Are You the One?

When John heard in prison of the works of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to Jesus with this question.  “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?”  Mt 11: 2-3

I’ve always found John the Baptist’s words and the passage surrounding them disturbing, disorienting, provoking.  At times, I’ve resented Jesus’ reaction or lack of action in response to John.  John wandered the desert, ate locust, wore abrasive camel’s hair, kept his own dirty and unshaven.  John heralded Jesus with passion unparalleled by any other.  He was arrested and imprisoned.  I felt Jesus abandoned him.  Despite Jesus performing miracles, he does not rescue his cousin from being beheaded for a trivial request.  This passage is read during two seasons of anticipation, Advent and Lent.  It is a “passage” between one chaotic event to a later one.  During both seasons, I join John asking; Are you the one who is to come, or should I look for another?

In addition to the awkwardness between John’s disciples and Jesus’ disciples, both the birth and death of Jesus were messy!  Jesus was born among livestock, to parents questioning whether they belonged together!  Among strangers with inadequate care, everybody exhausted, his family fled from death threats to a foreign land.  At his execution, Jesus stood in a trial of mockery, deceit, and disgrace.  He’s beaten beyond recognition, marched through the streets where he’d once performed miracles among those jeering.  He was brutally stripped and nailed to a cross raised above his mother and disciples.  

During the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, the fall of Adam and Eve (Gn 3:9-15,20) is coupled to the Immaculate Conception (Lk 1:26-38) and adjacent to John the Baptist’s herald in the desert (Mt 3 1-12, the second Sunday of Advent). 

There is turbulence in transition!

Mary precedes John.  Mary, her name derived from Mariam meaning ‘rebellious,’ accepts the grace of conception to carry the Rebellion of man!  He is to be named Jesus, “Son of the Most High.” Who, while pregnant races by foot to a village to assist her cousin, also with child?  Who asks her son to do something about the wine at a wedding feast AND insists despite her son’s reply?  “Woman, how does this concern of yours involve me?  My hour has not yet come!”  Jn2:4

Who?  A spirited rebel!

It was John that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said: A voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.”  Mt 3:3 

When John heard in prison of the works of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to Jesus with this question.  “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?”

Jesus said to John’s disciples in reply, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.  Mt 11:2-5

Jesus doesn’t fit John’s expectations.  Their differences confused him.  Are you really the one?

Fiery, dark, and threatening, John warned of severe consequences.  Those who did not take his message seriously, they’d experience God’s wrath.  Jesus’ message was more uplifting, a pronouncement of good news.  John encouraged people to follow him in the wilderness.  Jesus went out to the people, to their villages and homes.  Unlike John refusing to eat bread and drink wine, Jesus changed water to wine, broke bread among the people.  Jesus over extended himself; inviting sinners to the table, feeding the poor, touching and teaching those living on the margins. No miracles were recorded of John.  Jesus filled his ministry with miracles.  John wore camel’s hair.  Jesus wore a purple cloak without a seam.  Before and up to the time of John, John and the prophets professed the law. 

As John’s disciples were going off, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John.  “What did you go out to the desert to see? …. To see a prophet?  Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.

Jesus said: “This is the one about whom it is written: ‘Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way before you.’

            “Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”  Mt 11: 7-11

Did people go to the desert to see more of the same?  Did I go to the desert to see more of the same?  There is turbulence, churning, in transition!  John and Jesus both preached repentance and a change of heart, but a historical, dramatic, pivotal change in the human condition arrived, revealing, living, happening!  Jesus came not to reform, but to transform!  By coming to live among his creation, Jesus changed the world condition forever.  The Herald sealed the old covenant and Jesus introduced the new covenant as Isaiah had foretold.  Jesus is not a prophet.  He teaches not by threats and dire consequences, but by modeling expectations through the beatitudes, wisdom and parables, healing.  He is Emmanuel – God is with us!  Jesus brings the Kingdom of God to us.  He invites us, in all our messiness, to build in the Kingdom, to live in it.  Now!

