It’s not easy being a mom in any century but I can tell you with certainty, it’s not easy being a dad in the 21st century. If you are a new dad looking for a role model, you should probably shy away from movies as a source of inspiration. On a local radio show I heard about a published list of the ten greatest dads in movies. I was shocked so I looked the list up myself. The list comes s from the Telegraph – a daily publication in the UK that has a reputation for quality. I hope you are sitting down; here’s the list from ten to one.
10) Meet the Parents. Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro) is a CIA assassin who intimidates the main character who is in love with Jack’s daughter. 9) Boyz N The Hood. Lawrence Fishburne does all he can to keep his son out of gangs. Fishburne shows what life might be like for a dad who desperately cares about his son in very, very difficult circumstances. 8) About Time. Bill Nighy champions his son; when his health falters, well, it is very touching and I imagine that many movie-goers called their father at the end of the movie. 7) [Movie title not mentioned due to inappropriate material.] The Dad is played by Eugene Levy… Let’s just say I’m not in favor of this movie being on any list involving virtues. 6) Commando. Arnold Schwarzenegger is a retired elite Black Ops Commando who launches a one-man war against a group of criminals who have kidnapped his daughter; he massacres a whole army in the process. 5) True Romance. Dennis Hopper plays Clifford Worley whose son shoots a pimp and makes off with a bag of cocaine; the dad then realizes he must get in the way of the mob to save his son's life. 4) Taken. Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) is a CIA agent who travels across Europe and relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter, who has been kidnapped while on a trip to Paris. 3) The Godfather. Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) uses family obligations to justify lethal behavior and, let’s face it, is essentially a murderous extortionist. 2) To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck), a single parent, sets a fantastic example for his children as he defends a young black man within a racist justice system while not succumbing to huge social pressure from his community. 1) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Henry Jones is played by Sean Connery who, by the way, is only 12 years older than Harrison Ford. He is Indiana’s dad; they had a lot of troubles when Indy was young but evading Hitler’s forces has brought them together to find the Holy Grail. Two retired CIA assassins, one commando, a mob boss and Eugene Levy’s character – this list left me feeling empty. Yes, Atticus Finch is awesome, and Fishburn’s character shows great devotion but when looking at the list, don’t you feel there are better role models for dads in this century? There certainly are, but one shouldn’t look for them in the movies. Scripture points to important virtues for being a father – patience, respect, fortitude, hope, faith and love. … and the greatest of these for any dad in any age is love. Suffice it to say, my list of the top ten dads would be quite different from the one we have just discussed probably because I would start with my own. -Fr. Dave News this past week from NASA reveals a discovery on Mars. 3-billion-year-old rocks show organic molecules. The rocks were on the bottom of what most believe to be an ancient lake bed similar to Florida's shallow Lake Okeechobee. This is a big discovery.
I have a friend, Lucas, who is an astrobiologist. He probably knows a lot more about this discovery than I do. Lucas told me in seminary that one difficulty in being an astrobiologist is determining what life is and is not. Once we can define life we then can look for things that meet that definition in space. He bases his view of life entirely on Earth; he believes we can only define it based on what we know. And one thing we know about life is that it makes more life. Life begets life, if you will. We have a hanging plant in our backyard. One day, a shoot of some unknown weed was seen three inches above the flowers. We wanted to see what it would do so we left it alone. It kept growing until it was touching the hook holding the entire flower pot. We didn't plant it but it must have come in from somewhere. Lucas would call this life. A bunch of grass is growing in the most unlikely place, next to the curb at the corner of 1st and L Street. I've been watching it for months. It is now a three-foot wide swath of five-inch tall grass growing amongst a sea of concrete; cars run it over probably six times an hour. That's life. We know it's life because it is begetting in a most inhospitable place. Back to Mars, an astrobiologist associated with the latest finding said that she's fascinated by the idea that life never really got started there. It would not take long for any alien probe to find life on Earth. Even if the probe landed at the bottom of the deepest ocean, it would find life. In the middle of Death Valley, it would find life. Even if it landed in the boiling hot sulfur lakes in Yellowstone, it would still find life. That is because life is abundant and it grows in the most unlikely places. Nevertheless, we have spent billions of dollars and countless hours looking for life on Mars and have yet to find it like we can at 1st and L. I would never say we should give up on Mars. A fascinating piece of evidence shows seasonal methane gas increases in the Martian atmosphere. On Earth, methane is produced by organic, living matter. If you've ever been around a cow pasture, you'll know what I'm talking about. Notwithstanding, methane can also be produced geologically so even this piece of evidence raises doubts. For me, theologically speaking, I believe that there is life out there because God is a God of Life. I also believe, as science has shown, God uses the same DNA building blocks in all of life. Scientists can take a DNA strand from a salmon and implant it into a strawberry to make it transport better from the farm to the table. We're made from all the same stuff. I believe that God's fingerprint is in the DNA of all life and therefore, if/when life is found on Mars, it comes from the same source. Life is abundant on Earth. God is the master of abundance. God created all things. Therefore, when astro-biological life is found, we will find it in abundance. -Fr. Dave This week’s Reflection is by Beth Moore.
