Delivered to the saints ... in person
On Sunday, October 28, the GodTalk Radio Show devoted its entire two hours to James Loney. James is a gay pacifist. He got himself two hours of coverage on our radio show because some people care as much about the adjective as they do about the noun (maybe the two parts of speech should be reversed).James first made the news in November 2005, when he and three other members of Christian Peacemaker Teams were kidnapped in Iraq by the Swords of Righteousness Brigade. James was held in captivity for 118 days. One of his associates, Tom Fox, was executed by the Brigade.
This past week, James underwent another harrowing experience. He found himself "uninvited" from a Winnipeg conference on social justice co-sponsored by the Archdiocese of Winnipeg and Micah House (aka the Catholic Centre for Social Justice). Why was James uninvited? Different explanations were given to the media, but the bottom line seems to be that the Archdiocese of Winnipeg was uncomfortable with James' openly gay sexual orientation.
Several of our radio show listeners jumped all over the Roman Catholic church for being homophobic. One caller even suggested the church was behind the times, clinging to archaic views of sexuality that make no sense in contemporary society. I'm not sure I want to determine truth with a calendar. Just because something's old doesn't mean it's out of date. (A 1956 Fender Stratocaster is over 50 years old, but it's still a masterpiece. True vintage vibe.) The Bible instructs the Christian community to "earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3). Perhaps this is what our RC brothers and sisters believe they are doing when they they oppose homosexuality.
What the church sometimes forgets, though, is that our faith was delivered to the saints in person -- by Jesus. When God chose to speak the loudest, he sent a person, not a set of propositions or a statement of faith. God didn't issue a press release; he gave his one and only son, who entered the human condition and redeemed it from within. That's the meaning and mystery of the incarnation.
What does that mean for us? At the very least, it means we should be willing to enter situations that feel unusual and uncomfortable ... perhaps even sinful. We can't pretend people don't exist. We need to put relationships -- not religion -- front and center, first and foremost. It's not about pretending we agree on everything. It's about caring enough to show up and start a conversation.
In my mind, that's exactly what the GodTalk Radio Show is all about. It's an opportunity for people, who might otherwise never speak to each other, to enter each other's lives for an hour or two every Sunday night. When the lines are open, we're moving forward. It's only when we start believing we have nothing more to say to each other that we're going in the wrong direction.
I hope you'll join the conversation. It's not talk radio unless we're talking. Sunday nights, 9-11 p.m., on CJOB 68 Superstation.
posted by The Rock 'n' Roll Preacher at
10/29/2007 03:00:00 AM
5 Comments:
I have never been thought of as a frequent flyer through church doors so this response should be taken in context. I felt compelled to write in agreement with the Rock and Roll Preacher's radio and blog comments re what the church does and what Jesus did when faced with people in need outside the box.
Richard Holloway the Scottish broadcaster lends you support in his book 'How to Read the Bible'.He finds the story of the good Samaritan in Luke central to the message of Jesus and thus the New Testiment.The stranger left on the side of the road injured and robbed
is met by three travellers .To Holloway, the Priest and the Levite represent organized religion and each in turn cross by not getting involved with a perceived untouchable. The Samaritan, no stranger to the outside of the elite saw the stranger and felt in his heart a sympathy and empathy. Listening to this instinct and not the teachings of any elite he crossed over to help and the rest is history. This was the 'New Deal' . Richard Holloway sees the Priest and the Levite absolutely faithful to their organized religion. Don't touch the untouchables. Jesus instead teaches us to be faithful to our heart, which tells us to help those in need with no prerequisites.
Winnipeg may be where James Loney feels battered and robbed. James Loney's excursion to Winnipeg will be remembered in a different way than first intended.
Instead of leaving us with his insights into the social justice in the middle east as seen by his Iraq kidnappers through the point of a gun ,he leaves us with a modern Winnipeg version of the parable of the Good Samaritan.
What about the catholic church? In science this change from the old testament law to new testament justice would be likely viewed as a paradigm shift. The
older view is the rock on which the more recent view is built. And interestingly as in the example of Einstein's ' greatest error' , the addition of the cosmological constant to his theory of the night time sky, for which he was ridiculed and accused of being just old, we now think he was likely right . We just renamed it ' dark energy' So the catholic church should not hang its head. They might have it right . They might not. At least they have a position.
PS. When do we hear the Rock and Roll Preacher's unplugged radio solo for the older neuron crowd?
The Parable of the Good Samaritan is a valid indictment against we priests and pastors who get too busy with the machinations of religion to have any time for the good news of great joy which the angels announced to the shepherds.
Hopefully, Jim found some good news on our show. He sent the following comment: Thanks for having me on the show. I like very much how the show appears to be a very grassroots forum, and how it gives voice to people who might not otherwise have access to public discourse.
The Rock 'n' Roll Preacher unplugged? One of my nicest guitars is a Larrivee D-09R ... an acoustic guitar. Who knows? It might make it down to the studio one of these Sunday nights!
Hi, please, could you tell the name of the picture (and the painter) that you have used in this page? It is important to me. Mary with baby Jesus. Thank you very much. Sorry my bad english. God bless you.
I found the image using a Google search with the words "mary", "baby", and "Jesus".
Thank you, I have the image, but I don't know what painting is. Nor the painter. Please, if anytime you know it, write it here. I will be very glad. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. And thanks for your fast answer.
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