Feel the Spirit

Of the three persons of the Trinity—God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit—the Spirit is probably the most difficult for many of us to understand and relate to. The Spirit seems like the less "personable" of the three. It's not so clear what it means to engage with the Spirit.

I'm not going to try to offer a definition or some kind of sophisticated explanation. But I had a series of three experiences on Sunday that, for me at least, help make sense of some parts of what the Spirit is all about and how we might experience her in our lives.

On Sunday morning (and stretching into early afternoon), I took our confirmation class, Fourth Church Rising, on our annual visit to another Christian church. The point is to expose the confirmands to expressions of Christianity that are different from our own. It helps us understand others as well as ourselves.

This year we went to Trinity UCC on Chicago's south side. It was a 2 1/2 hour tour de force of spirited worship in classic and contemporary styles of African American churches. People sang and clapped and maybe even danced a little. The congregation was welcoming and gracious. The preaching by new pastor Otis Moss III was simply amazing—perhaps one of the best sermons I've ever heard. I was sincerely moved by the entire experience.

Immediately after returning downtown, I hopped in a cab and just barely made it in time to sneak in for the second and third acts of La traviata at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Since moving to Chicago I have tried to take advantage of one of the great cultural treasures this city has to offer and learn about opera. I've been to many performances and have found that I actually like opera quite a bit. This performance featured the great soprano Renée Fleming. To hear her sing the tragically sad songs of Violetta is nothing short of a spiritual experience. The pathos of opera is what most draws me in, and this performance was stunning.

Finally, I went home that night to watch the Packers ultimately lose to the Giants in overtime in the NFC championship game. I'm always amazed at football games and other sporting events. I love watching a stadium full of tens of thousands of people, all focused on the events happening on the field. The bond of the crowd creates a special atmosphere, a spirit if you will, that renders the entire stadium into something like a living organism. Add to that the millions who are watching on their televisions at home and you really have a massive collection of humanity focused on a common cause.

Church, opera, and football. The Spirit is a little like that.

Rich Jesus/Poor Jesus

Check out this great column about the ridiculous fallacies of the so called "Prosperity Gospel". Hilarious and right on!

Sweeney Todd and Violence

Here's another great post about violence in pop culture, this time about Sweeney Todd. Check out this post by Gareth Higgins on God's Politics.

I haven't seen the film version of Sweeney Todd yet, though I really want to. I saw the stage version several years ago at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and loved it. Hopefully, I'll see the film soon and post some thoughts...

Repackaging Comic Book Violence

Check out this post from Supernaut, a blogger on one of my favorite entertainment sites, Comics2Film.

Supernaut talks about a line of toys based on Marvel comic book characters aimed at younger children. The characters are rendered in child friendly proportions, with over sized heads and smiles. In short, the tiny figures are...cute.

Supernaut goes on to raise a good point. What does it mean to take these violent characters based on very adult themes and repackage them in child friendly versions?

Wolverine has razor sharp claws that he regularly uses to disembowel his enemies.

The Hulk is fueled by rage and leaves a path of destruction wherever he goes.

The Punisher is a vigilante assassin who won't hesitate to kill.

Ghost Rider made a deal with the devil and is possessed by a demon.

Supernaut takes this question in two directions. First, he wonders what we are actually selling our children. We call these character heroes, but they are clearly flawed heroes that deal in violence. Second, he wonders if these children versions water down the "real" versions consumed by adults.

I think Supernaut has really raised a great question. Those of you who know me know that I love comic books. I grew up on these characters and they are a big part of my pop culture canon.

But ever since reading Walter Wink's book The Powers That Be, I've had some serious questions about the pervasiveness of violence in our culture.

Wink's point is that our society is obsessed with violence as the best (or at least easiest) answer to our problems. This obsession has worked itself into our culture through what he calls the "myth of redemptive violence". This myth is clearly seen in our comic book and adventure heroes, who routinely save the world through the use of violence. Wink and others have pointed out how dangerous this kind of thinking is when elevated to public policy, such as our current propensity for war over diplomacy.

Violence is bad and Wink argues that through Jesus God has shown us an alternative way to address our problems. But this alternative vision is hard to promote against the entertaining myth of redemptive violence.

So I've been doing a lot of soul searching over the past few years and I still feel torn.

In the meantime, I join Supernaut in his questions about these toys. But, like him, I'm sure I would buy them for my children (and myself) as well.

Hairspray

So I finally watched the movie version of the hit musical, Hairspray. I had heard good things about it, including a rave review from my buddy Josh Patty, but I must admit that I didn't necessarily expect a whole lot. Boy, was I wrong. This movie is great!

The music is fantastic and a lot of fun. The cast is incredible. I didn't think I would care for John Travolta as Edna, but he really pulled it off well. The entire film is bright and energetic. It is the epitome of that old description, "a feel good movie".

I have never seen the original John Water's version, so I didn't really know what the story was about. Beyond all the campiness (which is half the fun), I was surprised to discover a story about serious issues.

At the heart of this film are themes of acceptance and equality. Ultimately, this is a movie about social justice. Tracy is on a mission to convince others that we should accept all people for who they are, regardless of how they look. Prejudices about appearance and race are confronted head on.

But this is not a preachy or moralizing movie. The message is delivered in the midst of all the singing and dancing fun in such a way that it doesn't beat you over the head. In fact, I sometimes found myself caught off guard with the realization that this movie is really about something.

If you haven't seen Hairspray, go out and get it now. You won't be disappointed.

Desk Excavation

Wow! I can't believe that it's been almost three months since my last blog. The fall and early winter blew by so quickly. So much has happened with Fourth Church Youth that it's hard to keep up!

For the past several months, my office has been evidence of this blur of time. My days have been so full that I haven't had time to keep things straight. The papers and books stacked up to dangerous levels. Things have remained untouched for months. I've been too embarrassed to hold meetings in my office. I haven't seen the surface of my desk or the cushions of my couches in ages.

Today I made some progress on excavating my desk. "Office archaeology", I'll call it. I found things that haven't seen the light of day for some time.

I'm hoping that things will slow down enough--or that I'll be organized and disciplined enough--to make some more progress.

And now it's time to start blogging again...