any second the phone
could ring. until then, i'm being paid
the price of a milkshake per hour to sit here and wait to be needed. it's pretty intense. really. try it sometime
and see if YOUR heart doesn't just race the entire time!
because i decided TV
costs way too much, i have fallen for netflix instead. and i'll watch endless episodes of a show,
hoping against hope i can make it through another 43 minutes without being
called it. this is what i do on-call… earn another milkshake. anything longer a movie than that, and
there's little chance i can finish it before The Phone Call.
i just finished the
final episode of Monk. It's the best
tv-series finale i've ever seen. i
legitimately wanted to cry, but i'd never be able to answer the phone if/when
staffing called me if i started sobbing.
but it was epic.
then i took a leap
of faith and chose something new to Netflix that's 90 minutes long. i haven't seen it in decades, and have only
faint memories of it. The Hunchback of
Notre Dame. it's a grim look at the
hypocrisy in the church, and it's awfully intense for a kids' movie. i'm not sure how i feel about yet another
secular movie justifying an anti-church attitude by throwing our hypocrisy in
our faces again, but it's happened before and will continue to happen. never underestimate the ability of Disney to
warp spirituality and the church to fit the current sway of culture.
thank God the gospel
is stronger than any hypocrite or sinner.
but right in the
middle of the chaos, anger, malice and decrepit spirituality there was another
noise. a little quieter, but there.
Esmeralda the gypsy
girl- clearly a sinner so far from grace that nobody, not even herself,
considered that any God out there would deign to listen to her. the entire culture has crossed every one of
her people off their list, sure that grace could never reach them. worthless.
actually, worse than worthless.
better off dead than alive.
heathen, deserving of death.
seeking sanctuary in
the… well, sanctuary of the magnificent Notre Dame cathedral, she sees many
people, dressed prim and proper, kneeling in the pews praying so… neatly.
in the background,
the dirty wretched heathen outcast tries praying for the first, precious
time. and that little flicker of faith
reveals in its glow that there is room at the cross for even her. even more, she can see straight to the heart
of the gospel and understands it more than many of the church members
represented, except the priest. she
understands that Jesus came to call the sinners, not the righteous, to
repentance. and that He hears each
simple desperate plea. most times, it
takes an outcast to understand an outcast.
that's why he became
one. so we could understand.
there's so much
honesty in that song i can hardly stand it.
no, her philosophy is not 100% correct, but for someone who'd never in a
church before, she has a connection to the bigger reality not immediately
visible until a level of desperation is reached, the walls she's built up come
crashing down, and false prayers just fizzle away. she's hurting, she's got questions, and she's
got the guts to ask them. she speaks for
all the outcasts who are still waiting for relief to come. it's on its way. those who trust in Him are every bit His children
and He would never ever forsake them.
Jesus didn't forget them, and neither did his followers. is there
hypocrisy in the church? yes, because we are human. but is there also grace, mercy, peace,
forgiveness, healing, hope and completely unbound liberty? yes, because each of
us had that same kind of heart-rending First Prayer. and He heard us, too. the Church is rising up and answering the
call. His people are going all over the globe and finding His children. they
are hearing the Good News that answers the cry of their hearts, finding healing
and peace. there's a lot of work still
to be done, but we'll get there. to all
the Esmeraldas of the world- keep praying. so will we!
Esmeralda, get
ready- this is gonna happen. here's for
you:
