The Captains Chair

While listening to Mike’s message yesterday, I was reminded of something from my days in the Navy. I was an officer aboard a US Nuclear Powered Submarine.

On the sub, there is a room called the wardroom. It is the place that the officers eat their meals, hold meetings, etc. At the table there is a specific order that the officers sit. The CO is at the head of the table, the XO to his right, the next senior officer to his left, then it moves down the table with the most junior officer being in the chair farthest form the CO. There is one exception; the supply officer, no matter his rank sits at the foot of the table. This ordering is steeped in naval tradition. Naval tradition is very strong even in the modern nuclear powered navy.

Another tradition is that no one sits in the Captains chair. If he is not there, the chair remains empty. It is a visible symbol that he is ultimately in charge. If there are too many people to sit around the table, people will stand rather than sit in the Captains chair. It is sort of sacred.

I can remember one time having some midshipmen assigned to our sub for a “summer cruise”. Several of the junior officers came into the wardroom and found the midshipmen playing cards at the table. One of them was sitting in the Captains chair. They were quickly instructed in the naval tradition of the Captain’s chair. Had it been the Captain or XO (executive officer) who caught them, they might have received a severe tongue lashing.

How does this tie in to Mike’s message? Well his message was about how God is on the throne throughout the universe, except in our hearts. God lets us control who sits on that throne. It is rightfully his, and only he should sit there, but we like that midshipmen, sit there when we should not. God is gracious, and doesn’t give us the tongue lashing that we deserve when we sit in his chair. He just lets us sit there. Like that midshipmen, we need to learn that it is His chair, not ours.

Veterans Day

This is the Scoutmaster minute that I gave to our Boy Scout Troop last night.

Can anyone tell me what Saturday was? That’s right, it was Veterans Day.

Veterans Day is the day that we honor those who served in our countries military. Many of you have family members who have served or are now serving our country that way. Take the time to thank them for their service.

The scout oath starts like this. On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and … My country. Serving in the military is one of the ways that we can do our duty to our country.

Let me share with you a story about a couple of scouts who were doing their duty during World War II.

Some of the fiercest fighting of World War II was on Okinawa. It was long and bloody and fought with fierce determination by both sides. In the midst of one of the battles a young American soldier fell wounded. As he lay there about to lose consciousness he saw a Japanese soldier standing over him, bayonet at the ready, poised to strike. The American soldier was weak from blood loss and near to blacking out, but he raised his right hand in a familiar sign - the universally recognized Scout sign. Then he lost consciousness expecting never to wake up.

He did wake up, though. When he came to, he was in an American field hospital. When the medics found him, his wounds had been dressed. In his pocket he found a note, written in Japanese. He found someone to translate the note, and this is what it said:

"I could not bring myself to kill a fellow Scout."

The note also had the address of the Japanese soldier who, instead of killing him, had tended to his wounds before moving on.

When the war had ended, the young soldier was assigned to the occupation force in Japan. He went to find his savior at the first opportunity. He discovered that the Japanese soldier who had spared his life and tended his wounds had died later in the fighting on Okinawa. But his family had survived, and the American became their friend and helped them in every way that he could during his time in Japan.

When asked why he helped them, he explained what had occurred and showed them the note. The people were so touched by his story that they erected a statue of an American Scout and a Japanese Scout clasping hands, which stands in Kyoto, Japan today. It is a monument to our shared humanity - that in the midst of war and violence, of hatred and bloodshed, two young men found that they were in fact brothers.

It is a monument to the Ideals of Scouting - that even when nations are deeply divided, Scouting is a link that joins us and encourages compassion, mercy, understanding, and peace.

Although these two scouts were on different sides of the battle, they were both doing their duty … To country, but more importantly to God.

Saying no to God

I was in a meeting yesterday, and we were discussing someone's ability to stand up to his boss when needed. There was no question in my mind that this person could do that to anyone, even God himself.

Well on further thought, we all say no to God himself at one point or another. Maybe saying no to God isn't that hard.

Why is it easier for us to say no to God than it is for us to say no to our earthly boss? Seems like saying no to God should be harder.

Hmm... Wonder if I can make a scoutmaster minute out of this one.

Image of God

Normally when I hear the phrase "image of God" I think of how he made us in his image. Today I was reading in Psalms, and I saw a verse that stuck out. Psalms 50:21(b) says "you thought I was altogether like you. But I will rebuke you and accuse you to your face." In this chunk of the passage, God is talking to the wicked. However, I think the message applies to us all. These people made God into their own image. They thought God was just like them. God is not like us. We can be like God, but not the other way around.

I want to make sure that I have as accurate an image of God as I can have in this life. What is your image of God?

Weird Connection

Yesterday was Halloween. Our family usually does a family movie night for Halloween. Each person picks out some candy that they like, and rather than go from house to house, we watch movies and eat too much candy!

This year was the same. We checked out a bunch of movies from the library, and after I got home from work, we watched two. The two we watched were "Sky High" and "The Greatest Game Ever Played". Both were about what I expected.

What I didn't expect was a common thread between them. (spoiler warning) Both movies had a sub theme of a class system. In Sky High, it was the "Heroes" and the "Side Kicks". In "The Greatest Game Ever Played", it was the wealthy aristocrats and the commoners. Both movies put the class separation in a bad light.

What was even more interesting is that this morning I was reading Psalm 49 and in verses 5-9, God tells us how he feels about class distinctions.

Psalm 49

5 Why should I fear when evil days come,when wicked deceivers surround me-
6 those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches?
7 No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him-
8 the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough-
9 that he should live on forever and not see decay.

These words made me think about the wealthy English guys in the golf movie. They thought that their family line and wealth made them better than anyone else. In God's eyes we are all equal, and all loved too (John 3:16). I know it is kind of a weird connection, but I thought I would share it anyhow.