“View from Altitude - I”

“Conflict at Rotate!”

It was a cold almost snowing South Dakota wintry morning as I walked toward Base Operations.  The temperature had dropped overnight well below freezing.  Though it had warmed up some, still in all it was cold and the wind.  Oh, the wind. It was howling and gusting out of the north—the north of Canada that is.  It blew south as if it had made its journey with me in its sights.  My flight suit and jacket did little to stop it—forget the flight gloves.

“Hoser 54, taxi and hold short of the active for traffic on final.”  It was now three hours after I had arrived at base ops.  As I sat there in the jump seat watching, it always fascinated me to watch the pilots as we had taxied and now were waiting for takeoff.

Pre-flight

I had joined the aircrew at the weather brief.  Weather had reported “Temperature is 35, with winds out of the North at 15.  Snow is in the forecast but should not get here until 2000 this evening.  It may be a bit bumpy as you climb out as there are winds aloft.  No weather at altitude in route or on the refueling track.” The sergeant continued, “Any questions?”  There were none.

The pilot that had the takeoff, in this case the aircraft commander gave a quick brief that included take off speeds, mission, refueling track, etc.  It concluded with, “…if we have problems after pickle we will rotate and work our problems in the air.”  Then we boarded the crew bus and headed out to the airframe.  It was a KC 135 R Model.

As we exited the crew bus into the cold wind, we were met with the sound of the AGE equipment as it had been supplying power to the airplane so maintenance could do their pre-flight checks.  It was cold and so once the airplane was loaded, it was a relief to climb the crew entry ladder and get out of the wind.  Soon there was engine start, the crew ladder was pulled up, the crew entry door closed and sealed, and the grate over the entryway dropped into place.  We were as they say, "Buttoned up."  There I was center and back of the two pilots where I had a clear view of the panel.

Taxiing

After a short while we taxied out of our parking spot and bumped our way down the taxiway toward the active runway.  If there ever was anything that said an airplane is built for the air and not the ground, taxing proved the point.  Then came the radios call, “Hoser 54, hold short of the active for traffic on final.”

We taxied off of the taxiway, made the turn onto the hammer head and held there waiting for clearance.  The four CFM-56 engines are now at idle.  We waited for the traffic to land and clear the active runway.  I sat feeling privileged to be sitting on the cold wood of the jump seat.  The cushion had long ago been lost.  I listened on the inner-phone as there was the normal chit-chat banter and talk of the mission.  It was a great day to be a “blue suited” chaplain in “jet jammies” riding along with an aircrew on an aerial refueling mission.

Take Off!!

Soon the call came, “Hoser 54 cleared for takeoff.”  The aircraft commander acknowledged the call, kicked off the brakes, and advanced the throttles.  The sound of the engines spindling up was noticeable.  The flight deck grew quiet except for the creaks and cracks of an airframe built before the aircrew had been born.  We made the turn onto center line of the active runway and began our takeoff roll.

Soon the aircraft commander would further advanced the throttles and the airframe gathered more and more speed.  The pilot in the right seat called out speeds.  “S1,” “Pickle,” then it came, “Rotate.”   It was then that the aircraft commander pulled back on the yoke and….

Abort, Abort, Abort

No, the takeoff was not aborted.  It was too late for that anyhow as we had passed, “pickle.”  However, for a minute let us abort the story and consider that in the moment of rotate there came a conflict.  Not among the air crew, though I have seen such happen.  There came a conflict between two warriors, each of whom would contend with the other in order to win the battle for the airplane.

On one side was a warrior, her name was Gravity.  At her disposal were all of her laws and physics.  Now she was quite happy when we went through all the crew briefings, road the crew bus, started engines, taxied, and rolled out onto the active.  She had absolutely no problem with any of what we had done because she was in complete control.  However when we achieved “rotate” and the aircraft commander pulled back on the yoke, she suddenly came alive because another warrior showed up to try to take control.

The other warrior was named Aeronautics.  At her disposal were all of her laws and physics.  Now she too did not care much when we were on the ground but when we hit “rotate” she decided to take charge.  Problem was that that the two warriors, Gravity and Aeronautics were each trying to be in control. 

Both warriors were determined to win the conflict.  Both fought their battle valiantly, one to maintain control and the other to gain control.  Only one could win.

Life’s Conflicts

Such is so with many of the dichotomies of life.  There is the difference and even conflict between,

What we want and what we know is right.

What was done and what should have been done.

What we find pleasurable and what we find productive.

What is in the immediate and what is in the long-term.

What we understanding by reason and what we understand by faith.

