Tonight I attended a play called The Masquerade directed by Grace student, Shannon Kearns. The play incorporates some really cool choreography and fantastic techno music [check out cloud2ground] and a very talented group of guys and girls. The play was written and performed by college students, and I was pretty amazed by the parallels drawn between the dance, the masks, and the church/christianity today.
Thoughts and questions I am currently pondering as I sit here writing this and listening to some Warrior Poets.
Have we [as churches/christians] become so programmed that we respond to people with false happiness? Do we expect people to follow our rules without question? Do we understand what true freedom is? Have we experienced it? Can we be honest with ourselves and with others without fear? Are we afraid that people will judge us and cast us out if they could see what we were truly like inside? Do we live each day looking for the wonder and fullness of life found only in our Creator? Can we imagine what it will be like to someday live in a place full of peace, joy and eternal love; and realize that each of us will be transparent and it won’t matter because we will be perfect? Can we even begin to fathom what Jesus did for us when He died for us? Do we accept people who are different than us, or are we afraid of them because they make us feel uncomfortable? Are we willing to lose everything in order to have honesty in our lives? When are we [christians] going to get over our critical spirits and asinine assumptions about each other and start functioning as a true body of followers of Jesus?
I don’t know the answers to a lot of those questions. Some I still have to deal with in my own life. Some I currently am dealing with. Some I already have. I know this though, I have a long way to go.
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To respond to the comment I posted on 021102 … The other night my friend Jeremy and I had a long discussion about homophobia. We discussed people’s fear or disgust at this whole issue. The fact remains that christians have singled out certain issues, like this one, and have labeled them as “worse than others.” Moby’s post said “Homophobia is something that’s always mystified me. What possible reason can anyone use to justify homophobia? I find it kind of ironic when people say that ‘homosexuality is not natural’…umm, last time I checked neither were:antibiotics, synthesizers, airplanes, pasteurization, automobiles, televisions, footballs, wrestling costumes, sneakers, lightbulbs, etc. Live and let live. What people choose to do as consenting individuals is their business and no one elses, or so I believe.”
Jesus went and sought out the most misunderstood and hurting people; those people that the “religious folks” condemned and treated like trash. He went to those people — the cheating tax collector, the woman at the well who was from a different culture, the prostitute who was about to be stoned, and the “unclean” lepers … and loved them. Christ’s example speaks volumes of how we, as his followers, need to live. So homophobia… it’s simple. Be like Christ. Be holy as He was holy. Love as He loved. Without condition.