The Secret Wireless

Is sex becoming boring? My mind pondered this idea a few days ago on my way into Saint Louis.  Before you cross the Mississippi River into Missouri there is a certain strip club one must pass on the interstate.  Said strip club always has a billboard advertising the latest special feature.  As you might guess these billboards do not vary greatly.  The billboard is usually a photograph of a woman from the shoulders up looking rather seductive and inviting any travelers to stop in.  This time, however, was different.  As I passed the billboard there were no women.  Rather than advertising the club’s newest dancer, they were advertising “wrestling midgets”.  So the naked dancing women were replaced by short, clothed, male wrestlers.  I don’t get it.  Has sex really gotten that boring?  A more serious example stuck in my mind comes from a PBS documentary I caught just a few minutes of several months ago....

If there is one thing that we can glean from the words of Jesus in Matthew 16 it is that it will take courage to be both Christ and Christian.  For Jesus to do what He has come to do will take a tremendous amount of fortitude.  Being a Christian will require a kind of bravery the world does not know. This has always been the case.  Christians have always faced difficulty in the world because they hold to an allegiance to a God who is greater than the world and the world does not like it.  So from the very first days of the Church until now there has been persecution and martyrdom. Men like James the Apostle and Stephen the Deacon stood bravely before the authorities, confessed Jesus Christ as Lord, and died with their eyes fixed on Him.  Even those who were not killed for trusting in Jesus certainly suffered for it. John the Evangelist and Apostle was exiled to the island of Patmos.  Athanasius, the faithful confessor who gave us the Nicene Creed,...

There are plenty of people running around attempting dangerous feats.  Bungee jumping, base jumping, jumping out of an airplane, racing, skiing, boating, climbing--adventure sports are out there for those who want to take the risk.  And plenty of people are willing, putting it all on the line. If, however, you want to take a real risk, if you want to truly put everything on the line, then try confession. I don't mean making a public confession, telling the whole world about your private sins.  That may seem dangerous at first, but the one you sinned against is not really being engaged, and you are bound to find much more sympathy than condemnation. I mean approaching the person to whom you have done wrong and telling them what you have done.  Look them in the eyes and confess, admit your guilt, lay it all out there for them to hear.  Tell them just how awful you acted, how evil your intentions were.  Let them know. That is dangerous.  It is...

If you have only seen the movie you are missing a big piece of the picture. The Princess Bride by William Goldman was famously transformed into a film directed by Rob Reiner in 1987.  The movie is a favorite of many for its delightful combination of romance, chivalry, adventure, fantasy, and humor.  What many do not know is that the book is even better. Goldman's book claims to be an abridged "good parts version" of an earlier work of fictional author S. Morgenstern.  Goldman states, over the course of a 27 page prologue, that his retelling is what his father used to read to him as a boy, leaving out all the boring stuff about politics, economics, and history, while delighting him with the story of true love and high adventure.  One cannot help but smile when you realize that this is precisely the part of the book you are going to skip over the next time you read it. The actual story is, obviously, far more detailed than the movie version....

(Photograph from bigfoto.com) Matthew 14:22-33 Why didn't Jesus just get into the boat?  That would have been easier, safer, quicker, less messy. When the weary disciples wondered who (or what) this was walking upon the Sea of Galilee, Jesus could have simply hopped into the boat and said, "Ta-da!  It's me!"  But He didn't. Instead Jesus announced His presence from the middle of the lake as He stood upon the waves.  And to prove Himself as the real deal He called Peter to join Him out there upon the sea. To show His power, to prove His identity, Jesus calls Peter from the comfort and relative safety of the boat into the chaos and danger of the wind and waves.  When they were all back in the boat there was no more debate: "Truly you are the Son of God." These past two Sundays the Gospel readings have come from Matthew 10 where Jesus sends His disciples out as sheep a midst the wolves.  He warns them of the dangers they shall face, the rage ...