My Friend Philip

Fr. Dale Matson

            I have known my close friend Phillip for over 50 years. He is one of the most gifted individuals I have ever met both physically and intellectually. His doctorate is in Geology and his profession was the analysis of rocks for Chevron. However, he could have been successful at anything he put his hand to. While he has been a scientist evaluating the physical world, he has done so with the eyes and ears of an artist. I am honored that someone like Phil would be and remain a lifelong friend to someone such as me who lacked Phil’s native aptitudes. Phil has always had a handicap. He has not needed God. Things have been easy for him; too easy. He has never had to rely on anyone else. Age and a nearly fatal motorcycle accident have provided an evolving but uncharacteristic humility and a willingness to listen more carefully. Like Jacob, he now walks with a limp.

             We have shared similar personal struggles and earlier lives which included mutual close friends, drunkenness, addiction to cigarettes and failed marriages. Like lifelong friends, we can share the minutia of the day at great length over the phone.  

            When Phil retired, he moved to a rural setting and enjoys the time he spends on his tractor and in his shop. He is also married a Roman Catholic woman who is active in her church and community on behalf of her church. She walks the walk and this has had an effect on Phil. She has not just his love but his respect. Phil listens to and learns from those he respects. He has no patience for those he does not respect.

            Our friendship has survived two crises. When I came back to Christ and witnessed to him about my need for Christ, I think Phil was disappointed in me. I’m sure he thought it was a weakness and a delusion. Unbelief had been a long shared mutual perspective. Being a Christian created a distance for a time. Being a Christian changes relationships and ended another close friendship. The second crisis was when I quitting drinking. I sent him a letter expressing my concern for his drinking. I struggled with sending the letter but finally mailed it. There was a long period with no response. I was concerned that perhaps I had been too confrontive about it. As it turned out, he finally did respond and said he would not allow my letter to threaten a lifelong friendship.

            In a recent conversation, I told Phil about a vision of Christ I had experienced at the end of the Eucharist. He remembered and recounted another vision that I had told him about. I said I would take some time to sort this out. He offered to write out some of his questions for me and I have them in hand. I will include them in my next posting.

            The point of this story is to offer a context for my response and a hope to those of you who have a burden on your heart that God has placed there for an individual in your life. I believe that God has been involved in preparing Phil’s heart for Christ his whole life. I also believe that Phil is correctly convinced that his lifelong friend has not been diminished by his relationship to Christ but has transcended both a miserable and an ordinary life because of Christ. Like any good scientist, he has the longitudinal evidence for this.

“I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me.”   (Philippians 4:13).

                

The Gift Of Lineage

Fr. Dale Matson

One of the greatest gifts that I have received is the legacy of lineage. In many families there is one person who assumes the role of the custodian of the family history. At some point in our lives, we begin to appreciate those who came before us and contributed to who we are. Our ancestors provided a genetic endowment that causes physical characteristics and pushes us more quietly in other ways. How many regret not asking grandma or grandpa the questions about the family before their passing? My wife Sharon videotaped an interview with her grandfather and parents before they passed.

Our personal path may seem linear but our journey is actually more circular. You can go home again. There is almost a mystical quality that emerges when one investigates the family history. It is a treasure hunt assisted by the hand of God.

Celtic Cross On Grosse Isle

            

My father’s family left Ireland and arrived in Grosse Isle, Quebec, the year the immigration point opened, in 1832. They had a land grant parcel near Cranbourne, Quebec from the King of England for service in his military. The title to this cruel “gift” of land was entitled “Wastelands of the Crown”. I could not put a shovel into it. It was unsuitable for farming. The current owner’s new home rested on the old Matson foundation.  An infant Matson died on the journey in what were later dubbed, “coffin ships”, during the potato famine. Grosse Isle has a large anachronistic Celtic cross overlooking French Canada. The cross is also a symbolic tombstone for the British plantations in Quebec. Matsons were buried in Cranbourne and later moved by the French to a consolidated gravesite at Christ’s Church of Springbrook near Frampton. The last Anglican families left in 1952 after planting forget-me-nots around the church.  We retraced their steps further and found ourselves back in Ireland.

St. Salvator's Church

My family came from Cornacreeve and Glaslough in County Monaghan in Ulster. County Monaghan is one of the three Ulster counties in the Republic of Ireland. My family came from an area of County Monaghan that juts into Northern Ireland like a peninsula. They were tenant farmers on the Leslie estate. The Leslie family history is lengthy and full of bishops. The Glaslough cemetery is full of Matsons. I returned home with dirt from their graves and put it in my yard. Bishop John Leslie erected St. Salvator’s Church (Church of Ireland) on his estate about 1665. Although many public records were destroyed by fire in the 1922 uprising, many records remained in the local churches. My family history was recorded in ledgers contained in cardboard boxes in the belfry of St. Salvator’s church and the Sr. Warden trusted us to make photocopies in town.

