Richard's Ruminations

Reflections of A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, Chapter 1

He, therefore, is the devout man, who lives no longer to his own will, or the way and spirit of the world, but to the sole will of God, who considers God in everything, who serves God in everything, who makes all the parts of his common life parts of piety, by doing everything in the Name of God, and under such rules as are conformable to His glory.

 -A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, chapter 1

William Law begins his renowned treatise A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life (1728) with an affirmation that true devotion to God is not to be relegated to some sequestered portion of a person’s life, an inner solitude marked by prayer, or discrete times such as at worship, but rather is reflected in all of existence.  As I think about this I imagine that this is something that every Christian would want to affirm as well, but, nevertheless, has either found the admonition impossible to achieve or has done so at such a low level of commitment that “devotion” is relegated to a very low common denominator of being basically nice. I know for myself that in the past I would have rationalized Law’s view away as perhaps pious, but not realistic amid the changes and chances of contemporary life. I imagine many would have agreed with me. But now I am coming to a point in my life when the earlier rationalizations, for all their well thought out intentions, have begun to ring hollow. Might it just be that we are called to this vision of life that Law sets forth? Might Jesus have been serious when he tells us in the Sermon on the Mount that we are to be perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect?

 

Of course, a few things get in the way of making this affirmation right off the bat. Certainly how we conceive of the end of Christian existence will affect how we live into this vision.  There is the view that Christianity is about, in Dallas Willard’s memorable phrase, “sin management;” by receiving forgiveness and managing the deleterious effects of sin we might attain to eternal life. If this is the case, the life of devotion expressed in Law would be a nice addendum to our Christian life, but really unnecessary. Or, if is probably more the case among Episcopalians, the point of our Christian life is to find a sense of a spiritual center in a crazy world, or palliative care for wounded souls, or an avenue for social action, then, again, full devotion of life is unnecessary.

 

But what if, what if, the real purpose of the Christian faith, the fulfillment of the forgiveness of our sins, the promise of eternal life, and enjoyment of a spiritual life, healing, and community engagement is that we might find our true joy an purpose in reflecting the very being of God as revealed in Jesus Christ? What then? At that point the call that Law issues begins to be compelling.

 

Of course, we can affirm this vision, and find it daunting and discouraging. I just picked up the guitar after twenty years of neglect. (Sorry ukulele folks. I returned to my roots.) I had never progressed too far when I did strum the chords, but this time I am determined to progress farther. But suppose someone said that that is all well and good, but the real point is to play like Andres Segovia? Were that the case, I might as well throw in the towel now. Certainly the call to become like God is even beyond the call to play like Segovia. Who wouldn’t be disheartened?

 

Yet the second affirmation that we need to make after that such participation in the divine life and holiness is indeed the vision and goal of the Christian life is that the ability to live into this call is to be received as a gift, rather than as an onerous and impossible burden. It is the gift of Christ who embodied God’s life in our midst.  It is the gift of the Holy Spirit who joins us with Christ and transforms us into his likeness.

 

For tonight I will leave it here.  Law calls us to a new way of seeing Christian life, but we often dismiss it or rationalize it away as unrealistic. But we can reclaim the vision. It starts when we seriously inquire about the true ends of Christian life, and continues when we see this not first as a burden as a gift.

 

Whether or not this is where Law goes in his treatise time will tell. But can we begin to look at our faith from a new and more challenging perspective? Next I will share some of the steps in my change of course toward this vision that Law sets forth.  I have a way to go. (A long way it is.) But I am heartened by the progress.

"Solve for X": Homily for 19th Sunday after Pentecost

By request I print these edited notes of a homily I gave on October 23, 2011

19^th Pentecost Proper 25A                                                      Richard Yale

October 22, 2011

St. John’s, Chico

 "Solve for X"

I was thinking the other day of the John Travolta and Tim Allen movie Wild Hogs.  Anyone seen it?

It is about a bunch of middle aged men who discover that life hasn’t turned out as they planned. It’s a bit of a disappointment to them, and that they need to recapture some of that fire in the belly.

So they set off on a cross country road trip together on their Harley Davidson motorcycles. And amid their madcap adventures they rediscover their purpose and lust for life. 

The movie shows all the time on cable. 

Well, I come with a dispatch from the lives of middle aged men, and I have to report that it ain’t that easy.

Over the last several months I have been in constant correspondence with a number of guys I have known since at least high school. We are, to one degree or another, all struggling to make sense of lives that didn’t quite pan out as planned. 

