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| CLOUDY! |
When I think of November, I hear Gordon Lightfoot singing about "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" "when the skies of November turn gloomy."
And when I think of November, I think of clouds, gray clouds, pervasive clouds, clouds that are like a ceiling ever lowering on me, ushering in my first taste of it getting dark before it's time for supper.
Yup, you can always count on your pondering parson to lift your spirits! Before you simply sign your name to this article and leave it for your suicide note, let me make a stab at lifting my spirits and yours.
Let's talk about clouds.
Even though clouds are "downers" for us, clouds are often painted as "uppers" in the Bible. It was a cloud that God used to lead the people in the wilderness. "The LORD went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way," Exodus 13:21
The Lord's presence is often signified by a cloud: "And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud." Exodus 16:10
Moses met God in a cloud on Mt. Sinai: "The glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the cloud." Exodus 24:16
God often speaks in a cloud: "Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders;" Numbers 11:25
Nor should we forget that glorious experience Jesus and the disciples had on the mountain of the transfiguration: "While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, 'This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!'" Matthew 17:5
And remember how Jesus left our earth? "When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight." Acts 1:9
Jesus even told us that a cloud would figure in his return: "Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in a cloud' with power and great glory." Luke 21:27
But the very best cloud to think about in November is the one that is mentioned in Hebrews 12:1 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,"
On All Saints Sunday, we remembered the great cloud of witnesses that surround us.
It's November again. It's CLOUDY! Seems like the clouds have just settled in and engulfed us. Clouds are a good thing to give thanks for come Thanksgiving too. I'm guessing that at most Thanksgiving tables, with the family gathered around for the annual feast, we can't help but think about all those who have shared this meal with us in the past who are now in a different realm. They are part of that great cloud of witnesses and they are cheering for us to "run with perseverance the race that is set before us,"
God is good, even when, especially when, it is cloudy.
