LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
CAMP Spirit |
by Tom Bohache |
All fun all the time? A favorite book of my youth was the coming-out novel by the late Robert Ferro entitled The Family of Max Desir. The scene that stands out most for me at a distance of twenty-some years has Max and his father attempting to have a conversation over breakfast in a pancake house at the shore. The father is portrayed as a macho Italian-American patriarch who is having trouble accepting that his son is gay, and the meal is cut short by harshand loudwords. The narrator concludes, "The other patrons looked at us with that dark you've-spoiled-our-pancakes look." Though I can't recall most of the rest of the story, I do remember this incident and this line in particular because it captures so well the way that people jealously guard their leisure time and often don't wish reality to intrude upon their parties, dinners, brunches, and the like. I was reminded of this recently when someone told me that my column is too often a "downer" that intrudes into his fun at the beach. He chided me that we live in a resort community where people want to see pretty people and be seen by them, where they want to escape homeless people, run-down real estate, and the overall shabbiness of poverty. (I guess he never gets out to Millsboro or Georgetown.) Unfortunately, I don't think this is an isolated opinion. I can gauge my column's reception simply by the amount of eye contact I do or do not receive from certain quarters. However, I have no apologies for the types of issues I deal with here. This is not a gossip column but rather my attempt to share some spiritual musings. For good or for ill, the spiritual issues of our day that I find most important and worthy of discussion are those which make some people (usually those of privilege) uncomfortable. This month we in the United States participate in the major holy day of civil religionThanksgiving, when we are supposed to thank the Divine for all that we have. This holiday used to open the floodgates for consumers to begin looking toward Christmas, but every year this happens earlier and earlier, with the result that I heard Christmas carols at Wal-Mart before Halloween! At Thanksgiving, we gather with others of like minds and similar means to gorge on food and congratulate ourselves on all that we have. But how often do we consider those who are less fortunate? Do we include at our table those who look or earn or think differently than we do? If we say a Christian blessing over the meal, do we realize that Jesus would probably not feel welcome at our tables? If we offer a Jewish prayer over the food, do we recall that the Hebrew prophets were more concerned with the orphan and the widow than the well-to-do and self-satisfied? If we pause in silent meditation, do we remember that mindfulness and interconnectedness with all of creation are prerequisites for doing so? People of conscience and integrity must sooner or later face the fact that poverty is a spiritual issue. None of the world's religions prizes wealth as something that is deserved or even divinely given; on the contrary, most spiritual disciplines preach that those with wealth and material means have the responsibility to share with those less fortunate. Likewise, politics becomes a spiritual issue when the decisions of world leaders cause war, famine, ecological destruction, ethnic and economic apartheid, sexual exploitation, and the hoarding of resources. Sexuality is both a political and a spiritual issue; what we do with each other in our most private moments is not something confined to the bedroom, but has ramifications for the public health, the economy, and the state. We have treated other people as commodities for so long that our intimacy carries a price tag in many different ways. Spirit urges us to think about how we treat one another: Are we intimate or just sexual? Are we loving or manipulative, hedonistically out-of-control or prudishly judgmental? Do we thank Spirit for our ability to connect with others mentally, emotionally, and physically, or do we insist on keeping body, mind, and spirit in separate yet equal categories? Do we avoid discussing politics or religion at our Thanksgiving dinner gatherings because we don't want to go too deep or get too involved? Have we stopped caring what others think or believe in as long as we are all having a good time? See you next year! The Rev. Dr. Tom Bohache is the pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church of Rehoboth, which is in the process of inaugurating some "green" programs to help the earth and its people. Check out MCCR's website at mccrehoboth.org. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 17, No. 15 November 21, 2007 |