Are you ready to say goodbye to 2015? Ready or not, here comes 2016 and, speaking for myself, I am looking forward to the New Year.
There are no recorded celebrations of the New Year listed in the Bible. Maybe that’s because the Bible is significantly older than our current calendar. Nevertheless, every year it’s difficult for people like me to come up with Bible passages that could specifically help you ease from one year to the next. But, as you would expect, I have some thoughts about some indirect references. Transitions happen in the Bible all the time. One of the greatest transitions is from John the Baptizer, the voice crying in the wilderness, to Jesus. I wrote a paper in seminary that asserted one of the main points of emphasis of Luke’s Gospel was to make it easier for followers of John to become followers of Jesus. The Gospel according to John (not the Baptizer) shows a different sort of transition. In this Gospel account, John the Baptizer is baptizing and sees Jesus walk by. He shouts, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” Two of John’s disciples suddenly follow Jesus, literally. When they were walking behind him, Jesus stopped and turned to look at them. He said, “What are you seeking.” That question, what are you seeking, is the first one Jesus asks. In fact, it’s the first thing Jesus says in John’s Gospel. Here is God-made-flesh, walking around on the muddy banks of the Jordan River, by himself. Suddenly two men start to follow him. He stops, turns around, and out of all the things that he could ask about them, their families, or their spiritual lives, the Human One who knows all simply asks, “What are you seeking?” Were they seeking love, health or a deeper purpose in life? Were these two men seeking a military ruler that would defeat all their enemies? I wonder what caused them to leave their discipleship to John the Baptizer and unquestioningly follow Jesus? They certainly were seeking something, maybe what I felt when I decided to follow Jesus. As we follow Jesus into this New Year, I imagine him looking at us and asking the same question. What are you seeking? If you are seeking love, you can find it in Jesus. There is no deeper love that anyone has for you than how Jesus loves you. If you are seeking health, Jesus heals. If you are seeking a deeper meaning in life, he provides that, too. However, if you are looking for a military ruler, you’ll have to wait for his return although, maybe, 2016 will be the year. Regardless, if you are looking for a good transition from 2015 into the New Year, following Jesus is a good choice. -Fr. Marshall The last week of school before Christmas break was our last shot at the virtue of enthusiasm. Using the second chapter of Luke, we read about the enthusiastic shepherds who were told by an angel that Christ was born. As the message sank in, the whole sky filled with angels singing to the glory of God. The surprised and overwhelmed shepherds “hurried off” and found the holy family just as the angel had said. They told Mary and Joseph what they had experienced. Later, the shepherds “went back singing praises to God for all they had heard and seen” and Mary remembered all these things and thought about them deeply.
This story follows on the heels of our very successful Guadalupe Day celebration when we remember that Saint Mary appeared to Juan Diego in 1531 on a hill just north of Mexico City. The event converted millions of indigenous people. I told the students that if they were Juan Diego, they could have asked Mary about those shepherds. Since she “remembered those things,” I bet she could have told them all about them. At our Saint John’s celebration, we had two services for about 450 people – students, parishioners, teachers, parents, grandparents, family members – all in worship and celebration of the great things God has done. In 6th grade religion class, I asked twelve reflection questions about this story. Question 10: “Where were you when you first heard about this good news” that Jesus, the savior of the world, is with us. There were three categories of answer. A few students responded they heard the good news at their church. The next, still a small percentage, recalled that a family member told them the story of Jesus. Of 36 students, by far the most answers included “Chapel,” our Wednesday morning worship service at Saint John’s. In our sixth decade as a school and church, Saint John’s has been a spiritual beacon and teaching resource to generations of kids. Over the years, fewer and fewer students are participating in traditional Sunday morning services and churches. For those students, Saint John’s is it – the place – for their spiritual nurturing and growth. Did you know we are the first witness to many children about the good news? We have our first international student with more on their way. These students are interested first in how Saint John’s School can place them in the top high schools but also in our spiritual activities and instruction. The witnessing of Jesus Christ at Saint John’s is now extending beyond our roots in Chula Vista and Tijuana. I had a dream almost a year ago in which I was with a small delegation from Saint John’s at a huge meeting of various churches held in an indoor football stadium. The doors that led into this meeting were based on church size. Big churches were led in through the main gate which meant their seats were on the ground level. Each level up meant a smaller sized church. I figured we’d be in the 200 or 300 level. But then I saw our name at the