Canto
IX
Gangster
Gospel
Canto IX
Petrus Romanus
Who Am I?
Who am I? A poet seeking a muse? A pianist seeking a chord? A painter seeking a color? Hue am I? an overworked, underpaid underling in an upstart company, whose wages have been undercut due to outsourcing and corporate downsizing; an overdressed intern having outercourse with an underappreciated commander in briefs; an upstanding member of an economic underclass understood by many outsiders to be underserved (though some say we're undeserving); an outwitted consumer buying overpriced goods on the outskirts of town, having underestimated the outrageously high cost of high-test. To say that we've been uprooted and underprivileged would be a gross misunderstanding! But I don't mean to understate the overarching reality of an economic downturn on the upper echelon of the lower class. That would be downright insensitive. After all, you can launch a man into outer space, but you can't give him inner peace.
Now, you may think I'm overdoing this, but please understand, I'm just a down-and-out brother driving a slow truck to make a quick buck and improve my luck, but instead I find myself stuck in a rut! I don't mean to be outlandish, but frankly speaking (and freakly spanking), since I'm just a pimped-out prince with simple principles -- you know, like: "you can't have the upper hand without being underhanded"; or "never give a down payment to standup comic without a sitcom" -- allow me to give you the straight-up lowdown: I am the original gangster prophet and ghetto poet; a dreamer as great as Don Quixote and a lover as great as Don Juan, yet I am as unrecognized as Don Diego. Who am I? Come and see...
(Luke 9:18) And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am?
Sick Christian
When Paul was smitten with a thorn in his flesh, he petitioned the Lord three times, but the Lord answered, "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor 12:9). Paul understood what the Lord meant but do you? Do you know what it's like to declare as Paul did when he said, "Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2 Cor 12:9).
But what does it mean to glory in sickness? How can suffering yield fruit for the gospel? It's counterintuitive to what we hear preached from televised pulpits and charismatic revival meetings; that Jesus is our healer, that sickness has no more dominion over the believer, that the Word of life is health to the bones (Prov 16:24); that we are healed by his stripes (Is 53:5)! If all of these statements are true, then how is it that a Christian can get sick?
The Bible says that when a devil is cast out, it returns and, finding the house "swept and garnished," it summons seven more devils and the state of the believer is worse than before (Luke 11:24-26). I believe that each of these seven demons has its own reason as to why Christians are not immune from sickness.
The first demon might say that sickness is a test of faith and that God sends it into our lives to see if we will remain faithful. He might also point out that Job was similarly tested, God permitting the devil to take away Job's health in order to prove his faith (Job 1:8-12). However, this is at odds with the New Testament, which is adamant that by faith and not by test can a person aspire to God's approval. The lesson of Job is not that God needs to test us. We've already failed that test, which is why we need Christ. We've essentially got nothing to prove!
The second demon might say that pain and sickness are necessary to bring us closer to Christ. He might say that suffering brings us into similitude with Christ and deepens our relationship with him. However, it is foolish to think that we could ever be brought into a closer relationship with Christ through suffering. Christ is a mystery and there is no pain or suffering that can match his or give us any kind of understanding as to the horror of his Passion. It is an insult to the cross to believe that we can liken ourselves to God in this way. If anything, pain and suffering hinders our relationship with Christ just as Paul maintains in Romans 2, that "the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance."
The third demon might say that sickness is a form of chastening. He might also quote Paul as saying, "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth" (Heb 12:6). However, when the Lord chastens us, it is never with physical suffering. God wouldn't see His son punished on the cross and then punish us for our lapses. The cross paid for everything we have ever done or ever will do. Furthermore, pain and suffering doesn't help us to learn our lesson any better. It only makes us terrified of God, which is of itself a sin. In addition, we are so utterly depraved, that were God to chasten us with suffering, we would be in near-constant suffering.
The fourth demon might try to convince you that your sickness is due to a lack of faith. This is a common refrain among numerous faith healers who fail to cast out sickness; that the reason why the miracle healing didn't work is because your faith wasn't strong enough. He might reference the passage in Matthew 17 where the faith of a mustard seed can move mountains and Paul's assertion that we are each accorded a different "measure of faith" (Rom 12:3). However, in the colorful language of faith, we must delineate between what is belief and what is euphoria. Belief defies quantification -- you either believe something or you don't; Euphoria, on the other hand, may wax and wane in the heart of the believer. It is the blissful awareness of faith. So can an increased sense of euphoria heal us? Yes, but not necessarily. Just as God permitted the devil to put a thorn in Paul's flesh, God can permit Satan to bring disease into our lives despite our "measure of faith."
The fifth demon might try to convince you that the cause of your illness is God's desire to grow you or to make you stronger through trial. But suffering does not make us better for having gone through it. Nor is the ability to withstand punishment a virtue.
The sixth demon might try to convince you that your sickness is in fact God's refining fire; that God has brought suffering into your life in order to purify you, to make you more holy (Is 48:10; Mal 3:3). But there is a difference between the suffering, which is repentance and the suffering that is of this world. Every Christian experiences a crisis in their soul before giving themselves completely to Christ. This is the true refining fire. John the Baptist even refers to it as baptism by fire (Matt 3:11). Physical suffering does not refine us at all. It does not make us more pure or more holy.
The seventh and last demon is the most insidious. He says that sickness is the removal of God's protective hand; that God has taken away the healing power of Christ's blood. But the recession of gifts should not be interpreted as the recession of God's grace. Yes, we are to be zealous for spiritual gifts (1 Cor 14:12), but not to the point where we lust after them, giving them higher esteem than that of Christ. There is no gift or miracle that can rival the mystery of faith in Jesus Christ and the gift of faith that can never recede.
