Advent-tageous

“All things are ready, if our mind be so.”  ~William Shakespeare, English poet and playwright (1564-1616)

The closet disappeared into the darkness beneath the stairs. Its appearance was deceptive to say the least. A short single rod across the opening, filled with winter coats, made it look as if it were simply a shallow, hall coat closet.

Once the coats were pushed aside however, it revealed an enclosure which sloped down following the underside the stairs then turning right disappearing out of sight. Parting the clothes and peering in always reminded me of the days I read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to my then 8-year old daughter, Angela.

Those memories quickly dissipated with the realization that I was there to clean and not to reminisce. On several occasions I had mustered the courage to begin this cleaning project. Unfortunately I never got much beyond sorting the clothes hung on the wooden dowel, reluctantly taking a few to the Salvation Army, then returning the remainder to the spot where they had previously hung.

Today I was resolute. Today I would finish the cleaning job that had so often frustrated me. Laying aside the coats and jackets, I clicked on the flash light and headed in for the first layer of boxes. One-by-one I opened each box, carefully examining the contents. Some I resealed and accurately labeled. Others were set aside in a tentative donation pile for approval by my wife Teresa. The third and smallest group was held out for possible use.

The project was going unusually well. Three-quarters of the way into the closet however, I stumbled upon a nondescript, almost unmarked box. It was sealed with reinforced packing tape which the unknown manufacturer had placed there some time in the past. The only thing decipherable on the box was a series of numbers (2 2 94). Showing the box to Teresa, I asked if she recognized it. She did not.

Pulling the box cutter from my hip pocket, I carefully sliced the packing tape. Pulling open the lid, we discovered a series of foil packets. They resembled the food and water packets that backpackers take on extended outings. It was then that we realized what this was.

Shortly after the Northridge earthquake in January, 1994, we decided we would never be caught unprepared for an earthquake again. Living seventeen miles from the epicenter was enough of a wakeup call for anybody. So, to this end, we purchased an over-priced survival kit of dried food, water, and supplies and had carefully stored it under the stairs. 2.2.94 was the date we had purchased it, making it nearly 20 years old.

“Think this stuff is any good?” I asked Teresa. “I have the perfect place for this box,” she replied. Taking the box from my hands, she headed out the back door in the direction of the garbage cans.

The willingness to be prepared always seems to be in direct proportion to the proximity of the disaster for which we are preparing. In other words, two weeks after our experience of the Northridge earthquake, we were nearly desperate to assure ourselves we would be prepared for the next seismic event. Nineteen years later, however, it didn’t seem like such a big deal.

As stewards of the life God has given us we are not only called to live our lives well, but to also be well prepared for the end of our lives as well. Life is many things, but Thomas Merton reminded us that living our life well means spiritually preparing ourselves for death.

One way to approach this is to live each day well. It is easy to get mired in activity and the relentless urge to be busy; to be task-oriented. For some, life’s happiness is measured by completing everything on our “to do” list. But living a life filled with activity does not necessarily mean we are living life to its fullest.

We are entering the season of Advent. Advent means “coming.” When we know something is coming, if we are conscientious, we prepare for it. Take some time this Advent season to prepare for the coming of Christ spiritually.

Life’s earthquakes will come, as will those great moments of joy. Their advent is upon us. Be prepared.

Dear God: Help me to live in the moment while learning from the past and preparing for the future.

“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” ~Mark Twain, American humorist, writer and lecturer (1835-1910)
©2012 James E. Carper. All rights reserved.
“90 Second Stewardship”  All rights are reserved. You are welcome and encouraged to forward this e-mail to family and friends provided the”© 2012 James E. Carper. All rights reserved.” is included along with this message. Organizations, whether for or non profit, are required to receive written approval before reproducing these reflections. If written approval is given the “© 2012 James E. Carper. All rights reserved.” must be included along with this message.

Hope-more-ness

“Where hope would otherwise become hopelessness, it becomes faith.” ~Robert Brault, American free-lance writer

It was February, a cold, winter’s night in Dayton. That winter, Stephen had been living under the old abandoned railroad bridge over South Patterson Boulevard near Veterans Park. It had been owned by the Norfolk Southern Railroad Company but it had been out of use for decades. The city was planning on tearing it down.

