March 30 – “A true national hero”

We had an eerie experience last night.  Totally unexpected.  Not something I would ever have expected, in fact.  It started simply enough.  Chris was at the table doing some quilting.  I was on the couch watching some TV and unwinding from the day. 

And then a commercial came on.  I assume it was for iPhones.  Cookie Monster was in the kitchen preparing to bake some cookies.  Have you seen that one?  He turns to his cell phone and says, “Siri, set timer for 15 minutes.”  Cute marketing idea, I suppose.  Cookie Monster gets the kids’ attention and they don’t let Mom or Dad change the channel.  But this time, the voice of the Monster came from the Twilight Zone.  For immediately my own iPhone, seated innocuously on the couch at my side, flashed to life.  The Siri sitting next to me sprang to life and actually answered Cookie Monster.  “I’m sorry.  I can’t set the timer right now.”  She couldn’t get in because my phone was locked.  Of course it was locked.  It was just sitting there doing nothing, and had been for the last few hours. 

 I gotta admit … I was shaken from my TV induced stupor in an instant.  Where in the world did that come from?  I thought I had to push the button on the phone to get the Siri-voice’s attention.  But no … she has been secretly listening all this time.  Perhaps there is something to this worry that the NSA or FBI (or whatever letters it is), or maybe a foreign government, is secretly wiretapping Americans.  They have enlisted that supposedly harmless voice in the phone to work for them.  And it took Cookie Monster to reveal the flaw in their system.  Check out your own iPhone for the secret hacking Siri-voice.  Make sure your phone has gone to sleep first.  Then, in your best Cookie Monster imitation, ask Siri to set your timer.  If she responds, they’re in.  Be very careful what you say around your phone.  Thank you, Cookie Monster, for revealing this fly in the ointment, this flaw in the system.  You are truly a national hero.

Revelation 19:11-16 says, “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war.    His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself.  He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.  The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.  Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.  On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”

Father, thank you for surprises.  That one last night really gave us a good laugh.  Amen.