A Christian Celebrity Sighting

Today I got a call from a friend telling me that Shane Claiborne was at Ivanhoe's, which is our local ice cream eatery.

I hopped in my new car- a 1988 VW Cabrio, and went to see if it was true.

Sure enough he was there with some Taylor people and a couple of local ministers.  We all sat outside enjoying the sunshine and milkshakes.

Shane is a man who is doing his best to follow Christ.  Today he was soft-spoken and when he talked he had a think southern accent.

He joked about how they kept themselves entertained between speaking engagements by listening to "comedy" stations, which were political shows on satellite radio from both the far-right and far-left wings, with liquid-metal in between to keep it lively.  

I didn't gain any new transcendent spiritual concept or new illumination.  It was nice to know that there is a real person behind the "Irresistible Revolution", a book that challenged me, informed me, stretched me, made me laugh and cry uncontrollably, frustrated me, and gave me great great hope for the Kingdom of God.

May the Lord continue to prepare our sails to catch his wind/spirit.

Jesus Votes on His Face

    I have heard the joke made about how certain groups do everything on one side or the other.  Two examples would be that 1)Episcopalians eat, drink, lecture about tolerance, serve soup, and sleep on their left side,  and 2) that most Southern Baptists eat, drink(well...scratch that one), preach about personal sin, hand out tracts, and boycott Disney on their right side.

      Jesus didn't do much sleeping when He was here.  

I am starting to realize that getting comfortable either on the left or the right is a bad move.  St. Paul  taught the early followers of Christ that they should take on His attitude of humility.  Philippians 2 sums up in this:  Jesus gave up being God to be a man who died.  He humbled Himself.

Jesus Christ had one agenda, THE WILL OF THE FATHER.  And since it involved redeeming all things, had to involve the political. He chose to be one His face in loving obedience to the Father instead of laying on one side or the other.

The prayer of St. Francis leads us closer to that:

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love;

for it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.