Crazy Catholic Question #156: Fr. Greg Boyle, Part II

My college-aged kid is disillusioned and turned-off by any discussion of faith, especially Catholicism; anything smacking of God in anyway is met with a deep cynicism and disregard. I consider spirituality a deep part of being human, so I find this troubling. Any suggestions?

Yes, but I need to humbly admit that I’ve been unsuccessful in actually achieving this “darn good suggestion” (if I may say so myself) with many of my own family members! That’s one of the reasons Christian community is so essential, right? My recommendation sounds like Charlie Brown’s teacher to my kid, but a trusted church pal recommends the exact same thing and my kid jumps at the idea! So, our work is to just keep loving and listening as best we can (albeit sometimes through gritted teeth, shaking our fists at the heavens) and trust that God will reach those we love, at the perfect time, through avenues we may not be privy to.

NOW, back to my suggestion! And this isn’t just for college kids. This is for ANYONE who is losing faith that Christianity matters, that Jesus has the goods, or that love can and will change things - and here is it: Get your hands on anything written or spoken by Fr. Greg Boyle, S.J. - founder of Homeboy Industries in L.A., the largest gang-intervention and rehabilitation program in the world – and share it with your forlorn loved one(s). Fr. Greg’s authenticity and masterful mix of irreverence, humor, and riveting stories are absolutely disarming and 100% free of even the slightest hint of rhetoric or empty religiosity. He is the REAL DEAL!

Maybe begin with texting the link (aren’t you hip!?!) of one of Fr. Greg’s recent commencement speeches available on YouTube. Or, better yet, maybe a friend or family member closer to your kid’s age loves your homemade pumpkin pie and is bribable? Having him/her text the link would be much more effective, for as you have undoubtedly already discovered, young people tend to listen to other young people (hence, Youth Group! Tuesday nights! 7PM! Every week!)

OR, both of Fr. Greg’s books are amazing; Barking at the Choir, his most recent release, or his first book, Tattoos on the Heart, which is available FREE on Hoopla via your local library as an audio book (his stories are even better in his own voice). His writing is pure Gospel; God’s abundant mercy, overflowing, healing, inspiring, and bringing change to our troubled world. Fr. Greg puts forth the most compelling vision of Jesus’ dream for our world since, well (in my humble opinion), since Jesus! Here are a couple quotes: (maybe write them on a sticky note and attach them to your bathroom mirror?):

“Our culture is hostile only to the inauthentic living of the gospel. It sniffs out hypocrisy everywhere and knows when Christians aren’t taking seriously, what Jesus took seriously. It is, by and large, hostile to the right things. It actually longs to embrace the gospel of inclusion and nonviolence, of compassionate love and acceptance. Even atheists cherish such a prospect.” 

“Moral outrage is the opposite of God; it only divides and separates what God wants for us, which is to be united in kinship. Moral outrage doesn't lead us to solutions - it keeps us from them. It keeps us from moving forward toward a fuller, more compassionate response to members of our community who belong to us, no matter what they've done.” 

So, in short, my suggestion is to somehow, creatively, subtly, stealthily, without any expectations or preachiness - gift your college student one of Fr. Greg’s books and then, whether they read it or not, just continue to love em’ where they are at…

Send your Crazy Catholic Question to Lisa Brown at dre@ctredeemer.org or read past columns at www.crazycatholicquestions.blogspot.com.

Crazy Catholic Question #155: Fr. Greg Boyle Part I

I’m looking for a book for my teenager on our faith that isn’t of the “sugar sweet” variety. Any suggestions?

I just finished reading Fr. Greg Boyle’s new book entitled Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship and I simply CANNOT recommend it enough. His voice and stories are as close as it gets for me to the voice of God - the true good news of God’s unfailing mercy – and not one sugar sweet sentence to be found.

If you haven’t already gathered from my articles, I deeply appreciate a smattering of irreverence woven into the Gospel message rather than the pages and pages of tired platitudes often found in Christian book stores these days. Fr. Greg has this brazenness mastered! So if you have someone in your life (maybe yourself) who is worn out and turned off by Christianity because of all the empty rhetoric – Fr. Greg is the ticket! To give you a taste, here is one of my favorite quotes:

“We think that Jesus wants a fan club, undulating crowds, gushing adorers, clamoring for autographs and sideling up to him proclaiming “I’m your biggest fan! I have all your albums. I’ve never missed a concert!” As is often said, Jesus doesn’t say in the Gospels “worship me” but simply “follow me.”

