Author: Jon Gauger

“Went to a funeral this weekend,” I told my friend Jack, who walked in fiddling with the brown beret he’d just removed. “Sad business, funerals,” he offered gently—uncharacteristic for Jack.  Like a Jack I’d never known. "Being a graveside service, the preacher had to keep things short," I reported. “Good for him.  When it’s forty and windy, nobody wants windy preachers” (Jack was back). “Saw something that made me wonder a bit, though." "What's that?" inquired Jack. "After the service, the pastor offered the crowd a copy of the Gospel of John in an easy-reading translation." "Good for him.  But…

Why did the pilgrims come here?   Really. Don't bother looking for the answer in most school textbooks. Don't ask the growing ranks of revisionists. Instead, ask the Pilgrims. They speak clearly and unequivocally in a document known as the Mayflower Compact.  Written and signed just ten days after anchoring at Plymouth Rock, this charter is regarded as the first document to establish self-government in the New World.  It begins: "In the name of God, Amen." Note that the very first sentence in that very first governing document acknowledges God.  Not a god.  Or a force.  Or religion.  God.  Doesn't quite…

Is it just me, or are we steadily adding syllables to expressions that work just fine without them? Example. I overheard heard college administrators talk of the need for alternative classroom methods in this age of Coronavirus. They mentioned “new modalities for teaching.” Means the same thing as modes—but “modalities” adds three syllables. Up until recently, you might have described a powerful event as “transforming.” No longer. We’ve moved on to “transformative.” “Health” is out. “Wellness” is in. I understand that times and sensitivities change. But why do they always change for the longer? You used to go to the hearing doctor. Now it’s “The Center for…

Vietnam, 1968, Lai Khe (northwest of Saigon). In the signature dank and darkness known only to jungles, infantry platoon Sargent Russ Caforio stepped warily.  Their mission was to set up an ambush along a known enemy route.  “There were ten of us,” he recalls. “We carried Claymore mines, M-16’s, grenades, a Starlight scope, and a radio." That, and something much less flashy. “We also brought a spool of thin filament, similar to a fine fish line, which we strung around the perimeter of our ambush site about 100 feet out.” A low tech surveillance tool, it was surprisingly effective.  "If…

This morning it was fire-engine red, eye-catching and full of fall’s finest. This afternoon, that same leaf perches on my desk curled and brown and surprisingly brittle. That any living sprig could possess color and life so late in the season—as this leaf did— surprised me.  To the point, I had to pause my morning walk and snap a picture of the thing.  Even the stem was striking (this, after many nights where the temperature dropped into the lower 30s). But sunset tells a different story, a sadder tale if you want my opinion.  Not to get melodramatic (we are…

Adults reading familiar Bible stories: Predictable. Safe.    Kids reading familiar Bible stories: Unpredictable. Vulnerable. As a young mom, Lynnette recently revisited the story of Moses with her four children. Together, they pondered the dramatic moment where baby Moses was set afloat on the Nile river with nothing more than a homemade basket to protect him.  The kids expressed an intriguing range of concerns. SADIE (Age 4): That’s scary, because of crocodiles. JOSIE (Age 12): Wait! Is the Nile brackish?  Because crocs are saltwater reptiles, right? CALEB (Age 8): Crocodiles are a worry.  But did you know that the Egyptians dumped…

Goodbye watermelon. Goodbye swimming pool. Goodbye lawn chair. Fall comes at an exorbitant price. For me, one of the sadder summer losses is crickets.  They speak peace to the troubled night and calm to the cacophony we call early morning.  But as I take my sunrise walks in the second half of October, the cricket symphony decrescendos dramatically. A few courageous critters sill scrape their wings and make the music.  But as early morning temperatures dip into the upper 30s, the insect orchestra reduces to a few brave soloists.  When I hear one now, I smile big and walk gently…

It’s one of the funniest lines—that never gets a laugh. I refer to the safety demonstration from a flight last week: This aircraft is equipped with six emergency exits… Your seat cushion may be used as a flotation device… Smoking in the lavatories at any time is prohibited… Then the flight attendant rattles off this disturbing scenario: “In the event of a sudden loss in cabin pressure, oxygen masks will drop down automatically.  Reach up and pull the mask to your face—and breathe normally.” Think about it.  What could possibly cause a “sudden loss” in cabin pressure?  A bullet through the…

I sat in the Batmobile! In case you missed it, the Batmobile made a stop in Hinsdale, Illinois.   But I was impressed by more than the car itself.  In an age of high crime and low trust, the dynamic duo simply left the Batmobile right on the street.  Neither Commissioner James Gordon nor the Gotham Chief of Police was on hand to guard the iconic vehicle. What was it like to sit in the Batmobile, you ask? Impressive, frankly.  From the bubbled Plexiglas windshield to the dash-mounted Detect-A-Scope, I was lost in the lore of Gotham City.  I grabbed the…

Should you wear a mask or not? It’s the Coronavirus conversation guaranteed to generate as much heat as it does light.  But I wonder—would Jesus wear a mask? Note that I’m not asking if masks are effective.  I’m asking if Jesus would wear a mask. The short answer is yes. I think it's clear Jesus would wear a mask—whenever it was either required by ordinances or by His desire to "look out for the interests of others." On what basis do I make such a claim?   When officials questioned whether or not Jesus paid the temple tax, He paid by…