Rescue

Last week Wednesday I "rescued" my wife, not once but twice. Not from drowning, or from a potential injury, but from doing a chore that did not need to be accomplished, and a misplaced item. She used the term rescue, not me. 

Wednesday is one of two laundry days during the week, generally towel day, and some clothes. The other laundry day, Sunday, is sheets (bedding) and also some clothes. Luckily, we get out of bed at the same time, so I could have an early morning rescue for doing a chore that did not need to be accomplished. On that morning, after getting up, she started to strip her side of the bed. I was on my side starting to make the bed. Obviously, there was a disconnect somewhere. When I noticed her starting to pull the pillow case, I commented that it is not the day to launder the sheets. If I had not said something she would have moved onto the sheet and would have wondered why I was not following her lead, but instead making my side. For some reason being laundry day made her think of washing the sheets. I think laundry rates right up there with her favorite chores. After all, while she lets me move the laundry from washer to dryer (or hang up on the line in good weather), haul and fold, she does not allow me to put clothes into the washer. She reserves that sub-chore for herself. Hence, I can only conclude that she really likes doing this household chore. She likes to be kept busy, so this helps. 

The second rescue involved much more time. She had a box of freezer wrap that she had used and needed it again, but could not find it. We searched the house, mainly the basement and first floor, but could not locate the box. The clue came when she mentioned something else she had used at the same time and found it at her craft table. Well, that got be to look more intently at her craft table area. I found the freezer wrap between her table and a small book shelf in an area not much wider than the box itself. Somehow it must have fallen off the table, into this craft gutter. This, along with other incidents makes me wonder if a ghost is in the house. Alexa is set to to play a news when we say "Alexa, play news briefing." Instead this week we have gotten a podcast. We are not sure how to rectify that situation.

Craft gutter

Usually she rescues me from misplaced items. Two come to mind this year. First, was my cell phone, which we searched the whole house a few times to locate. We knew it was in the house because it showed up on the "Find My" app at our address. I called the cell number, but the problem was the silencer was turned on to keep notifications off. It was eventually found in the pocket of my bathrobe. I had gone downstairs, to get it since it had to finish charging before going to bed that night. I put it in the robe pocket going back upstairs, but when I got upstairs I forgot to take it out. 

The second item was my tape measure. It was found in a basement storage cabinet, which we had been rearranging and measuring boxes to see if they would fit in the intended space without pulling out and trying them. I have become accustomed to putting my tape measure in the same place so it does not get misplaced, but moving boxes into the new cabinet it must have slipped my mind to make sure it got back to its place on my workbench. I could measure the width of her craft gutter, but I would probably misplace my tape measure. That craft gutter could be our own version of the Bermuda Triangle.

To be fair, I guess it is usually I that has to be rescued.  I was happy to assist in locating the freezer paper, I guess it may start to even the score from all the times she has assisted me. Some every day items are easy to misplace, when you use them and forget to put them back where they belong, it is hard to remember where you were using it. I always wonder what I would do if questioned like on the crime shows, what were you doing is tough enough, but to know time frame is even more difficult. "Where were you on September 15, 2018 at 10:00 am?" I don't know what I was doing on Sept 15 last year.  Who could remember that? 

The thing is, the object is found in the last place one looks. Isn't that funny how that works. Anyway, joke aside, it seems that sometimes a ghost is present to knock, for example, the box of freezer paper off the table. I am not sure how the wrap would have fallen off unless my wife left it hanging over the edge. Or, maybe when she was sewing she did some big sweep of a quilt or her hand and it knocked it off. I like the ghost theory, as that explains other occurrences too, like strange noises my wife usually hears, and I some times hear, and the weird response of  this week with Alexa giving a podcast rather than news. Is it coincidental? 

I do know that we spend a great deal of time looking for misplaced items or items the ghost moves. I have a habit of putting stuff in the basement up between the floor joists so as to keep it out of the way. It is easy to forget about that stuff, too. What I realized is that marriage, as seniors, is one of helping the other find a misplaced item, and in so doing coming to their rescue.