And a Harley won’t fix it. (One of the guys bought one and is still struggling.)

It is as though we have seen our lives as an addition problem, an equation, with the success and happiness we longed for being the sum.

We add up all the plusses and minuses of our lives and hope to see if we can get to our sum. But obviously something is missing; an unknown factor; some X.  

You know: 1+2-1+x=6. Solve for X.

For us it is like ‘abilities + family + money – bad decisions + x = success and happiness’.

Solve for X.  

The guys have tried many things for X. The motorcycle, as I said, didn’t do the trick.  Neither did more money. Nor greater success at the office.

Of course, the same scenarios play out regardless of age.  My daughter Kadie sent me a provocative article about the angst among jobless young adults. They would have their own equation with an elusive X.

‘College diploma + youthful energy – educational loans – bad job market + x = meaningful employment’.

But back to the guys.

They have been recently trying another solution for X.  They have been turning to Christ as their X. We have all been Christians since we knew each other as young guys. 

But some of us have practiced our faith with a little more seriousness than others. 

Perhaps a return to the exuberance of our earlier piety, maybe that will solve for X. 

It might sound promising, but I have my doubts.  And it is not for a lack of discipline in living into our faith.

It is because I suspect that Jesus himself refuses to be reduced to an X in someone else’s life equation, becoming merely a means to someone’s end.

I get this from our rather cryptic reading from Matthew’s story of Jesus we read today.  What I am thinking of is this strange little debate between Jesus and the Pharisees:

Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: "What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?" They said to him, "The son of David." He said to them, "How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying,

 `The Lord said to my Lord,

"Sit at my right hand,

until I put your enemies under your feet"'?

If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?"

Now this is the last engagement between Jesus and his adversaries in the days between his triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Sunday and his arrest, trial, and crucifixion on Friday.

The words seem indecipherable to us, but what I think Jesus is saying here is that the Pharisees themselves are trying to turn the longed-for Messiah into the X in their own equation.

For the Pharisees the equation would be

‘rigorous obedience to God’s law + gathering all the righteous people of Israel + the force of arms + the longed-for Messiah = Israel free of Roman occupation and the righteous ruling over the people.’

But note: the Messiah is just one factor in their own equation, a means to their own end.  And their goal defines the kind of messiah they want; a warrior king leading the righteous in bloody battle against the hated Romans. 

Yet if the messiah is the Lord, then he can never be reduced to an X. As Lord he defines the end, he is not a means to it.

Here is the point of the psalm Jesus quotes: if King David, to whom the messianic promise was made, refers to his descendant not as son, but as Lord, then all the Pharisees should do likewise and obey him.

It will be the messiah, the Christ, who will project the end to which they are to aspire. And it will not be the defeat of Rome that will constitute the end.

The end that Jesus puts before them here as the Lord, the Messiah, is found in his words earlier in the passage as he quotes from the Law of Moses:

"`You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

Here then, the love of God with our whole being, and engagement of will, and action, and mind, is what the goal of our life is to be about, combined with willing and enacting the best for others as an extension of the love of God.

This is what we are to be about; not defeating our enemies, nor finding success and happiness, nor landing that elusive but meaningful job.

These other ends, to one extent or another, may be desirable, but they are secondary.

And if they have any meaning at all it is that they become contexts in which the Greatest Commandment is lived out.

The successful career will be the one that wills the best for others;

• the shop-keeper who treats the employee with dignity,
• the customer as a guest,
• and provides for the well-being of family, church, and community.

And underlying all of this is an abiding love of God expressed in prayer, praise, and extending God’s love into the world.

Christ is not merely saying “all you need is love,” however.

The love that Jesus envisions here has a specific form and emerges from a particular story. The form of love that serves as the end and goal of our lives is to be patterned after and even participates in the love we have seen in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Thus this love is found in receiving the Holy Spirit, the personal presence of God’s love who filled Jesus. Love begins with the ancient prayer “Come, Holy Spirit, come.”

It is love that is discovered in being sent with Christ into a broken world; it has an outward and missional thrust     beyond the conventional boundaries and comforts.

It is lived and practiced in Christian community, as Christ gathered a community of disciples around himself.

Love grows in us as we have new habits of love,

new practices of faith forming us:

• prayer and time with God,
• fellowship with one another marked by commitment and mercy,
• ministry among the poor,
• and others such as stewardship of treasure, talent, and time

And all these elements that comprise living into this love are gathered up in the ascent of worship, offering ourselves, our souls and bodies, as a holy and living sacrifice of love.