           

John said: “I am not the Messiah; I am sent before him. …. That is my joy, and it is complete.  He (Jesus) must increase while I must decrease.” Jn 3:28-30

Jesus’ birth introduces his covenant.  His resurrection guarantees it with an Advocate to guide us.  The covenant is ongoing, in process. I once heard a theologian say, Mary received the Incarnate Word, while we received the Glorified Word.  John’s contrast to Jesus is so remarkable, I am compelled to listen and ponder.      

I was once asked; Am I willing to be part of something, invest myself in something that I’ll never live to see fully accomplished not unlike John the Baptist?  What does this look like?  How will I be present?

Without hesitation, to cultivate the fullness of life of my children immediately came to mind. I pray they continue to find joy, building and living in the Kingdom of God.

May this Christmas season bring you joy, a gladness independent of circumstance!

Merry Christmas Noise

If the church ain’t cryin’, then the church is dyin’.

Merry Christmas!  As you head out early this evening, or tomorrow morning, to a ridiculously crowded church building, keep the above words in mind.  You will leave the comfort of your home perhaps an hour earlier than normal.  You will face a traffic jam just fighting for a parking spot.  You will send advance forces from amongst your family members to stake out a pew.  Don’t forget to send them with coats, despite the unseasonably warm weather, so that they can spread them across seats, along with hymnals and anything else that might mark your territory.

You may spot 2 or 3 familiar faces across an overwhelming throng of strangers.  You will cringe as late arrivals crowd you in your reserved pew.  You will strain to hear readings and a homily above the disruptive conversation happening behind you.  There will be individuals who are dressed more for a bar scene than for church, distracting your focus.  At least one individual, undoubtedly directly in your line of sight, will be wearing wholly inappropriate attire.

Coughing, and extra chairs moving in the aisles, and untimely talking will continue throughout the duration of mass.  And undoubtedly, a baby will cry.  That cry will trigger the response of another cry.  The parents, despite their travels around the church, found there was no room for them in the cry room.  Will that be the last straw that pushes your overheated, overcrowded body to a boiling point?  Or will that be the noise that reminds you of the miracle of this holiday? 

I wish everyone who celebrated with us at Christmas mass, would join the year round.  Admittedly, I am someone who struggles with the frustration of difficult parking, overcrowding, and overly noisy Christmas masses.  I should be excited to welcome, pray with, and certainly send a warm smile over to the members of our church who may not join us as often as we wish.  Amidst this ridiculously hectic time of year, it is somewhat of a miracle that so many are called back to share in something that they may only do twice a year…or perhaps that they’ve been away from since childhood.

Jesus entered an overly crowded Bethlehem, in an overly noisy and uncomfortable stable, and changed the world for all eternity.  I wonder if my smile at someone tonight might make them feel welcomed back to regular attendance at Mass.  I wonder if my smile might change a soul for all eternity.

Rather than a big, beautiful, peaceful, but empty church, tonight I’ll remember if the church ain’t cryin’, then the church is dyin’.  Don’t forget to enjoy the sounds of Christmas, that all started 2000 years ago with a baby’s cry.  Merry Christmas!

Matt Buehrig

Exodus

Light penetrating translucent roofing panels faded to darkness before the December supper hour.  Winds rattling the heavy metal garage doors to the warehouse ceased.  Huddled over an elevated work bench beneath long fluorescent tubes, the fitter reached for a smooth small diameter pipe.  He glanced at the dated Harley Davidson mud flap, rubber nailed to the naked building studs.  He slowly twisted the pipe into a dimpled brass tube with numerous holes protruding along the silver plating.  Using a rubber mallet, he firmly drove the smaller straightening pipe further into the instrument.  As if fragile crystal, he gently settled the pair.

Worn oak steps leading to a loft over the pipe fitter’s office cracked with the falling temperature.  Various steel brushes, wrenches, and hammers hung ordered on the brick wall.  Mark glanced over his shoulder.  Racks of welding equipment, pipe, and stock steel bar lay silent.  Tanks of compressed argon, helium, carbon dioxide, and oxygen were securely strapped in each of three bays.  Arched iron rafters supported the century old Foster Pipe Works structure.