Lilies

In 1882, my great uncle Edward Hovel became the first baptism at a newly formed Catholic parish in Manly, IA. It was then in 1882 and today the only Catholic Church in Worth Co., IA. Ed was baptized in a school, as no Church existed. Later that decade the first church would be built. In the 1930's a new church was built, and Ed helped lay the block for the foundation walls. I thought of this as my wife and I recently watched the movie "Lilies of the Field" on a streaming channel.

Ed Hovel, unknown photo date

The movie earned an Oscar for Sidney Poitier as Best Actor. Released in 1963 the movie was a creation of its time, and in a sense represented some cultural issues. My wife and I both realized how the main song in the movie, "Amen" references much of the Gospel readings since Christmas, and presages the Gospel readings of Palm Sunday and Easter. As much as some today seem to diss the movie there exist some important messages.

A quick summary of the movie. African-American man, Homer Smith, stops to add water to his radiator at a small rural convent in the American Southwest. He agrees to help the nuns in exchange for food and pay. The sisters have no money to pay him, yet he ends up staying longer to help with other projects. He takes the nuns to Sunday mass, which they used to walk the distance, and meets the priest who travels over 400 miles a week for masses at many parishes. The nuns are so poor one egg and one piece of bread was common for breakfast, and little for dinner. With pay from his construction work, he buys food for the nuns. Who knew that watching this would bring about what is occurring today in the Madison Diocese where a few priests say mass at up to five different parishes, and have to travel some distance. Lacking a church, or other building to use in the hamlet, mass is outdoors in the blazing sun and desert winds of the southwest US. Homer finds out from an agnostic diner that the nuns crossed the Iron Curtain to arrive in the US. Homer decides to help build the chapel, but leaves part way through due to a dearth of materials. Yet, he comes back. With assistance from local Mexican-Americans he completes the chapel. On a Saturday night, before the first mass in the Chapel, he leaves as the nuns, except for the Mother Superior, sing the Amen song. So what can we learn from this movie?

Mother Superior in front of walls of uncompleted building
that will become their chapel

First, the group of German nuns, at least the mother superior, see Homer Smith (they call him Schmidt) see him as the man to build them a "shapel" or chapel. There is not a hint of racism from these women, in this early 1960 era setting.  The incident of racism in the movie is when the white construction company owner refers to Homer, a couple times, as "boy", but he even agrees to hire Homer for work running heavy machinery. Homer agrees to two days a week, and when the construction company owner asks about the other days Homer says I am going to build a chapel. Through her sheer will and faith, mother superior got Homer's commitment to build them a chapel.

Second, Mother Superior did not like to say thank you to a person, believing the gift of Homer came from God, and God should be thanked. Interestingly, she takes some pride in Homer, and introduces him to the congregation of Mexican Americans who attend mass, which is outdoors due to no church.  When Homer departs saying he will not return, the nuns receive some inherent scorn the following Sunday from the congregation. But, Homer returns three weeks later, and finds that he too has to eat some of his pride. The nuns are happy to see him and feel vindicated in their prayers. 

Third, after his return, the residents of the area, poor farmers and ranchers, and shopkeepers, show up with donations of materials and desire to help complete the chapel. Homer wants to do the work himself, even putting up signs on the materials reading "Do Not Touch."  Later, he reluctantly watches as the town people take over, only to join in again when controversy erupts over wall height. They only have a few sketches by Homer to go by.  Homer enters in to settle the dispute and takes charge as the chapel is completed with the help of many of the congregation. Even the construction company owner shows up with some bricks, even though it is being built of adobe. He had wanted to avoid the nuns and the request for building materials, some of which he had already donated, as a write-off. The bricks are used to build the bell tower. An interesting part of the movie is when the seemingly non-church going diner owner shows up and talks about how the chapel and mass are assurance if their is a God. This is a play on Pasqual's statement, if we are not sure whether or not there is a God, a rational person would play it safe rather than risk being sorry.