This also is the difficulty with coming to faith in Jesus Christ.  There is one who seeks to keep control of each of us usually with incorrect thoughts, weak resolve, sometimes with appetites run rampant, emotions that inflame, and so much more but control none the less.  He does not give up easily. 

However, there is another who comes only by invitation and with permission.  It is He who seeks to come into one’s life to provide healing, help, and hope.  The conflict between the two is the conflict of the ages.  It has lasted longer than any other conflict in history.  It is the battle for the soul of man and mankind.  No one is exempted from the conflict.

View from Altitude – II

The second post is forthcoming in a day or two.  It poses the question, “Pain with Purpose” or “Pain without Purpose?”

"Answer Evil With the Greater Good"

Two years ago four young people--police officers with families, in the prime of career and life, and serving in their community were senselessly executed by an evil mad man.  Later that week he attempted to kill another officer only to meet his own demise--for which many of us are grateful.  Yes, that man and others prove that evil and all that is of the Kingdom of Darkness (Satan's domain) is alive on planet earth.  It will remain so as things go from bad to worse.  While we have an eternal hope in Jesus Christ, there is more in this life than that of some future utopian hope.  Such hope is not without present practice.  It is within that present practice that God's "good" is to answers such evils as was witnessed two years ago and as well other evils be they personal, national, or international.

Just as the Pacific Northwest, here in the USA was on alert for the despicable killer of those four young people, we too need to be on alert since the Devil and his ilk are on the prowl to create chaos, dissatisfaction, disconnect, and yes even murder etc.  There can be no doubt that the killer who is not worthy to have his name repeated, along with his cronies were evil--desperately evil and each worthy of the full measure of such punishment as society might impose upon them!  Not many will agree that the punishment of even those on the periphery was nearly enough.

Such evil bring suffering but it did not end with the four families, their police department, and the community in which they served.  Such evil brings suffering wherever it is allowed to roam unchecked!  This was not only true in this case but also on a broader scale.

One need only look at the suffering Christians in Muslim countries such as Egypt and in places such as Africa to understand that being a Christian is a serious business.  No other faith group has suffered what Christian have suffered and continue to suffer at the hands of Godless communism (Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot) and at the hands of other religious ideologies such as the one just mentioned.

Yet, just as those four served to keep order, preserve right, and stave off lawlessness in their community so too, we who serve the risen Christ must stand for those and other things.  Other things such as those that  bring unity among Christians who are not so in name but in relationship with the risen Christ.  That is so be they Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant.

Also, we who serve Christ, must seek to preserve that which is right, and live out the laws of the Scriptures--those things that keep us in right relationship with God, then right relationship with one another, and finally right relationship with self.  As my mother used to say, "JOY = Jesus, then Others, then You."

We as Christians often have been taught that we are a hospital for those injured by the world's treatment, fleshly failures, and Satanic attack.  That thought sounds so good and contains some truth but not the full measure of truth for no army has ever been victorious, nor has it held one centimeter of ground by being a hospital for the injured.  Aggressive armies win and so the Kingdom of Heaven's army--the Lord's Army, the Church must march forward in Scripture and prayer, living out the Lord's commands, doing good to all first to other Christians and then outward into the uttermost parts of the world.

God's Kingdom--the Kingdom of Heaven is divided into those here on earth and those now departed to be ever joined with Christ.  The earthly portion is to be the aforementioned army that fights with the weapons of earthly warfare at times but more often wages war with weapons of a spiritual nature, wages war by doing good, wages war by living out ethical truth no matter the cost, and expressing love in practical ways.  You see the weapons of the Christian are mighty to the tearing down of the strongholds built by the Kingdom of Darkness.

We who claim Christ will never be understood by those of the present world order.  Even so we must be ever on guard to do good, stay to the tasks, fulfill our calling, be ever alert at our station be it in the pew, behind the pulpit, in the work place, as a volunteer in some humanitarian enterprise, at leisure, or some other place.  All are responsible to go forward in the Lord and the strength of his might, to be spiritually strong, do good, to do their part!  All are to withstand the chaos of evil and the unraveling of this present world order.

Onward Christian, unite with one another, remember that no matter how many times an evil demented sick and despicable person such as killed the four officers attacks us, no matter how many people seek to defame us, no matter if we are martyred for Christ, lose our reputation in the cause greater than ourselves, if we die of some dread disease in a foreign land, or if we die of old age, we win.  We win because the Kingdom of Heaven of which we are a part ultimately is victorious--eternally victorious until there is but one Kingdom, that of Jesus Christ the Lord!