Sanctuary of St. Salvator's Church

We attended Sunday services and communed at the same rail of my ancestors’ centuries earlier. I was a part of the communion of saints who had gone before.This was a journey that continued to unfold before us as word of mouth spread that the Matsons were visiting. We were directed from place to place and family to family. In Ireland, we were family. I was reconnected to the vine. Some Matsons had stayed and I met cousins no longer named Matson. Another branch left for South Africa. Time was set aside for us by those that remembered my family. I was edified and warmed by the kind words said about them.

And Ireland itself welcomed us. What a verdant land of history. The very soul of Ireland is represented in the Trinity College Library that includes the Book Of Kells, the Book of Durrow and the Brian Boru Harp. The countryside is a living monument to Christianity. We visited the Fore Abby after a rainstorm and the mist surrounding it provided a portal to the 7^th century.

In discovering the history of my family, I discovered parts of myself along the way. It is not just about us. It is about us in the context of family. It is a true gift to have and to know and to acknowledge. Thank You Lord. Amen   

               

               

And Of All Things Visible And Invisible

Fr. Dale Matson

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2nd Corinthians 5:7 ESV)

Occasionally a particular passage will stand out and remain in my mind. Today, while reciting the Nicene Creed, I realized that in addition to the Creed itself being a statement of faith, there are many specific faith statements within the Creed. “And all things visible and invisible.” This passage in the Creed comes to us from Colossians, “For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. (1:16a) Nearly each line in the Creed is a faith statement in and of itself, yet how many in our contemporary culture believe that there is also an invisible world created by God? How many see an invisible Heaven as a pattern for what we can see in our material world (Hebrews 8:5).

As Christians, we are encompassed by and believe in this invisible world. It allows us to see things through the eyes of faith that are not, as though they were. “As it is written, ‘I have made you the father of many nations’—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.” (Romans 4:17, ESV).

When we believe in an invisible world, it enables us to at least partially grasp the reality that Christ not only lives in us but we live in Him. For in Him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28a). It helps us to understand that God is at work in our life, mostly unseen, guiding and protecting us.

In his Large Catechism, Martin Luther was detailed in his unpacking each Person of the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit in the Creed. In the first article on God the Father, Luther refers to the Creator and to His creation. What he does not discuss further is God as creator of the invisible. It is consistent however with Luther’s understanding of daily bread in our Lord’s Prayer as our material needs not Christ Himself. I am not taking issue with Luther in general here, only his focus on creature comforts.

If we take nearly every line of the Creed as a mini faith statement, I believe the statement about God the Father in the first article sets the precedent and principles upon which the rest of the Creed is built. How many people say that they confess and believe the statements in the Creed when they actually parse out what they do and do not believe within it? If we do not believe in God, there is no point in continuing. If we believe in God but He is not the creator of both a visible and invisible world, there is no point in continuing either. In other words, the Creed builds logically on itself.

If we believe that there is an invisible world, then we may and can expect that the invisible world, the world of Spirit, will sometimes break through into the material world. “And He said, ‘Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.’” (Matthew 18:3). This invisible world is The Kingdom of God that arrived with Christ, is with us now as His church, empowered by God the Holy Spirit and is yet to be fulfilled when Christ returns. If we don’t believe in an invisible world, then we will be no different than Nicodemus who stated, “Must I enter into my mother’s womb a second time?” (John 3:4). The Nicene Creed is not an old wineskin constricting our understanding of God. It is a living, faith building document distilled from Holy Scripture by men of God in the spirit of unity and truth.

“Faith makes us sure of what we hope for and gives us proof of what we cannot see.” (Hebrews 11:1, CEV). Amen

Visions: By Their Fruits You Shall Know Them

Fr. Dale Matson

“For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit. For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush. The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.” (Luke 6:43-45, NASB)

The Scripture passage is a portion of the Gospel lesson for this Wednesday, the feast day of Alfred the Great.

I have given over considerable time to reflecting on the vision I experienced last Wednesday at the conclusion of the Eucharist. As I was folding the Corporal, I looked to my right to see the resurrected Christ in the tomb folding His burial linen. The Corporal itself, I discovered later represents the burial linen of Christ. God can and often does break through when we least expect it. This was no exception, especially since it happened during what could be considered the “clean up” part of the Mass. My first response to this was to think myself unworthy of such a magnificent vision. I also wondered with whom I should share it and under what circumstances.

There was no doubt in my mind that this was a genuine vision from God. It was not my only experience with visions. As a retired psychologist, I am reminded of the seeming similarities between mystical visions and psychotic hallucinations but there is an important difference. Psychiatrist Thomas Agosin comments, “The consequence of the experience is the most important difference between mysticism and psychosis, and I believe that it often is the only way to truly differentiate between the two.” (http://www.seedsofunfolding.org/issues/11_08/feature_english.htm)

What is the result or fruit of this experience? According to Dr. Agosin, “The mystical experience leaves the mystic more connected and involved in the world. He/she expands his/her capacity to love and to serve. The mystic becomes more appreciative of the beauty and the miracle of life. The mystical experience leaves the individual with a feeling of reverence for all life, embracing every aspect of life and death as sacred. Serenity increases in the mystic through detachment to the temporal and transient. The mystic identifies with the eternal, that which is most sacred and valuable. In that deep identification, the mystic finds peace and inner tranquility." I believe this accurately reflects this experience for me.