turf level. I was surprised but walked in through the main entrance. Inside, various churches cheered when our delegation walked in. They said our church and school is changing the world. We are wrapping up our first-ever Christmas Village at Saint John’s. More than twelve neighbors, who have never been inside Saint John’s before, have visited and were hosted by our enthusiastic shepherds who gave them a tour of the beautiful Christmas trees, nativity scenes, and the church. It is a rare opportunity to share God’s love with our neighbors and our shepherds hosted Saint John’s very well. If asked, what is Saint John’s doing, you might want to mention that we are witnesses of God’s love to many, including generations of school children and our neighbors. We are the enthusiastic shepherds who are proclaiming that Christ is here. -Fr. Marshall This is the time of year when goodies show up in the office. Monday we had chocolate treats with a creamy dark chocolate inside. I had one. Wednesday was chocolate covered cherries. I had one. Today, an 18 inch diameter Christmas plate with holly and ivy plastic wrap tied at the top with a red bow was delivered to the office. Inside were at least a dozen chocolate chip cookies. I have had more than one. Yet for some reason, I was the only one enjoying them. Parents, parishioners, vendors and students bring treats to the office as we head closer to Christmas. Part of me, the morning workout part, would like the sentiment spread out over the whole school year. Some goodies are plastic wrapped and can be saved for the spring but most get consumed now. The last day of school is this Friday and a lot of this good stuff will get divided up and sent home then. More is given out on various Sundays at our Fellowship time – that is, what won’t get eaten at my desk as I am writing to you. Yesterday on the radio, the hosts of a sports show talked about tipping guidelines for the holidays. Although mail carriers, garbage collectors and teachers were mentioned, there was nothing about pastors or priests although at times it feels like we cross over into all three of those professions. Nevertheless, one of my favorite “tips” came in the form of a particular bottle of whisky at my first parish. And, I have a bottle of Kahlua that reminds me of the Saint John’s parishioner who gave it to me. At my current rate of consumption, I’ll be thinking of this person for the next eight years. It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Yet, the mystery of that cookie tray remained and bugged me enough that I finally asked around, “Hey, did you know there are cookies in here?” The response was an unenthusiastic yes. I was told to go read who they were from. I bounced back to the break room and saw the nice Christmas plate of cookies came from our local funeral home. “Oh, mortuary cookies,” I muttered under my breath and walked away. Besides thinking of how effective a diet campaign would be if one only ate food served by a mortuary, I started thinking why should it matter where these came from. It’s not like they gave us cases of unfiltered cigarettes with a note that said, “See you soon.” But, I have to admit, my enthusiasm for that plate of baked treats subsided and I am not even sure exactly why. I never wore black until I was ordained. Now the color black makes up a significant portion of my professional wardrobe. When I wear a collar, people tend to get out of the way. It’s like I am a giant plate of mortuary cookies. At my friend’s 50th birthday celebration, I gave a toast. When I was finished, he thanked me and then leaned in so I could hear him over the music and asked why I didn’t introduce myself as a pastor. Maybe it was the dancing, or the spiked punch, but I answered, “Because I’d like your friends to talk to me.” It didn’t work because he had already told his friends about me, anyway. Some of you know what it feels like from time to time to be like mortuary cookies. A friend in the Navy told me about his first tour in a new leadership role. None of his former buddies wanted to hang out with him anymore. It was a lonely time for him at sea. I have several friends who, once identified as recovering alcoholics, receive a similar cold shoulder – they’re no longer invited to Super Bowl parties, baseball games or even Christmas gatherings. I’m getting to know a police officer in the city and he gets treated the same way. At grocery stores or restaurants when he is in uniform, people get out of his way; he doesn’t get invited to parties, either. Sadly, I know several widows who also get the same treatment. It seems like the season brings out a variety of emotions and observations. It’s a time for eating sugary treats and party invites and increased police activity. It’s a difficult time to be deployed and also a very difficult time to be in mourning; Jesus is the light for the world to see in such circumstances. But perhaps an appropriate Christmas message for all of us this year might be to treat one another less like mortuary cookies. Maybe we should all act more like our Fellowship time after church where even cookies from a mortuary are appreciated and enjoyed. -Fr. Marshall A breaking story from La Jolla tells that eight sushi restaurants have been convicted of serving lobster rolls that didn’t have any lobster in them. Investigators from the City Attorney’s office purchased lobster rolls from various restaurants in the San Diego area and then sent them to a laboratory where DNA testing confirmed there was no-o-o-o lobster. None at all. Nada. Zilch.
