A strange phenomenon called the “green flash” happens every once in a while when the sun sets over the Pacific Ocean. As the story goes, when the sun is nearing the water line, the sky goes FLASH and everything turns green.
I like flashing lights and there are a lot of them around this Christmas season. I especially enjoy the store bought icicles with white LED lights that scroll from top to bottom. A Marshall family tradition is to go to look at houses that are completely illuminated with Christmas decorations. There is one we love near our old home in San Marcos that we call the Crazy Christmas House. The owner, Bill, starts setting up his modest front yard and mid-70’s house in September. The day after Thanksgiving, the lights go on. It is a winter wonderland of bright flashing lights. This year, his yard featured Christmas packages along with a blue water pond with fish and various animals fishing. There is a T-Rex with a moving mouth and his small arms are cradling a gift. We stopped counting the number of “Santa Snoopys” once we reached ten. His 30 foot tall palm trees are wrapped in lights, the roof is adorned with various animated animals and of Santa is on the roof climbing into the chimney. Now in his 27th year of this production, he told me that he does this to share the Christmas spirit with flashing lights and because of a sense of community. Like Bill’s flashing lights that permeate the dark winter sky, illumine our hearts, and welcome our neighbors with a hearty, “Merry Christmas,” what I like best about this season is the Christmas flash. Every year, I get one which is like the green flash that lights up the evening sky over the ocean. It tells me the Spirit of Christmas is alive in my heart and my community. Last year, at our Children’s Christmas Eve service, the flash occurred somewhere in our closing hymn, "Silent Night." Maybe some of you saw it with me or perhaps it is intensely private, though I would be happy to share it, if I could. That flash carried me through our late service and stayed with me all through Christmas Day. I remember the first time I remember the Christmas flash was when I was eleven. The flash showed me that Christmas is much more than receiving presents from a red-clothed jolly man once a year. The flash is the visible and emotional spirit of Christmas. It happened like this, during an 11 pm Christmas Eve service at my home church in Tacoma, Washington, a high pressure cold front had moved in under the low pressure rain clouds. The result is known as freezing rain. We walked out of the church, carrying our lit Christmas candles, to find the world had turned to crystal. Diamonds were still falling from the sky and bedazzled whatever they touched. Street lights turned to Christmas ornaments. The street became a pathway of silver and white that reflected in tiny prisms the light of our headlights. It was a magical Christmas Eve and while I have experienced many others just as magical, I have never known one quite like it. Because of the sheer danger of driving, or walking, in freezing rain, all cars traveled at the pace of a trotting horse. It took a good thirty minutes to drive home, much longer than usual. We slowly watched our church friends drive off with their candles lit in their diamond crusted cars each looking like an elegant chariot with the light of the new born Christ child shining through the frosty windows. That Christmas flash has stayed with me my entire life. I believe the flash results from a combination of beauty, prayers, serenity, and God’s peace. When those intersect, there is a flash. It is sufficient to carry me through the busy season of Advent into the grace and peace of the Christ child. May the flash of the season be with you this day, - Fr. Marshall My two sons are crazy about Legos. If you are not familiar with Legos, they are small plastic building blocks that stir a child’s imagination. They can be made into a multi-colored wall, a simple house, or, a replica of the Kennedy inauguration complete with the Congressional building, steps, band, flags, and officials. Nevertheless, I’m pretty sure that Lego is Greek for stepping-barefoot-on-a-sharp-object.
