The gospels according to Casey

I went to mass with mom this morning. Then I drove over to Marietta for the UU service. It was interesting to contrast the messages. At mass, the priest was asking us to let God in so that we might experience peace and joy. At the UU service, the pain of the world was acknowledged and our part in responding to that pain held up. I thought of the prosperity gospel preached at evangelical churches--play by the rules and you will be rich! Versus the prophetic gospel offered by the left wing of the Catholic church--Jim Wallis a prime example. The latter recognises that Jesus was a radical who rattled the cages of the powerful.

At this morning’s mass and at the gospel choir the other night, I kept thinking about the Rohingya in Myanmar and the Uighurs in China and the misery of those in Syria and Yemen and in refugee camps worldwide. I think it’s hard to listen to religious people revel in the glory of God without acknowledging the depth of the suffering in this world. I think humanity is on the back foot and if good people don’t fight back, we are headed for a new Dark Age. I think the weak tea served up in Catholic (and possibly mainline Protestant) churches is part of the lie we are living. Surely, our massive three-story overheated houses aren’t part of the problem. That our addiction to entertainment and shopping aren't part of the problem. That we haven't lost some of the best parts of being human.

I posted a video on Facebook of a young girl from Sweden taking adults to task on their indifference to climate change. One of the things she said that struck me: "You are not mature enough to tell it like it is. Even that burden you leave to us children.”
12-23