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For God-fearing people around the world, Passion Week and its Hebrew counterpart Passover, represent a time for both serious reflection, profound gratitude, and divine hope for the future. What we're experiencing in Cohocton this week instead, however, could be described as a kind of emotional, moral, and ethical melt-down, and I've begun to ponder what would happen if, instead of melting DOWN into anger and division and legalism, we melted UP into repentence, forgiveness, and joyful reconciliation. What could the God of the universe do with a community of broken and contrite hearts? Then I had a dream, like a daytime vision or imagination, that I'd like to share with you.

It was a sunny summer Sunday afternoon and three of us were walking along the hot dusty clay of Moore Road - George Buss, Gerald Moore, and me. Gerald was telling us about his childhood days growing up on the hill, and we were enjoying the scenery together. As we looked to the south an almost endless cornfield spread out before us, its stalks gently waving in the warm breeze. All was quiet except for an occasional bird call. The sky was blue with puffy clouds floating along, and there wasn't a sign of industry, not a single windmill in sight.

Our gaze drifted over to the north where we began to behold a wonderful vista sweeping down the hill and over Canandaigua Lake in the valley below. There, in the midst of it, was Jim and Judi Hall's Italianesque villa, surrounded by colorful gardens without a single pine tree to obscure the breathtaking view. As we approached their house, Jim and Judi came out with their big dog to greet us. We turned in through their gate and all spontaneously decided to stroll together down the hill to see the old place where Gerald had grown up. The memories flowed as we came back up the hill together and stayed to chat awhile over iced tea. No one even noticed that George's speech was flowing as clearly as the Conhocton in spring...

Labels: Morality