My parents have passed a lot of wisdom on to me. One bit of wisdom emerges from this question: “Would anyone notice from a passing horse?” If I had a bad hair day, or if a car splashed mud on my pants walking to school, I’d be asked that question – would a person on a passing horse notice? I took that phrase to mean two things: first it was pretty unlikely that someone traveling by on a horse would even notice my mud-splashed pants or hair style; and, second, people are really caught up in their own lives and what they might think was earth shattering really had very little importance in the scheme of things. To get to the point, horses have blinders and so do people; they probably wouldn’t notice trivial things so why get upset about them?
The second bit of wisdom -- “What difference does it make?” If I was deciding between two high school electives, they might ask, “What difference does it make?” I’ve come to realize my parents were trying to instill in me some perspective: what difference will it make in your life and what difference can you make in others’ lives if you do this or that. “Should I try out for football or stay in band,” I’d ask. What difference did it make? I dropped football and kept up with music. Later on, I got paid to play the trombone and I think performing made people happy. No one would have paid me to play football and probably no one would have enjoyed watching me play. This week my daily Lenten practice (found at d365.org) included this: “What difference does your being a child of God make in the way you live your life together with God and others?” I have been pondering this question from my own personal perspective. Being a child of God, what difference do I make in my life with God and others. In the next couple of weeks, the Church calendar celebrates the lives of many saints, including John and Charles Wesley, the martyrs Perpetua and Felicity, Gregory – Bishop of Nyssa, Gregory the Great, Bishop Cyril, and Saint Joseph. These are giants in the life of Christianity. Google search any one of them and you’ll see that their lives as children of God made a difference to God and others. Does one need to be a “saint” to make a difference to God and others? I don’t think so. We have a parishioner who when younger (like, in her early seventies) used to fill her car up with expired food from the grocery store and drive it to a local food bank. She’s a child of God and, I can say with certainty, she made a difference to God and others. This past week, a parishioner found herself holding the hands of a co-worker to pray for his sick mother. Additionally, some folks from church this past Wednesday made a big spaghetti dinner for the homeless shelter on F Street. And yet another visited someone in the hospital and truly made her day; and, on the same day, a parishioner drove some folks to church who needed a ride. What a wonderful example they are this Lenten season for being children of God and making a difference for God and others. -Fr. Marshall We did it. The 41st convention of the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego came to Saint John’s and it was a big hit! Because of who we are as a parish, I knew we were going to hit a home run. I also knew that we would be welcoming, hospitable, and enthusiastic about our ministry. What I didn’t know was that the home run we were going to hit was going to clear the fences, go over the street, and take out a window a block away. But that’s exactly what happened. Every person that I talked to on Friday and Saturday thanked us for hosting. They said our volunteers were helpful, kind, enthusiastic and really liked being here. Visitors told me they were over whelmed with an abundance of hospitality, coffee, water, directions, and most importantly, smiles. From the time our visitors began to drive into the parking lot to be greeted by the Men of Saint John’s, to when they walked onto campus at any of the three open gates, to when they needed a bathroom, or something to drink – they were overwhelmed by smiling and eager people.
This past weekend, diocesan leaders took me off to the side and told me that, “Saint John’s has set a new standard in welcoming and hospitality. You have set the bar for every forthcoming diocesan event.” I heard this more times than I can count. And now, nearly a week later, I am hearing phrases like, “The best, ever.” As we prepared for convention, I didn’t tell you that at the last two diocesan conventions lots of things went wrong; we ran out of coffee, poor signage made confused delegates late to workshops and meetings, the lunch was sub-par, there was no area to chat, and people left after their meetings instead of staying to fellowship with one another. I doubted we would have such difficulties at St. John’s because we are a place where people jump in when they see problems and fix them. But here’s the deal; we didn’t have to be that good. I can ask for volunteers and put people into situations where they are comfortable, but I can’t make them smile or go the extra mile like you all did. You’ve heard the phrase, “You can take a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.” Along the same lines, I can ask Bill Cheney to serve coffee, but I can’t make him smile. The smiles he gave us over the weekend were entirely his. Likewise, Wilma and Josie, along with the rest of our concierge team, were scheduled to be at the welcoming table. They can be scheduled but no one can force them to be enthusiastic about Saint John’s and the convention. That part they did all on their own. During the Eucharist service, ten minutes into communion, we had chalice bearers returning to the altar with empty chalices. Marge and Gretchen jumped into action. I asked each one to specifically be there – Marge on the altar and Gretchen running the sacristy – but I can’t make them smile and help each chalice bearer. They did that all on their own. This is why I wanted the convention at Saint John’s. I wanted to share you with the diocese. The delegates and visitors desperately needed to see a group of parishioners who, when the going gets busy and potentially stressful, respond with smiles and enthusiasm. And, you did just what I knew you would do, simply be yourselves. Thank you for being you and serving God with smiles and enthusiasm. -Fr. Marshall If you’ve been to Saint John’s recently, you undoubtedly have noticed our front entrance has received a most unappreciated and smelly bird dropping paint job. A Friday afternoon power washing cleans most of it off but the same ugly pattern reappears on Sunday morning. At one of the most important weekends in the history of Saint John’s, we’ve got a bird dropping problem. We’ve been pondering what to do. How do we get rid of these birds?