It was Stephen’s only shelter. He was hungry and cold. It was 20 degrees and had started snowing an hour or so earlier. He felt afraid, useless, and as if his life had just “run out of road.” The thoughts of suicide had been growing in him for some time. Maybe he was like this old train trestle the city was going to tear down. Maybe he had outlived his usefulness and it was time to just be done away with.

As he was considering the possible ways in which he could end his life and his misery, Stephen heard someone crying on the bridge platform above. He scrambled up the side of the bridge embankment. Reaching the top he discovered a young woman.   

Her only possessions were the clothes she wore.  She had a strange cherub-like face. Her name was Vangelis, a very strange name. Vangelis told Stephen she too was contemplating suicide.

Stephen invited her to come down to the sheltering area under the bridge. They spent the night around a barrel fire, talking about their addictions and a higher power they both sensed but could not grasp. They shared their experience, strength, and hope with one another.

Stephen awoke the next morning leaning against a stone bridge pillar, his body cold and stiff, but his spirits lifted. Vangelis, however, was gone. He never saw her again after that night. But for some unexplainable reason he was no longer afraid of being homeless and living under a bridge.

Do you believe in angels? I do! Not the ones of the Italian Renaissance variety who flutter in on gossamer wings and wear designer gowns. I mean real angels. Those beings who show up in our lives without explanation and seemingly at exactly the right moment. Who says they need harps, halos, and designer clothes?

An angel is any being who acts as God’s messenger. And I can think of no greater message to share than our own experiences of hope. Hope is faith, but it is more than that. It is faith reaching out its hand into the darkness, whether that darkness be addiction, loneliness, despair, or the constant pressure of daily life.

As stewards of the world we are given, we are called to be God’s angels. When someone is reaching out in hope, we need to reach back in faith.

This Thanksgiving, make it your calling to be an angel to someone. Share with them your experience, strength and hope. Fulfill some of their basic needs: food, comfort, companionship.

The world needs hope and a lot more angels.

Dear God: Help me to share my experience, strength and hope.

“Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come.” ~Anne Lamott, American novelist and non-fiction writer (b1954)

©2012 James E. Carper. All rights reserved.

“90 Second Stewardship” is a reflection on being a Christian Steward in a secular and sometimes harsh world. This reflection is written by Deacon James E. Carper, Director of Marketing and Development at Holy Name of Jesus School in south/central Los Angeles. All rights are reserved. You are welcome and encouraged to forward this e-mail to family and friends provided the”© 2012 James E. Carper. All rights reserved.” is included along with this message. Organizations, whether for or non profit, are required to receive written approval before reproducing these reflections. If written approval is given the “© 2012 James E. Carper. All rights reserved.” must be included along with this message.

Coincidence? I think not!

“It was amazing how you could get so far from where you'd planned, and yet find it was exactly were you needed to be.” Sarah Dessen, American writer (b1970)

A series of remarkable events led me to this moment in time. Some would call it coincidence, but the series of “happenings” seemed too intentional to be coincidence.

It was Wednesday morning and I was seated in the Deacon’s Chair next to the Pastor, Father Paul, who was presiding at the Mass. I had met Father Paul 2-3 years earlier when he had sought my advice on introducing stewardship to his parish.

His parish, Holy Name of Jesus Church, is a heavily-interracial parish in south/central Los Angeles at the corner of Jefferson and Arlington. I was assisting at the Mass for the 6^th through 8^th graders from the elementary school attached to the parish.

We had just sat down following the opening rite. I cast a quick glance at Father Paul to make sure he was settled. It was then that my eye fell upon the huge stained glass window overlooking the altar from a side apse. The image of St. Peter Claver compassionately staring down at a slave he was blessing triggered a recollection of the events of the past two and a half weeks.

Less than three weeks earlier, I received a kind but hurried call advising me that once again I had been the first runner-up to a job I thought was perfect for me. Fueled by frustration, I quickly jumped back onto the Web and resumed my job search.

Almost immediately I found a job opening at a church whose name was familiar, though at the time I didn’t realize why. Quickly I assembled the requisite documents and emailed them off. In less than a day, I received a return call from “Cathy.”

After asking some basic informational questions, she unexpectedly asked,  “Can you meet with me tomorrow.” My hopes sank for a moment. I had an important meeting already scheduled for the next day. “Where would you like to meet me?” I asked guardedly. “Well, I live in Pasadena, “she began. This time my heart leapt, because my meeting was in Pasadena. Our meeting was quickly arranged at a coffee shop just two blocks from the location of my other meeting.