A Prayer for the Redeemed By Beth Moore “I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.” Isaiah 44:22 (ESV) I don’t think any prefix in the English Bible could be more beautiful than “re.” Two little letters that simply mean: “again.” God appears to have a particular affinity for “re” verbs. For instance, “return to me, for I have redeemed you” (Isaiah 44:22, ESV). It looks like He’d just turn His back on us when we turn our backs on Him, but He doesn’t. Instead He echoes throughout Scripture, “Return to me!” Return. You’ll find that one “re” verb over 400 times in the Bible. But that’s not the only fabulous “re” verb in the Bible. Here’s a list of some of my favorites (with emphasis added in bold). There’s renew: “They who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31a, ESV). And revive: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite” (Isaiah 57:15b, ESV). And restore: “He restores my soul” (Psalm 23:3a, ESV). And repair. Oh, and rebuild and sometimes in the same verse: “In that day ‘I will restore David’s fallen shelter — I will repair its broken walls and restore its ruins — and will rebuild it as it used to be’” (Amos 9:11, NIV). And replant: “I have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it” (Ezekiel 36:36b, ESV). Astonishingly, there appears to be no limit to what God will lovingly and lavishly redo and refresh for those simply willing to return and repent. “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago” (Acts 3:19-21, ESV). Simon Peter is Exhibit A for those of us in Christ who could use a redo. “And the Lord said, ‘Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren’” (Luke 22:31-32, NKJV). So, you blew it again? Been rejected again? Been broken again? Fallen in that trap again? Been foolish again? Faithless again? I know a Savior willing to put you back together again. Go back to Jesus. Yes, you get to return, because “re” is the most beautiful prefix in history. Our all-glorious God and Father, we are awed by Your grace, patience and love. Thank You for the endless power of resurrection because of the cross of Christ. Apply it to us lavishly this day. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. Facebook has been criticized lately for their analytics – the way they track people and share information. The procedures, for the most part, are not good. I found it of interest that Facebook recently shared something with me about the Saint John’s Facebook site. I can now tell when people who “like” our page are on Facebook; in particular, Facebook can tell me when they are looking at our page. I do not get names but I do get the data.
Here is what struck me – some of our people are on-line at 3 in the morning. I figured, knowing you all, that no one would be on line in the wee morning hours. I was wrong. There are folks in our community who are on Facebook at that time. I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it, God is a night owl. God does great, important and influential work, in the middle of the night. The Book of Genesis tells us that in the beginning, when the earth was dark, the Spirit of God blew over the waters and God said, “Let there be light.” That tells me—admittedly, I am being somewhat lighthearted here – that God began the work of creation at night. When a Wind from God dried the land of the Red Sea so the Israelites could cross into freedom, in my mind’s eye, I can see that happening at night. Later on, Jacob had a vision of a ladder or staircase to heaven. The vision happened at night. Jesus was born at night and resurrected before the sun rose on that Easter morning. And, let us not forget that it was the middle of the night when he was praying the garden of Gethsemane and the disciples couldn’t keep their eyes open. God does important and influential work at night. People are looking at our Facebook site at the darkest hour of the night. I imagine they are looking for hope. We need to recognize that a community of people is awake all night. Some people who are on our prayer teams are up at that time on a regular basis. I am going to ask them to pray for the on-line, 3 a.m. crowd that is looking at our site. The shepherds were awake to hear the good news of great cheer that the Savior of the World was born. The soldiers, pulling the graveyard shift in front of Jesus’ tomb, were the first to experience the resurrected Christ. The Israelites saw the outstretched and powerful hand of God clear a path for them through the Red Sea. We too have our own community who are looking for God in the middle of the night. May God be with them and give them hope and peace. -Fr. Dave |