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“When reason has followed its road to the end, the point of crisis is reached and man is brought to the great question mark over his own existence.” ―
True enough. And I have to admit, Dr. Bultmann, it feels that question mark hangs over my head right now!
I wake up these days with more:
- dread than hope,
- cynicism than optimism,
- anger than joy.
And like a crotchety old man, shaking my cane at the heavens.
And always in the background I hear the voice of my long departed grandfather: “Ahhhhh, Paddy boy, now where, lad, is your faith?”
“Grandpa! You say faith. Faith in what?”
Those wonderful founding principles we’ve never, ever believed?
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
“Grandpa, who believes we ‘re ALL equal?”
Or the words inscribed on the Supreme Court building?
EQUAL JUSTICE UNDER LAW
Who believes there’s equal’ justice for ALL under the law?
“Grandpa, Lincoln got it right when he observed at Gettysburg, ‘Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure…”’
“Answer me this, Grandpa: Will there even be a tomorrow?”
And all he says is, “Ahhhhh, Paddy boy, now where, lad, is your faith?”
As I was ruminating over Grandpa’s words I recalled an earlier post. The one where Joe Thomas shared his encounter with an old man in a nursing home:
My sister Bettye was in a rehab hospital recently following a small stroke. I would visit her but wouldn’t stay long because I couldn’t stand the suffering all around.
On a recent Sunday morning I went but had forgotten they had a church meeting led by a loud, fundamentalist preacher, a volunteer.
When I got there someone had rolled Bettye’s wheelchair to the front row.
Of course, being the Gnostic I am, I didn’t want to hear any of this! Yet, this preacher went over to this elderly disabled Black man and asked how he was doing. Without hesitation, he firmly said, “I woke up this morning with Jesus in my heart so I’m doing good.” He left no doubt that he was totally okay with his predicament…
Damn, I can’t stop thinking about the broken Black man at the rehabilitation center. I know he must have suffered immensely growing up in the South.
And, he has Jesus in his heart!
George Bernard Shaw wrote a play about Joan of Arc. He depicts the inquisition into her heresies and all these men asking her to recant. They accused her of making up stuff, insisting it was just her imagination.
She ended up exclaiming, “Of course it’s my imagination! How else am I to know God?”
The sage old philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard, said:
“Every mental act is composed of doubt and belief, but it is belief that is the positive, it is belief that sustains thought and holds the world together.”
With that I thought of my late aunt, Sister Mary Audrey McCoy, who held her world together with her vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and an uncomplicated faith. My aunt
- lived simply,
- spoke simply,
- believed simply.
Then it dawned on me, these three: a Catholic nun from the Pacific Northwest, an old African American man raised in the segregated south, and a wild-eyed peasant girl from medieval France all found a faith
- simple enough,
- strong enough, and
- real enough
with imagination enough to carry them through to the end.
Their beliefs, stories and rituals may have been different but they were each grounded in the same truth:
- God is sovereign
- life is regenerated
- tomorrow is eternal
They each understood clearly their place in the grand scheme of things. They were the created — not the Creator.
So if you’re feeling a little crotchety, like I am, in the current moment, take heart.
Tomorrow will come.
I’m including a song that captures the essence of Easter for me right now.
“Over The Rainbow” was chosen by Sarah Puckett to share with the ages. We’re all probably familiar with the classic, originally sung by Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz.” The version I’ve selected, sung by Israel “Iz” Kamakawiwo’ole, was first introduced to me by our friend Elizabeth Caperton at her wedding. The video is a commemoration of his life.
OVER THE RAINBOW sung by Israel “IZ” Kamakawiwoʻole’s
Just a thought…
Pat
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