I'll be honest, my bed time routine has recently been extended. And I blame you, Jordan Klepper.
It used to be that I'd crawl in my bed and I'd hear the du na na, du na na and with the launch of SportsCenter, I'd garner my sports trivia through a trans like state as I drifted off.
Then came along The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert gave my husband and I a way to wrap up the day together in a comedic spin on what often seems like political gridlock and childish games of keep away, but health care is at stake, compared to a nerf ball.
We made the transition and I appreciate Trevor Noah and his team now at the Daily Show, and as Jordan Klepper has spun off on his own show, I find myself looking forward to "The Opposition".
Last night was a pill to swallow. It was a show about Christian fundamentalists and those participating in placing a binding spell on Trump that some might refer to as witch craft.
Today I'm still chewing on it. Because its my faith. And what's hard is having watched the piece they did, and in some ways I can look at it, and for the often touted views and displays of "Christianity"... I will not argue... they have a point.
For what so many hold as Christianity and these moral codes to live by (or hide behind)... for the bigotry that pervades... for what is shown through the media, the big "Christian" this or that with political motives, and even what we can witness weekly in our churches by people just wearing a title and not living a relationship... I hate to call anyone out, but what that is... its not what I experience.
My faith is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I have a sense of a Spirit that leads and guides me. There are times I sense Him moving strongly, suggesting peacefully, and times when it is quiet. It has pushed me to love beyond whatever comes naturally, and seek justice... but not the "you're wrong, I'm right" kind... the kind I get to pursue everyday working at a Children's Home. Pursuing hope for the vulnerable and downtrodden.
I don't write this to throw anyone else under a bus, but I did have to say something because to the one who may see "that christianity", I'm sorry... I'm sorry for the mockery it's made. There is something so much more than that in truly knowing Christ.
To walk through the sickness of your own child, the troubles of life, and even the loss of those you love... there is something to going through that with "another"... the Greater Other. The sense of when all you are is shattered that He is the superglue pervading every piece of you and somehow you even become grateful for troubles... for the encounter it provides. The glimpses of what is truly holy. The overflow of grace. The multiplication of true joy, patience, kindness... it is beyond my humanness. It is where I end and He begins.
So you got me, Jordan Klepper... You're writers are right, and I'm glad that its called out. I hope the response isn't in angry written letters. The response, I hope, is in hearts like mine. Heart broken for the shattered and grossly disfigured image of Christ that we've allowed to prevail. It is to us that are challenged, to, with Christ, love greater and serve greater.