One result of this experience for me was a further letting go of anxieties about my own personal passing. Another was an appreciation of the unlimited dimensions of God’s Kingdom. Finally, there was a deeper understanding of my priestly vocation and the mystery of the Eucharist. I wanted to tell the congregation about this but asked God to confirm this. In the Sunday Homily from Fr. Carlos, he quoted from the Gospel of St. John, “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” (John 14:21)  I took this as confirmation that I should say something to the congregation and told the congregation about it during the announcements. What was the rationale for this? Was it to impress them? No, it was to strengthen their faith and I ended my comments with a paraphrase of the following verse. “But these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” (John 20:31) I am still sorting things out but know that I will forever be blessed by this vision. Historically, I am thankful for all of the saints in the church, especially the mystics like St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa of Avila and Evelyn Underhill. They are a rich source of written counsel for us all, especially today.  Amen

A New Bishop For The Anglican Diocese Of San Joaquin

In Persona Christi

Father Dale Matson

               

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Cor. 15: 51-58)

            Yesterday was the feast day of Henry Martyn Priest and Missionary to India and Persia. Although the beginning passage is not from the readings assigned to his feast day, it is from the last verse of the epistle lesson of the readings for the Daily Office of Wednesday Morning Prayer and perfectly fits the theme of the lesson from Isaiah (49:1-6) assigned for Fr. Martyn’s feast day. Perhaps Isaiah too felt that he had labored in vain because neither the Northern nor Southern Kingdoms heeded his preaching and repented. His reward was from God.

            While Christ preached the Gospel of the Kingdom few heeded his call to follow Him. He was rewarded by His Father by His resurrection and ascension to glory in Heaven.

Henry Martyn labored as a missionary in obscurity also translating the Bible and Prayer Book into Hindi and Persian. Following his death at the age of only 31, he was recognized for his accomplishments throughout the world. If we serve our Lord on this earth, St. Paul tells us that our toil is not in vain.

I believe the lesson from the Lord today was that those who do the work of the Lord do not labor in vain whether or not they see the fruits of their labor.

As I was celebrating Morning Prayer and Holy Eucharist today, it did not seem any more or less eventful than any other Wednesday morning. We had the usual handful of clergy and lay folks who attend and I am always thankful when there are at least two of us so that we can celebrate the Liturgy of the Table. When everyone had communed, I began to clear the Liturgical Vessels with Fr. Carlos standing beside me to assist by taking the vessels from me and placing them on the Credence table.  I had rinsed the Chalice, wiped it with the Purificator, laid the Purificator on the cup and rested the Paten on it. I then laid the Pall on top.

As I began to fold the Corporal, something caught my attention in the corner of my vision to the right. As I looked, I found myself looking into the tomb of the resurrected Christ. He was folding his burial linen. My hands stopped as I watched and then I turned and finished folding the Corporal. The Corporal represents the burial linen of Christ. Before offering a blessing and dismissal, I told those present what I had seen.  Once again, Christ had made Himself known in the breaking of the bread. God had shown me what it truly means as a Priest to be the “In persona Christi”. Those who labor in Christ do not toil in vain. Amen

Finishing The Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run

Fr. Dale Matson

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” (Hebrews 12:1)

            I have published another book and this one deals with Finishing the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run.  As a friend once said, “Everything else is just a training run for Western States. The race is considered to be the Holy Grail of running and the Boston Marathon of Ultrarunning. It is the most difficult thing I have ever done and I failed to finish the run in my first two attempts making it to mile 78 in 1995 and mile 70 in 1996. The run begins in North Lake Tahoe at Squaw Valley and finishes 100.2 miles later in Auburn California. It begins at an elevation of about 6,000’ and immediately climbs to 8,700’ in the first four miles. There is over 22,000’ of elevation loss and 18,000’ of elevation gain. Most years, the beginning of the trail is in snow and the run descends into canyons where the temperature is over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The runner has 30 hours to complete the course.

            The book includes a history of the first 100 mile run in the United States and is written as a tribute to those who have attempted the Western States run but also those who are pacers (running companions), crew or volunteers. It is also about the determination of an ordinary individual who, with God’s help (“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me) was able to overcome personal limitations, injuries, and past failures.

            I have kept a journal for nearly twenty years and much of the narrative surrounding the failures and final success in 2001 is taken from the journals. I was happily reminded how much prayer was a part of my training and running over the course of almost a decade that went into the training and attempts at finishing the run.  I have also included an interview and stories submitted to me form other runners who have finished and failed to finish.

            I would especially commend the book to anyone who is involved in endurance sports of any kind. The Kindle version is available now on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005WTR9ZI and the paperback will be available from Amazon books in about ten days.