I am preparing for Os Guinness to be our guest again on BlogTalkRadio in a few weeks by reading his newest book, The Magna Carta of Humanity: Sinai’s Revolutionary Faith and the Future of Freedom. It’s a fascinating study of revolution and freedom in which he compares the Jewish revolt against Egypt and Pharaoh, the American Revolution of 1776, and the French Revolution of 1789 and how widely they differ in their understandings of freedom and human dignity.
Well now, I know that you are sick of my birthday, but the problem is, I’m not. And since I still have one more gift to open up you’re all going to have to suck it up for one more celebration. You see, one of my birthday gifts was two tickets to an Angels v. Twins doubleheader that starts in about two hours. So I’m opening that one right now. Chandler is going to attend the first game with me and Uber home, while Christopher joins me for the second. So I get to take in a doubleheader with my boys. Happy Birthday!
In honor of that, I’m posting this picture from a few years ago. I think I’ve had the biggest birthday wish on the Jumbotron of anyone as far as I can tell. Of course knowing John Carpino, President of the Angels, didn’t hurt. Our boys were both in the same Indian Guides program years ago, so we’ve had a few adventures together including sailing through 18-foot swells between Newport Beach and Catalina coming back from a weekend camp there. I thought we’d never make it. Whoever thought 26 miles could be so daunting.
Marti made up a special gift card to announce this game to me, and I must include it here because it is so clever.
The’ve decided to hand things over; they’re making a big deal about it, too — an armada of press, influencers with a gazillion followers, and the Times is doing a piece (for old time’s sake). You’ve earned this with more than a few good ideas that improved the bottom line. The board is in agreement. Now the Birthday is all that’s left.
They’ve spared no expense with the venue and the guest list. After all, this is about making an impression. Confidence in front of the camera is key. Remember to smile (you’ve got a good one). Your speech is perfect; follow it.
But is all that enough? You didn’t get this far by being timid or by blending in.
Don’t start now.
Last night, on BlogTalkRadio, we had one of the country’s most visible and often quoted Christian leaders, George Barna. He was the founder and leader of The Barna Group which continues to conduct groundbreaking research on worldview, cultural transformation, ministry applications, spiritual development, and politics. His current work is almost solely taken up with worldview studies based out of Arizona Christian University where he leads the Cultural Research Center and teaches as a professor.
Till We Have Faces is a novel by C.S. Lewis which is a retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche. It is a title that has new meaning since we have been isolated in a pandemic for over a year now, and covering our faces in public all this time. I have not read the book, but I have its title coming to mind a lot these days as I have grown frustrated with only seeing half of a person’s face. And when I see someone’s eyes only, I can’t help but think about that time when we will all have faces again.
Taking a break from the Catch to celebrate my birthday. Will rejoin the Catch tomorrow.
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 2 Corinthians 4:10
I always thought this sounded kind of gruesome: carrying around the death of Jesus. After being flogged, Jesus would have been a bloody mess. But we’re not hauling a dead body around. Paul says we carry around the death of Jesus “in our body.” It’s something inside — something that is a part of us — something that we are. What could that be if it isn’t our sin, our failure, our rebellion against God? It was our sin that caused Jesus’ death. It was our sin that distorted humanity and brought death into the world. It is our sin over which the whole creation groans today. And even though we are forgiven, saved, and washed clean, as long as these bodies of ours are on this earth, we still carry around the death of Jesus in them, because that’s what these bodies are: they are the death of Jesus.
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9
Who would have thought these verses would have given me so much trouble? Well actually, I wouldn’t have had any trouble had I not been so hard pressed on every side for not coming up with a Catch over these seemingly simple verses, perplexed by not understanding why, persecuted by myself over my inability to get over this barrier, and struck down by a sense of utter failure.
We are sore pressed at every point, but not hemmed in; we are at our wit’s end, but never at our hope’s end; we are persecuted by men, but never abandoned by God; we are knocked down, but not knocked out. (2 Corinthians 4:8-9 paraphrased by William Barclay)
Well, by now last week’s series should be behind us, but I’ve only covered half of it. This was going to be so easy. I was going to write a week’s worth of Catches on autopilot, since I’ve taught this passage so many times. God (and Marti) had something else in mind. The minute you think something’s going to be easy is probably when you should think again.
| In the interest of providing family time to celebrate Mother’s Day, we are canceling our regular Sunday night meeting. And to help you gather your thoughts around Mom, we are including two poems. One contains lyrics to a song John wrote about his mother, the other is a brief interview and a poem read by the author, Beverly Cunningham. The Corner of Her Eye On a park bench she sat looking At the trees that lined the hill Trying hard to find the words When she knows she never will So she watched the sad leaves shimmer All innocent and shy As she caught the golden sunset In the corner of the sky And I sat there with her wondering Though she did not know my name If she could see me smiling And love me just the same And I thought I saw a glimmer Of all the years gone by As I caught the golden sunset In the corner of her eye She didn’t have to say it Didn’t even have to try‘ Cause she said it for a lifetime From the corner of her eye Now she dances by my window But I cannot let her in Or recreate the feeling Of her touch upon my skin Still I see a ray come shining From across a broken sky Like that gleam of reassurance From the corner of her eye She didn’t have to say it Didn’t even have to try ‘Cause she said it for a lifetime From the corner of her eye There is a place of total honesty and purity — a place where, in spite of dysfunction and the frailties of human nature, love and truth reign. It is a place where mothers keep all their hopes and dreams for their children hidden, and once in a while, you get to glimpse it there. This is the place where the glimpse comes from — from the corner of her eye. She can turn her head slightly and you can see it. It is a place of utter trust and assurance — where everything is alright, in spite of everything around us that isn’t. I think all mothers have a place like this. It is an all-knowing place — a place where there is no doubt or question. A place where God shines through. It is a place of great strength and certainty — utter backbone — but it is also a soft, tender place. There is no fear in this place. Fear does not exist here. It is always there if you look hard enough, and if she knows you need it, she will show it to you. Because she keeps it for you forever in the corner of her eye.  MemberPartners Dave and Patti Kelley’s son, Thatcher, is a film maker. He captures the beating heart. He walked with Marti one night as they invited the women she knows without homes to tell their stories. Their goal was not to get the story, but to get them in the story. We invite you to click on this link to discover one of the many women without homes. Her name is Beverly Cunningham. She wrote and reads a poem titled Through the Eyes of a Child. We strongly recommend you take a few minutes to receive from Beverly a very special Mother’s Day gift. |
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When you notice that the Catch has been coming out late, or sometimes (as in last Monday) not at all, you can usually assume one thing: I’m going through the wringer. I’m trying to get at something that I’m not getting. I’m going through two, sometimes three versions of a Catch, and then at the end of the day I still have to conclude — nope; that’s not it. I’m fighting with God; I’m fighting with myself; and I’m fighting with Marti, who understands me so well, she knows when to blow the whistle on me. So that’s why this little paragraph is all you’re going to get from me today, but there is hope for tomorrow.
I once wrote a book, Making Real What I Already Believe. Well that’s what I think is happening here. I’m having to reinterpret something I thought I knew. This was supposed to be an easy week. I was going to teach a passage I have taught more than any other in the Bible. Who would have thought I would get stuck in 2 Corinthians 4, but here I am.
So hang in there with me. Tomorrow is looking better.
John Fischer The Catch 