This year, their grandparents gave the boys a Lego Advent Calendar. Each day, a new panel is opened which contains Lego pieces that they can use to build a simple object. Day 1 was a police man, day 2 was a dog, day 3 a small lunar rover. I’m hoping that by Christmas, each of these 25 mini-sets will converge into one big scene. At this point it just looks like a picnic on the moon, but we’ll see. Every Sunday in Advent, Episcopalians around the world light another candle on their Advent wreaths. This Sunday, it will be four candles. This tradition started, as far as anyone can tell, in 1839. Johann Wichern devised a flat wreath made from an old wagon wheel. To educate children about Advent and to count up to the birth of Christ, he placed a white candle around the wheel-turned-wreath for each odd day and a red candle for the even days. Children would light one candle per day until Christmas. He took this idea from a 16th century German tradition of making wreaths. It is said that evergreen branches symbolize everlasting life brought through Jesus and the circular shape of the wreath represents God – no beginning or end. I’ve been pondering the Advent wheel. God completed the work of salvation with Christ; yet the wheel keeps rolling. I like Advent, but it’s not complete until all the candles are lit. And, when they are lit, the wheel turns again for another year. When Christ does return, one of the things I’ll miss in our post-Pentecost/pre-2nd coming era, is Advent with the wreath and candles at the center. Or, perhaps, things will be so jolly when he does return that I won’t think a thing about it. Maybe when he returns, it will be like taking 25 Lego creations and seeing them in harmony with one another in a scene-yet-seen at this time. As the Advent calendar winds down to a close, may the light of Christ shine within you. - Fr. Marshall Silence
One of the many aspects of being a priest at Saint John’s is the occasional pastoral encounter with students. On my very first day, I was asked to talk to one of our students whose brother had recently passed away. I have training on how to deal with adults on such issues, but I wondered it those same techniques were appropriate when relating to children. In separate incidents, within my first week, I had three students in my office who had been accused of bullying. Fortunately, after a couple of hair-raising months of such things, Dr. Hadley, our Head of School, started. He handles the disciplinary actions. But there remains the occasional encounter. When meeting with a child, the part I struggle with the most is silence. If you have children, especially boys, you probably know what I’m talking about. The student comes in, sits down, I ask them a series of questions, and they just sit there, silent, like a bump on a log. How does one break through the silence? I know what to do with adults but kids are different. I imagine God feels the same way with most people in prayer life. “Silence.” It does not occur because God’s not willing to listen; as the prayer goes, God is always more willing to listen than we are to ask. So we are like children to God just like the children who are in trouble are to me. A recent article in Time magazine, “What Boys Want.” addresses silence as it relates to boys. The author, Rosalind Wiseman, wrote that boys tend to shut down in face of an intense round of questioning. The problem remains, however, how to get children to talk. Wiseman, in her article, gives some great advice. She advises adults to say less, and allow for a connection to occur during quieter times. Boys, in particular, are more likely to say more when they are feeling relaxed. With my children, I have found that a good time to talk is in the car. Perhaps it’s because I’m distracted enough by driving that I don’t ask a series of questions. And, they’re bored (albeit relaxed and quiet) and maybe tired and seem thus more willing to open up to conversation. Wiseman’s good parenting advice is also appropriate for any Advent season. I have noticed that God reveals more to me when I’m relaxed and not dealing with an overwhelming number of forces that vie for my attention. God knows how to create a connection with me – it’s during quiet, relaxed times. The question for me this busy season is this: am I willing to create quiet time so that I can open up to God. - Fr. Marshall I like surveys. Maybe it’s the insurance underwriter in me, but I like to hear what people like and don’t like. At my previous church, Grace, the Sunday School team did an impromptu survey of the kids and what they liked best about Grace. You will see the picture of the survey here. The stars indicate multiple responses. Here are the results.
What Grace Kids Love About Grace
Ringing the bell after the service ** Acolyting * Snacks/Fellowship *** Special Events (pumpkin carving)* Sunday School (friends)* Daddy Donut Day ***** Spending time with the Lord ***
At the bottom of the list, or, as I called it, “The things kids liked least about Grace,” with only two votes each, are acolyting, special events like pumpkin carving, and Sunday School friends. Fellowship snack time is on a par with spending time with the Lord, tied for second and third place. And, as you can see, the number one thing kids liked about Grace was Daddy Donut Day. The sample was small but the results were startling.