Homer Smith teaching the nuns English

Fourth, Homer knows he will not get paid, but is doing out of respect for the nuns crossing the Iron Curtain. It is a good work on his part.  Homer, is a Baptist, and his idea of good works is not consistent with Protestant teachings.  Protestants do not tend to attribute good works as a way to get to heaven, whereas Catholics do. Catholic teaching is that being in good grace with God leads to good works. ON the other hand, most Protestant sects believe in faith alone as justification for heaven. The back roads from McFarland to Stoughton there is a small Evangelical Church with a message board that once took a swipe at Catholics when it read something to the effect that "Faith not works gets you to heaven." Pope Francis has written that "Jesus knows every one of our intentions and small acts of charity." (Dilexit Nos, paragraph 41)

Fifth, a mutual respect is created between "Schmidt" and the mother superior. There is no ill will shown by the Latin Americans (mainly Mexicans, and Mexican Americans) between them and Homer. There exists a gratitude among the nuns for the work of Homer and townsfolk. It is the opposite of rampant mid 20th century racism. The movie was released the same year as MLK's Washington march.

We often think of the large massive Cathedrals and churches as gifts to God, but small chapels and churches speak just as much to God, for it too comes from the heart of the local population. Here these farmers and ranchers, lead by Homer completed the Chapel he had started using some of the ruins of a prior building. The chapel was not only for the nuns, but they were creating a parish church, a spiritual gathering space. This inspires the Mother Superior to dream bigger, a hospital and school. Homer left the night before the first mass, as the nuns, all but the mother superior, were singing the Amen song he taught them.

Homer Smith was an itinerant handy man looking for himself. I think he found part of himself in helping the nuns in the desolate desert of the American Southwest build their chapel. My great uncle, literally helped build his home parish church in Manly, IA. Dedication and giving of one-self leads to gratitude, self-respect and a greater sense of love. When a task is done with love it is not a burden. That is the final message of Lilies of the Field.

That Demographic

For Christmas I asked for, and received, a portable CD/DVD reader to attach to my laptop. My previous laptop had a CD/DVD drive built in, but that laptop aged out. My new laptop, purchased a few years ago, does not contain this type of drive. Apparently, other people, particularly in my demographic group had the same desire or need for a portable CD/DVD reader. 

I do genealogy and other related things, and I was trying to straighten up and organize all my genealogy ephemera, photos and the like. I also came across old CD's or DVD's which are marked, but not detailed, so I really have no idea what is actually stored on them and if they made the way to the hard drive on this computer, or a portable hard drive. They could also be copies of something from the hard drive. Hence, my desire for the DVD reader. My wife got me the DVD device for Christmas, but had checked with our oldest son who works for Best Buy Corporate, mainly leading television sales, but being a millennial, he knows exactly what to recommend. Anyway, to help out one of the Best Buy retail stores, and as a team building exercise my son and his team worked at a retail store for one day. This makes a lot of sense to me, kind of like an architect should know how to use a hammer. When I opened the gift and thanked my wife who gave me the gift. Our son noted that when he worked at the store, during Christmas shopping period, he had about twelve men, yes all men, in my demographic (generally 65 to 75 or so) desiring the same product. Not only that, they generally wanted it for the same reasons--genealogy research and/or review stored photographs. 

I know I am average in terms of size, intelligence, capabilities, and what not, but know I have to add interests into the mix, too. Yet, this shows something larger. Twelve older men, with the same interest, all on the same day. Twelve older men at the same store on the same day, desiring the same item for the same two reasons. This is proof that us Baby Boomers still have weight in the retail sector. Albeit a desire for an outdated technology, but such devices are still produced because a market remains, and it is apparently related to us old folks who desire to find out what is on DVD's or CD's that they have laying around. 

The move from DVD/CD to thumb drives is all part of creative destruction, technological changes that make older items or ideas out dated. I suppose there are generation Z (1997-2012) and Alpha (said to be 2010 or 2013 to 2024, years vary depending on whom you ask). Alpha makes no sense, since it is only a 11 year time span. Has cultural change occurred that quickly, or some marketing person decided what to do? Anyway I am sure some members of these generation groups have no idea what a CD or DVD is. Maybe I will need to ask my neighbor kid who was born in 2011. Blockbuster store went out of business over ten years ago, in 2014. 2010 is the year the I-Pad was launched. It is also hard to find a person that uses a desktop computer anymore. I recall, the early days of computers being in offices, and there was a limit on file names to eight characters. That is because they could take up too much space on the hard drive, which required the use of floppy discs. Back then hard drive capacity was measured in kilobytes, now we have megabytes. Of course, prevalent today is "cloud" storage which causes massive server facilities which require cooling 24/7/365 and not only devour significant amounts of electricity, but also water used for cooling. Our interconnected world, through the internet, is amazing, but has lead to hacking. Even the US Treasury Dept servers were hacked by the Chinese. It wonders how much they have hacked and people do not know. 