Mark instinctively wiped his oil saturated skin with the rag and tossed it aside.  He clasped a small mallet.  Tapping the hard rubber against the brass, he lifted the dent the size of his fingernail to a smooth cylindrical surface.  Suddenly, the shadow of an intruder crept into the halo of light over the benchtop. 

“Stand down, big brother!”  The intruder’s laugh appeased the fitter’s nerves.  “Is that the weapon of choice these days?  A flute?” 

Something Extraordinary

This Advent, I urge you to rethink the way that you worship at Mass. I invite you to attend the Traditional Latin Mass. The Traditional Latin Mass, Tridentine Mass, or Extraordinary Form, as it's currently labeled, is an opportunity to experience the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in a profoundly different way than many of us are used to. As we prepare to welcome our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, this Advent, what better way can we ready our hearts than by immersing ourselves in the beauty and reverence of the Tridentine Mass?  

If you're on the fence about attending the Tridentine Mass, or want to learn more about it, I encourage you to watch the following video:

The video is long, but Dr. Taylor Marshall and his guest, Eric Sammons, do a great job of highlighting some of the main draws of the Tridentine Mass. The video is also available on the Dr. Taylor Marshall Show podcast. 

Here are a few reasons why our family attends the Tridentine Mass, which include some of the points from Dr. Marshall's video:

1. The Mass that was witness by the majority of the Church's great saints - The Tridentine Mass is a window into the rich history of Catholic worship. 

2. The universality - Latin is the official language of the Church. Not only does the Tridentine Mass present a bridge to the history of the Church, but it provides a tangible link to all Catholics across the world. 

3. The mystery - We are drawn deeper into the sacredness of God's presence when various aspects of the Faith are veiled and hidden from our immediate sight. Latin acts like a veil, which shrouds the beauty of Christ's sacrificial offering. 

4. The reverence - The care for the Holy Eucharist and the reverence observed at the Tridentine Mass is unrivaled amongst other forms of celebrating the Mass. 

5. A break from the ordinary - One of the accidental (unintended) effects of using the vernacular in the Mass is that it becomes ordinary. The Tridentine Mass exposes us to the reality that the natural and the supernatural are not the same. 

There are two primary places where you can attend the Tridentine Mass in St. Louis: The Oratory of Ss. Gregory and Augustine and The St. Francis de Sales Oratory. High Mass is sung, typically utilizes the organ, and uses incense. It is also usually longer. Low Mass is essentially the pared down version of the Extraordinary Form, but it still contains a high degree of reverence. 

Do something extraordinary this Advent, experience the richness and beauty of the Tridentine Mass. 

Image:

(1) Saint Francis de Sales Oratory - High Altar. Courtesy of Phil Roussin. Accessed via Flickr.

Rite Of Passage In A Technical World

Rites of passage have existed across various societies for thousands of years.  They take many different forms.  A Jewish boy’s Bar Mitzvah signals his entrance into adulthood, and is obtained after lengthy study of the scriptures.  Many so-called primitive cultures sent their youth into the wilderness on solo quests where they had to endure and overcome physical and mental hardship.  200 years ago a child might work the family farm until they were able to support their own acreage, at which time no one could deny their transition into adulthood, and marriage and family soon followed.  An apprenticeship was similar, as children learned and finally proved their expertise in a trade, and could then work on their own.

For the bulk of the past 100 years, at least in American society, I would dare say that the gaining of freedom through transportation was a major rite of passage.  A defining moment for many would be getting their driver’s license, and perhaps purchasing their own first car.  This signified a move towards responsibility and freedom.  Even that, however, came with a lengthy period of life where we proved our mastery of transportation in greater increasing ways.  How many of us started out with tricycles or bikes with training-wheels that limited our reach to the confines of our own yard and driveway?  Once the training wheels came off, we could ride our two-wheeler around the neighborhood, or even around town.  We developed a sense of direction and responsibility.  Eventually we graduated from bikes to a license and car that allowed us to travel around the city or even across the state, and the transition to independence was ours.

