Ok, my blog friends.
I need a little help. This week my sermon is about FEAR. Please share your thoughts with me.
What are you afraid of? What do you fear?
Thanks in advance for your readership, your candor, your help,
SBJ
Sharp About Your Prayers
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I am afraid that I will not be able to find a job. I am really afraid that I am not needed.
I am afraid that more and more faithful Christians will get eaten alive by their hatred and forget about God’s love. I am afraid that the tenets of my faith lead someone else to burn a Quran. I’m afraid for the God we share and the world He gave us. And, more than anything, I’m afraid for other people, whose God isn’t so dissimilar from mine, who are being hated, scorned, and harmed by people claiming my God as their reason.
Reverend,
Raleigh here again. I joined the church (along with my mother) this spring, but I’ve been going for close to ten years. (My great-grandparents moved up to NYC right before the depression and were FAPC-goers; my great-grandfather actually did a lot of fundraising for the church) But I was just listening to On Point on WNYC, and I’m kind of curious about two things.
1. I wonder if you’ve read RADICAL yet? I haven’t but they were discussing it, and it makes me (who can barely make it paycheck to paycheck) rethink the vanity of my life in New York, and I wonder how we can apply the lessons from this pastor (from my hometown of Birmingham, Alabama) in New York? How do we live like missionaries every day, financially and emotionally? Is New York so emotionally exhausting we don’t have much left to give? It feels awfully like it sometimes.
2. My other question is how do I, as a believer, react to the news media (of which I am a professional member)’s treatment and distortion of my religion today? They had on Michael Joseph Gross from Vanity Fair to talk about Sarah Palin and – very, very condescendingly – talked about “prayer warriors.” “These people who believe – actually believe – that there are angels and demons all around us engaged in a war between good and evil.” (totally not the right quote, but the right idea) And here I am, public radio reporter, listening to a show I love, to a journalist I’ve always respected, acting like Palin’s insane for believing this – and me too, by association. How do we look at all of this, as Christians, and not just shut down? I’m a democrat through and through, and the way my own party is abducting my religion during campaign season to go to church for those of us who believe and have their pictures snapped therein but then mock everything we believe in, how do we handle all of this in a manner that’s also Christly?
I read your blog all the time. I’m actually probably your biggest, repeated hit. (Sorry for that. But it helps to have a little dose of God every day, even if it’s the same thing on repeat until you post anew.) And I just wondered what you’d have to say about all of this?
Even if you don’t answer until January, I’ll still be listening. Can’t wait for your service sunday.
Love in Christ,
Raleigh
Raleigh,
There is a lot in here. Let me respond to point/question #2. I hope to address Radical at a later date later. Both it, and the book, UnChristian, have important stuff to say.
I find the media’s fascination and round-the-clock coverage of the pastor in Florida who is (on again/off again) threatening to burn Korans on the anniversary of 9/11 to be very disappointing. For whatever reason, the most radical (and in this case, unbalanced) religious voices seem to get the most press.
Amongst the thousands of meaningful religious services in this country (many of them interfaith in nature) that will mark 9/11, this guy (who leads a congregation of 50 people) is getting the world’s attention!? Something is very wrong with this picture.
What can be done?
Well, from the church’s side, I suspect the answer is to just keep plugging away providing an alternative to this silliness, this fascination that many in the media have with the hateful few. What I encourage you to do, in your very important profession, is to seek out (and to encourage your colleagues to seek out) sensible religious voices for commentary on the faith-related stories of the day.
Golly, you raise good issues!
Thanks for your readership and your passion,
SBJ
Can you be afraid of fear? I hate thinking that being full of fear means I don’t take risks. I want to be fearless. However, it’s okay to fear God. So I guess I’d like to be fearful of things i should be and not of things like taking risks, getting on an airplane, telling my boss i want to work part time, is my kid going to grow up okay, etc.
Yup. I agree!
I am fearful that I will not respond to hateful speech and action. That I will not speak, respectfully with dignity intact, that what an individual who speaks hate is doing is polarizing a situation and is not helping. I am afraid that I will be a coward when it counts.