How many of you went to Pow Wow - show of hands? How many of you were paying attention during the only skit that was even partially entertaining [props to The Good Reverend and the recently acquired third member of the trinity, Ms. Green {to be dubbed at a later date} for that one] and saw the video that His Holiness made about me? How many of you thought it was funny? Good. So did I.
Besides being funny, His Holiness' video cast a ray of light on a point that many of you seem to have missed. "My beef is really a philosophical one." Yes it is. And it's good to know that even Brad, whom I rail on quite a bit, is able to appreciate the more meaningful portions of my ramblings. Perhaps some of you should follow his example, for once. :)
Speaking of Brad, the Lord must have gotten up on the right side of his transcendental four-poster, California king sized bed this morning, because Brad is gone and won't be back for two weeks! Who ever said God doesn't answer prayers?
Hammered dulcimer? Was there really a hammered dulcimer on stage this morning? Wow. I've been misunderestimating the cultural IQ of people from this fine region for some time. Props for the change.
In other news, the band failed to meet my preliminary expectation of their sucking completely this morning. They did, however, manage to inspire several brave souls to "get up offa that thang" and stand in solitary defiance of the ever-present, all-pervasive apathy that has become a hallmark of our beloved institution.
All rise for the honorable Dr. Jacobs.
There are some chapel speakers that one naturally expects more from than others. Dr. Jacobs, for example, is someone from whom I expect much. The Gresh, on the other hand. . . .
I found it supremely satisfying that Jacobs opened with a quote from Kant. The quote he read is actually a part of a larger essay [which you owe it to yourself to read], but here's a highlight:
"If I have a book to serve as my understanding, a pastor to serve as my conscience, a physician to determine my diet for me, and so on, I need not exert myself at all. I need not think, if only I can pay."
Hell, even I will raise my hand and say "Amen!" to that.
Isn't it interesting how Dr. Jacobs was able to produce more worthwhile content by talking about questions he can't answer than many others have been able to with questions they [think they] can? [There's an entire book waiting to be written about this subject.]
- I don't know why people still kill each other.
- I don't know why people use hate to instruct children.
- I don't know why people of faith fight each other.
- I don't know why anyone still has to be hungry. . . .when we have all this food.
- I don't know why we are mostly strangers.
- I don't fully know what "Character, Culture, Christ" means. [Don't worry, Noel, neither does anyone else.]
"If I try my hardest to love people, I won't be judged by God for that."
That's fucking gospel, ladies and gentlemen. Gospel. [I seem to remember someone else trying to push a message of "love" this semester. . . .]
The reason love is so important as an axiom of morality is that love takes all the fancy talk, theology, over-sized Sunday hats, and metaphysics of Christianity, ties their shoestrings to cinder blocks and throws them into the East River. It re-emphasizes a point that we all probably know but do not like to answer to: love is a verb.
Jacobs closed by reading a poem authored by a fourteenth century Muslim named Hafiz. I would like to offer a portion of this poem as my closing.
"God wants to manhandle us."
That's what she said.
Everybody take some rubbers.
"Keep near me and you will be safe."
Daedalus
10 comments:
I'm glad to see you liked a chapel. I actually expected you to like this one when I saw the hammered dulcimer and that Dr. Jacobs was speaking. I shared your joy upon hearing Brad Strawn will be gone for a while.
I was planning to sleep through this one until I saw Dr. Jacobs walk up.
Also, I liked your DC Talk reference
I thought you might like chapel today. I did too. I have quite a bit of respect for Dr. Jacobs. He seems genuine and he had something that was worth sharing and a little refreshing because he doesn't have all the answers like other speakers "(think they)" do.
I too thought chapel was great. It is good to see that when you see something you like you give it props. Like you said- he actually had something to say. I came out of that chapel feeling challenged to actively love others. I hope that our generation can be the generation of Christians that will be remembered by our love- not our judgment of others.
Nice, Daedalus... got quoted in chapel. That plus the Pow Wow references means you're a big deal.
I liked chapel a lot today. I even wrote down one thing Dr. Jacobs said... something about how he imagines it is probably safer to show love when we "shouldn't" than to judge people when we shouldn't.
Imagine how much better off we'd be if all "Christians" had that attitude...
I too enjoyed the fluffy adage.
At the risk of sounding redundant, I too truly enjoyed chapel today. In fact, it was the first time in a while that I was able to leave that room and not remind myself of my need to find a new religion.
As for the band, I couldn't help looking at them and thinking, "Damn hippies..."
Using the F-word to describe the gospel is a bit contradictory dont you think? Or do you plan to love others by raping them?
Ms. Mars: I'm going to try and ignore the blatant ignorance of your question in this response.
It was once said that, "the meaning of a word is its use." In this case, my use of the word "fucking" was for emphasis; adjectival amplification, if you will. As such, your decision to interpret the word "fucking" in a derogatory manner says more about your personal biases and understanding of language than it does about my moral commitments.
:)
haha i love that response. quality.
What were your thoughts on Pow Wow as a whole?
Tyler McCarthy
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