It is Wednesday, and it seems like Tuesday. Labor Day squeezed in. We miss beauty when it is small. Big captures our attention. The sequoias are awe-inspiring. The Grand Canyon is majestic. In our society, cash is king. We labor in the trenches with the hope that one day we will be the king. In reality, we are laboring so that the king will have a new robe. Boards of corporations and Universities seek the well-to-do to take a seat among the elite. Money and fame are equated with wisdom and understanding. Those who are satisfied with what we have are considered unmotivated. Our colleagues ask us what we do with our days. They have a get-rich-quick scheme tailored for our needs. We are clothed and comfortable and often in our right mind, yet somehow diminished due to a lack of motivation to acquire more. Of late, our government has entered the business of owning parts of private businesses. This is from the political party that swears against socialism. Who shall the government give the next contract to: the independents or the business that they own part of?

The Old Man saw a little hummingbird lying on the sidewalk, dead. The Old Man studied the little creature for a moment, as it is hard to see them well when their rapid wings are moving. The little hummingbird is a marvel of God’s creation. A beautiful creature. A bird with a mission of drinking the sweet nectar of life. He gathers no coin. Little Hummingbird is happy to be in the game. Few have his long beak. His rapidity of winged flight is unparalleled. I think he must have hit the grocery store window. No doubt he was looking inside for some sugar water.

The days grow short when you reach September. So it goes with our lives. We spend years chasing the capitalist dream we inherited. Paula Abdul told us, ‘Two steps forward, one step back.’ We working folks see the summit and marshal the strength to apply our climbing pick ax and get another foothold, only to slip and swing by our safety rope. Many of us do not have a safety rope. Churches took to preaching the Prosperity Doctrine many years ago. Jesus wants you to be rich, the preacher told us. As we worked towards the goal of Christians getting a free pass to economic glory, we noticed that the Preacher was rich, but many in the congregation were poorer than ever. What about the poor Christians, we ask? Did they not get the memo? Did Christ have servants? Did he say render unto Cesar the things that are Caesar’s and put an extra coin in the hand of the tax collector to obtain a better seat at the table?

Have you looked at the butterflies? They are lovely in their handiwork. It has been said that the poorest hard-working people leave the best tips at restaurants. Those who labor know what a tip can mean to the ability of their server to pay their bills for the month. The Little Hummingbird is settled next to the homeless children outside the restaurant. He watches as they look forlorn and seek a few pennies to buy something to eat. He wishes he could bring them some sugar water…