So why then do we get sick? And what purpose does suffering serve? God says, "My strength is made perfect in weakness" and Paul responds, "Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities." But what does that mean?
The answer to this question lies in the Via Dolorosa, or Way of the Cross. According to Tradition, Christ was forced to carry his own cross through the streets of Jerusalem prior to his crucifixion. At one point, the Romans forced a bystander, a man known to us only as Simon of Cyrene (Matt 27:32), to carry Jesus' cross a part of the way. But what does this have to do with our illness? What lesson can be gleaned by the ministry of Simon of Cyrene?
The cross-bearing Simon is important because it shows us that we have a role and a ministry in lessening the degree of Christ's suffering. Just as our sins scourged Christ on the cross, our sickness and physical discomfort mitigates the damage caused by our sin, affording us the opportunity to help carry our Savior's cross a part of the way. We take away some of Jesus' stripes by bearing them on ourselves just as Christ takes away our sin and death by bearing them on himself. That is how we perfect God's strength in the midst of our physical weakness!
Fortune Cookie Wisdom
(Wise man say, 'You are one tough cookie!')
A fool says, Every dog has his day;
A wise man says, Everyday is God's day.
A fool is perverted;
A wise man is converted.
A fool seeks a way to understand;
A wise man seeks to understand the way.
A fool chases his dreams;
A wise man follows his heart.
A fool says, I'll believe it when I see it;
A wise man says, I'll see it when I believe it.
A fool begs for more;
A wise man begs for mercy.
A fool is a wolf in sheep's clothing;
A wise man is a sheep in wolf's clothing.
A fool's fate is sealed;
A wise man's faith is sealed.
A fool is a victim of society;
A wise man is a menace to society.
A fool says my words don't exist;
A double fool takes them literally;
A wise man takes it for what it's worth.
A fool has a premise;
A wise man has a promise.
A fool is needy;
A double fool is greedy;
A wise man is ready.
A fool goes into debt;
A double fool pays it off;
A wise man declares bankruptcy.
A fool leaches off his parents;
A double fool robs his children of their future;
A wise man accepts help from family.
A fool says, My sin is forgotten;
A wise man says, My sin is forgiven.
A fool dismisses these words;
A double fool regurgitates them;
A wise man seeks to interpret.
A fool has a fear of commitment;
A double fool has separation anxiety;
A wise man lets love go in order to find it.
A fool donates out of guilt;
A wise man donates out of gratitude.
A fool is loyal to his country;
A double fool is loyal to his church;
A wise man is loyal to his God.
A fool cannot find the doorway;
A double fool clings to the doorway;
A wise man shuts the door behind him.
A fool fears that he cannot know;
A wise man knows that he cannot fear.
A foolish general fights yesterday's battle;
A wise general declares victory in the midst of battle.
A fool sees the crucifix as an accusation;
A wise man sees the crucifix as an exoneration.
A fool says his prayers;
A wise man prays them.
A fool claims a right to privacy;
A double fool seeks attention;
A wise man is known only to God.
A foolish priest tries to increase the population of heaven;
A wise priest tries to decrease the temperature of hell.
A foolish president wags his finger;
A double foolish president wags the dog;
A wise president gets us into peace.
A fool has a fear of failure;
A double fool has a fear of success;
A wise man fears fear itself.
A fool discovers the "historical" Jesus;
A wise man repents to the God he knows.
A fool performs an autopsy on the devil he just slew;
A double fool resurrects him to kill him again;
A wise man casts out other people's devils.
A foolish criminal wants to get caught;
A wise criminal wants to be found.
A fool says, I am insane;
A wise man says, I am an ensign.
A fool sees an aberration;
A wise man sees an Apparition.
A fool wonders how he is perceived
A wise man wonders how he can perceive
A foolish artist has references;
A wise artist has preferences.
I once had lunch at this really great restaurant in San Francisco's Chinatown. Afterward, the waitress handed me the check with a fortune cookie (an obvious defect since there wasn't anything printed on it).
I guess that means I'm going to die!, I scoffed.
Of course not! smiled the waitress. That means you make your own fortune!
xie xie!^^
Tiger of Lanzhou
There's a village in the East
(like a box within a box)
Where the people keep the feast
of the New Year of the ox.
There's a yellow river there
(where the rabbit likes to play).
Maybe in another year,
he becomes the tiger's prey?
There's a woman in Lanzhou
(perfect as a porcelain doll).
Maybe she can show me how
deep in love a man may fall.
Maybe I will never know
(maybe it was for the best
That I was not meant to go
from this village in the West).
He who claims to know it all
often knows it all the least;
Wisdom is a China doll
from a village in the East.
The Time of Night is Bleak
The time of night is bleak
Tormented souls, they peek
Through stones of death, they seek
The graves of mourning rise
Where time is death's disguise
And with his scythe, applies
His cloak of blackened skin
With eyes of wretched sin
Become our blessed kin
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LORD JESUS CHRIST,SON OF THE FATHER,SEND NOW YOUR SPIRIT OVER THE EARTH.LET THE HOLY SPIRIT LIVEIN THE HEARTS OF ALL NATIONS,THAT THEY MAY BE PRESERVEDFROM DEGENERATION, DISASTER AND WAR.MAY THE LADY OF ALL NATIONS,WHO ONCE WAS MARY,BE OUR ADVOCATE.AMEN.
LORD JESUS CHRIST,
SON OF THE FATHER,
SEND NOW YOUR SPIRIT OVER THE EARTH.
LET THE HOLY SPIRIT LIVE
IN THE HEARTS OF ALL NATIONS,
THAT THEY MAY BE PRESERVED
FROM DEGENERATION, DISASTER AND WAR.
MAY THE LADY OF ALL NATIONS,
WHO ONCE WAS MARY,
BE OUR ADVOCATE.
AMEN.
