I'm not sure this post will have a theme. I think it is more of an update. I left my job of nine years today to start on a new venture that I am very excited about. I'm going to be a foster mother and actually get paid to be a stay at home mom. I've wanted to do it for years, but never thought I could afford to do it and take care of the children the way I would want to. But I found a program that is perfect for me.
It will also allow me to continue studying French, and actually take a few classes in the classroom at DePaul. Been itching to do that for a while now. I would like to actually finish my degree in the classroom.
I know everyone has seen my pastor on the news, Fr. Pfleger. It has been a pretty surreal experience for me, being a part of the world "news", if you want to call it that. I keep hearing from people that he needs to stay out of politics, but the funny thing is I seem to recall that the past two elections were pretty much decided by the religious right. And the list of Republican endorsements from "preachers" begins with Pat Robertson, Dr. James Dobson, John Hagee and Rod Parsley, but certainly doesn't end there. Talk about the bizarro committee. All of them have made statements just as hard to comprehend as Jeremiah Wright and Fr. Pfleger - or even more so in my book. But for some strange reason they were spared the relentless media loop of Youtube. Kind of makes you wonder why the words of preachers rather than the candidates is such a focus this go round . . .
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That which cannot be defeated by force, subdued, or overthrown. From the Latin "inexpugnabilis" meaning that which cannot be taken by the storm.
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4 comments:
Amiga,
Good to "hear" your voice! I'm glad to know that since we last spoke via email that all is coming along as hoped. All blessings my friend.
As to your other point, I have indeed come across footage of Fr. Pfleger's recently publicized comments. I must admit, I found them less than desirable and not to my liking, but then again, I'm not big on mixing church and Caesar. To be sure, I have strongly held political beliefs and notions, but personally wouldn't want to hear about them in the sanctuary (what kind of sanctuary would that be?). I think the claim of being "prophetic" in the vein of the OT tradition is a pretense and dubious in most (though not all) situations. Let me assure you, though, that I have no investment in or appreciation for the Religious Right and their various loons and surrogates--e.g. Robertson, Dobson, Hagee (the truest nutcase I've heard in years!) or Parsley. I place zero stock in them or what they say. Their version of the gospel is anathema to me. Frankly, I wish they'd get raptured and get out of our face and hair.
I don't know, maybe my personal faith is askew (it's certainly weak, broken and frequently lukewarm, so I suppose I should expect to be "spewed out" at some point) and demonstrates that I don't embrace the "full" gospel.
I appreciate your comments, C. I think in retrospect Fr. Mike's comments weren't really to anyone's liking, including his own . . .
He said that he was giving a talk, not a sermon. Nevertheless I feel reticent to elaborate on my feelings about about the comments before i have spoken to him personally.
As far as prophetic - Our teaching is that prophetic preaching is forth-telling, as in declaring the word of God in relations to situations, not foretelling, as in predicting the future. That's why Dr. King is considered a prophetic preacher - he spoke God's word about racism in this country.
But if it counts for anything, when I moved to this community, nine years ago, it looked like a war zone, now it is booming with new businesses and development(including two new senior apartment buildings). Thousands of people have a better life in this community now. This is a direct result of Fr. Mike's ministry. But I guess that isn't fit to loop over and over on Youtube . . .
As far as the endorsements of preachers - it just seems to me as if we have all taken on some peculiar collective amnesia that has made us all forget that G.W. was swept into the White House by the religious right... And my God, haven't the aforementioned preachers all said some pretty bizarre things that if taken out of context ( and sometimes even in context) and played over and over would make them sound like asylum escapees?
Thanks for your comments, I really do appreciate them and take no offense. As I said, it is truly a surreal moment, and we are just happy our pastor will be back after Monday, flaws and all. ;)
Hey L. I didn’t mean to sound off-putting. I would never want to come across as disrespectful to you personally. I have strong feelings around this topic of religion and politics. With my deeply held opinions (convitions *may* be a better description here) on both counts, I cringe when the twain meet in such a way as to somehow do a disservice to both. I do appreciate the opportunity to comment, too. I do miss our conversations from long ago, though I don’t recall us ever being so much on the opposite side of the fence. But that’s okay. :)
"Forth-telling" makes sense and, indeed, is in keeping with the spirit of the OT Prophets. But to me, when I observe those on the contemporary landscape who claim to be a part of this “forth-telling” tradition, it's all I ever seem to hear from them--very limited in my estimation. The “full” gospel has a lot more to say. No doubt, though, that Dr. King was doing precisely a “forth-telling” and “prophetic” mission and correctly so; God bless and keep him (RCs have no problem blessing and praying for the departed. Grin). His time would be the kind of situation that I was speaking of earlier (sufficiently concentrated, if you will, as a true and legitimate national problem/disease/epidemic) where the intensity, duration and frequency of "prophetic" rhetoric is understandable and even necessary.
I appreciate and admire your description of the impact of Fr. Pfleger's ministry. Your description of him seems to be of a man devoted to God. God bless and keep him, as well. From what I observed (no doubt it was limited and not entirely in context) in various footage, his style would be hard for me to take, but to each his own. You know me—-if the Mass was still in Latin and smells and bells were all about, I’d much prefer and like it—-at least the style of it, maybe not all the hard-edged theology associated with it. I value Mystery. :)
No doubt, too, GW (I'm no fan, believe me!) was swept into office by many that make my stomach turn. You are too nice in saying that the RR preachers named would sound like asylum escapees if we looped their comments out of context or even in context. As far as I'm concerned, the likes of Hagee do the gravest injustice to the name of Christianity and they represent something poisonous and looney. When I hear them, I often have a sense of the sinister. I think they are dangerous and not in the good sense that word offers on occasion. Those that follow Hagee and his ilk and their message are easy to command and lead around by the nose, in my opinion. I have as much respect and affinity for Hagee and his ilk as I do for Farrakhan—-ABSOLUTELY ZERO. In my humble opinion, they REPEL instead of compel and present a very real threat to souls.
Just my thoughts... :)
LOL -
Of course no offense was taken, C.
And yes - Fr. Mike's sermons can be hard to take for ALL of us. He doesn't sugar coat anything. Whatever comes up comes out, and trust me, a lot of us have moments where we wished it didn't, long before Youtube got a hold of him... Like I said, flaws and all.
He told us a story once in Bible Study where the nuns called him into the office and told him he shouldn't go to the seminary prep high school because he was too naughty to be a priest. Prophetic nunnery?
Tee hee.
Anyway, I think your statement "they REPEL instead of compel and present a very real threat to souls." is very profound. And I'm not sure that I am in as much a disagreement with you as you might think.
I miss blogging and our conversations as well. That is one of the things I'm excited about as well with my new job. I should have more time write and post. ;)
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