Dave's Deep Thoughts

Here's Pastor Dave McDowell's weekly devotional that he sends out to members of his church. Dave is my brother and serves as the Music Minister at Stewartstown UMC in PA.

She was just sitting there minding her own business.
She was about 16 feet tall,
12 feet long,
and we won't even talk about her utters......

It's not everyday that you see a cow of such proportions
When you are a member of a college fraternity,
it's hard not to pass up an opportunity like this one,
after all........
she was already on wheels,
she seemed so lonely,
asking to be taken for a ride.

And so, 30 years ago,
when I was living out the final days of undergrad life,
my frat brothers and I decided that Bessie needed to go for a ride.

And so,
in the middle of the night,
my outstanding college service fraternity,
went to the local convenience store where Bessie was grazing,
hitched her up to a pickup,
and took her on a tour of the small college town in which we lived.

You would have thought that Bessie would have been tied more securely,
but security was a much looser issue back in 1979,
at least in regards to 16 foot cows.

Oh, we were not only creative,
we were crafty,
In a one cop town,
it is always good to know on which side of town the cop is parked.
And so while the east side of town was secure and safe under law enforcement watch,
the west side was given a late night parade with Bessie as parade marshall.

For future cow parades,
I might suggest that one measures the height of the power lines
across the street,
but that is another story.

The vendors at the pizza shop, gas station,
and other convenience stores
applauded as Bessie passed by
to the sounds of pre-recorded mooing.

Bessie worked her way to the center of the college campus
where she was tied to a large oak tree on the quad.
A large bale of hay was left for her to graze till morning.

Let me say, if you want your day to get off to a rousing start,
there is nothing like watching a group of trustees, professors, and maintenance staff
attempt to figure out how a 16 foot cow matriculated to college.

Let me also say,
that most college students at 7am
in pre-coffee mode
do not even notice a 16 foot cow as they stagger
zombie like to the dining hall,
or if they do,
they love to have photos taken,
particularly involving the udders.

One day this past summer,
I was driving through a small town,
and I saw Bessie,
once again grazing at a local convenience store.
Memories of college days flooded back into my mind,
days when life seemed a lot simpler......
days when having a cow parade down main street in the middle of the night,
seemed like a good use of one's time and energy.

I think Jesus understands why we borrowed Bessie.
I think Jesus probably had a good laugh as well.
Much of the church's imagery is of Christ somberly confronting Pharisees,
or soberly healing a person, or chasing away demons,
or weeping in the garden,
or struggling with cross to Golgotha.

But I also envision Jesus laughing with friends after a wonderful meal,
enjoying a good joke,
or laughing with children and youth.
He came to teach us how to live life fully,
and that includes how to laugh.

I looked at the car I was driving this summer,
and realized with no truck,
there would be no cow parade that day.
But I still broke out into laughter.

"Blessed are you who weep now,
for you shall laugh."
Luke 6:21b

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