Friday, May 19, 2006

rear-entry gentry and kevin smith clark proclaim no veni, no vidi, no da vinci day!

after long hours of deliberation and passionate prayer, we are have decided to join barbara nicolosi’s courageous other-cott of the da vinci code. tonight we are planning on enjoying our own apocalyptic film festival before heading out to protest this anti-Christ on celluloid. our flyers are going to list the following reasons that good, God-fearing moviegoers should othercott the code. feel free to add additional points to our persuasive list.

1. tom hanks is a cross dressing pervert
2. joni loved jesus even more than chachi and richie rejected her gospel
3. we refuse to support the gay gandalf with our ticket sales
4. albino monks are almost as sketchy as that devil's baby
5. we're both oblates of opus dei
6. we’re protesting the 10 foot high fence ron howard has erected in hopes keeping original scripts out of imagine entertainment
7. we’re still pissed about hanks and that fedex package in cast away (you know there was fishing line and matches in that shit)
8. screenwriter akiva goldsman is still responsible for the homoerotic carnivale that was batman & robin
9. we’ve long suspected that mona lisa is a lesbian
10. we’ll be damned if jesus’ actual decedents were the dirty, liberal French
11. we refuse to participate in a world wherein paul bettany gets to bed jennifer connelly (that's like kelli kapowski having screech's love child)
12. there’s no way this code is better than the omega code


Thursday, May 18, 2006

musing…

the further i follow jesus down this road of discipleship the more i realize it is the subtle epiphanies and reconciled relationships that keep me going. it’s not that ecstatic experiences of God’s presence or those moments where i’ve been surprised by his providence are unimportant. i’ve received a vision or two that required an immediate response and on at least one occasion the precariously stacked consequences of my shitty decisions literally compelled a conversion. but although those experiences set me free to wander in this wilderness they have not been my bread for the journey. rather, the latter has been provided by bitter enemies who have become my beloved, stumbling back into practices that probably wouldn’t “preach,” but sustain my soul and even the unexpected smile of a stranger on the street.

i realize that God can manifest himself in miraculous ways and am not indifferent to the major movements of the Spirit. but today i give thanks for the subtle and simple things that help me keep on keepin’ on.

Monday, May 15, 2006

musing...

years ago, in a rare moment of insight, i posed a question to professor windham. "why," i openly wondered, "hasn't anyone rebuked my sinful idolatry of independance and called me to a life of dependance?" "i suppose," he replied, "that is a lesson you have to learn yourself." i understood his answer, but was frustrated with the implications, for i doubted dependance was something i could learn from a book.

although the latter assumption was correct, i lucked out by finding a wonderful pedagogue in l'arche. the community at l'arche taught me to: seek the spirituality of cleaning toilets (i still find it easier to connect with God when i am scrubbing toilets than when i am sitting in a pew), search for the charism (or unique gift) in the other and discover that it is in serving the least that our own needs are finally served. after serving at l'arche for two months, they asked me to extend my stay to two years. i seriously considered staying, but ultimately chose to return to the states for seminary at the South Hamilton Institute of Theology.

it was the biggest mistake of my life.

i exchanged life in a community that was teaching me the way of Jesus for an institution that was committed to teaching me about Jesus. i cannot tell you how many hours i have spent lamenting this decision.

but God is gracious.

i was reminded of the latter fact as Anita (our wonderful housemate) and i sat in our basement and discussed the mission of the church, the mysterious ways of the Kingdom and our hopes for our little community's future while the bio-diesel processor did its thing. somwhere in the midst of our rambling yet reverent conversation, i mentioned to Anita that living in the context of community has taught me more about the gospel of Jesus than any class in seminary ever did, for the community is constantly: challenging me to release my idol of space so that i can welcome outsiders with open hands, reminding me that listening is one of the primary arts of leadership and teaching me how to adequately share and appropriate the resources that God has given me.

over the past three and a half years, i've helped plant and provide leadership to a ragamuffin collection of sinners and saints that is constantly seeking to listen to God's Word, celebrate his sacraments and incarnate his compassion and love throughout the world...and i'm so proud of our church and glad that God has let me be a part of it. however, i'm beginning to wonder whether living in the context of an interdependant community that is learning to love God, love one another and spread God's love throughout our community is the most important thing i, scratch that, we, will ever do.

so thanks for listening and responding to my question professor windham. i'm still trying to learn.