This all comes at a funny time. For example, many of us our concerned about climate change, and there is a strong desire for a decrease in carbon footprints, and conserve water, yet these large server  facilities are massive users of valued resources. When you have an outage of Wi-Fi, or internet provider, one is out of luck today on getting anything done at work or otherwise. Connectivity and convenience come at a cost. The thing is we are an out of sight out of mind society. There is (was) a clamor for electric cars, with disregard for the huge cost of mining the rare earth minerals, and Lithium and other elements, necessary to build the electronics and the batteries. Many of the mines are located in South America or Africa with little concern for the environment or, worse, for the human toll of child labor working in the mines. 

Baby boomers have significantly defined the nation, simply by the sheer mass of its generation. Some figures point to 1957, the year of my birth, as the largest population birth in the nation at 4,308,000 with births per 1,000 population being 25.3.  By contrast, the largest Millennial cohort was born in 1990 at 4,179,000 but with a birth rate of 16.7. Baby boomers, and later generations have continued to spread out births as women continue to give birth later in life. Further, the national birth rate is at an all time low. Low birth rates will have an effect on the economy. In fact, due to a variety of factors, college enrollment has been on a steady, but gradual decline since 2010. Graduate school enrollment has increased slightly. Some of the two year college campuses in Wisconsin have closed, others are trying to reinvent themselves, and still others not sure of what to do. 

Population Pyramids in 2000, 2010 and 2020 for the US
US Census Bureau

Demographic change is part of reality. It is estimated that the state of Wisconsin will lose over 200,000 persons over the next 25 years. Dane County is expected to see a significant increase in population. This will pose significant issues of housing, and services in much of the state, but rampant growth, and the other side of a coin for housing and services in Dane County. Housing will become a distribution issue too many in rural areas of the state, and too little in a few urban areas. It will pose issues for school districts and state funding. Social security was based on retention of a population pyramid, which is starting to invert, leading to catastrophe for that important government program that many seem to simply ignore.

Demographics are important. Social and economic trends were moved by the Baby Boomers. Today, those same boomers seem to be driving sales of portable CD/DVD players so as to view what was on a common method of storage for computers. That DVD drive desired by a dozen of my demographic at a Best Buy store in the Minneapolis area, is a sign of larger societal trends, in technological and demographic change. I am not the only old guy, that demographic, that needed a device to view our old stored photos or genealogical materials.

Epiphany

Celebrated in the Christian world on January 6 the Feast of the Epiphany marks the arrival of the Maji to visit the Christ child. Often referred to as kings or wisemen, Maji is perhaps the best descriptor. The Little Drummer Boy movie, and many traditional works of art depict them still in the manger. But, Matthew places the event in a house. Someone was sufficiently kind to offer a house to the family after Jesus' birth. The Epiphany lacks detail, making its historicity in question, but that can deflect from its wider message.

Google images

The Maji have been described as kings, astrologers, professors, Persian priests, and I have even heard them described as lawyers. Fr James Martin, says New Testament scholar Fr Daniel Harrington indicates that Maji is the most appropriate term and they were probably some type of Persian priest. Due to the lack of detail in the Gospel, to there is some discrepancy is an understatement. There is a saying that if the three Maji were women, they would have asked for directions, cleaned the stable, brought a casserole and did other chores. I am not sure how they could ask for directions, since the Maji did not know who they were really looking for. The star was their compass. The thing is most people tend to think of gold, frankincense and myrrh as odd gifts. However, Frankincense and myrrh are important essential oils and could be used for healing--calming and soothing purposes--which Mary may well have found useful after having given birth in less than acceptable circumstances. Further, the gold may have been helpful as they had to journey to Egypt, which, quite frankly, may involve bribes to get to Egypt and back for whatever time they spent there.

