Too busy to love

"How is it my God, that you have given me this hectic life and so little time to enjoy your presence? All day, people are waiting to speak to me, and even during meals I have to keep talking to people about their concerns and needs. During sleep itself I am still dreaming about the problems that await me tomorrow. I am doing all of this for you, not for myself. My way of life is more tormenting than reward and I only that for you it is a gift of love. I know you are always beside me, yet I become so busy that I forget you and ignore you. If you want me to keep up this pace, please make me think about you and love you, even during the most hectic activity. If you do not want me to be so busy, please release me from it and teach me how others can take over some of my responsibilities."

Sister Teresa, 16th Century Carmelite Nun

The Church and Humor

Kathy Griffin, the comedian who stars in her own reality show, My Life
on the D List, that I have never seen, apparently ticked off a lot of
Christians at the Emmy's a couple of weeks ago. I have only heard parts of it. She began by saying that many people thank Jesus for winning their Emmy then continued by not thanking Jesus for her award, stating ,"No one had less to do with this award than Jesus." The big bomb was when she said that her award was her God now and that Jesus could go . . .well . . . you know.

There was a strange response from some Christians to Kathy's humor. The Catholic League was able to get the words edited from the rerun of the awards show on E! I hear an evangelical group of film makers took out a full page add in the New York Times that cost them a ton full of money. I heard from an unreliable source that the add costs $90,000.

First, I think the Church hurts itself when it throws so much energy into what a comedian says about Jesus. They only create more of an opportunity for jokes. If only the Christian film makers would have fed people or taken out a full-page add to shed light on the horrible situation in Sudan.
Secondly, I think (all but for her last statement) Kathy makes a more christian-like point than her critics. I hate when some self-absorbed movie star with her gazillions of dollars steps up to the mic and thanks Jesus for her award. Kathy is right. No one had less to do with her award than Jesus. And Yes, I think it's funny because it is true and she had the guts to make fun of her own "people."
Thirdly, I wonder if Kathy has really gone home and worshiped her Emmy. Of course not and that's also why it's funny.

The Church needs to learn to laugh at itself. It has made enough mistakes in it's life time to where we must laugh even when outsiders make the joke. Monty Python's skit about the Spanish Inquisition--Funny. Rowan Atkinson's monologue about God--Funny. Kathy Griffin-funny. We deserve it for holding so tightly to what is important to us and being so easily offended when someone goes after it. I do have my limits but come on. Lighten up or at least ignore the minor jabs by a comedian that hardly is a house hold name--until now.

Great Post By Real Live Preacher

know the feeling?

http://www.reallivepreacher.com/node/1400

On Being Non Judgemental

I assisted a family at the hospital a few nights ago. Their 20 y/o daughter had died after suffering from Sickle Cell (among other ailments.) A large family arrived to grieve their loss. Some were more demonstrative (to say the least) than others. One family member attempted to kick a doctor, twice. Another ran down the hall way smack into a stairwell door and then fell to the floor crying. Others grieved by screaming, others wept silently. After grabbing one woman by her ankles so she would stop trying to kick people, I let go of her and walked out into the hallway. From here I could get a good look at all of them. There was a dozen stories I could come up with about this family. Heck, the family had already told me a few. The deceased's mother was a no show "drugee" and the deceased's boy friend was in a custody battle with her over their 6mnth old child. He was abusive. As I was able to gain some perspective, I figured out even with that info I knew very little about these people. I didn't fully know all their hardships, what brings them joy, or who gets along with who. The family was separated into 3 groups so I assumed their was division and enough blame to go around for a few families. Then I stopped and told myself that all my inner inquiry was leading me to draw conclusions about these people-some that might be true, most not. I reentered the family room and attempted the best I could to comfort the Aunt that had practically raised the deceased as her own child. That was like trying to stop a freight train. In the middle of her 5 hours of demonstrative grieving she opened her arms up and pulled me onto my knees and gave me a big bear hug. I told her I was sorry and she said she could tell I was sorry. Especially when people are experiencing a significant loss, it behooves us to refrain from judgement. It is better that we see the suffering individual as the embodiment of Christ, no matter their shortcomings and emotional displays. It seemed to work in my favor this evening. It was one of the toughest cases I'd ever encountered. Seeing them as a child of God and as Christ embodiers, changed the way I ministered to them. They figured this out quickly and by the end of our time together there was a smidgen of something redemptive that took place in all of us. Race, culture, lies and truths alike all crossed and got mixed up for 5 hours. The gift that presented itself as a result out of this entangled mess was the truth that we are not in as much control as we pretend and that truth that God can move us to cross boundaries without much help form us at all. These are good moments. In this case, it was a good moment in the midst of a tragedy. At times I wonder if these are glimpses of the Kingdom--something larger than us and not altered by our petty hangups. Too bad we miss them most of the time.