More recently, absolute freedom of communication has replaced the previous milestones of career and freedom of transportation that had previously triggered rites of passage towards independence and responsible adulthood.  For many youth now, their first phone is more celebrated and sought than license, car, or future career.  More high schoolers are putting off getting their license, because they don’t see the allure of transportation freedom, when the whole world is already at their fingertips.  What was a large, and eagerly awaited milestone maybe a decade ago, the bestowing of a phone has quickly moved to an earlier and earlier age.  It has become such that it is ceasing to be a rite of passage, and moving towards an assumed given.

Unfortunately, very little training and preparation is being required along with the granting of a phone. Yet statistics show that 95% of kids already have a phone by age 13.  Gone are the clunky flip phones that could only dial phone numbers without access to data.  Children are being given old iPhones whenever their parents upgrade.  This is akin to skipping a bicycle and giving a child the keys to a 2014 SUV.  It’s used, it doesn’t quite have all of the features of a new model, it might not move as fast…but it can still do a heck of a lot of damage!

There’s nothing in the bible against phones.  But at the ages phones are now being given…pre-teen…10….8…5…the freedoms and responsibilities seem entirely inappropriate.  They are often given with the best of intentions.  They provide piece of mind for the parents and a feeling of being safely connected to your children at all times.  There are many apps that allow you to pull up daily bible readings, or that can help with homework and studies.  However, they also connect children to an infinite array of the world’s evils.  Children are being equipped with a small, black, rectangular device, which has the ability to control them.  In a sense, it is the devil’s remote.

There are countless statistics linking pornography addiction to early access to smartphones.  Negative self-esteem issues spike when social media, or even texting with friends, enters the picture.  Suicide rates have jumped.  The rate of social interaction, by that I mean actual discussions with physically present human beings, has dwindled.  And many kids will admit the ease at which they can bypass restrictions, hide search histories, and disguise chats.

I had something longer written, but it felt more like a thesis than a blog.  I had statistic after statistic, with studies and references.  It was a thing of factual beauty.  But it was also a boring mess of details.  Not something I wanted to read myself, and not something I figured anyone else would either.  So instead, I’ll just say this, take a small pause and think about the reasons a child needs a phone.  If it is simply so they quit bugging you, or to improve their social status, then slow down and think some more.

I’m not here to preach.  And you probably have a good excuse to ignore the above ramblings of a grumpy dad who has misplaced nostalgia for a less-technical world.  So I’ll return my focus to putting some sort of rite of passage back into modern life.

I spoke to a group of 7^th grade boys and their fathers a few years back.  This was at an awesome event.  A day spent outside, in the woods, with physical challenges, food cooked over open fire, serious discussions, even pocket knives (the first many of those 13 year old boys had ever owned.)  It was an attempt to reinstall a meaningful rite of passage back into our cushy, screen-filled world.  At that event, we attempted to stress faith and strong relationships and the appropriate use of various tools that could help us through life.  I would love to say I convinced the boys to give up their phones, but since that is a lost battle, I discussed phones as tools.  Just like those pocket knives they had received, a phone can be very useful and very helpful.  But they also have the ability to cause a lot of harm.

Just a few years later, I don’t think I can refer to a phone as a tool anymore.  It is a siren, kept in our pockets.  It’s alluring song calling out to us.  A siren’s song that can’t be ignored, that must be answered, that pushes all else to the side whenever the faint buzzing calls to us.  It calls during dinner.  It sings out in the middle of mass.  It is the last thing many see before falling asleep at night.  We must respond to texts immediately…or else…well, I think many of us fear finding out what horrors might befall us if we delay answering.  We must respond to the call.  Not just immature kids checking social media, but us.  We are controlled.  Reclaim your phone and treat it as the useful tool it can be.  Don’t let it become the devil’s remote.

