasure it and invest it, not just consume it as another one in a long, but limited, line of days. Have you begun the day thanking God for all you have? Who could use a call? Where might that extra $50 do some real good? Which shut-in has a honey-do list needing attention, but no honey around to help? Why would I eat lunch alone when I can ask another to join me?
Let's commit to not waste another chance to really live. Let's go!
Now, music for the week that culminates in Easter...He is Risen!
...and a funny for church on Easter Sunday (in case you're out of practice)
FUN THINGS TO DO DURING BORING SERMONS
~ Pass a note to the pianist asking whether he/she plays requests.
~ See if a yawn really is contagious.
~ Devise ways of climbing into the balcony without using the stairs.
~ Listen for your preacher to use a word beginning with 'A' then 'B' and so on through the alphabet. Cheer "I won!!" when you hit 'Z'
~ Sit in the back row and roll a handful of marbles under the pews ahead of you. After the service, credit yourself with 10 points for every marble that made it to the front.
~ Using church bulletins or visitor cards for raw materials, design, test and modify a collection of paper airplanes.
~ Start from the back of the church and try to crawl all the way to the front, under the pews, without being noticed.
~ Raise your hand and ask for permission to go to the restroom.
~ Whip out a hankie and blow your nose. Vary the pressure exerted on your nostrils and trumpet out a rendition of your favorite hymn.
~ Try to indicate to the minister that his fly is undone.
~ By unobtrusively drawing your arms up into your sleeves, turn your shirt around backwards.
~ While people are locating the announced congregational song, step out in the aisle and begin waving your arms as if directing the hymn.
~ Sit close to the front, and during the prayer, turn around backwards, point, and count softly how many people do not have their heads bowed and eyes closed.
~ See how many hard candies you can stuff in your cheeks before your wife catches you.
~ Begin coughing and get louder and louder until you get to excuse yourself and leave the room.
~ Choose a different song than was announced and begin singing it as loud as you can.