Author: Jon Gauger

The baby. The one in the manger. Just who was He? When He was born, opinions ranged from “the son of a nobody from a nothing town” to “the Son of God come from heaven.”  After a three-and-a-half-year public ministry that included feeding the 5000, giving sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and raising the dead back to life—opinions changed little.  To many, Jesus was still nothing more than the son of a nobody from a nothing town. Two thousand years later, it’s still the same. We just can’t seem to agree on who Jesus is.  Recently, some…

Star Wars.  Whether you love the iconic movie series or never saw a single film, stay with me.  See, there’s a life lesson or two in a Star Wars video game that has captured the attention of eight-year-old Caleb. I saw him playing the game with his dad.  On the planet Tatooine, his dangerous mission was to destroy an elite enemy platoon. Using his controller, Caleb could maneuver wherever he wanted.  But wander too far, and the screen flashed, "Return to Objective." As I watched Caleb exploring underground tunnels, one of his virtual commanding officers cried out, "We need you…

It was the first walk in the first snow of the season. With the wet white stuff falling, I couldn't resist a hike around the one-mile paved track that arcs around a neighborhood park. The mesmerizing flakes tumbled onto turf not quite chilled enough to sustain much accumulation.  All the more reason to hurry up, get out, and enjoy. A glance at the slushy stuff gave evidence that early as it was, I was not the first to start racking up a daily quota of 10-thousand steps. After a few minutes, I subconsciously began studying the impressions in the snow…

“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…