What I'm Raving About...

My father introduced me to an AmericanPublicRadio broadcast "Speaking of Faith" that you can podcast at speakingoffaith.publicradio.org. And I can't stop referencing it. The host, Krista Tippett interviews people from different faith perspectives and presents a beautifully non-abrasive broadcast that seems particularly necessary for matters of the spirit.

A few archived recommendations:
"Planting the future with Wangari Maathai" examines the journey of one Kenyan female diplomat and her fight to empower the lower class through holistic, ecological means.


"Children and God" a provocative investigation of the spiritual messages that children communicate when they are uninhibited by conventionality. Interview includes Robert Coles a child psychologist that I think is brilliant.


and...

"Jean Vanier: The Wisdom of Tenderness" interviews the Catholic founder of the L'Arche communities for individuals with disabilities with the intent to share life and learn from one another. (I was really touched by this one, particularly because of my work this year.)


*Don't stop there...I've cried through most of the broadcasts because they have such a moving portrayal of human need for the supernatural.

Me in my pew...

Sometimes I have my best thoughts while listening to a sermon. A Word perks my spirit and before I know it I am lost in my journal and cross-referencing. Then I think to myself "Shit! I missed the last 10 minutes of the pastor's thoughts!" Then I think , "Ah Man! I just thought a cuss word in church!" (Can I get an amen, rejoicing in the absence of cartoon thought bubbles in real life?)

So, here's last week's meander from the sermon:

Some of us have been strangely blessed to be ostracized by the church...the divorced and single mom, the couple struggling through a terminal illness, the man everyone knows is drowning his sorrows with alcohol, the elder with a wayward child.

Why are they blessed? Because their sin is involuntarily on the front page of the church newspaper. They aren't given the option of hiding their sin and/or pain. They aren't given the option of social comfort and saving face.

They aren't given the option of covering their nakedness with fig leaves (Genesis 3:8) of false piety.

Or the luxury of denying their need for a Savior...

The funny thing is sometimes we meet these people. And we are amazed by their faith, their joy, their love, etc. But the truth of it all is we are amazed by their nakedness...

Because we are all naked.

And exposure is scary. Exposure is uncomfortable.

But exposure is transforming (Psalm 139).

So why are we still glad to not be them?