I recall being interviewed on the Christian Broadcasting Network by a woman who, just having listened to the litany of things we do at Homeboy Industries (the largest and most successful gang intervention, rehab, and reentry program in the world) from tattoo removal to job training, case management to mental health counseling, paused cautiously once I had finished and asked “but how much time do you spend at Homeboy Industries each day praising God?” I actually didn’t know what to say to that, but found myself saying “All damned day!” How does praise please God anyway? Or what would God find pleasure in? Find the thing that quenches God’s thirst. Since God is on the receiving end of all this praise filled attention, it would seem to make sense to ask ourselves what kind of praise does God have any interest in?

I received an award once at a gala dinner.  I was the second to be recognized and the woman before me was breathless while giving her acceptance speech and she said “First, I need to thank Jesus Christ, because, after all, without him I am nothing!” And all I’m thinking is “hostage video.” I’m imagining Jesus off stage behind the curtain holding this woman’s dog with a pistol to old Fido’s temple. “That’s right” Jesus says and nods “Damn right you better thank me.”

I already knew that in my speech I would not be thanking Jesus. This is not because he is less important to me or my life. But I know with all the certainty in my being that Jesus has no interest in my doing this. To just say “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, I’m your biggest fan” causes him to stare at his watch, tap his feet and order a double Glenlivet on the rocks with a twist. Fandom is of no interest to Jesus. What matters to him is the authentic following of a disciple. We all settle for saying “Jesus” but Jesus wants us to BE in the world who He IS….Somehow the highest praise of God is not in speaking words of praise, but rather in speaking a language of inclusion where barriers are dismantled and circles are widened and no one is left outside. No one. Safe to say, this pleases God, because this is God’s only passion.  (P.S. Fr. Boyle’s earlier book “Tattoos on the Heart” is also amazing.)

Send your Crazy Catholic Question to Lisa Brown at dre@ctredeemer.org or read past columns at www.crazycatholicquestions.blogspot.com.

Crazy Catholic Question #154: Israel

Why is our Christian history so connected to Israel’s history?

There are countless reasons why it is important for us to understand and appreciate the great wisdom and beauty of Jewish history and tradition. For one, Jesus was Jewish as were all his first disciples; all were steeped in the Old Testament texts and the ancient customs therein, so it’s darn near impossible to understand all that Jesus wishes to share with us without some rudimentary knowledge of the history of the Israelites. To that end, I’d like to highlight one aspect of the Jewish perspective that might be of particular help to us at this moment in history.

In what we call the “Old Testament” (more appropriately “The Hebrew Scriptures”- since there is no “Old” and “New” for our Jewish brothers and sisters…simply THE testament) we read how the ancient Israelites tenaciously pursued the truth that undergirds every aspect of our lives; they searched and sought to see and understand what it is that we are meant to know and learn through each particular time or event within our history. But they approached this work not just with the physical eye but through a unique lens; the lens of their covenant with God. And so they listened with a different ear, one that was formed primarily by their strong belief that they always had God with them as a companion. They never saw themselves as alone. God is always in the picture; always the source of what is being revealed.

Author John Shea tells a story that highlights this point of view. He was attending a big national conference and when they broke into small groups, each person was called upon to introduce themselves. So he started out and said “Hi. My name is Jack Shea, I was born in 1946, I am a professor at Loyola University,” and so on and so forth. The next person up was a Native American and he began by saying “My people are from this region, our traditions are such and such, etc.” Only at the end did he make mention of his own place within his tribe. Who this man was began with his connectedness, his community. His primary identity was as a member of “a people” before having an individual identity.

This is very true about the Jewish people as well, who, right up to this day profess their covenant with God who proclaims many times in the Hebrew scriptures “I will be your God, and you shall be my people.” The story of the ancient Israelites  (including Jesus) is of a people who were profoundly conscious of their fellowship with God; beginning in the very first book of the bible that recounts how Abram (later Abraham) heard God say to him “Go out from your country, your relatives, and your father’s household to the land that I will show you” and at the spry age of 75, Abram listened, packed up his family and all he owned and moved out of the only land he had ever known.

What Jesus knew and what set the ancient Israelites apart was that they knew in the deepest part of their being that God, our creator, wished to communicate with them, acted in their lives and would never leave them alone. Our Jewish friends work very hard to keep the stories alive about how God has been present in the lives of their ancestors and continues to care for His people today. According to Jesus, who prayed “That we ALL may be one,” our ability as a human family to listen together for God and recognize our inalienable oneness as “a people,” are integral parts of God’s dream for our world.

Send your Crazy Catholic Question to Lisa Brown at dre@ctredeemer.org or read past columns at www.crazycatholicquestions.blogspot.com.