The interview was for a position as a Director of Marketing and Development for an inner-city Catholic Elementary school. 95% of their graduates go on to college.  The intent is to attract more students, but to do so they need to raise the money to subsidize the school as well as other necessary expenses and improvements.

Cathy and I hit it off immediately. Oddly, we could not quite determine how my documents made it to Cathy in the first place, since it appeared I applied to a job web posting that did not exist. Just a coincidence we thought. 

After about an hour, Cathy announced she was going to recommend me to the next interview level. To my shock, one of the two interviewers in the next round was another person I knew – Julie.

Friday of the same week, I had the next interview, and by the end of the week in which I had applied, I managed to satisfactorily complete all but one of the required interviews. On Tuesday of the following week, I attended my final interview with Father Paul and the Principal, Marva. And I discovered at the interview that President of the Parents Advisory Board was also an acquaintance – Audrey.

The job offer was made on Wednesday, I accepted on Thursday, and I started work the following Tuesday.

On my first day, each class took a turn coming to visit me to welcome me. Each class brought hand-crafted cards. The outside doors of their classrooms displayed “Welcome, Deacon Jim” signs. I knew I was where I belonged.

A day later, I was serving at my first school Mass, and there was St Peter Claver watching over me. Why is that special you might ask? Well, he’s the Patron Saint of my home parish… Obviously he was checking in to make sure I was OK. Just a coincidence?

We are often quick to exclaim: “Wow, what a coincidence!” I have a friend, Mary, who always says: “Coincidence? I think not.” It’s her mantra, in fact.

For some reason, we are more willing to believe the world operates on some kind of chancy randomness –a series of cosmic rolls of the dice – rather than the more obvious conclusion that there is an ongoing intelligent design at work. carefully guided by a supreme power. There is a plan, and we are very much a part of that plan! 

By moving forward with faith that God has a plan in operation, we can often move from one encounter to the next almost effortlessly.  As stewards of this life God has given us, we come to accept the reasons for things are rarely readily-apparent, but the opportunities abound if we open our eyes to them. 

This does not mean we wait around for an inspiration or divine intervention.  Rather, we are called to make the best beginning we can.  The more we do, driven by love and not ego, the more we sense a direction. 

When we go with God’s flow, things just seem to happen miraculously. When, on the other hand, we think we have a better way…when we insist on having things our way, the green lights and blue skies sometimes fade and are replaced by blank walls and dead ends.

The Lord is making miracles all the time.  You are one of them. 

Dear God: Help me to live the life you have planned for me. 

“We aren’t just thrown on this earth like dice tossed across a table. We are lovingly placed here for a purpose. ~Charles Swindoll, American evangelical Christian pastor, author, educator and radio preacher (b1934)

©2012 James E. Carper. All rights reserved.

“90 Second Stewardship” All rights are reserved. You are welcome and encouraged to forward this e-mail to family and friends provided the”© 2012 James E. Carper. All rights reserved.” is included along with this message. Organizations, whether for or non profit, are required to receive written approval before reproducing these reflections. If written approval is given the “© 2012 James E. Carper. All rights reserved.” must be included along with this message.

Coming Alive!

“It’s faith in something and enthusiasm for something that makes a life worth living.” ~Oliver Wendell Holmes, American physician, poet, writer, humorist and Harvard professor (1809-1894)

(Adapted from a story told by Annie Griffiths, photographer for National Geographic)

Annie was looking out her bedroom window as the sun poked its head over eastern horizon. The tendrils of light it produced crept out over the plains. The day was perfect. It would be perfect for the pictures she intended to shoot today.

Still at the window, Annie was finishing her coffee when she heard a rumbling sound. At first it sounded like morning thunder, but it was too rhythmic and it was getting progressively louder.  She leaned out her window so she could look directly in the direction of the sound. Then she saw source of the amazing sound.

Over the crest of distant rise came a herd of perhaps twenty beautiful horses. Though they were coming at a full canter they seemed to glide effortlessly over the ground.

An instant later Annie grabbed her camera bag from the Queen Anne chair in her room. She shot down the stairs and out the door into the morning sunlight. She was headed for the pasture gate. Somehow she instinctively knew that’s where they were headed as well.

Arriving at the gate she slid the camera body from its bag and with smooth, practiced precision she twisted the appropriate lens into place. Annie quickly turned in the direction of the oncoming thunder of hooves and an instant later the herd cleared the brow of the last hill.