Google images

Matthew's Gospel account mentions following a star, but the director of the Vatican Observatory says too little information is provided to account for what type of celestial event this could have been. It could have been a supernova, a comet, or a conjuncture (where two planets align). It could have been a Helios, a calculated day time astronomical event. Yet, does the star really matter to the overall story being told in the Gospel? As the priest who gave a homily at mass this past weekend noted the larger message is that Christ came for all. He went on to say that on the day of his birth, shepherds visited him, and they were Jewish. After the birth, Christ is visited by the Maji, who were not Jewish. Hence, the message coming from the Gospel is that Jesus came for all persons, not just Jews, but Gentiles (non-Jews), too.

Dec 2023 alignment of star, moon and planet
Some have referred to this conjuncture as the Star of Bethlehem
Source: Forbes

Fr Harrington says "the historicity of these episodes is an open question that probably can never be definitively decided.”  Fr Martin, in a Facebook post, agreed with the homilist at my mass last Saturday evening. Martin provides further evidence when he says to "Remember that Matthew’s Gospel ends with the command of the Risen Christ to “make disciples of all the Gentiles” (28:19). Fr Martin, however takes this point even further when he writes:

The Maji's path to belief and, more specifically, to belief in the newborn King, to whom they would pay homage and offer gifts, was “a long journey.” So is ours. It can take us a long time to come to a place of peace about our faith. For some people, it’s easy, but for most of us it’s a lifelong quest. And I sometimes think of those camels—“galled, sore-footed, refractory”—as an image of our church. The church carries us to faith, but it’s sometimes a bumpy ride.

But in the end, as the Magi discovered, the journey is worth it—worth everything we can give to it. It is something that, as the Book of Isaiah tells us, will make us “radiant” once we discover it. Because the end of the journey is not a destination but a person: Jesus Christ.

In the Western World we desire everything to be properly bundled and authenticated. Yet, the Gospels are stories set to better our us, our community and our human condition. The story of the Epiphany is not about the gifts brought, but that Christ welcomed all, and about a faith journey. Desiring authentication of all parts of the Epiphany story can take away from that larger message.

“Let us ask the Virgin Mary to help us so that, imitating the shepherds and the Magi, we are able to recognize Jesus close by, in the poor, in the Eucharist, in the abandoned, in our brother, in our sister.”
--Pope Francis, 6 Jan 2025

Naughty Boy

This past Sunday the Catholic Church celebrated the Feast of the Holy Family. I always chuckle a bit at the cycle C Gospel reading from Luke which was read this past Sunday. It is one of the Gospel readings where Christ's humanity comes out. It shows that a twelve year old boy 2000 years ago is not unlike a 12 year old today. Today, as then, twelve year old children are desirous to start to make their own way, and that means they may be naughty, at least in the eyes of the parents.

To set the scene, Jesus traveled with his parents, Mary and Joseph, to Jerusalem for the Passover feast. The scripture says it "was according to festival custom." Jerusalem was about 100 miles from Nazareth and due to thieves people often traveled in a caravan, that is a group of persons. I suspect, Joseph and Mary and a few relatives were with them making up the caravan, with others on the route to Nazareth or beyond. At the time, Nazareth was a small village. The Gospel says, in part, "After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but they did not know it." They thought he was elsewhere in the caravan and they looked up and down the many pilgrims and found he was not there. They then returned to Jerusalem and found him, three days later, in the temple. It is supposed that Mary and Joe spent the night with the Caravan before returning to Jerusalem the next day. 

Painting from 14th Century Siena, describing 
the incident at the Temple.
Notice the scowl on Jesus' face

Jesus was not just hanging out in the temple, but was found "in the midst of teachers, listening to them and asking them questions."  and it goes on to report that "all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers." I guess being the son of God helped.

