Today’s Scripture
Reading (December 5, 2017): Acts 1
David Cassidy died last
month (November 2017). For a generation of women, he was the heartthrob. His
pictures adorned the walls of countless little girl’s rooms as they grew up
(including my sisters). He was Keith Partridge of “The Partridge Family.” The
guys, of course, were in love with David’s on-screen sister, Laurie (Susan Dey),
although I admit that I always wanted David’s feathered hair and did my best to
approximate it. I don’t think that I missed an episode of “The Partridge Family”
growing up, and many of the plotlines from the show are still a part of my
memory. “The Partridge Family” was initially
designed as a vehicle for Shirley Jones, Mom Partridge, but her real-life step-son, David, quickly rose to take
the lead with her. When David assumed the
role of Keith, the producers were still blissfully unaware that he could even sing.
But once they learned of his talent, David, backed by Shirley, began to worm
his way into the pre-teen heart.
Cassidy died of organ
failure after a short battle with dementia. But what is probably most tragic
about the story of David Cassidy are his last words, spoken to his daughter,
Katie (who stars as Black Siren in “Arrow”). According
to Katie, David’s last words were “So much wasted time.”
I have no idea exactly
what David was referring to, but I can make an educated guess. Considering that
the one who got to hear Cassidy’s last words was his daughter, I can’t help but
wonder if the message was very personal and directed at Katie. Cassidy had
previously said “I wasn’t her father, I was her biological father, but I didn’t raise her. She has a
completely different life.” There is nothing quite like knowing that the end
has arrived to focus your priorities, and I wonder if that might not be the
context of those final words. I wish I had spent more time with my daughter; I wish I had been there for her, and that
I had been part of the raising of her.
As Jesus prepares to
leave his disciples for the second time,
once again life seemed to focus down for the apostles. And I wonder if Jesus’s
heart didn’t break just a little as they asked him if this was the time when he
would restore the Kingdom? Had they missed the point that badly that they were
still thinking of a military kingdom? Had they ultimately
lost the idea of being a force in the world through love? The world had
suffered under many military coups and
still failed to live up to its potential. One more coup, even one led by the
Messiah, was unlikely to lead to success. The world needed a different way.
And so, as the Christian
Church prepares to launch, once more Jesus asks his followers to lay aside
their dreams of domination to love a lost
and broken world. It is not a task that we have often done well with, but in
every generation, the dream is lifted
anew. Over the past 2000 years, there has been
so much wasted time, but maybe in this age,
we can learn to love like Jesus, and through that love, shape a broken world. After
all, haven’t we wasted enough time?
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Acts 2
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