Editor's Letter - 10th issue
In Bruce Almighty, Bruce, played by Jim Carey, trawls through his God e-mail inbox and finds them all prayers for support, peace, love, and outreach. When he stumbles on e-mails from his love, they are of desperation. But I still found that scene far too dainty. I didn’t see prayers of confusion, cynicism, hurt, brokenness, and anger. I didn’t see prayers for people questioning God and asking him: what are you saying to me? What does this passage mean?
Seriously, God, what does this message mean?
Your message is to make me guilty and feel crappy about myself – your message is about power and control – your message is about how man is destined to be flawed and how you’re the only solution for us to achieve some semblance of decency –
The message of God seems to illicit a variety of responses from humanity, as we see from this month’s liturgical readings. Some people believed; some people doubted. The Pharisees were so angered by this blasphemer that they sought to catch him out with trick questions. His disciples, until the very last moment, grappled with what he was preaching. Is he God? Is he loony? Are you real? Is this real?
I hate you so much right now/ I hate you so much right now / AH!
Kelis belts out this chorus in her song Caught Out There. The very words of conviction of sin and message hurts the ear of the unprepared. That’s why Christ said: “He who has ear, let him understand”. God knows his message is hard on the ears and difficult on the intellect. God knows his message will make some turn away and feel sorry for themselves. God knows his message will make others question their priorities and feel naked in front of the minimalist decorum of his words.
I think it was an empty bar in Elephant and Castle in London, England. And I think I was silent because the moment passed without more comments or interjections from me. The two guys had spent a good twenty minutes belittling religion and mangling the Christian message with the dexterity of a sous chef.
"Christ came for love and peace", one finally proclaimed. The other agreed. Glasses clinked. Plates moved and were emptied. And they got up to finish shooting segments for the documentary out of the main window.
I chose to be silent, even as that statement troubled me.
God’s message, the one we read in Scripture, if we let it be revealed to us rather than us trying to decipher it and mangle it for our own consumption, is one very hard to accept. And God’s message, when we directly ask for it, when we ask him to speak to us and help us out with a very difficult decision, if we accept his response in faith, is one still hard to swallow. Even if you almost knew the answer and you know your decision is in line with God’s potential answer.. it’s still hard. Accepting or rejecting God’s message doesn’t guarantee you’ll react in a holy way. You’ll end up reacting in a human, fallen way. I love the Lord/but sometimes I love me more, Lupe Fiasco agrees.
The word of God falls on our hearts. The word of God falls on our hearts and we know that parable. We sometimes rely on circumstances to move and work the soil, but we must be the rake into the soil. The word of God falls on our hearts and we sure as hell hope they will be the types that takes it in. That’s what we’re supposed to do. Even as the soil tastes the seed inside of it and spits it out in disgust. Or in fear. Or in confusion. Or in cynicism.
Midiane
Editor, Efmevi.
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