If we want to continue with the image of life as the equation, what would it look like after Jesus rewrites it?

I see it something like

‘the Holy Spirit + being sent into the world as participants in God’s mission + the supportive community of Christ +             the practices of faith + ascending with Christ in worship            = Loving God with our whole being and loving our neighbor     as ourselves.’

And this equation can be written over every life, even those of a bunch of middle aged guys who seem to have lost their way.

And note that this equation does not reduce Jesus to the elusive X. But he is not absent from it.

Christ is actually the equation itself, both the means and the sum.

May he write this new equation on our lives, our heart, our soul, our mind, that we may be joined more perfectly with Christ Jesus, and find our lives fulfilled in that love which moves the sun and other stars.

Amen.

Watch this Space: Reflections on a Classic

This is more of a "heads-up" than a real post.  While my blogging has been far too piecemeal in the last year, I hope to begin in the next week, and leading at least through Advent, my reflections of William Law's classic volume of spiritual literature A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life. Why this? Well a hat tip to my dear friend Delia Fay, who upon hearing where I have become passionate in my life, integrating faith, Christian practice, and mission into a cohesive life of discipleship, said, "well you have read William Law, right?" Of course! But in reality it was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. And I am not sure that my reading was very deep.

Law was an Anglican spiritual writer of the early 18th century.  His writings had a large influence upon later spiritual movements, including the Methodist movement.  Interestingly, although he had a great influence on the evangelical movements in late 18th century England, he himself was of High Church sentiments, and gleaned insights from Medieval mystics. Law would seem, then, to be truly a teacher of the Great Tradition of our faith, bridging many divides that have opened up through the years.

I thought I would put this out there that my occasional reflections will be forthcoming, if for no other reason than to keep my feet to the flame, and share whatever insights William Law and the Holy Spirit may be interested in sharing with me.

I pray that you have a blessed Advent.

Homily for September 11, 2011

I offer this reflection here by the request of several parishioners and friends. If my meager offering on this day of remembrace is of benefit to you, I am grateful.

13th Pentecost (Proper 19, Year A), September 11, 2011

St. John's, Chico, California

I received a note from a friend late Friday evening. It was quite timely, as I had just been out with a few people and we spoke of how we should commemorate today, this tenth anniversary of the heinous attack upon our nation.

I had been wrestling with what the right approach might be.

• Is today merely a time to remember and grieve?
• How do we grapple with the issues that stemmed from the attack that have proved so divisive over the years? Iraq and Afghanistan? The Patriot Act? Guantanamo?
• Or do we plumb the darker questions of good and evil in the world?

Many have been the voices in recent days. And I feel inadequate to add anything of substance to this rather dissonant chorus.

Thus I had much sympathy with my friend’s note. He wrote:

I would prefer to light a candle in a dark and empty cathedral rather than be in a full church of those insistent that someone say something coherent about the incoherence of human experience and its relationship to a God, for whom an event like this, relative to the broader perspective of the manifestation of evil in the[world], is merely a footnote.

For those of us who watched in horror ten years ago, let alone those who lost loved ones, 9/11 can never seem to be merely a footnote. But his point is well taken.

For every grand statement I find I want to make about what this day is about, there is another voice which, with authority, makes the opposite point in the attempt to find coherence in what has happened these ten years.

I will let braver and wiser souls seek the large picture, and try to make sense of this past decade. 

But neither am I satisfied to remain silent. Perhaps the solitary candle I light in what reflections I offer can illumine my own journey and experience in the last ten years.

Did 9/11 change me?

At a colleague’s suggestion I decided to look at what I said from this spot ten years ago, as we gathered the Sunday after September 11^th.  What I found was not some profound reflection on the meaning of evil, but a simple acknowledgement that we, or perhaps just myself, were too close to make much sense out of this; that we were aware of visceral and raw emotions of anger, grief, and fear.

• We burned white-hot with rage at the perpetrators of such evil
• We wept at the searing images of suffering and the countless stories of incredible loss
• We felt a vulnerability we had not known, ndd feared for ourselves and our loved ones.

Our task at that time was not to make sense of this, but to find God’s presence in those raw sentiments.

• The holiness of God that burns hot against such evil and violence.
• The compassion of our Savior weeping with us in our grief.
• Jesus entering even into our fear, as he cried from the cross “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”

But this was only the beginning. It is not enough merely to say God is in our emotions. The call that I made that day was to allow God to transform them. 