Please insert dramatic crime show music, ba-ba-bummmm. I imagine this story will not appear on the next episode of CSI but nonetheless I find it interesting. The story explains that instead of lobster, testing revealed the substitution of various types of less expensive seafood like crawfish or Pollock. Last May, Christi and I took a few days off to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. We were window shopping in Ensenada (Baja California, MX) when a shop owner asked, in English, if we’d seen the news that day. We had not so he pulled out his smart phone and showed us a breaking story from Tijuana. A popular Chinese food restaurant was found to be snatching up stray dogs from around the city, slaughtering them and serving their meat as either pork or beef. Ba-ba-bummmm. Yeewww… I know it’s not a pretty story. And, the video shown on this man’s smart phone was disturbing as the videotaped restaurant workers had been caught in the act. I’m trying to avoid drawing socio-economic conclusions from this story by comparing life in Tijuana and life in La Jolla because killing stray dogs and serving them in Chinese food seems much worse and more heinous than swapping crawfish for lobster. But, my college years working for the Attorney General in Washington remind me that fraud is fraud. Whether it’s dog in Chinese food or crawfish passed as lobster in Japanese food, it’s still fraud. The eight restaurants in our county are being charged under the truth-in-menu law which disallows the undisclosed substitution or adulteration of food and the false advertising or misbranding of food items. This also means that the restaurants are allowed to serve crawfish rolls; they just can’t call them lobster. There is no California law against a Christian who doesn’t act Christ-like. Nevertheless, to claim to be a follower of Christ and then not live it out is an adulteration. It is false advertising; it’s misbranding. The action of someone who protests military funerals, and claims to do it with God’s blessing, or someone who attacks Planned Parenthood facilities in the name of Christ is an adulteration – a corruption, a falsifying debauchery of claiming one thing and doing something else. Jesus cautioned us about adulterating our relationship with God. Don’t say you love God with all your heart and then serve another master, he warns. It looks bad for all who believe and is doubly bad on the person who does it if it causes another to stumble. Jesus lifted up the bread, broke it and said, “This is my body, given for you.” Through faith, we believe in the truth-in-menu with Jesus. We believe it is his body, given for us. We receive it in faith that we will be united with him and one another and blessed by the Holy Spirit. And then, we are called to go out and do the work that has been given us to do. To live lives that truly represent truth-in-menu. -Fr. Marshall The insurance company I worked for required three separate sets of passwords for my position. In addition, my screen locked every ninety seconds. The passwords were encrypted to my keyboard so that none of them would work at a different computer. Each password expired in three weeks. This means that I was learning new passwords constantly. Once a password expired, a control box would appear and I could choose between any number of computer generated passwords. After choosing the new password, I would memorize the pattern it made on the keyboard (because we were reprimanded for writing down our passwords) and then go on with my work. I wonder how much brain energy and time was spent simply logging in and memorizing passwords. The energy spent on it must be less than what happens when confronting a computer breach. It almost made one want to say, “Bring on the breaches! They are easier than the constant password changing.”
One day, in 1997, an IT employee sat with us at lunch (they so rarely took lunch that we called him over when we saw him walk in to the break room). I asked if we got cyber attacked every day. He looked at me, shook his head, and said, “Once a day? We get attacked ten to fifteen times an hour.” He went on to tell me that insurance companies hold a lot of information about people. There are all sorts of nefarious types that’d like to get their hands on just a fraction of what the company holds. There are other types who are mad at insurance companies and want to damage us. And yet others from foreign countries who attempt to take information and then hold it for ransom or go public to shame the company. Flash forward to 2015. I am setting up a password for Ethan’s GameStop rewards plan. In order to set up his account, I needed a password with at least eight characters, two capital letters, one number, and, one character, like @#$%^ or &. I thought this was a bit extreme. I set up his account and have now already forgotten the password. It’s strange to me that a silly rewards program for a used video games store requires such a strong system. I cannot believe they are attacked like an insurance company. The list of programs and other useful on-line applications that I can no longer use because I have forgotten the overly-complicated password is getting longer and longer. Currently on my list – my bank, health plan, retirement plan, Facebook, LinkedIn, and iHeart Radio. For a few of the above mentioned companies, I actually have forgotten my secret phrases, too. I ask myself, did I say my favorite vacation spot is Maui or Hawaii? Or, did I say Detroit because everyone guesses Hawaii. Have we password-ed ourselves out of commission? Will we go back to paper simply because we can no longer remember our email login passwords? The good news is you have a secure account with God. Jesus tells us that our riches are stored in heaven where rust or moth cannot destroy and where thieves cannot break in and steal. I image Jesus would add to that list foreign governments and nefarious people looking to hijack our info. The password is simple, just put your hands together and pray. -Fr. Marshall |