And if anyone needs to get a hold of me this afternoon, you’ll have to leave a message.  I’m going to take off early and pick up my kids.  I think a trek into the woods is appropriate.  It’s cold and miserable, but God has painted the leaves a rainbow of colors just for us.  It might not qualify as a rite of passage, but maybe when my kids tell stories to their kids, they’ll remember seeing the leaves changing colors, and they’ll be able to describe the sound of the rustling in a crisp autumn breeze.  Something that can’t be experienced on a screen.  Until I can convince my wife that we need to drop the kids off in the wilderness to grow through experiencing God’s creation on their own solo quests (unlikely), today’s tech-free adventure will have to do.

By: Matt Buehrig

ESPN & God

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBNLz9cwaWc

Recently, ESPN, just before a commercial break, thought they’d epitomize just how pathetic University of Kansas football has become by picturing an isolated student sitting in bleacher seats shortly after a thunderstorm delay in Lawrence.  A loan female sat intently crocheting with no interest in the televised Big 12 matchup.  To underscore the scarcity of fans, ESPN zoomed away from an ocean of empty bleachers.  The picture went viral online and the 11-second clip quickly became known as the ‘Crochet Lady.’  Numerous jabs and jokes similar to this one poured in from around the country; “See, Kansas football has at least one fan.  A disengaged and uninterested fan, but a fan nonetheless!” (I happen to be another)

            Whether intentional or not, who could blame ESPN or the national audience for spreading their jollies, seizing a wonderful metaphor between KU football and crocheting?  As fans reseated, more Sooner (6-0) red than Jayhawk (2-4) blue painted David Booth Memorial Stadium leading one to believe the game was being hosted in Norman rather than Lawrence.  A proverbial cellar dweller in the Big 12 Conference, the abysmal Jayhawks celebrated breaking an 11-year streak.  Earlier this season, they captured their first road victory over a Division 1 opponent dating back to October 4, 2009, two years before the iPad existed.  Kansas football has largely been reduced in the minds of many fans to ‘club status.’  To lose to Kansas generally leads to an opposing coach’s demise among the coaching hot seats.  Even frustrated Kansas, at one time, was paying three former head coaching contracts simultaneously.    

But who is ‘Crochet Lady’?  Had she not been the character in that viral commercial break, I doubt student journalists would have delved into her story. 

Her name is Hailey, a name appropriate for a thunderstorm.  She’s a KU senior studying civil engineering.  “That’s the first football game I’d ever been to.” (not surprising!)  Hailey attended because an engineering professor she’d nominated for Outstanding Progressive Educator won and was to be recognized at the game. 

            Hailey had written in her nomination, “Dr. Matt is one of the most remarkable people I have ever met.  He is not just an exemplary professor; he is a genuinely good person.  He not only gave me the confidence to pursue engineering, he reignited my passion for it at a time when I needed it most, and he treats everyone with limitless respect, patience, and concern.  I will spend the rest of my life striving to be as kind, as dedicated, and as willing to help others as Dr. Matt.”

            Hailey attended the game solely in honor of Dr. Matt’s recognition.  However, mixed communications resulted in Dr. Matt having no knowledge of his recognition and, thus, he did not attend.  He was nowhere near the stadium.  (miscommunication, no surprise; that’s Jayhawk offense/defense season after season).  Dr. Matt’s name appeared on the jumbotron and echoed from loud speakers across the Hill while Hailey paused from crocheting to cheer!

            Hailey doesn’t crochet without purpose.  She is one of the founders for Warm the World, a campus organization.  “We teach people how to knit and crochet for free.  Everything we make is donated to the homeless to help them during the winter.  It’s one of my greatest accomplishments.” 

            No doubt, Hailey is engineering more than bridges and highways.  She’s affirmed power in positive relationships, profound teaching, hard work, and dedication to others.  I don’t imagine there are many members in Warm the World, but I think God’s “play-calling” with ESPN’s 11-second spot invites many more through Hailey’s intensity, genuine goodness and gratitude. I don’t know how popular Warm the World is, but my soul swells with a gracious smile hoping, thinking it is more popular than Kansas football! 

In gratitude, I wish you a blessed Thanksgiving!!!

Interview quotations taken from Mitch Quaney, student reporter at the University of Kansas.