I used to work in a rather high-pressure environment as a senior underwriter for a large insurance company. My boss used to say to me that the job was simple; all we had to do was make a hundred decisions per day each of which simply had to be exactly correct. He would come around at 10 am and again at 3 pm to make sure that we were taking our breaks because the company had found out that the best decisions are made when the underwriter feels refreshed and not fatigued. I had some friends in the life insurance department that would take regular 15 minute naps at their desk – as prescribed by their bosses. Some of the worst decisions that were made in the department came not because of a lack of information or experience, but because of weariness and stress.
How does weariness factor into what you do? What is your level of fatigue? As a parent, I am at my best when I’m relaxed and rested. But let’s be frank, how many times, as parents, do we feel that level of serenity? Parenting, by and large, happens in the midst of anxieties of the day and sometimes on too little sleep. I saw a parent get angry at a young child at a store the other day. The Mom looked really tired and worn out. I don’t think she’s a bad person, or a terrible parent, she was simply fatigued and thus was making poor decisions. I often wonder, when looking at creation, if God was weary when he created the avocado pit, the Carrion flower that smells like death, or the Aye-aye (look it up, it’s an ugly and strange creature). In the book of Exodus, we are told that the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed. (Ex 31:17) Creating heaven and earth must have been a lot of work and stress. No wonder God needed rest and refreshment. Jesus sent out the twelve to heal and proclaim. When they returned, the Gospel of Mark says, “there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and the twelve did not even have a chance to eat. Then Jesus said, ‘Let’s go to a place where we can be alone and get some rest.’ They left in a boat for a place where they could be alone.” (Mk 6:31-32) The Lord knew the importance of rest and taught it to his disciples. If Jesus, who we believe is both human and divine, took the time to combat fatigue, what instruction can we take from that about finding rest and refreshment? I took this weekend off. A great gift was given to me by Fathers Tolley and Stott. Four weeks ago they approached me in the vesting sacristy (the place where we robe-up for service). Fr. Stott said that he’d like to preach on Memorial Day. Fr. Tolley jumped in and said, “Well, if Al is preaching, then I’d like to celebrate.” And nearly in unison, they both said, “And you can take the weekend off.” And I did! And it was good! It is such a comfort and blessing to have those two beautiful, faithful, and thoughtful men watching over and caring for me and my family. The Letter to the Hebrews says that a Sabbath rest remains for God’s people and the person who has entered God’s rest has rested from his own works, just as God did from His. Let us then make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall into a pattern of disobedience. (Heb 4:9-11) Just like my old boss used to enforce, we need to take breaks, or get rest, so that we can continue in a pattern of good decisions. May you find time today to take a rest from your labors and find a Sabbath rest, just as God did. Many blessings to you this day, - Fr. Marshall I was talking recently to someone who the Church would call a
“non-believer” at a local, rather hip, coffee shop. I might have been the only person there who did not have a tattoo or some sort of piercing. But, black shirts were popular so at least I had that going for me. Priests do not always fit in very well, as you can imagine. We met to discuss spirituality and God because of a parishioner who had referred him to me. She had prepared me with, “He’s a great guy at work and he’s been asking me questions and I just don’t know how to answer them. He seems so angry… Anyway, I thought you could help him.” I wondered if I could help him, too. Eric is in his late twenties or early thirties and in a long-term relationship with a live-in girlfriend. He wore motorcycle boots, a long chain that ran from his belt to a concealed wallet, a tattoo that started on the top of his right hand and ran up his arm underneath his jacket, and his forehead was covered with a dark and wide bandana that made me wonder if he had really long hair or if he was covering up a receding hair line. He had dark eyes that seldom held any object for any length of time. With coffee in hand, we found a table with three chairs and sat down. Normally when I meet with new folks we talk about work, family, and sports for a while until we’re ready to talk God. Not with Eric; we sat down and he immediately jumped in asking in-depth theological questions. My parishioner was right that he was angry. Joplin, Missouri, had been leveled by a tornado. He asked why a loving God would allow this to happen. The next question was about AIDS, then earthquakes, and then, tears welled up in his eyes as he asked why his dad had died of a heart attack when he was only 12 – three years after walking out on him, his mom, and his sister. The sounds of the coffee shop faded away as we both leaned in and talked about a merciful and loving God who is working in a broken world filled with sin and death. I told him about Jesus who is loving and forgiving and who would not take away a father-- even if his angry son had prayed that he would die. After our intense conversation his complexion changed. He looked brighter and a lot less angry. Eric sat back, put his arm over the back of the unoccupied chair, crossed his legs and said, “Tell me about you. Why do you do this church thing?” I told him about my calling and what I do by serving the Church. He uncrossed his legs, put both arms on the table, looked me in the eyes and said, “Yeah, but with church, I mean, I guess I just don’t understand, I mean, what’s the point of it all?” I asked what he meant by the point of it all. He replied, “Once you are forgiven, and know that God loves you and all, why go and sing a bunch of old songs?” I said to him that the Church does three things. We are a place for the spiritually wounded to receiving healing. We are a house of praise and worship of God that is set apart from all other buildings in the world. And, we equip one another to be Christ for others in the world. He sat in silence for a while, staring at his hands. After a while he looked up and said, “You mean ‘being Christ’ to people who are angry at God and meet in coffee shops.” I smiled and said, “Yep, you’ve got it. Once you’ve been forgiven and see the glory of God, even in natural disasters and in disease, you get to be Christ’s representative to others. And even you too, Eric, get to be Christ to others.” May you be equipped to serve Christ and be his representative to others, - Fr. Marshall P. S. Many months after I had met with Eric, my parishioner told me that he joined a small church that meets in a rundown downtown building. He spends time talking to people who have, as he calls it, “issues with God." I heard a radio story I just had to verify and now that I have checked it out, I want to share it with you.
