Do you know the pumpkin parable? I first heard it on Sunday morning. I have elaborated on it and want to share it with you.
There once was a farmer who loved his farm. He grew corn, potatoes, tomatoes, squash, strawberries, chickens, sheep and pumpkins. Every day he would walk through his garden to watch over his plants and feed his animals. One day, some people from the near-by village stomped through his garden and uprooted some of his plants. They threw squash at the chickens, chased the sheep out of their pens, and rolled some large pumpkins on to the dirt paths after writing bad words on them with mud. The next morning, the saddened farmer began to clean up. As he fixed the chicken coop and replanted the squash and tried to stand the corn upright, he realized the towns people who had destroyed things were strangers who saw no value in his farm. For that reason, the farmer, who was a good man, set out to make friends with them. First, the farmer took some of pumpkins inside his home where he washed them, removed the tops, the seeds and the rest of the insides. After a while, the seeds were dry and he roasted and salted them. Later, he cut up the fleshy shell and baked pies, cookies, sugar loaf bread, and taking some brown sugar, mixed it with the orange pulp, and molded it around leftover marshmallows. The farmer made so much food that it overflowed from his kitchen into the dining room and out onto the porch. He then took some of his favorite pumpkins, hollowed them out, cut eyes, noses, and smiling faces. Those pumpkins he placed on his porch as an invitation to the townsfolk. As evening fell, he took candles and placed them inside so they would glow. When the people from the village walked by, they saw the lights and came closer. When they smelled the pies and sweet breads, they came even closer. The farmer invited them into his house and they enjoyed a meal together. The next night, the farmer saw a glow from the village. As he walked through the darkened streets, he saw people with pumpkins on their front porches and strangers giving each other greetings and sweet treats. He went home to his farm, sat on his porch, and smiled. -Fr. Marshall
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The school virtue for October is faith and hope yet how does one demonstrate faith and hope? Faith is belief in something that cannot be seen. So the pedagogical question for the month is this: how does a priest/teacher like me demonstrate what cannot be seen?
At summer camp, we did activities which facilitated trust and faith in one another. My favorite is the “Trust Walk” where one camper is blindfolded and another camper leads the blind person around. The blindfolded camper needs to put faith in the other person and believe in something that cannot be seen. Watching, I could usually tell when faith was established because the shoulders of the blindfolded person would relax and a smile would appear. This is difficult to recreate in a sermon during chapel. So Wednesday, I went with a different faith exercise that involves science and someone maybe getting wet. The exercise involves a student, a clear plastic cup, water, and a cardboard circle a little larger than the cup opening. You can try this at home. Fill the cup more than half full, place the cardboard cutout over the top of the cup and then quickly turn the cup upside down. What we expect is that the water will pour out into the sink (or onto the student’s head). But science takes over and the air pressure in the cup holds the cardboard lid to the cup. The theological message might be that we expect the water to spill out, but it doesn’t because of a principle of science that we cannot see, just like the prophet Elijah. He prayed for rain, without a cloud in sight, and kept praying. His faith, and God’s promise made the unbelievable and unseen into reality. During the sermon, however, I was in a different place. I was nervous that this might not work. Test after test it worked but I had doubts that I could do it successfully in front of an audience. And, because of my lack of faith, it failed and the student’s head got wet. Technically, it was the protective Santa hat that got wet so I tried again, this time over the bucket I brought just in case. I failed. I less more water in the cup, put the lid on and flipped it over and failed again. By now the students were laughing and my student/volunteer was getting more and more nervous. But then I heard something like a voice over my left shoulder that said, “Pour more water in the cup.” I didn’t listen, and in fact filled the cup even less than before. It failed, again. Again, I heard, “Pour more water in.” And, this time I thought, but if it’s not working with this much water, why would pouring more water in make a difference; it’ll make it worse. But, I had a moment of faith. I filled the cup more than three-quarters full, took a breath, and flipped it over. And, it worked! The students cheered with amazement. I then held it above my volunteer’s head and danced around with it. The cup, upside down, with nearly a full cup of water, was being held in with a flimsy cardboard lid – defying the law of gravity. This was an experience of faith for me. I had to believe, without seeing, that the exercise would work. This was a message for me and I hope the rest of the students learned something, too. It took a dose of humility, but, when it comes to faith, a little cup of humility leads to a large dose of belief. -Fr. Marshall In the ever-changing world of San Diego radio, my (formerly) favorite radio station has slowly changed its format. Luckily for me, a “new” radio station formed which plays my favorite hits from the 80’s. And, on Sunday morning, they play repeats of Casey Kasem’s Top 40 countdown. This past Sunday the countdown was from October 16, 1982. As I drove to church, I got to hear numbers 39, 38, and part of 37 on the countdown list.