With effortless skill she began clicking off pictures in rapid succession. Turning and firing, turning and firing. She could have easily been in the gunfight at the OK Corral, instinctively turning, finding another perfectly composed image, then squeezing off a deadly accurate shot to capture it.

Finally, the horses came to a stop around the edges of the fence. Annie clicked off a few more pictures and then relaxed. Then a strange sensation came over her as if someone were watching her. She turned around. There, leaning against a fence, were four cowboys who had watched her photographic frenzy with mild amusement. One or two of them touched the brim of their hats. “Morning Ma’am,” they each said almost simultaneously.

Annie nodded and smiled back. Then the strange sensation returned. Though she had instinctively grabbed her camera bag, in her hurry to be at the right place at the right time, she had overlooked one other thing.

It was then that Annie realized she had forgotten to dress and was standing there in her underwear!

The great churchman and civil rights leader, Rev. Howard Thurman once said: “Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

When it comes to being stewards of our gifts of talent, each of us is uniquely gifted to help save the world. Each of us is truly one of a kind. This means we are vested with the responsibility to take the time to discern those talents and cultivate them.

Unfortunately, we often limit ourselves to “what is available.” We volunteer out of a sense of responsibility to our church, our community or some organization, and only when the opportunity presents itself, rather than out of a passionate response to the wonderful gift God has made of us.

Conversely, those of us who go looking for volunteers, usually solicit those who have the time, rather those who have the talent. We should be recruiting those who will “come alive” within a given ministry or volunteer opportunity.  People driven by the passion of doing what they love have an uncanny way of making the time for it.

Early in my career as a Deacon, a parishioner asked me to intercede with the Pastor regarding a new ministry he wanted to start. I dutifully made an appointment with the Pastor and started to make my case. Father smiled patiently and put up his hand. “I’ve already spoken with him,” he said. “If he really had the passion to start that ministry, he wouldn’t need to ask you to talk to me. If someone is truly passionate nothing will stop him.”

The world does need people who have come alive. Be passionate. Be so passionate, in fact, that you forget to put your pants on.

Dear Lord: Help me to come alive.

“Chase down your passion like it's the last bus of the night.” ~ Glade Byron Addams

©2012 James E. Carper. All rights reserved.
“90 Second Stewardship”  All rights are reserved. You are welcome and encouraged to forward this e-mail to family and friends provided the”© 2012 James E. Carper. All rights reserved.” is included along with this message. Organizations, whether for or non profit, are required to receive written approval before reproducing these reflections. If written approval is given the “© 2012 James E. Carper. All rights reserved.” must be included along with this message.

Depth of Character

“Life just seems so full of connections. Most of the time we don’t even pay attention to the depth of life. We only see flat surfaces.” ~ author unknown

 Nathan always arrived at the coffee emporium early.  There was a special spot, an inset in the wall, which created a kind of three-sided cubicle. And with an outlet nearby it was perfect. 

 

Every morning Nathan would slide one of the single tables into place, hook up his laptop, electronic notebook and Smartphone, order a double skinny latte, into which he poured three packs of sugar, then hunker down for the next three plus hours. The place even had free Wi-Fi.  In went his ear buds, and the world and its problems disappeared into oblivion.

Charlie, 70 years old and a widower, came to the coffee emporium everyday to read his newspaper. He could make coffee and read the paper at home, but the big old house was just too quiet now that Madeline was gone. He missed Maddy, and the bustle of the coffee shop took his mind off his loneliness.

For some time now he had been observing Nathan. The boy never seemed to talk to anyone. Heck, he never seemed to even look up from whatever it was he was doing! Charlie, on the other hand, talked to everyone. The “coffee girls” all knew him by name as well as did a number of the patrons.

Nathan noticed that the old guy in the cardigan sweater, seated at the small table by the window, seemed to be watching him.   He wondered who the old dude was. “He reads a newspaper for God’s sake!” he thought. “Who even does that anymore??? I can read any one of 100 papers from around the world anytime I want. Sheesh!”

To his surprise Nathan realized the “old guy” had risen from his seat and appeared to be coming toward. “Ahhh man, I hope he doesn’t come over here,” thought Nathan. “WHAT A DRAG!”

Charlie stopped in front of the young man’s table and extended his hand. “Hi, I’m Charlie” he said, but the young man just stared at him. Then he realized Nathan still had “those things” in his ears. “Hi! I’m Charlie!” he said louder, extending his hand more emphatically.