The Sunday School team recruited two dads, Steve and Ben, to lead Sunday school on the 3rd Sunday of each month. They didn’t know what to do, so they did what any good dad does, they brought in donuts, and showed a Veggie Tales video. It was a big hit. After six months, Sunday School attendance was consistently the highest on the 3rd Sunday. This survey, however, still surprised me. We knew the kids liked it, but we didn’t know Daddy Donut Day eclipsed every other children’s activity at the church.
So what’s in donuts? Basically, they’re made of sugar, flour and oil. It’s a great treat but doesn’t provide much in the way of sustenance. Ethan attended Grace’s Sunday school for 3 years. When I ask him about Grace now, a year and a half removed, donuts are not the first thing he mentions (and it should be pointed out that Ethan really likes donuts). He remembers his friends, the feeling of being in church, the special events, and what he learned about God in Sunday school. The donuts drew him in, but they didn’t feed him.
The Gospel lesson for this Sunday is about throngs of people who flocked out to the muddy banks of the Jordan River to see John baptize. It was an event that caused quite a stir. But the result was twofold: thousands of people were baptized in the River for the forgiveness of their sins; and, John prepared the way for Jesus. Later on, Jesus asked them what they went out to the river to see. What drew them to the river bank was one thing – the popularity and newsworthy aspects of the baptismal event – but what they saw was one who was (and is) “greater than the prophets.” (Mt 11:11)
I wonder what draws you to Saint John’s. And, I wonder what nourishes you when you are here. I also wonder what draws folks away from our church and the Church in general. Maybe we should do a survey to find out. Are some being led away by the lure of donuts? Or sports? Sunday morning political talk shows? Surfing? Yard work? Disneyland? And are those who do not return being fed?
Perhaps as we head into the great season of Christmas, filled with sugary treats, twinkling lights and a hunger for consumerism, you will invite someone who is spiritually hungry to come with you to church. We may have more to offer than our worldly competition.
The Handoff
In a recent Chargers’ football game, the quarterback, Phillip Rivers, mishandled the ball as it was hiked to him which almost caused a fumble. Later on, the camera picked up Rivers and his center on the sideline practicing over and over again the handoff which is one of the fundamentals of football. It’s a team sport so football players must learn right away how to hand the ball off to each other. Teamwork is also vital to good liturgy. The term liturgy means what we do when we gather to worship God. One can always worship God individually, but liturgy occurs when two or three or more or many more are gathered in Jesus’ name. And, it’s a teamwork rich environment. In the Episcopal Church, many handoffs occur in each service. Bulletins are handed out, the Peace is exchanged, and offerings are given and received. And then there is communion. We are training acolytes. One of the first things they learn to do is make a good handoff – they learn how to carry a cross or torch, the Gospel book, offertory plates, and eventually, how to handle the chalice and paten (plate). I invite you to watch closely what happens around the altar as we prepare for communion. There is great thought and intentionality involved in passing liturgical hardware back and forth. Some important elements of liturgical handoffs are attention and holding. You need the attention of the person you are handing off to and, at a certain point, both people should be holding onto the sacred item. Imagine that an usher hands you a bulletin but lets go of it before you touch it. The bulletin would fall to the floor. The same thing can happen with a full chalice. If the receiver does not have the intentionality of attention and holding, things can go south in a hurry. I have dropped a chalice and have seen several others dropped in my course of altar serving. It happens. But, the fundamentals of the handoff remain: attention and holding. During a service, we praise God, in part to get God’s attention. Once we praise God’s name, we then ask God to hold us, our prayers, our concerns, our sins, our thanksgivings and wishes. At those moments, I believe there is a handoff between us and God. Imagine when you receive communion. The bread is held by the hand of a priest and your hand at the same time. For a brief moment, both people are holding the bread. There is attention and holding of the sacred act. And like passing a plate, when we pray to God, we are holding one end of the prayer and God has the other. This sacramental symbol is an outward sign of the invisible Grace of God that happens during liturgy. God and human are touching and participating together in every aspect of a worship service. Let us worship God in the beauty of holiness and let us take a moment to notice the beauty with attention and holding. - Fr. Marshall |