Jesus and Colbert and Grace

Stephen Colbert and the Gospel:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Jesus Is a Liberal Democrat
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog</a> March to Keep Fear Alive

Some Colbertisms:
"Jesus said we only have to love those who deserve it."
I'm glad that grace doesn't work like that. I sure don't deserve it. Somehow, I'm a recipient of it.


"If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we've got to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are or we've got to acknowledge that he commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy, without condition, and then admit that we just don't want to do it."
True grace is given to those who need it, but do not necessarily deserve it. Colbert gets it and that's what he's saying in this satire.

Christ came because we could not save ourselves. In Mark 2:17, Jesus says, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

It seems as if many are saying that we'll give you help, we'll give you a doctor, when you feel better. That's not the gift of the Gospel. That's not Grace. Grace is summed up in Romans 5:8-- "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Grace is not at all about anything I've done. When I truly believe that, then I'll be able to love in the way that Christ loved: unconditional, sacrificial and with nothing in return.

Are we all Crazy/Angry

"It's an old and ironic habit of human beings
to run faster when we've lost our way."
-Rollo May

This weekend, John Stewart and Stephen Colbert are hosting "rallies" at the National Mall in Washington, DC. My brother is going.
The "Rally to Restore Sanity/Keep Fear Alive" actually is very indicative of our country. This summer, I saw something interesting-- America rocks. Just don't watch the news or ask politicians. If you do, you'll see America as hateful, divided, intolerant and dangerous. Here's what I saw: a country that was warm, embracing and inherently good.

So what happens? We let the minority dominate. The failure of our democracy might be that we don't hear the majority. The screams, threats and fear mongering of the minority is what most of us hear. And in turn, it shapes what many of us believe. We are a society that has allowed ourselves to be driven and shaped by fear.

I read a fascinating article a few weeks ago in the NY Times about how irrational a society we are as reflected by our parenting. Parents over worry about school shootings and kidnappings (which I don't wish on anyone) when statistically their children are more likely going to get involved in drugs, become obese or injure themselves playing soccer. The most dangerous activity our children do everyday: get in cars. The rates of accidents and injuries in public transportation is much lower than in personal vehicles. If you really wanted to keep your child safe, you'd be better off putting them on a bus or even an airplane.

Fear drives us to be irrational. It causes us to scream and shout while forgetting to think. Fear builds walls. If we could learn to look past it, we would see lots of great things and people that were missed because our eyes were shut, ears were covered and we're yelling too loud.