Reflections on the World and Media

tonight I turned on the TV for about 45 minutes, and started flipping through the channels...I came across the music video for Kelly Clarkson's "Because of you." The video depicts a little girl who is looking for love and affection from her father, and how he is too busy with business and comes home late, and eventually ends up leaving. Well i only watched about 45 seconds of the video and i started to cry to ball like a little baby. First it was "Jesus, let this never be me; I never want to do this to whoever my family will be;" and then that emotion was turned towards others, and I realized how many children in America face that everyday of their life... How many children in America grow up in broken homes, how many children grow up with such pain from not having the love of their father in their life. How many people do we encounter every day are hurting from the lack of love in their life, and how much can the little things we do change it...

I have a friend who used to work in the dietary section of a nursing home. One day he went into his current job and a new man had started and mentioned he came from the same nursing home and shared how many people at the home continually talked about my friend, and how he would run around hugging the residents and the staff, and the joy that he brought to that place. The man said to my friend, "I must have come right after you left, the way they talked about you." After comparing dates, they realized that my friend had left the nursing home more than 1 year and a half ago. It all goes to show that you never know how much of an impact the little things you do in life have on those around you.

The other things I saw on TV tonight was on C-SPAN. Michael Moore was giving a speech in his hometown, and he preached the Gospel. He talked about how the Priest at Mass that morning had shared out of Matthew 25:
25:31 "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 "All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. 34 "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' 37 "Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 'When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' 40 "The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.' 41 "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.' 44 "Then they themselves also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?' 45 "Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' 46 "These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." And then Michael Moore goes on to challenge us, saying "The ticket to heaven lies in the hands of the poor." Yes, he is a liberal; yes he is quite fanatic; yes, I do not agree with everything he says - much of it is far off; but HERE, he is right. Forget Democratic/Republican and Liberal/Conservative...What is the heart of God...I think that Michael Moore has it understood well; and he is the one trying to teach it to us. God sure does use the foolish things to confound the wise...I was dumbfounded, excited, and somewhat jealous. Maybe the kicker is regardless of personal agendas; God's heart is always for the down-and-out, the poor and the needy...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING :)

Tag on my last post

I just finished watching "Kingdom of Heaven" which is a really good movie. And I just wanted to tag on my last post about being a voicepiece for God. In the movie, men on both sides were continuously seen claiming "God wills it" to support their own agenda (in this case, propagating war against their enemy). But isn't that the very opposite of what it truly means to be a voice for God, speaking your own mind, especially in the name of God. So I guess to say is, there is such a high responsibility for speaking for God that cannot be forgotten or undermined. Because, we will be held responsible for the things we say/do not say; do/do not do. So maybe if nothing else, it's a reminder that every aspect of the Christian life may be the only God that people see; with how much care must we give that, and in fact, our everyday lives...and not in a burdensome way; but in a way, where we realize that our life is not our own to live as we choose anymore; but it solely to glorify God, and that includes a whole heck of a lot of hanging out, having fun, and relaxing; not just praying and going to church...

Speaking an Intelligent Christianity

tonight I had the great privelage of getting coffee with a good friend, that I haven't had a chance to really hang out with for a long time. I miss this friend, because he challenges me...In fact, I don't know many people that he doesn't challenge. I also miss him, because of the level of genuine thought that he brings to a discussion; i miss bouncing intellectual ideas about true christianity off of him. And along with that, he shared a need with me that I have heard a lot of lately. and that is to speak...
I think of the prophet of the Old Testament, Jeremiah, who spoke the words of God; amidst heavy persecution. He never wanted to speak for God and he paid heavily for it: he was put in jail, beaten, tortured, and was not allowed to take a wife and raise children (a very shameful thing in ancient Jewish society). There was a price for him to pay to speak the words of God; his will, his safety, his comfort. And what is "words of God" anyways? 90% of all biblical prophecy bringes the audience back to the Hebrew Covenant, specifically to seek Yahweh, and Yahweh alone. A true "word of God" should bring the listener back to a place of pursuing God. Are not each and everyone one of us called to bring light into the dark places, to help others pursue God. To me, that's what speaking the word of God really is; getting out of the way, so that all could be drawn to Christ....just some thoughts....