A 17-year old female high school student from Rhode Island was invited to speak at Hugh Heffner’s home about the First Amendment. This caught my attention. I studied civil liberties in college and find them fascinating and vital to our American way of life. But, a 17-year old speaking at the home of an adult magazine tycoon made my eyebrows close in on each other. If you have not read the 1st Amendment in a while, here it is: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. The student, a self-described atheist, won a Heffner 1st Amendment Award for successfully challenging a prayer banner in her high school. The story on the radio made me remember a hand-made Young Life banner occasionally displayed at my high school that invited anyone to pray together before school began. Young Life helped many of my friends during a difficult time in High School. I felt offended that someone might want to challenge it. But that was not what happened in Rhode Island. In that high school gymnasium, the banner read: Our Heavenly Father. Grant us each day the desire to do our best. To grow mentally and morally as well as physically. To be kind and helpful to our classmates and teachers. To be honest with ourselves as well as with others. Help us to be good sports and smile when we lose as well as when we win. Teach us the value of true friendship. Help us always to conduct ourselves so as to bring credit to Cranston High School West. Amen. This banner was a gift from the 1963 graduating class and replaced recitation of the Lord’s Prayer which was stopped in 1962. In March of this year the banner was removed. I am saddened by this story and also somehow uplifted. The way that the 1st Amendment has been interpreted shows that this banner is inappropriate. I get that. What saddens me is that the banner got it right – to be kind, honest, helpful, to grow mentally, morally, physically, and to be good sports in bad times and to cherish friendship. Yes these are Christian ethics. But they are not the sole property of the Christian Church. I think they are vital ethics of conduct and are applicable to any High School. I am uplifted because every day at Saint John’s I stand for our school prayer. Each morning at 8:22 a student leads us in prayer after we recite the Pledge of Allegiance. This morning it was a 5thgrader. Our Constitution guarantees Saint John’s the right to prayer in school. As a parochial school we have many protections. And, before Sunday services, the servers and I stand in a circle and pray. Once a month or so I pray in thanksgiving for the freedom we have to worship God as we choose and I pray for Christians around the globe that do not enjoy such protections. Freedom is a tricky thing. We have the right to assemble and worship and no level of government can establish a religion. I strongly believe in both. It’s like being in the world but not of the world. Recently I was at the DMV registering our new car. While waiting in line, I tried to imagine what it would be like if government got into the business of establishment of religion. It wasn’t a pretty picture. Can you imagine the permit forms you’d have to fill out to receive communion? As we get move closer to Memorial Day, let us all pray in thanksgiving for our freedoms, and especially the freedom to worship. Let us be thankful for the freedom of speech – even if we disagree with what the other person is saying. Let us be thankful for the freedom to assemble – even if we have a different opinion from the assemblers. Let us be thankful for the freedom to worship – even if others decide loudly to not worship or to not believe in God. And, let us take a moment to thank those who created and those who defend our constitution and its amendments. God’s peace to you, Fr. Marshall Near my childhood house in a southern suburb of Tacoma, Washington, there is a restaurant called the Quarterdeck. This was the finest dining in the area. The Quarterdeck’s exterior was decorated to look like the raised deck behind the last mast of a large sailing ship. On the inside it looked like the captain’s quarters; or at least the romanticized version of what it would look like. One day they put up a large banner on the outside. It read, “We’re the second best dining restaurant in Tacoma!” My dad liked the sign. He said it’s smart because many would argue about who is number one, but no one would question their status as number two.
There is a list of the most popular to least popular names of Episcopal Churches. On this list, Saint John’s is number two! I don’t think we should make a banner of it, but our placement on the list has made me think. Before I get to my ruminations, here are the top five Episcopal Church names in the country. 1) Christ, 2) St. John, 3) Trinity, 4) St. Paul, 5) St. Andrew. There are 527 Christ Churches and 524 named St. John. We’re almost number one. Almost. I’ve been wondering what it means to be named for Saint John. In the Early Church times, a congregation would name themselves for a particular saint because they had a relic from that person. It could be a scarf, a sandal, a toenail, or perhaps the whole body. As Christianity grew, there were just not enough relics to go around. So, congregations would name themselves based on a particular charism, or gift, of a saint. If a saint was known to be brave, a congregation that does a lot of evangelism work may chose that name. Or, a congregation with a strong outreach ministry may choose to name themselves after a saint that cared for the poor. What then does it mean to be named for Saint John? As I’ve been discussing over the past few Sunday sermons, John the Gospel writer has a particular charism or view of Jesus. He writes in his Gospel that Jesus is one who welcomes outsiders, he goes after the lost sheep and calls them by name, and he highlights Jesus as someone who spiritually stands above the religious establishment of the day to seek those who have been disaffected by religion. Since our congregation is named for John the Gospel writer, I think we are a congregation who welcomes outsiders, seeks those who are lost and those who have been burned (and burned out by) religion. This is our charism – it is our gift to the community and to one another – to help those in need and offer them hope and peace in Christ. Our name is also in the top five of names in the country. This makes sense in light of the Gospel writers who mentioned Jesus’ inner posse – Peter, John, James and Andrew. When Jesus went off to pray, or to do something way out of the ordinary, like become transfigured, he always took a small group with him. That group usually involved John. I think this means we can proudly say, “We’re #2!” The advantage of being number two is that we are always following number one - Christ. We know our place and we follow in his footsteps. Let us continue to participate in John’s charism of welcoming outsiders and seeking after those who do not know the love and peace of Christ, - Fr. Marshall |