The Deacon's Bench - August, 2008

A few weeks ago I happened to be with a customer who’s also a good friend. He’s pretty well organized and there’s a big board in his office that lists all the things he has to do. Without going into too much detail, I need to tell you that he has also led a complex life and is estranged from his Catholic faith at this point because of some of the turns that complexity has taken.

I was surprised then to see, right at the top of his list the reminder “Call Jesus.” When I complimented him on getting his priorities straight he burst out laughing. The “Jesus” on his list was a Mexican landscaper that he needed to call about something. I laughed too, but when we both stopped laughing we found ourselves still staring at each other and he remarked to me “You don’t ever stop being a deacon, do you?” I told him no; no more than I could stop being a dad, a husband or his friend.

Taking advantage of spirit of the moment, I said that I hoped he’d be able to get in touch with Jesus and that the conversation would go well. He knew what I meant. I noticed a distant look in his eyes as we turned towards our work for that day; he smiled and said wistfully, “Me too.”

Where’s “Call Jesus” on our list of priorities? Right at the top, I hope.
Sometimes I have this image of Jesus waiting by a phone somewhere, hoping that it’ll ring, and that it’ll be a call from one of us. Sort of the way parents and grandparents wait for their offspring to call, just to say “hi” or share a story with us; ready to help out in case there’s an emergency of some sort. There are some people we’re happy to hear from anytime. It’s the same when we call Jesus, too – we can call anytime and be assured he's always glad to hear from us.

Deacon Tim’s Fast Recipe #3
Chicken (filets or other forms of dismemberment)
Rice (1/4 cup per person is a normal serving, don’t you agree?)
1 can of green beans
1 can of mushroom soup
Garlic (powder, salt or the real thing). You go figure out how much of each you want. Who am I to say?

1. Make rice and put it someplace out of the way but where you can remember that you put it
2. Throw drained green beans and mushroom soup into a casserole
3. Mangle chicken artistically and throw in casserole
4. Mix in garlic, salt, pepper, maybe even some dry white wine if you’re in the mood. Do not lick spoon – the chicken hasn’t been cooked yet.
5. Put a lid on and cook at 400⁰ for 30-40 minutes, until the chicken cooks
6. Dump contents of casserole on top of rice and mix it all up
7. Serve (OK, you can lick the spoon now)