If we didn’t

• Anger would fester into unending hatred
• Grief would become inconsolable
• And fear would lead to despair

So I approach this day as a form of that ancient Christian practice of the examination of conscience. Has God transformed the anger, grief, and fear that I felt so deeply in those first few weeks after the attack?        

What does such transformation look like?

It is not enough to not be angry, not be grief-stricken, not be afraid. This would make apathy transformative.

Anger is transformed when the holiness of God burns in my soul as a passion for justice, for setting the world aright, where innocents are not viciously attacked, but also where the hungry are fed, the broken are healed, and community is restored. It is a justice that seeks not the settling of scores, but possibility of reconciliation and redemption.

Grief is transformed when I find the wound in my own heart to be a font of empathy and compassion; when I bear the burdens of others, share with them the unsurpassed love of Christ, and carry their pain to the Lord in continuing intercession.

Fear is transformed when I find myself immobilized among the changes and chances of life, and yet surrender to the grace and goodness of the One who led the Children of Israel through the Sea and raised our Lord from the dead. It is when I can say with my crucified savior, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit,” and thus find the freedom and strength to live for justice and compassion.

When we allow God to transform us thus, I believe we are being responsive to the memory both of those lives were taken this day, and those who offered their lives for others.

Such transformation happens when the Spirit of the living God comes upon us and gives us the will and intention to be so changed. And then we put that intention into practice through the life and disciplines of the people of God and the mission of Christ.

We could speak of coming together to this table as a foretaste of the heavenly table where American and Iraqi, Israeli and Egyptian, and peoples from every nation and tribe gather together in the love of God in Christ.

We could speak of other practices as well;

• feeding the homeless,
• visiting the sick,
• praying with the grieving,
• reconciling the estranged.

Central will be the ability to forgive.  

By some spiritual synchronicity in the lectionary, it would seem our Lord wants us today to reflect upon the call to forgive as he shared with Peter.  Where Peter sought to know the minimum requirement of forgiveness,  Jesus opens the heart of God as that of endless mercy.  Transformation ultimately is to know the very heart of God.

This is admittedly hard work.

And we must always avoid cheap grace that tries to establish reconciliation through moral amnesia.  Forgiveness begins with truth-telling, not minimizing the offence, but asking that it be brought into the light of day.  But forgiveness does mean that the offer of reconciliation is an offer of a new start, not determined by the pain, but formed by the possibility of deeper communion with Christ and one another.

Of course, at its fullness, forgiveness requires reciprocity. There must be an acceptance of the mercy, repentance, amendment of life. A commitment to not harm again.

But even when forgiveness is not reciprocated, it becomes a posture for us toward the world, a way of living that says, “my life will not be defined and dictated by your offense,      no matter how grievous, but by the mercies of God which have transformed the hatred, sorrow, and fear you have inflicted.”

Forgiveness is freedom.

Of course, none of us will ever be in the position where we will actually have the opportunity to extend the mercy of God to either the perpetrators of the terror on 9/11, or those who rejoiced in the attack. But the action of mercy we practice both within the Christian fellowship and beyond its borders forms in us the posture of forgiveness by which we are freed to receive our commemoration this day as a recommitment to God’s holiness and compassion.

This does not mean that governments are not charged by the justice of God to execute justice and restrain evil, though we may debate the policies in pursuing this. It does mean that we are to seek justice, not vengeance, since as Paul told us from our reading a few weeks ago, vengeance belongs to the Lord.

I was at Ground Zero the day after Osama bin Laden was killed.  I confess I did not grieve for him. Indeed, I was heartened        that he would never mastermind such evil again. But I did not go to gloat or rejoice, but to weep and remember,       to steel myself to the call of God’s Kingdom, and share the grief of those who still weep. I did not recognize it then, but now I see that I went in the posture of forgiveness, not forgetting the offence, but freed for and by the mercies of God.

As to the final state of bin Laden’s soul, I am content to leave that to God.  As St. Paul tells us this morning “We will all stand before the judgment seat of God.”

I continue to take my friend’s thoughts seriously.

There is much incoherent and incomprehensible as we try to understand the terror of September 11 and its meaning for our lives. And yet, the next note he sent me Friday night broke open the possibility that what makes this all coherent is closer than we imagine. 

