Something Extra
April 13, 2009
It's like Babette's Feast. Too
often the church is the gruel sippers who
have their faces pressed against the window
of the world watching the world celebrate
life and they don't get it. When in reality,
the father welcomed the prodigal son home in
the gospel of Luke, and the world pressed its
face against that window to see the
celebration of grace. Jean
Larroux
In the town of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi,
there is a church named
Lagniappe. It is an old Creole
word that means "something
extra."
Pastor Jean Larroux explains, "Down here if you go into a seafood shop and order a pound of shrimp and they put in an extra handful, that's the lagniappe. It's something you can't pay for. Something for nothing. Something for free."
In an area devastated by Hurricane Katrina, Jean began this church, in his words, with people "primed for grace."
Accustomed to teaching church people how to celebrate, Jean was surprised to find himself in a community of people who already knew. Even in the middle of their hardship.
Here's the good part.
The celebration-from lagniappe-is not predicated on life as we expect it.
The party doesn't start when our fear is gone.
Or when our beliefs are unadulterated.
Or when our circumstances make it feasible.
Most likely, if we wait for all that, we miss the resurrection every time.
Just like the twosome on the Road to Emmaus. Looking for "answers," they missed the resurrected Jesus. "But were not our hearts burning within us?" they said.
Lagniappe is what Easter is all about. When I was a kid Easter was about believing the right things (even when I wasn't sure), and saying the right things (it helped to speak loudly) and pointing fingers at those who didn't see it the way I did. And then after church we hunted eggs and ate enough chocolate to make even our Baptist parents pray for Happy Hour.
Did you know that the Greek translation of the Gospel of Mark stops in the middle of a sentence? After the resurrection it's not so neat and tidy, and ends oddly, like a great TV-season-finale, leaving us wanting more. But maybe that's good.
I appreciate Rev. Brian Hiortdahl's take. He says, "It's scary to think that God is alive and able to do things so far beyond our prediction and beyond our control. The future is wide open. We can participate in it, but we're not in charge, and we are a people who like to be in charge of stuff. We like to predict. We like to figure out when the economy is going to get better and plan for it. Resurrection just blows all of that away."
Robert Capon is unequivocal, "(The religious man) deals God a king and an ace and God pushes the cards away and says, 'Look, I don't want to take your money. You can't play with me. The odds are always on the house here and besides, no matter how full you think your deck is, you haven't got a full deck and you can never win playing this game of cards with me. So why don't you just be like that fellow over there who is looking at his shoes and the two of you go over and have a free drink and enjoy yourselves because you can be home free here if you will only stop this nonsense of trying to sell me, trying to win over me, trying to get an arm up on me, to do something to me to prove that you are okay. I don't care that you are not okay. I will raise you from the death of your lack of okayness. I will raise you up. Just trust me. That fellow over there, all he said was he was no good. He threw himself in trust on me. He's home free because all the dead are home free in my working of the universe, in my reconciliation of the world. All you have to do is recognize that death is the key to your salvation.'"
Lagniappe.
There's only one requirement: bring who you are to the party.
This is not about bringing who you are supposed to be.
Or who you should be.
This is not about the denial of pain and suffering.
Or the denial of grief and loss and hardship.
Or even the denial of death.
It is about what the people of Bay Saint Louis knew. If there's a party, jump in with both feet. Jean says, "they take every drop of juice out of the lemon that they can get, and they love it."
I was in Portland this week, and Jean's story reminded me of the One More Time Around Marching Band (OMTAAMB). They march every year in the Portland, Oregon Rose Parade. The OMTAAMB is believed to be the largest permanent marching band in the world. Made up of former high school, college and military marching band members, the ages of its 500 members range from 19 to 85. Members come from far away places just to perform with the band each year - in recent years there are members from California, Florida, Ohio, Japan and New Zealand.
Their uniform? White pants and a yellow t-shirt.
Their prerequisite? Love of music. (www.omtaamb)
Lagniappe.
There was no Easter sunrise service today. Well, because there was no sunrise. We had a steady rain. All daylong. The newspaper had a little bit of good news. But mostly bad. And my email inbox had some surefire specials including two promoting a Mexican source for Viagra. (What a great way to begin Easter; sorting through email testimonials regarding black market pharmaceuticals.) Tempting, but I passed on the special pills. And spent the afternoon watching a pair of mallards float on our pond and graze in our yard. Our cats watched too. Finches flocked to our feeders. And Zach and I did our best versions of Star Wars light-saber battles. I didn't fare so well. In the garden, our flowering-red-currant has begun to bloom, extravagant, with nodding raspberry red blooms and great clumps of mango-yellow daffodils glow and shine, even in the fading dusk light.
(Note: Jean Larroux story from Sin Boldly, Cathleen Falsani)
Notes from Terry
1. Mark you calendars
May 15 - 17 in Davis, California. Grace in Action, a faith-based ministry serving the homeless in our community invites you to GRACE IN THE GARDEN, a weekend celebration of gardening, spirituality, and embracing life.