The Nature Conservancy

If you are interested in being green but find it a turn off when Hollywood types suggest we only use one square of toilet paper when we do our binness, The Nature Conservancy might be for you. I sent my first tiny donation to them last month. They buy land legally and return it to it's natural state. They approach a farmer, for example, who is growing corn that rots in silos and makes an offer on the land. It's all up front. They work with politicians and make politicians look good which I'm convinced is one of the few things a politician cares about. They will let politicians take credit for good environmental policy as if it were their idea. I am most grateful to this org for saving the Pascagoula River that runs through my hometown. How did they do it? They purchased it and the Pascagoula River is forever safe and in my opinion one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Read more about this huge swath of marshland in South Mississippi, free flowing and natural at the link below. I had no idea when I was a teenager of the jewel of a river that was practically in my backyard.
http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/mississippi/preserves/art17304.html

From Green to Brown: The Gas Mower Wins

On Friday I pick up my gas powered lawn mower from the repair shop. I feel a bit defeated and a bit guilty, to boot. This summer has defeated me not with heat but with rain and long quickly growing grass and weed. The young man at the repair shop laughed when I told him I had been using a push reel mower. In Texas?, he asked. He said push reel mowers only work on certain kinds of grass. He named them. I responded, "Hey, I've never heard of those grasses." 'Exactly," he concludes with a bit of sarcasm and pity. I actually look forward to the rumble beneath my fingers as I push my mighty 10 year old Honda Lawnmower through my thicket of North Texas weeds. Save the Whales! I'll be sure to make a donation to the National Conservancy.

Why John from Cincinnatti Makes Me Angry and Why I Can't Stop Watching it

In case you haven't watched John from Cincinnati, HBO's new series, it is basically about a family in turmoil at a rundown area of forgotten beach in California. John comes along. He seems autistic but not really. Just innocent? Yea, but it's more that that. He is odd and people have begun to notice he has angelic powers. He has healed people not from his own touch but by giving people (or animals in one case) the power to do so. Since John has shown up at Imperial Beach, one former star surfer floats in the air for no reason. It helps no one but it gives this depressed father ex-surfer a sense of something outside his own problems. Shawn, the child prodigy surfer broke his neck surfing only to walk out of the hospital the same day because a parrot that Jon had resurrected earlier 'kissed' the dying Shawn in the hospital room. Nuts, huh? And hope John never looks you in the eye and tells you to ,"See God." It can be an alarming experience. In one case, Cai (sp?) was trying to coax John into a sexual encounter. She was being pretty graphic with John when he says, "Cai, See God." Cai's eyes roll back in her head and she sees certain people in her life grabbing their wounds. The Vietnam vet grabs his knee, the druggie surfer grabs his head where he has received hair transplants, and Cai grabs her breasts because of her piercings. God is seen in their wounds is the message I suppose.


This is no 7th Heaven. The characters drop more f-bombs than Tony Soprano. There is something I like about that. Real people with real problems being chased and found out by God. There is nothing sentimental about this family. They would all benefit from a 12 Step Program but, hey, they have John. Their church is a creepy run down motel. Great things happen there to the oddest and most outcast of people. Sometimes their goodness seeps out.


What ticks me off at the same time is that life doesn't work like this. There are no healing Johns though I wish there were. It's just a show and one that is currently holding my interests. I don't blame the producers. However, we are all looking for a great healer to lead us out of our troubled lives. Instead, natural disasters occur, people starve to death because of where they are born while their political leaders live it up, and marriages split because people see in their spouse what they hate in themselves. I could get real religious here and start talking about Jesus being our healer, but it wouldn't change the fact that we (I) long for this world not to be so harsh. As a very conservative and faithful Southern Baptist co-worker of mine once said through her tears, "God is not enough." I was shocked that she could voice this. She followed this comment by saying she needed someone 'in flesh' to come to her rescue. It has been a few years since I worked with her, but I hope she found her 'John'.





So, I find myself totally mesmerised by this show and it's attempt to in a very strange way speak to spirituality. On the other hand, I know Johns don't come around. People die. Families fall apart. No miracles or miracle givers come to our rescue.