He sent me a passage from the Book of Ecclesiasticus:

Wrath and anger are hateful things,
yet the sinner hugs them tight.
The vengeful will suffer the LORD's vengeance,
for he remembers their sins in detail.
Forgive your neighbor's injustice;
then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.
Could anyone nourish anger against another
and expect healing from the LORD?
Could anyone refuse mercy to another like himself,
can he seek pardon for his own sins?
If one who is but flesh cherishes wrath,
who will forgive his sins?
Remember your last days, set enmity aside;
remember death and decay, and cease from sin!
Think of the commandments, hate not your neighbor;
remember the Most High's covenant, and overlook faults.

The mercies of God received and extended in the crucible of our own hearts give, if not coherence, then direction. We are freed from the terror our enemies would inflict, freed from our anger, from our sorrow, from our despair. We are freed for the Kingdom and for a world renewed and healed by the love of our God made known in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

 

More about Friday

I have been remiss in posting about what made Friday such a great day. But needless to say we have been incredibly busy. First thing about Friday was the flurry of activity in finishing our jobs for the week. Experience tells us that when you have lunch with the kids from the Rancho, all bets are off for work after that time. This day was no different. At 1:00 we walked down to the lawn next to the basketball court where we had a Mexican feast with our friends. Danielle, dubbed "the Child Whisperer", soon had a couple kids wrapped around her legs. At the end of lunch Marc led several of our girls in singing a song in Spanish to our hosts. The, in turn, returned the favor with several sons of their own. We finished with a bunch of us singing "Siyahamba" in Zulu, English, and Spanish. Soon an international basketball game broke out. Later in the afternoon the last trips into town for tacos and Manzana Lift were made, as the grills were fired up for a tri-tip dinner. I will leave it here for now and will do more recap as I can this afternoon. But do know that we got safely over the border and the team is now preparing for that final leg of the trip from San Gabriel to Chico. Oremos por nosotros.

Brief Update: What a Day!

Well, I had hoped to give a full recap of the day, but things have just wound down and it is time for bed.  I will recap later tomorrow when I can.  So watch this space tomorrow probably late afternoon.

Briefly, finished all our work by noonish (including more hay that had been missed). Had an incredible lunch with the Santa Marta folks, including some singing from both groups.  Had a wonderful time of sharing our gratitude with each other. Had a variety show with entertainment and awards.

Tomorrow up at the crack of dawn and begin the long trek back.  Tomorrow night the team will be in San Gabriel having pizza delivered by my mom.

Off to bed.

Los Amigos de Santa Marta

In conversation this morning I heard that fewer and fewer groups are coming down to Rancho Santa Marta each summer to help out with this vital ministry to the children of Baja.  We understand the fears in light of the stories of violence along the border.  We all had to prayerfully consider our participation. (And I will also report that the way the Mexican government has attended to our safety through highway reconstruction that keeps us away from areas that may be problematic as well as the check-points have reinforced my position that maintaining this trip in the last few years has been the absolute right thing to do.)

Last year we also became aware of decreasing financial support for the Rancho during the recession.

All this got us talking about how we might continue to raise support and consciousness about the work here throughout the year.  Certainly there are plenty of us who love this place, both current team members and numerous alums, who could continue to tell the story of this place. 

The idea has begun to filter through the team down here, and there is certainly energy for such an endeavor.  Look for details in the weeks and months to come.  Or join us in our participation in Christ's continuing mission in Baja California.

Mexico Mission: Sleepy Friday Morning

We are moving slowly this morning. Only the most ardent of the early risers are up. Oh, and me. I'm up. 

Not exactly sure what will be happening today, other than guaranteed hard work in the morning and lunch with the group home kids at 1:00.  That said, there is a rumor of a soccer rematch, which would preclude much work from the kids after that.  So be it.  The interaction between the groups is probably one of the more significant things that happens here. If the last concrete pad needs to wait for the next group down here, that'll be OK.

In fact, Bill, the director of Santa Marta, has told me that even if there were no work to do, he would hope that the group from Chico would come to the Rancho. He appreciates how we interact with the kids from the Rancho, and also the wonderful and supportive fellowship we share among ourselves and our nightly time of worship and devotion.

So we'll see. It isn't as if we haven't done anything. We can return next year and point to numerous tasks completed in 2011 and rejoice in time well spent.

Bit by bit some of the other tales and textures of the week are emerging:

Apparently there has been a little prank feud emerging between Magie and Joe, beginning with Magie taking a paint soaked hand and slapping it on the back of Joe's coveralls. Last night Joe retaliated with ice down Magie's back.

Lauren and Emma have now moved beyond ABBA's greatest hits and have involved Philip and Ethan in rousing reenditions of "We're off to see the Wizard" complete with the iconic skip down the Yellow Brick Road.