Then comes the best part. The Gospel gives words, but words alone lack intonation, tone, or the type of voice Mary used, but the Gospel has her saying: "'Son why have you done this to us? You father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.' And he said to them, 'Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?'"  I find this kind of a sassy answer, sure he is the son of God, but he could provide a bit of respect to Mary and Joseph. There was no "Sorry." And, what is Joseph to make of the whole deal? Here is correctly points to his father as God, but poor stepfather Joe must have felt rather small. The Gospel goes on to say that he returned to Nazareth with them, and was obedient. Yet it also records that his mother kept all these things in her heart. I wonder if it was her heart or her mind. I mean, really, if she was like my wife this incident would be placed in the recesses of her mind to be brought out at the appropriate time. If Jesus was a free-range kid in present day United States, law enforcement and the FBI would be out helping with the search. Pope Francis says Mary was right to begin with a question, before denouncing his behavior. I too would have begun with a question, but more emphatic, like "What in the world (replace with a four letter word that begins with H) were you thinking?"

There are two other occasions that come immediately to mind of Jesus being somewhat naughty or sassy. One, is when he overturns the tables of the money changers in the temple, which perhaps is excusable. Yet, pilgrims often provided offerings of money so was getting a change doing a service for the many pilgrims that went to the Temple? The other time is at Cana, during the wedding. After Mary tells him they have run out of wine he gives this: “Woman,” he says, “what concern is that to you and to me?” Fr James Martin commented on the harshness of this language: "For those who doubt the harshness of that language, the Greek phrase ascribed to Jesus at Cana ("Ti ēmoi kai soi?") is the same that a demon shouts at Jesus in Luke ("Ti hemin kai soi?"). Basically, 'Who are you to me?'"  Yet, Mary plays it cool, she simply put her son in his place by telling the servants to "Do whatever he tells you." Jesus is left having to perform his first miracle or disobey his mom. I suspect it was an easy choice. I think he chose wisely, or else she would have reminded him of what did at age twelve and some type of argument would have ensued which Jesus would never win. Although, Jesus being God, probably already knew she would bring this up. The point being, a man cannot win an argument with their wife, or their mother. Not even Jesus. 

Discussing the reading on the way home from mass last Saturday night, my wife was non-cholent at Jesus' waywardness. I said, if it was one of your kids at twelve, it would be a different matter. She said God was protecting Jesus. Heck, she is perturbed when our kids do not respond to a text she sent. So imagine what she would be like if one of them were lost for three days. She had anxiety when the three of us were at the Boundary Waters for ten days or so. I guess, it is different for Jesus.

There is the old saying "You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you cannot pick your family." One reading for the Christmas Vigil mass is the genealogy of Jesus. It goes back to Abraham, meaning about 42 generations from Jesus. What this also shows is there were in fact some ne'er-do-wells in Jesus' lineage. As Fr Ron Rollheiser has written: 

We see, for example, in Jesus’ genealogy a number of men who didn’t exactly incarnate the love, justice, and purity of Jesus: Abraham unfairly banished Ishmael and his mother, Hagar, rationalizing that God favors some people over others; Jacob, by scheming and dishonesty, stole his brother Esau’s birthright; and David, to whom Jesus explicitly connects himself, committed adultery and then had the husband of his mistress murdered to cover-up an unwanted pregnancy and in order to marry her.

Imagine that, the son of God coming from a dysfunctional family? In other words, it is not unlike families today. I think if we all go far enough back there would be a few unsavory types. With its myriad of rules the Church seems to demand perfection, but even Jesus' lineage had characters who were nasty. As Fr Martin wrote this past week, 

In other words, while the Holy Family was holy, their lives were not free from stress, disagreement and even conflict. This should give us all hope for our own families. Not only does Jesus understand our struggles with our families, and not only is he with us in those struggles, but he doesn’t expect our families to be perfect. Holy? Well, with God’s grace, we can strive to be loving, charitable and forgiving and thus, we can aim for holiness.

Perhaps that is why the teaching of mercy should be one the church's greatest doctrine, because people are not perfect. Anxiety and stress can get to all of us. Heck, watching the Packers against the Vikings was a stress inducing event, even though one had to laugh at how poorly the Packers played, and Matt LaFailure coached for three quarters. Given this, I have to think God understood my getting upset at the Packers incompetence, from coach to players. 

The Packers committed penalties at critical moments. I guess those infractions were minor compared to Jesus not communicating with his parents that he desired to stay behind. But, he was a twelve year old, whose three days at that age, presaged, those involved in his death, and resurrection. The insolence of a twelve year old is really nothing new, and is probably built in our DNA. Children, people, even the son of God will be naughty at times.