Jesus is my homeboy, but...
**Warning--I am about to stand on my Christian Soap Box. If you aren't into Jesus, save yourself the trouble, and MOVE ON**I think I just might be over this whole 'Catholic Church' thing. Quite frankly, all the press lately has been bad, and in spite of that, every time I attend mass, I end up leaving the same way- midly pissed off.
I attended easter mass this evening. Christ is Risen! Spread the Good News!
How can you make one of the greatest miracles this world has known into something boring and unrelatable? I think I just can' t deal with a sixty year old, overly institutionalized white dude telling me how I should be believing in Jesus.
The priest starts talking about how we are all so hung up on all the 'Bad News' we hear, that we've stopped spreading the 'Good News.' The minute those words left his mouth, all I could think of was- SHUTTHEFUCKUP. Are you serious? Because if you are looking for a propaganda moment, telling people to ignore the pain and suffering in the world so they can praise Jesus probably isn't the way to go. How about 'Give thanks and be grateful that the lord has given us a land of peace; but do not take this peace for granted. We still have our battles to wage- battles against the evils of poverty and social injustice, battles against prostitution, drug abuse, violence and crime. Pray to the lord for strength, but remember, God helps those who helps themselves-go forth and change your world.' Or even 'Pray for those who are suffering, who are weak, who are in pain. When you watch the news, pray for all of those who need his help, and be grateful for all that you have been blessed with.' Instead, all I got was 'Be ignorant of the world so you can know God Better.' Which I think may be the biggest contradiction in terms I've heard in a long, long time.
Now, If he had pursued the False Idols angle a little more, I may have been on board. I fully agree that I spend more time reading Laineygossip.com then I do reading the Bible. And since that makes me a bad Christian, Forgive me Lord, for I have sinned. But that's not where he was going with things...or maybe he was. Truthfully, he was a lousy public speaker, and he lost me on numerous occations. Pissed me off on a few as well. He kept forgetting words to Rituals. How many times do you need to repeat something before you've got it? Practice in the shower, for pete's sake!
But I digress.
He gets on this bend about how many new members we got this week. 15. Not too shabby. Can I make a suggestion? It's the first time I've been to this church since Christmas. Maybe we should focus on engaging the people who have already committed? Here's what stops me from coming- I don't like going to church, because I never leave inspired by my faith. And considering how much cool stuff Jesus did while he was around, and the lessons he tried to teach, that is a crying shame. So I ask this question: Why isn't my Church an instrument in inspiring change? God has taught me that what I do unto the least of his creatures, I do unto him. This is motivation for me to help, not just by being charitable, but by being part of something that makes the world a better place to be.
This is not a 'what would Jesus do?' cliche. This is a 'What would Jesus think?' Moment of Shame. I feel guilty every time I tell a panhandler that I can't help them. I can-- I just haven't figured out how yet. But my Christian value of human life is telling me that God is giving me the opportunity to make the world a better place. So I had better get on it.
I don't think he'd be very impressed at how we've let things slide. Lucky for all of us, he's known to be forgiving.
posted by This love gets easier the more it's sung to @ 10:10 PM
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