I have noticed an interesting pattern in reading material among our youth.  This seems to be the most literate bunch I have seen.  Among the titles are Pride and Prejudice, East of Eden, and War and Peace. Britany is reading the last one, and I think the book may be larger than she.

I will recap the day later this afternoon. Tonight is also tri-tip night, and I have found three Weber's to fire-up. Ellie will be my sous-chef.

And now I need more coffee.

Thursday Night at Santa Marta

Thursday nights are always big at Santa Marta as it is the evening that we have the annual profile exercise that I mentioned in a previous post.  Before we gathered for that, however, we had a great time of sharing during chapel.  The question that that the team had us explore from several different angles was how might we bring this experience home? Our service through Christ does not end when we leave here on Saturday morning or arrive home the following day. What we share and experience here is meant to continue.  The kids spoke both of the difficulties of remaining intentional in their service, but also recounted ways they have engaged the community. We heard of visiting care homes and helping at the Jesus Center, among others.  We spoke of how serving with others brings accountability, and making a habit of helping people.

Here I think you, our family and friends at home, can help us by becoming a community of service in Jesus name together.  I am reminded of the phrase that St. Benedict used to describe the communities he founded "a school for the Lord's service." Might we become that together, whether alums of Santa Marta or not?

The profile exercise, writing an appreciative comment about each person on her or his sheet of construction paper, was a great success. Thanks for all who did send up a little prayer for that.  It means a lot to hear of the affection and esteem that your comrades have for you.

The campfire is now burning and marshmallows are roasting. Roger brought out a bunch of glow sticks and stuff and all are arrayed in glowing necklaces and headbands.

Tomorrow we will wrap up work, have lunch with the Rancho group home kids, and have closing chapel and a revamped St. Marta Awards and Variety Show.  More anon.

Mexico Mission: Big Day at the Rancho

It is late Thursday afternoon and the last hay team has just triumphantly returned to report that the last hay bale has been gathered and neatly stacked near the soccer field.  Victory. Steve has been driving since Monday what I think can only be considered a hybrid vehicle. It runs on gasoline uphill, runs out of gas at the top of the field, and runs on gravity downhill.  How green is that?

Another team spent the lion's share of the day pouring concrete at three separate sites, with another two or three left for tomorrow.  Some heavy lifting was involved by Atty, Philip, and Svenja, that served the spiritual function of reminding me of the inexorable passage of time and the vicissitudes of life. In other words, I felt old.

One of those of riper years did rise to the challenge, as Brad lifted bags of cement and manned a wheelbarrow. Close inspection revealed that he was engaged in an archetypal generational contest with Atty. Like John Wayne and Montgomery Clift in Red River. Vader and Luke in The Empire Strikes Back. Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan in Freaky Friday.

Brandon and Mark spent the morning preparing the rebar for a concrete pour tomorrow.  Brandon's skills have been evident throughout the week.  Earlier he had been the organizer of our hay team, and got more bales onto the flatbed than I thought possible.

While Rick and Ken prepared another pour site, Emily, Jan, and Lee Anne gathered rocks for the form.  Jan and Emily were content to use their feet and hands to pry the rocks from the hard soil, Lee Anne fashioned a tool to get the rocks out, prompting the other two to consider her a more evolved human.  I tried to make a joke about monoliths and apes that fell flat, which again made me feel old since no one got my 2001: A Space Odyssey reference.

Later I sauntered down to the welding shop to see the incredible work Daniel and Ben are doing with those grates.  Very impressed with their facility with what they informed me was a plasma torch. I was going to say I was reminded of Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan burning through the blast door on the Trade Federation ship, but my success with pop-culture references, especially sci-fi ones is decreasing by the minute.

Sharon, Kathie, and Joe made incredible headway with painting classrooms.

A special task was engaged by Katie VP, Magie, and Ariel.  They were asked to design and paint some caricatures of graduates in their school colors to decorate their upcoming commencement exercises at the school. The school hopes to laminate them for use from year to year.

Tonight will be a special night.  Thursday is when we do the "profile" exercise.  A piece of construction paper with a person's name will be passed to each one of us on the team.  We will write something appreciative and positive about each.  I have heard that some Santa Marta alums from years back still have theirs.  So pray for us as we support each other.

Tomorrow will see us back on the concrete. And if there are ripe peaches we may return to the orchard.  But seeing that we are having lunch with our Mexican friends here at the Rancho, another soccer game could be in the offing as well.

Oremos por nosotros.