Nathan plucked out his ear buds. “Nathan,” he responded. “Whaddya want?”

“Nothing, really; it’s just that I see you in here all the time and I thought I’d introduce myself.”

“Yeah, OK,” Nathan replied slowly replacing his ear buds. Then he stopped. “Why do you read a newspaper?” he asked pointedly. Charlie blinked in surprise. “Well,” he began, “every morning I check the Obituaries in section D and if my name’s not listed I figure I’m going to have a good day.”

Nathan didn’t get the joke, but Charlie took the opening. “Why do you hunker back here in the corner by yourself?” he asked with a genuine note of concern. “I’m multi-tasking,” Nathan replied curtly. Charlie thought for a moment. “Is that sort of doing a lot of different things all at once without paying attention to any one thing?”

“Yeah, something like that,” Nathan scowled, sticking one ear bud back in place.

“Would you like to borrow my paper?” Charlie asked.  “Seriously?” Nathan barked. “What would I want your newspaper for?”  “Maybe you’d like to check the weather?” Charlie offered.

“I can check the CURRENT weather anytime I need to…  In fact, I can check just about anything I want right from here…  See? Or anytime any place for that matter!”

“No need to get your boxers in a bunch,” Charlie answered calmly. “Just thought I’d make some conversation.” He started to turn back toward his table.

Nathan thought for a moment. “Wait a minute, come back a second.” Charlie turned to face him again. “Why did you really come over here?” Nathan asked pointedly.

“Truth be told?” Charlie began. “I never see you talking to anyone. You always seem distant, lonely.  I know how that feels.  I never see anybody sitting with you so I thought you might like someone to talk to for awhile.  But if you’re busy multi-whatevering,  I understand.”

Nathan’s screen had timed out and gone blank. It reminded him how empty he felt when he wasn’t busy filling the void in his life with electronic interference.  He closed the lid on the laptop and pulled out the one remaining ear bud. “Why don’t you sit down for a minute?” Nathan said with a sigh of what seemed like relief.

“First, let me buy you a cup of coffee,” Charlie replied with a smile. “You drink one of those Latte things don’t you?”

Contrary to popular belief, “we are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” (Pierre Teilhard de Chardin). But there is much in our lives which distracts us from “being” the spiritual beings we really are.

The electronic devices which make our communication so simple and efficient are a great gift, but they can also become a dangerous narcotic. While they allow us to do many things at once, they can also cause us to be inattentive to more than one thing at once. (And perhaps, even inconsiderate of more than one person at once.)  So much so that we can become inattentive to our lives and the lives of others. We find ourselves skittering along the surface of life rather than diving into it, plumbing its depths.

In order to live deeply, we must acknowledge that our life is “grace-filled.”  There is often much love and wisdom in the world resident in people like Charlie. Do we take the time to see the grace in others and share the grace within ourselves?

We must also come to the realization that no matter how much we have or how much we accomplish, power, prestige and possessions will never give us the satisfaction we desire.  Ego is an insatiable beast. It tortures us by only giving us glimpses of happiness.

If we are to become stewards of our own lives, we must, like Nathan, be willing to change. We must embark intentionally on our own journey of faith. This will mean taking time daily to plumb the depths of our spirituality and bring our new found realizations into our everyday life.  The first step is to be willing to take the first step. Like Charlie, there are many spirit guides out there, waiting and wanting to help.

Dear God: Remind me that life is sometimes like a glass of chocolate milk. The sweet stuff is often at the bottom.

“It is easier to perceive error than to find truth, for the former lies on the surface and is easily seen, while the latter lies in the depth, where few are willing to search for it.” ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German playwright, poet, novelist and dramatist (1749-1832).

Connect with me: www.linkedin.com/pub/deacon-jim-carper/4/3b1/901 Twitter: @DeaconJimCarper

©2012 James E. Carper. All rights reserved.

“90 Second Stewardship” is a reflection on being a Christian Steward in a secular and sometimes harsh world. This reflection is written by Deacon James E. Carper of Simi Valley, California. All rights are reserved. You are welcome and encouraged to forward this e-mail to family and friends provided the”© 2012 James E. Carper. All rights reserved.” is included along with this message. Organizations, whether for or non profit, are required to receive written approval before reproducing these reflections. If written approval is given the “© 2012 James E. Carper. All rights reserved.” must be included along with this message.