Because of this “new” format, I’m able to hear hits that I grew up with. It’s funny to hear them with my older ear. This morning they played, "Time After Time." by Cyndi Lauper. The song reminded me of my high school jazz band. We were good, for a high school band, and our director, Mr. Williams, took us on tour around the school district. Once, while we played for an elementary school, our director announced the next song, “Time After Time,” and the children suddenly sat up and cheered. Alas, it was not the song by Cyndi Lauper, but was, instead, an old jazz standard by Sammy Cahn that gained popularity when it was sung in a movie It Happened in Brooklyn, with Frank Sinatra, in 1947. When Mr. Williams heard the cheers, he turned to us and said (and I am not kidding), “Wow, a bunch of Cahn fans; great.” We all had a good chuckle about that. After the performance we told him about the Top 40 hit by the same name, of which he was unaware. Mr. Williams then told us all the songs that Cahn wrote, including, “High Hopes,” “My Kind of Town,” “Come Fly With Me,” and “Let It Snow Let It Snow Let It Snow.” Yesterday on the radio, while listening to Lauper’s “Time After Time” I suddenly figured out what she was talking about. Although it is easily the 200th time I’ve heard that version of the song, I suddenly realized that Lauper believed that she was a difficult person unworthy of love. In spite of that, my earlier interpretation was that her boyfriend gave her unconditional love in spite of her low self-esteem. But now, in 2014, hearing a song that is thirty years old, I no longer think it was her boyfriend she was singing about. I think it was the grace of God. Here is the chorus line, “If you’re lost you can look and you will find me, time after time. If you fall I will catch you, I will be waiting, time after time.” Mother Teresa wrote that God must rewrite Scripture every night. She wrote this because the same Bible passage she read at night will have a different meaning to her in the morning. I too have had that experience. Maybe it’s not Scripture that changes, but it is us who matures and reads it differently. Regardless of who Lauper was singing about, one thing is for certain. Listening to that song again, in one sense for the first time, this priest was reminded of God’s unfailing and never-ending love. No matter how far away we walk, no matter how lost we are, no matter how far we fall, God will find us, time after time. -Fr. Marshall Spiritual Checklist
Pictured is a large sign posted on one of our 5th grade classroom doors. It is a simple checklist for the students to ensure a successful day. My favorite is to make sure your water bottle is full. I can imagine a student telling the teacher, “Here’s my water bottle,” and the teacher’s reply, “But it’s empty.” This list may seem like a no-brainer, but, if you’ve ever met a 5th grader then you know that nothing on the list should be assumed. The checklist goes like this: Something to write with, something to write on, the work you’ve done yesterday, the water you’ll need for today, and an attitude to be ready for whatever comes your way. This truly is a checklist for a great day. I wonder what your daily checklist looks like. I have a particular routine that ensures I have my wallet, cell phone, pen and keys. In addition to that list, I have a daily spiritual checklist. On most days my spiritual checklist looks like this: I pray; in thanksgiving for the day, for those who are sick or in need, and for God to watch over my family; I read Scripture and I exercise. This may seem as much a no-brainer as the list for the fifth graders, but if you know much about my life, you might note that none of these should be an assumption. Consequently, to avoid starting my day with an empty Living Water bottle, I have a spiritual checklist. St. Benedict created a spiritual checklist, called the Rule of Life. It is simple: pray, work, sleep, repeat. Before everyone jumps on the Benedict bandwagon, however, I need to warn you that Benedictine prayer involves formal, communal prayers that typically hold to a schedule like this, 4:30 am, 6 am, 9 am, noon, 2 pm, 5:30 pm, 7 pm, and 10 pm. Manual labor is interspersed between those prayers throughout the day. Benedict believed that there is very little difference between labor and prayer. Whatever one’s labor, tilling a field, mopping a floor, or teaching a philosophy class in college, work is an integral part of the spiritual life. The apostles taught that we are to say the Lord’s Prayer at least once a day and to remember the needs of others. They also prayed at 9 am, noon, 3 pm and in the evening. That’s a good checklist and I think it would go a long way toward warranting a great day. Whether you follow a list like mine, or the apostolic list, or if you want to try a Benedictine spiritual checklist, setting time each day to praise God and to remember the needs of others will go a long way to ensure a great day and have a full bottle of Living Water. -Fr.Marshall Over the past six months, I have written about many difficult situations, but two in particular – the huge influx of Central American immigrants into our country and the fate of the Anglican Church in Baghdad. I have asked you to join me in prayer many times. Prayer works and to demonstrate that once again, I want to share with you some inspiring events.
Laura Shaver, with... the Episcopal News Service, reported from the Diocese of West Texas that the number of illegal border crossings has significantly decreased. At the same time incredible things have happened to support churches that help those in need. St. John’s Episcopal in McAllen has been overwhelmed with financial and human support. It takes 100 volunteers to help the 150 refugees who enter their parish every day seeking help. Despite that influx, the church was able to assist because, according to Rev. Nelson, “We have overproduced.” As a result, he took a $20,000 check to the Salvation Army on behalf of the diocese. That donation caused the Salvation Army office manager to break into tears. They had been praying for $20,000 to cover the budget shortfall created by the sudden influx. Another check for the same amount went to the local food bank that same day. The sudden downturn in border crossings is giving various entities, like Catholic Charities, the Episcopal Church, multiple food banks and others the opportunity to become well-stocked to help others. The other story comes from the beleaguered Anglican community in northern Baghdad. The Rev. Andrew White told the Anglican Communion News Source that the threat posed by ISIS is, ironically, a major reason believers want to undergo baptism. He said, “People really want to demonstrate their faith and that is good.” As you may be aware, publicly identifying oneself as a Christian is a dangerous and courageous move in Iraq. Rev. White baptized a family on October 1st. One of the children came up to him after the ceremony and said, “I feel like a new person now,” to which the priest replied, “You are.” Until recently, St. George’s Anglican, Baghdad, had a congregation numbering around 1,000. This past Sunday, they had only 160 at worship because so many have fled to the north. Yet St. George’s, with support from Anglicans/Episcopalians around the globe is receiving prayers and much needed material support. Something about need makes believers turn to action. The need in Texas started the process to provide basic necessities. And, the beyond-horrible atrocities of ISIS are turning hearts to the love of Christ and baptism into his Body. Nevertheless, there is something greater here than human action – it’s the power of the Holy Spirit working through prayer and love and a growing sense that we are all one. Although we may not all be of one mind about what to do with Central American refugees or how to respond to ISIS, we are getting the idea that the children and adults caught in the middle are our brothers and sisters. And this too is a mark of the Spirit – unity. May the Spirit who brings checks to needy food banks by motivating givers to act, the Spirit who heals and protects, and the Spirit who makes us one, be with all those in need. -Fr. Marshall |