Pastoral Problem

 

Dear Friends

I have a pastoral problem, a dilemma of my own making. 

Mindful of where I am currently living (San Jose), I told the congregation on January 9^th that I would root for the 49ers over the Rams. Why? Because the Rams had already clinched a playoff spot, but the 49ers had to win to make the playoffs. The congregation was pleased by this act of charity.

And my rooting for the 49ers apparently made the difference because they won!

Now the Rams and the 49ers are facing off this Sunday, January 23^rd, for a spot in the Super Bowl. This is not the Dodgers versus the Giants, where I would show no mercy. This is deciding whether to side with the congregation by cheering for the 49ers, or risking their ridicule by rooting for the Rams!

On the local news, a fan said, and I quote: “There is a God, and he loves football, and he loves the 49ers!” “Faithful” and “Faithful to the Bay” are 49er slogans printed on clothing items as seen above.

I try not to mix politics with religion but now I am being forced to mix sports with religion!

I think the best and safest way to proceed is to acknowledge that while against the backdrop of eternity it doesn’t matter who wins this Sunday, we can all rally around Romans 12:15 which says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”

To be honest, I’d like to rejoice with the Rams. Just don’t tell the congregation, lest they run me out of town and back to Southern California, halfway into my temporary assignment.

John

P.S. Did the 49er’s get permission from the Angels to add those wings to the shirt?

 

 

What's for Lunch?

 Dear Friends

Few people know how much time I spend in the kitchen! To dispel that myth, I present my latest creation from Chef Juan Sevillia’s Culinary Creations, as not seen on Cable TV.

Easy as Pie One Veggie Three Fruit Delight for Two (With Leftovers)

Ingredients: (Obtain online for speed and freshness):

One bag Chilean Carrots

One Anaheim Angel of California Avocado

One Caribbean Cucumber

One Tony Roma Tomato

Instructions:

Dash to the door when it rings to find food

Carry food to kitchen and find a cutting board and knife

Slice tomato into 3 meter or would that be 3 millimeter strips?

Slice cucumber into 1 millimeter strips?

Slice avocado into four somewhat equal parts

Pick out just enough carrots to separate the cucumber slices

Arrange on plate as pictured above-start with tomatoes

Serve at room temperature with Favorite Compliments* Dip

 

Coming Soon: Leftover Soup Delight

 Juan

 *Some prefer condiments

 

 

Let the sun (light) and Son SHINE!

 Dear Friends

If sunlight is the best disinfectant, President Biden’s speech for the ages this morning, was like shining a high intensity LED flashlight on what happened before and after the 2020 election, January 6^th, and for the past year. Some will say, of course, that his words will divide us further. But if we don’t know how large the wound is, how can we know and feel the urgency to treat it? And trying to heal the soul of our nation without holding the persons responsible, who ripped the wound open wider (which infects and continues to poison the blood stream of our country and civility in general) is irresponsible.

Of course my mind then goes to the fact that today, as it was almost forgotten last year in the shock of what we were watching on television, is the Feast of the Epiphany, a day filled with references to light. “Arise, shine, for your light has come…” are the familiar words of the first lesson from Isaiah at the Eucharist, but these words from Revelation are appointed for Evening Prayer today: “And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb”. The nations will walk by its light and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it”.

That leads me to timely words from today’s Forward Day by Day meditation: “When our days are rift with conflict and turmoil, let us remember that God’s light shines on each of us equally. God became incarnate for all of us as we continue to fight for mercy, justice and peace.”

Let me end with a prayer which my father prayed with me and my sisters each night as he put us to bed. I have added one phrase for the current perils and dangers we face:

Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee O Lord, and by thy great 

mercy, defend us from all perils and dangers of this night (and for 

those still simmering in our country right now); for the love of thy 

only Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

John

P.S Thankful (and proud) to hear our Presiding Bishop Michael Curry's powerful prayer at the candlelight vigil on the Capitol steps and hear John Meacham's voice in the president's speech!

Well done, good and faithful servant!

 

Dear Friends

By now, you probably have heard this morning’s breaking news that Desmond Tutu, beloved Archbishop of Cape Town from 1986-1996, died at the age of 90. Beyond that role, he is perhaps best known for being appointed by Nelson Mandela to head up the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 and was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Obama in 2009.

Though physically small, he was a spiritual giant, making a huge impact with his words and personality. He spoke tough truth to power with love. He was also filled with a spirit of joy and laughter that was infectious. I know this personally. He spoke at one of our clergy conferences many years ago and even before he uttered a word, his positive, uplifting energy was felt throughout the room.  

