When less is more

 Dear Friends

One of our family Christmas traditions with Christopher and Emily was to drive through the neighborhoods and streets in Corona, which were known for their extravagant front lawn Christmas decorations and lights. They never failed to impress and delight us.

But sometimes, less is more. Last week I passed a nurses' station at the hospital where I volunteer and there was just a single garland hung with red bows. Compared to other stations, it seemed like this station hadn't finished putting up their decorations. But it was so beautiful in its simplicity. Sensing that maybe they had completed decorating, I said to a nurse "What a great example of less is more". And she immediately replied with an enthusiastic "Yes! I know what you mean!".

This year, we chose "less is more" for our front yard, our only decorations being three standing figures representing the Holy Family. But when we got home from church Sunday, it was a more extreme example of "less is more". Mary and Joseph were lying flat on the ground! They had not withstood the storm. But baby Jesus was still standing, so to speak. 

There is a time and place for extravagance; even some "over the top" experiences can be fun. But there is also a time for creating experiences that illustrate and help us recognize that less is more. 

Sometimes, all you need is love. Sometimes, all you need is Christ.

John

Feast of St. Nicholas

 

Dear Friends

If my seminary had a patron saint, a good choice would be St. Nicholas, whose feast is today. Let me explain. Nicholas was Bishop of Myra (now Turkey). He died on December 6th, 342. Very little is known about his life, but he became a patron saint of seafarers, sailors and most of all, children. Many churches in England bear his name.

This is the connection to General Seminary, my home in New York City for three years. Clement Clarke Moore, who donated the land for the Episcopal Church's first seminary and was a professor there for 25 years, is known as the author of the poem describing a secularized version of St. Nicholas---Santa Claus. (Some scholars debate his authorship, but the poem has always been attributed to Moore). An annual tradition for decades was for the dean to read "A Visit from St. Nicholas" to the entire seminary community. The library had many editions of the beloved bit of whimsical fantasy. Moore is said to have written it for his children on Christmas Eve,1822.

A line from one of our hymns for Compline (#42, Now the Day is Over) and the collect for his feast day, help us focus on the original Nicholas and his witness to Jesus' love.

"Grant to little children, visions bright of thee;

guard the sailors tossing, on the deep blue sea"

 Almighty God, in your love you gave your servant Nicholas of Myra a perpetual name for deeds of kindness both on land and sea. Grant, we pray, that your Church may never cease to work for the happiness of children, the safety of sailors, the relief of the poor, and the help of those tossed by tempests of doubt or grief, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The photo above, of Santa and Jesus side by side, is from the Episcopal Ad Project and it includes this quote:

“The important news at Christmas is not who came down the chimney,

but who came down from heaven”

 The next photo is of one of our Christmas decorations and helps keep the joy of St. Nicholas (aka Santa Claus) and the birth of Jesus in perspective.

 Happy St. Nicholas Day!

 John

 

 

 

Ban Assault Weapons Now

 Dear Friends

This morning's Riverside Press Enterprise had an editorial. I had to respond to it. How dare President Biden said (a few days ago), "The idea we still allow semi-automatic weapons to be purchased is sick. Just sick. I'm going to try to get rid of assault weapons."

We can argue from now through the next mass shooting, and the next one, and the next mass shooting, as to how to describe weapons that are designed to kill as many people as possible as quickly as possible. We can keep studying the many causes of gun violence including figuring out how to deal with mental health issues. But in the meantime, ban weapons of war now!

Here is my letter:  

Your editorial (“Joe Biden’s fixation with gun bans” Nov. 30th) is tone deaf.

First, his words were not a “fixation”. He was simply using his “bully pulpit”. In this case, he is preaching to a majority of the choir according to most polls. 

Second, it was published exactly two days before the 7th anniversary of the San Bernardino mass shooting and two weeks before the 10^th anniversary of the Sandy Hook mass shooting. How would those, and so many more victims' families, receive your quoting a report which says “assault weapon bans have uncertain effects on mass shootings" and “evidence for this relationship is inconclusive.” 

Third, one of the reasons those of us who support such bans is because not doing it reflects who we are as Americans. Do we really want to be known as the country whose leaders are afraid to do anything meaningful when it comes to gun violence?

Another editorial could be titled “America’s fixation on gun rights”. How many deaths will it take until those, who otherwise would never use these weapons to harm anyone, are willing to sacrifice their “right” to a weapon of war for the common good.

John Saville

Whether or not this letter is published, we all need to keep speaking out for the things we believe in and let our leaders know. What a powerful message Congress could send on December 14th, the 10th anniversary of Sandy Hook, if they at least took a vote to ban assault weapons. And what a great day it will be when it is passed by a new generation of leaders in the future, who figured out that some rights aren't right anymore.

John

 

 

 Dear Friends

This morning's Riverside Press Enterprise had an editorial. I had to respond to it. How dare President Biden said (a few days ago), "The idea we still allow semi-automatic weapons to be purchased is sick. Just sick. I'm going to try to get rid of assault weapons."

