I lifted the title from Michael J. G. Pahls of Reformed Catholicism; who commented on this amazing You Tube performance:
“The Radical Orthodoxy folks argue that in a postmodern world Christianity must out-narrate — that is, tell a better and more beautiful story of the world — than its competitors.
I think that the moment captured here only becomes fully intelligible within a story where the mighty are cast down from their thrones and the lowly are raised up; where the hungry are filled with good things and the rich are sent away empty; and where God remembers the promises once made to his lowliest of servants.
Even if we grant that the performance is set against the gilded saccharine of “reality television” (a more blatant oxymoron doesn’t exist), the chord that is struck in the heart — our resonance with the notion that this must be the truth of things — is powerful testimony that we were made for God and that our hearts will ever be restless until they find rest communion with God.
The most beautiful story is one where the losers finally win. It is why we are moved by Rocky, Rudy (Go Irish), and the 2004 Red Sox. It is the surprise ending of a world graced by the cross and resurrection.”
Amen to that! Only the church can tell men and women the “why” of what we all feel to be true in the transcendent moments of life- whether those moments involve another’s body, breathtaking beauty, selfless sacrifice…or the exaltation of the underdog. We alone can tell men and women who they are and why certain "scents of glory" remind them of another place.
Monday, June 25, 2007
THE SUPRISED ENDINGS OF A GRACED WORLD
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So, someone once told me that you hate it when people come here to read but don't comment. That, apparently, is reserved for you alone. So, I thought I would stop by here this morning and leave a comment, because I watched this last night once I got home...and to tell you the truth, it was a moment of beauty in what has been, lately, an otherwise dark world.
There is a moment when the woman judge looks at Paul in disbelief and you see just the faintest smile cross her lips...the princess and the Ogre. She looks upon this creature and says to herself..."I had no idea that this beauty was inside there." It was almost more than I could stand, as I wanted to cry out, "But there is beauty in there!!!! There is beauty in a lot of places that you never take the time to look!!! Please...know this isn't a freak accident. Beauty is all around us."
Far too often, we are presented with the ugly facts. The fact that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. The fact that those who sin, excel in their worldly gains while those who submit to the Father fall behind in this life. Is it any wonder so many crave the afterlife?
The problem is that we see not clearly.
And so, the cell phone salesman with horrible teeth suddenly looses his beauty on the world. And we don't have the faintest idea as to what we should do. We are shocked, perplexed, and in awe.
This then, must be the kingdom of heaven..where the least are first.
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