Thanks to Google, here are a few quotes I picked which think are worth sharing:

We need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they are falling in!

 

If you want peace, you don’t talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.

 

Forgiveness says you are given another chance to make a new beginning. Without forgiveness there is no future.

 

Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all the darkness.

 

Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.

 

My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together. God’s dream is that you and I and all of us will realize that we are family, that we are made for togetherness, for goodness and compassion.

Well done good and faithful servant! May your words and actions continue to inspire and motivate many to take on the hard but urgent work of reconciliation, something our country and world needs now more than ever.

John

 

I'll be home for Christmas?

Dear Friends

Well, if we are thinking of our final home in heaven, I don’t want to be home for Christmas anytime soon. On this day, December 10th, in 1968, Thomas Merton, monk, poet and spiritual writer, was accidentally electrocuted while attending a conference in Bangkok, Thailand. He went home suddenly and without warning two weeks before Christmas.

On vacation several years ago, I told, actually I practically shouted to Kathleen, “TURN RIGHT!” as we suddenly and unexpectedly came upon a sign pointing to the Trappist monastery of Gethsemani, near Bardstown, Kentucky. I knew that this was where Merton lived and worked for over two decades of his life. It was a wonderful, unplanned visit.

Two Merton quotes which I think might speak to many people right now are these:

“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end.”

“You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope.”

May these words not just help us cope, but encourage us to go forward, day by day, one step at a time, with confidence. May they carry us through many more Christmas days until we are finally home for our final Easter.

John

She and He persisted

 

               Headline: “Say goodbye to Target runs on Thanksgiving”

Dear Friends

Thanks to Sarah (she persisted) Hale for her tireless effort (40 years) to establish Thanksgiving as an official, national holiday. (There were many and various kinds of local Thanksgiving celebrations before then.) Thanks to Abraham Lincoln for finally making her dream come true.

And now, thanks to Target Corporation for announcing that starting this year, they will be closed on Thanksgving Day.....forever! Their official statement included this: “What started as a temporary measure driven by the pandemic, is now our new standard”. Pushback from employees and increasing on-line shopping are also factors.

But you and I know the main factor is that they finally buckled under the pressure of my phone calls and letters to the editors over the past 40 years! (He persisted). So now the only stuff we need to rush out to buy on Thanksgiving (as if we didn’t already have enough stuff) is if we forgot the stuffing for the turkey.

Of all the prayers and hymns and scriptures and just my thoughts about Thanksgiving/thanksgiving I could share, I will let 17^th century Anglican priest and poet George Herbert have the final word.

Here are words from his longer poem, Gratefulness:

Thou that hast giv’n so much to me

Give one thing more, a grateful heart.

Not thankful, when it pleaseth me;

As if thy blessings had spare days:

But such a heart, whose pulse may be thy praise.

Happy Thanksgiving!

John

 

 

 

Reluctant Warrior

Dear Friends

We found out today that fellow Episcopalian, General Colin Powell, died. For those of us who have the luxury of watching the news, the day has been filled with moving stories and memories and tributes.

What has not been reported, is that today is the Feast of St. Luke. Given the fact that scholars believe Luke was a physician, it is interesting to hear some verses from today’s appointed first lesson from the 38^th chapter of Sirach (a book of Jewish wisdom from the Apocrypha). It reminds us in this day of “anti-vaxers”, some seeking religious exemptions, that we pray to God for help and healing when sick, and we also listen to and seek help from doctors!

Verse 1: “Give doctors the honor they deserve, for the Lord gave them their work to do.”

Verse 4: “The Lord created medicines from the earth, and a sensible person will not hesitate to use them.”

Verse 9: “My child, when you get sick, don’t ignore it. Pray to the Lord and he will make you well.”

Verse 12, 13: “Then call the doctor---for the Lord created him---and keep him at your side; you need him. There are times when you have to depend on his skill.”  

The second reading for today’s Feast of St. Luke is from 2 Timothy, chapter four, and includes this familiar refrain as Paul came to the end of his life:

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Speaking of fighting the good fight, General Powell said just last July in an interview, “I haven’t lost a day of life fighting these two diseases.” (Multiple myeloma and Parkinson's)

One final quote, from my book pictured at the beginning of this blog, provides further inspiration for us all:

“A life is about its events; it’s about challenges met and overcome---it’s about successes and failures. But more than all of these put together, it's about how we touch and are touched by the people we meet. It’s all about the people.”

Thank you, General Powell, for your courage, honor and example, in word and deed. May many people like you find their way to positions of leadership!

John