Sunday, August 15, 2021

The teacher sprinkled our personal introductions over the week, meeting a few fellow classmates at a time. Either before class began for the day or after returning from break, he'd call out six or so names from an alphabetized list of registered students. If the person did not happen to be present at the moment, he'd move on to the next name. I had all week, then, to decide what to say, and there was a catch-all on the last morning for those overlooked.

One man from SA gave his name, that of a popular Hollywood actor, along with the apology that his parents were Catholics. Heads nodded. Catholics aren't so bound to saints' names anymore, but choosing one sure makes writing that Saint Report in third grade CCD easier. I should have asked him his confirmation name. The guys behind me marked him out because he touted the Legacy Study Bible.

One man mentioned having membership in the Evangelical Free church and someone seated across the room blurted out, "Another E-Free! I thought I'd be the only one here!" The following day and for the rest of the week, they sat next to each other.

It was impossible to miss the two black robed Dominican friars sitting front and center. This central spot helped them stay focused and kept them out of trouble. The older one, Br. Ignacio, had attended the Elementary Biblical Greek Review class the last time it was held, January 2019. As they travel in pairs, he had along a younger man, Br. John Baptist Santa Ana, who said he was a convert with a Baptist background. And that he still went by the name "Baptist!" As there were many veterans in the class, Br. Ignacio's Marine service won him much respect. Throughout our break times and lunches, these two were engaged in intense discussions with other classmates. I haven't the faintest idea about what. I suppose they are prepared for that sort of thing, dressed as they are. Invariably, their discussion partner would say in a sincere tone, as they separated, "Well, you have given me something to think about."

Br. Ignacio talked to me briefly, mostly about the Eucharist. The extent to which others share his great devotion may be a sort of litmus test. He dredged up a tête-à-tête he'd had with our teacher during the prior class -- in Jan. '19 -- on John 6: "How can he not see it, it's so clear!" I tried to be diplomatic with him because I had noticed our teacher glancing our direction. Later in our class discussion, the teacher recalled Br. Ignacio's previous debate with him on John 6. So, he had been able to surmise what we were talking about.

One guy, when called upon to introduce himself, went forward and took the teacher's clip-on microphone to address us. I settled in. He said his Daddy was a minister, maybe Methodist, and his earliest memory is of his father going through every prayer book in his church, crossing out "catholic" in the Creed and writing "universal" over the top. I cannot remember if this story had a point other than to demonstrate his Protestant credentials of a prejudiced upbringing.

Maybe the presence of the Dominicans had something to do with everyone else needing to prove how Protestant they are. But, in any case, this guy gave his spiel and then in the afternoon, the Dominicans were gone. Someone noticed their absence and asked the teacher. The teacher joked that they'd been offended and left, but then he explained that they went to Gethsemani for the afternoon. The one who asked about them then said, "Well, I'm a Catholic, too, and this is a bit too much." When his turn came to introduce himself, he said he was a convert who teaches theology and coaches chess in a Catholic high school, very much the Ohio version of my sons' religious school in New Jersey.

One man had arrived a day late because while driving to Kentucky, he struck a truck tire in the road and totaled his car. He was thankfully unharmed in the accident. Our teacher remarked on the "spiritual warfare" at work in inhibiting his timely arrival: "Satan doesn't want you here." Well, I did not have any trouble getting there, so what does that mean?

When my time to introduce myself came, I decided not to list off academic or professional credentials as others had, but to mention a fun fact about my home state as well as my current ministry and family situation. I know people generally have a poor impression of New Jersey, but I professed that summer is our best season. I told them about "God's Square Mile" on the Jersey Shore in Ocean Grove where the tent meetings started by the Methodists have pretty much been taken over by the Baptists1.

I mentioned being a lector2 at church. I explained what a lector does as they may not be familiar with it. Since they're mostly all pastors, they are accustomed to hearing their mic'd voice speaking solo in church, but I've only been lectoring for a year so I'm still getting comfortable with that. I said that I've happily accepted many requests for substitutions from other lectors who are getting away on vacations after the COVID restrictions and this is helping me grow in proficiency in proclaiming the Scriptures. And I mentioned my home-life which made a couple of them accuse me afterwards privately of "escaping" and "running away."3

The weekend conference began in the afternoon Friday, and I found myself standing in the registration line with a couple of friends of acquaintances. The wife asked about the online Greek New Testament reading group and I gave her the contact and zoom information and invited her to join in. Then she proceeded to casually spout off how many Catholics there seem to be about. I waited patiently for her to explain her experiences that have prompted this tallying. She mentioned the Catholic churches and schools right next to this very Protestant campus4. And of the three Catholics -- that she knew of -- in our class, well, two of them converted to Catholicism! And, so, yes, she has joined the weekly online Greek New Testament reading group that I participate in. She is very nice, quite emphatically Lutheran, but there's no way I'm coming clean.
1 One guy actually shot his fist into the air with a "Yeah" and nudged the guy next to him. This was exactly the reaction I was going for and not surprised to see.
2 An illiterate lector
3 Pastors
4 So, I'd say the neighborhood appears to be zoned for churches and schools as I noticed a good mix of various denominations very close by.

1 comment:

Jim Bridges said...

I wonder why the instructor does this sharing publicly. I often do ask my students to share with me in their essays a little about their backgrounds so that I can be aware of this when preparing my lectures. I have found it worth knowing if I have a Buddhist in my old testament class or an orthodox Jew.