April 22, 2024 — The Coffee Shop Devotions: A Ghetto Latte – A Poor Man/Woman’s Drink Or Just Cheating The System?

“Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi.” Matthew 23:1-7

I have heard about a variation of the iced latte, known as the “bootleg latte”, “ghetto latte”, or “poor man’s latte”. This coffee drink is an iced espresso ordered in a larger than normal cup and then filled up with free milk from the condiment station. The drink has spawned debate at coffee shops where an iced espresso is considerably cheaper than an iced latte. Here is a comment posted by one of the famous coffee shop baristas on a blog:

“The “ghetto-latte” is ordering any size Iced Americano, with no water and half ice (This….drink is an Iced Venti, no water, half ice, Americano). (You) then take the drink and go to the condiments bar and add (your) own half and half. Now my problem with that is… these 2 drinks cost

$4.82 (entered as iced grande and venti americanos) The EXACT drink… (with all the shots and milk) are called Iced Quad Venti Breve Latte and an Iced Triple Grande Breve Latte. Venti (and Grande) Americanos come with 4 and 3 shots (respectively) of espresso and then water (and ice).

Lattes are 2 shots (and 2, respectively) espresso, milk and Ice. Additional shots are $.55. Half and Half (breve) is also an additional charge. The cost of those 2 drinks (as Lattes) is $10.24 or so!!!!”

You can see how someone who works at a coffee shop may be just a little miffed at someone who knowingly is trying to cheat the system. Now, I am the first to lament the cost of drinks at my local coffee establishments, but it is not just the “well known” national shops – some of the local shops are just as expensive.

As I look around our churches today, I wonder why people think they can cheat the system when it comes to being a follower of Jesus. There are too many people who think if they come to church “once in a while”, or mail in a check occasionally, that this is enough to call themselves a “Christian”. It is true, to call yourself a Christian, you need only proclaim faith in Jesus.

But to be a follower requires more than cursory attendance, the occasional contribution, and the letter of membership. I am sorry to tell you this, but if you cannot remember the last time you went to church, then you are a “Bootlegger Christian” – someone who is trying to circumvent what Jesus wants most – your time. And why would you want to avoid Jesus? He will remember you – so why don’t you “remember him” and honor him with your presence?

Pastor Dave

April 21, 2024 – Easter +3B

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me, just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.” John 10:11-18

I remember listening to a story on the radio. It was a story about colors – the origin of words for colors in different languages. Did you know, for most languages, the first words that develop for colors is always black and white –– followed by red, yellow, green, and finally blue. The word for Red is always first — after black and white — and blue is always last. Some current languages, in fact, do not have a word for the color blue. Isn’t that odd? Did you also know that the color blue is not found in the bible? Those who worry a lot about the origin of words are people who like to read ancient writers like Homer – the author of such works as “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey”. Homer, you see, seemed to have a problem seeing colors; he called the ocean “dark wine” colored – which is the color he also used to describe cows and other animals. It presented some questions about Ancient Greeks and their ability to perceive color. It is possible, in light of evolutionary theory, that the retina of the Ancient Greek was not evolved to the point of full color perception. Different mammals have varying degrees of color vision and eyes are especially prone to mutation. But besides this evolutionary question there is the question of consciousness, the question of perception. This color vision problem could have been caused by a lack of visual perception that would lead to the creation of new words that were needed to explain a visual phenomenon. OK, let me simplify that – there is a phenomenon called “Linguistic Relativity” – or the inability to perceive a “thing” because there is no word that exists to explain it. Is it possible we cannot “see” something because we do not have a word for it – or is there more going on?

Did you know that sheep can only see SIX feet in front of their face? That means SHEEP…get lost six feet at a time – because they cannot see beyond six feet. Sheep, in other words, were the original “physically distancing” animal. Now, why is this important? Well, because I think we, like sheep, get so caught up in what is happening within our 6x6x6x6 personal space that we do not perceive others — especially others who are in need of our help.

WE are all like sheep – we can so easily get lost…a little bit at a time — because our perception becomes short-sided. We aren’t necessarily blind, we are near-sighted and do not see beyond our own needs. A sheep does not wake up some morning and say “I think I’ll try some green pastures over in Hershey today, or down at the beach”— they can’t see that far! A sheep GOES ASTRAY six feet at a time. WE get lost a little bit at a time — and we lose sight and go astray from our community SIX FEET at a time.

Where is the Good Shepherd leading you today? Over the next eight months this is the question we as a church should be asking ourselves. We have opportunities and challenges ahead of us. Now is the time to open our hearts to the Holy Spirit, to Jesus our Good Shepherd asking them to lead and guide us.

Pastor Dave