We can argue from now through the next mass shooting, and the next one, and the next mass shooting, as to how to describe weapons that are designed to kill as many people as possible as quickly as possible. We can keep studying the many causes of gun violence including figuring out how to deal with mental health issues. But in the meantime, ban weapons of war now!

Here is my letter:  

Your editorial (“Joe Biden’s fixation with gun bans” Nov. 30th) is tone deaf.

First, his words were not a “fixation”. He was simply using his “bully pulpit”. In this case, he is preaching to a majority of the choir according to most polls. 

Second, it was published exactly two weeks before the 10^th anniversary of the Sandy Hook massacre of 26 children and teachers. How would those, and so many more victims' families, receive your quoting a report which says “assault weapon bans have uncertain effects on mass shootings.” and “evidence for this relationship is inconclusive.” 

Third, one of the reasons those of us who support such bans is because not doing it reflects who we are as Americans. Do we really want to be known as the country whose leaders are afraid to do anything meaningful when it comes to gun violence?

Another editorial could be titled “America’s fixation on gun rights”. How many deaths will it take until those, who otherwise would never use these weapons to harm anyone, are willing to sacrifice their “right” to a weapon of war for the common good.

John Saville

Whether or not this letter is published, we all need to keep speaking out for the things we believe in and let our leaders know. What a powerful message Congress could send on December 14th, the 10th anniversary of Sandy Hook, if they at least took a vote to ban assault weapons. And what a great day it will be when it is passed by a new generation of leaders in the future, who figured out that some rights aren't right anymore.

John

 

 

 

 

Thanksgiving Exercise

 

Dear Friends

Happy Thanksgiving Day! I just want to share a prayer by Avery Brooke and suggest an exercise to do alone, or with a group, today, or any day.

We have many things to be thankful for God,

and sometimes we remember them and other times we forget.

When something large or small goes wrong, it fills our minds,

and we forget those things for which---when we remember---

we are thankful.

Help us to remember the good things, God.

To name them, to savor them, and be thankful for you. Amen.

So how about using this prayer to take some time and write down the specific things in a word or phrase, that come to mind when we consider the five senses we have been given:

Tastes

Sounds

Smells

Sights

Touches

And finally, as the cartoon which appeared today on my turn a page calendar, quoting Ephesians 1:16 says, today I am giving thanks for you!

John

 

All Leftovers Day

 

Dear Friends

Of course today is All Saints Day. But thanks to some saints, it is also, for me, All Leftovers Day!

The first saints were the kids that didn’t show up at our front door last night and St. Emily who left some beverages we didn’t finish consuming last night. Thus, I began today with a leftover breakfast (see picture above). I am, however, as I rub my stomach, left with a few questions:

Should I be concerned that except for sugar, water, enriched flour, really high fructose corn syrup and Yellow 5 and Red 40, I couldn’t pronounce the other 29 ingredients?

Should I be concerned that the box said “Contains bioengineered food ingredients”?

Should I be concerned that there was a stamp on the box which said “Best used by November 23^rd, 2014”? Just kidding, it was 2015. No, it was 2022.

Now that I have finished my mid-morning alka-seltzer, I am looking  forward to an all leftover lunch and dinner thanks to St. Kathleen! Choices will include her traditional Halloween Chili and Cornbread, her Saturday night oven fried chicken, and Sunday noon’s leftover one half bacon breakfast burrito and leftover one-half BLT and fries plate, ordered by St. Kathleen from Burger Basket, at my request, on our way home from church on Sunday.

Speaking of saints, we are all saints, of course, by virtue of our baptisms, when we were set apart to do our best to follow Christ’s teachings and example. There are so many words from so many hymns I could quote, but I will limit them to these (which I have modified), as a reminder that in spite of the news which over-emphasizes people behaving badly, there are far more who are acting decently, with kindness and great courage, in spite of their challenging circumstances:

They lived not only in ages past, there are hundreds of thousands still

The world is bright with the joyous saints who love to do Jesus’ will

You can meet them in church, or at work or at school,

People doing their best, trying to live by God’s rule

For the saints of God are folk just like me, and I mean to be one too.  

John

Time for a change

Dear Friends

Below is my letter to the editor, just mailed in response to the Press Enterprise endorsement of Ken Calvert this morning.  In case it is not published, I am sharing it now. If it is published, I will ask Kathleen to share it again and maybe some others will also share it to encourage like-minded folk to be sure and vote. I think it is significant that their endorsement was so lukewarm. Maybe some of his past supporters will also wonder if three decades is enough and it is time for a change.  

The Press Enterprise’s lukewarm endorsement of Congressman Ken Calvert, while not surprising, is disappointing. The congressman has done some good things during his 15 terms. But in recent years, he has drifted into the arms and still welcomes the embrace and endorsement of Donald Trump. Waving above the many red flags that point to this disturbing behavior, was his vote, just hours after the insurrection on January 6^th, to try to further delay the peaceful transfer of power. Calvert had been a Trump enabler; on January 6th, he became joined at Trump’s hip.

    After three decades it’s time for a change in leadership. It’s time to elect Will Rollins, a new leader for a new district, someone who can also do some good but is not beholden to Trump and his shrinking base. 

Just doing my part to try and strengthen our democracy!  

John