mid-life salvation…
Light rain fell on the windows as Carl blew out the candles on
his 50th birthday cake, after which he made his confession:
‘I’m hemorrhaging. My life’s a symphony of disappointment.’
Carl had been a doctoral student with me in seminary spending
ungodly hours licking the dry bones of Tillich, Niebuhr, Kung,
and Barth. We were all shocked at his revelation, but even more
in the weeks that followed at his reverse conversion into a rube –
heart, soul and knees bent at the altar of bumpkin theology, the
kind that has God giving you delicious parking spots at the mall
or favoring high school football teams who pray before kickoff.
I ran into him months later, after he’d become infatuated with
local color and ran off with Cheri Foster who years ago was a
swimsuit model for Coppertone. Carl smiled and pumped my
hand hard, not in the least discomfited. He eagerly asked
about my latest book, then delivered a homily plain as plain:
‘The mystery was too much. I needed a less coastal God.’
I think this is my favorite poem since I put you in my google reader a few months ago. 🙂
Hey, thanks! I’d love to hear what it says to you…
Well, I’m majoring in Philosophy in University, and I real a lot outside of school as well. I think theology is really interesting to read and think about. But, it can be tiring. I think the man in the poem threw up his hands and decided to live a real life. I think that’s beautiful and true.
Also, I’ve been working as a church janitor for the seven years I’ve been in school and I occasionally feel that I’m more plugged into the life of the church – and the nitty gritty details of the lives of people – than the pastors are.
Thanks for elaborating a little…I like your thoughts.
I, too, spent several years as a church janitor…its amazing what you can learn/discern.