Usher in the truth. So help me God. Even if it means speaking up when it feels uncomfortable.
Speaking up and hitting a nerve
I was at church… mass… Catholic. Steeped in tradition. Priest up in the pulpit looking down at us… pontificating… or giving a homily… whatever you choose to call it. About the responsibilities of families, parents in raising their kids… I guess he was going on and on because I was checked out … when another voice rose up.
A voice from the congregation. A man stood up, yelling, pointing to the priest, telling him he didn’t know what he was talking about… that he had never had his own family or children of his own… that he should speak about what he knows.
The man in the congregation was visibly upset. I guess the priest had hit a nerve.
What amazed me was that the man stood up and voiced his opinion, loudly, in front of God and EVERYONE there.
It had frankly never occurred to me that one could have a rebuttal in that place… The house of God.
But in regular homes, there are often rebuttals. Kids disagree with parents, parents disagree with each other… raised voices, hurt feelings, EMOTIONS.
It made me think that God doesn’t necessarily want us to go tippy-toeing around in church. It’s supposed to be Their home. Do you expect your guests to tippy-toe around your home? People are supposed to COMMUNICATE and communicating involves emotions and emotions are messy.
Sometimes things get messy
That day in church, things got messy.
The ushers came and removed the man. He was only voicing his opinion. If God had disagreed, there probably would have been something like flooding or lightning or swarms of locusts.
But no. Only ushers. Ushering him out. And none too gracefully at that.
Now when I sit there on my hard wooden pew, I listen a bit closer. Because the priest is talking and I wonder if I agree with him and if I disagree, will I stand up and voice my opinion?
Luckily for me, they’ve been talking about biblical things where my opinions are scant. They haven’t talked about family relations or things where I might have more experience than a priest.
Because I am that random person who gets emotional and can’t contain myself when I feel things are wrong. I have a hard time not speaking up. (And I’ve seen those ushers. I think I could take them down if I had to. I mean, not that I would unless I had to.)
Priests are allowed their views. They see a lot of things that most of us never see. My great uncle was a priest, so I have the utmost respect for them. Some of them. Well, for my uncle.
But it’s God I’m worried about.
God might like to hear from the rest of us directly, not always filtered through someone who has their own filter system of judgment. God would probably like our opinions. At least that way They know we are listening and that we care.
When we know better, we do better
Because before, I didn’t care. I didn’t listen. I was lost in thought in my own head.
And we need to care.
We need to know what is getting into our heads and the heads of our children. After all, just because a priest or teacher or parent tells them something, doesn’t make it right.
The goal is to engage our reticular activating system and see if what we are hearing makes sense in our heart and soul.
Is the message coming at us the right message? Critical thinking is well… critical.
Just because the person speaking is in a position of authority doesn’t make them correct.
We, as listeners, need to have our bullshit radars on, just like that man in mass. He was listening and disagreeing. He spoke up. That took big kahunas. He made a lasting impression on everyone there, or at least me. Because I was 10 when that happened.
I’ve waited many years to see if anyone would speak up again, and I’ve never seen or heard it.
What stops us from speaking up?
Is it because no one is listening? Or do they discount the speaker? Or perhaps priests have decided to stick with scriptures that they know and have studied. I don’t know.
All I do know is that now I listen and wait to see if I will join that man… to stand up when the word coming down from on high, that pulpit, is off. I’m waiting. When something lights my fire, nothing will stop me from speaking up.
Who are you to stand up, you might ask? But if not me, then who? Who answers the calling?
Two ears to hear and one mouth to speak. If the ears are violated, the mouth stands at the ready.
What about you? Do you stand ready to speak up when an injustice has occurred, or you see things differently? Will you even recognize it? Are you paying attention?
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