Recently, we’ve discovered more about the source. It is not a group of birds. One very pretty, white chested, hawk-like animal with dark brown wing feathers that stands almost a yard tall, flies in as the sun is setting and then is gone before 6:30 in the morning. Late Wednesday afternoon, Jon Fry took some very detailed pictures of this bird-dropping-machine. He posted it on Facebook to see who could name it. We then talked about non-lethal ways to remove it, like shooting off fireworks, cutting down the tree (or just the top third), or shooting water at it. That was Wednesday night. Thanks to the magic of the internet, we awoke on Thursday morning with good and bad news. The good news first: we found out what it is, an Osprey hawk. The bad news – it is a “sensitive species” and is protected. These endangered birds have a zone of protection so that we cannot remove the branch, scare it away, or, as we have joked, even think a negative thought about it. Since we were here first and for some reason this Osprey decided to land here, we don’t need to change our operation, but we can’t scare it away, either. My mom had a coffee mug that read, “It’s hard to soar like an eagle when you let the turkeys get you down.” The Saint John’s mascot is an eagle and our song is, “On Eagles’ Wings.” Perhaps the easiest thing would be to change our mascot to the protected Osprey. But, in all seriousness, this is a classic example of life. During an important time in the history of the church and school, we get pooped on. And, we find out, there’s nothing we can do to stop it. Or is there. We can let the turkeys get us down, or we can embrace this bird-gift. Our Head of School helped change my thinking. He has talked to the students about how special we are to have this endangered bird finding refuge at Saint John’s. Ironically, it mirrored my Annual Meeting address – Saint John’s is a refuge for many who have been turned away from other churches or faith traditions. We are a center of healing and it shows through what we do in our shared ministry. Apparently that center of healing applies to God’s animals, too. I guess that is not such bad news after all. -Fr. Marshall A sports columnist once pondered whether sports could exist without fans. Certainly, professional sports needs fans. But I’m wondering today about fan-atics – people who have extreme enthusiasm for their team, their town, and sometimes for the players themselves. When I think of fanatics, I think of Raiders fans who dress up in wild costumes and attend every game (regardless of how well the team is playing). One Chargers fanatic dresses up like a lightning bolt, regardless of how hot the day might be. Fanatics also number among the season ticket holders who have attended every game since the formation of the team though, I suppose, not all season ticket holders are fanatics.
Fanatics spice up the experience of watching the game but they can also destroy the image of a town and ruin a good ball game with foul-mouthed comments and unruly—and often drunken – behavior. Many of us have heard stories about fanatics in Philadelphia who booed Santa Claus and even the all-time great baseball player, Ted Williams, was booed in Boston. In locker rooms around the Pac 12 collegiate conference, it is well known how nasty the home town fans at BYU can be. On the flip side, I’ve written before about how courteous Chargers fans are. At a Monday night football game at Qualcomm Stadium, I was standing in a long bathroom line behind a Chargers fan and a Broncos fan. When a space opened up, the Chargers fan invited the Broncos fan to go into the bathroom first. The Church has fanatics, too. You may have heard of the term, “Jesus freaks,” usually ascribed to people who are so fired up about the Gospel, they tend to overlook common courtesies. These fanatics can be so unruly and black and white in their presentation of the Gospel, that they actually turn people away from the faith. And then there is the church that protests funerals for members of the armed services and hold up signs that I don’t want to repeat. Their fanaticism is going a long way from Jesus’ command of love. The Episcopal Church has its fanatics, too, but thankfully they are not as visible as the others described. They are like the decades-long season ticket holder who attends every Sunday service, rain or shine; church fanatics teach Sunday School, serve in leadership positions, or are passionate about caring for the poor. Some of my favorite Episco-fanatics are the ushers. The word “usher” comes from the Latin root “ostium” (sometimes spelled “ustium”) which means a door or the mouth of a river. They are the keepers of the doors and overseers of the mouth of the river of life. The fanaticism of ushers is marked by zeal to arrive early, prepare the doorway, welcome and assist all who enter, and then clean-up and close the doors when the service is over. We might call ushers the iconic-Episco-fanatics, the alpha and the omega of every service. I wonder: where would the Church be without its ushers and other fan-atics. How could we serve without their fanaticism for Christ and welcome to all. -Fr. Marshall |