Friday, May 15 -- Picnic in the Garden with Terry Hershey / Unitarian Universalist Church of Davis
Saturday, May 16 -- Grace in the Garden with Terry Hershey, Warren Roberts and Others / Davis Community Church
Sunday, May 17 -- Worship with Terry Hershey / United Methodist Church of Davis
A weekend benefit for Grace in Action
Contact: office@grace-in-action.org or call 530-792-1053
2. Terry's new CDs, Born to Dance and Sabbath Moments are coming soon. They have been slightly delayed in production. Thank you for your patience.
Pastor Jean Larroux explains, "Down here if you go into a seafood shop and order a pound of shrimp and they put in an extra handful, that's the lagniappe. It's something you can't pay for. Something for nothing. Something for free."
In an area devastated by Hurricane Katrina, Jean began this church, in his words, with people "primed for grace."
Accustomed to teaching church people how to celebrate, Jean was surprised to find himself in a community of people who already knew. Even in the middle of their hardship.
Here's the good part.
The celebration-from lagniappe-is not predicated on life as we expect it.
The party doesn't start when our fear is gone.
Or when our beliefs are unadulterated.
Or when our circumstances make it feasible.
Most likely, if we wait for all that, we miss the resurrection every time.
Just like the twosome on the Road to Emmaus. Looking for "answers," they missed the resurrected Jesus. "But were not our hearts burning within us?" they said.
Lagniappe is what Easter is all about. When I was a kid Easter was about believing the right things (even when I wasn't sure), and saying the right things (it helped to speak loudly) and pointing fingers at those who didn't see it the way I did. And then after church we hunted eggs and ate enough chocolate to make even our Baptist parents pray for Happy Hour.
Did you know that the Greek translation of the Gospel of Mark stops in the middle of a sentence? After the resurrection it's not so neat and tidy, and ends oddly, like a great TV-season-finale, leaving us wanting more. But maybe that's good.
I appreciate Rev. Brian Hiortdahl's take. He says, "It's scary to think that God is alive and able to do things so far beyond our prediction and beyond our control. The future is wide open. We can participate in it, but we're not in charge, and we are a people who like to be in charge of stuff. We like to predict. We like to figure out when the economy is going to get better and plan for it. Resurrection just blows all of that away."
Robert Capon is unequivocal, "(The religious man) deals God a king and an ace and God pushes the cards away and says, 'Look, I don't want to take your money. You can't play with me. The odds are always on the house here and besides, no matter how full you think your deck is, you haven't got a full deck and you can never win playing this game of cards with me. So why don't you just be like that fellow over there who is looking at his shoes and the two of you go over and have a free drink and enjoy yourselves because you can be home free here if you will only stop this nonsense of trying to sell me, trying to win over me, trying to get an arm up on me, to do something to me to prove that you are okay. I don't care that you are not okay. I will raise you from the death of your lack of okayness. I will raise you up. Just trust me. That fellow over there, all he said was he was no good. He threw himself in trust on me. He's home free because all the dead are home free in my working of the universe, in my reconciliation of the world. All you have to do is recognize that death is the key to your salvation.'"
Lagniappe.
There's only one requirement: bring who you are to the party.
This is not about bringing who you are supposed to be.
Or who you should be.
This is not about the denial of pain and suffering.
Or the denial of grief and loss and hardship.
Or even the denial of death.
It is about what the people of Bay Saint Louis knew. If there's a party, jump in with both feet. Jean says, "they take every drop of juice out of the lemon that they can get, and they love it."
I was in Portland this week, and Jean's story reminded me of the One More Time Around Marching Band (OMTAAMB). They march every year in the Portland, Oregon Rose Parade. The OMTAAMB is believed to be the largest permanent marching band in the world. Made up of former high school, college and military marching band members, the ages of its 500 members range from 19 to 85. Members come from far away places just to perform with the band each year - in recent years there are members from California, Florida, Ohio, Japan and New Zealand.
Their uniform? White pants and a yellow t-shirt.
Their prerequisite? Love of music. (www.omtaamb)
Lagniappe.
There was no Easter sunrise service today. Well, because there was no sunrise. We had a steady rain. All daylong. The newspaper had a little bit of good news. But mostly bad. And my email inbox had some surefire specials including two promoting a Mexican source for Viagra. (What a great way to begin Easter; sorting through email testimonials regarding black market pharmaceuticals.) Tempting, but I passed on the special pills. And spent the afternoon watching a pair of mallards float on our pond and graze in our yard. Our cats watched too. Finches flocked to our feeders. And Zach and I did our best versions of Star Wars light-saber battles. I didn't fare so well. In the garden, our flowering-red-currant has begun to bloom, extravagant, with nodding raspberry red blooms and great clumps of mango-yellow daffodils glow and shine, even in the fading dusk light.
(Note: Jean Larroux story from Sin Boldly, Cathleen Falsani)
Notes from Terry
1. Mark you calendars
May 15 - 17 in Davis, California. Grace in Action, a faith-based ministry serving the homeless in our community invites you to GRACE IN THE GARDEN, a weekend celebration of gardening, spirituality, and embracing life.
Friday, May 15 -- Picnic in the Garden with Terry Hershey / Unitarian Universalist Church of Davis
Saturday, May 16 -- Grace in the Garden with Terry Hershey, Warren Roberts and Others / Davis Community Church
Sunday, May 17 -- Worship with Terry Hershey / United Methodist Church of Davis
A weekend benefit for Grace in Action
Contact: office@grace-in-action.org or call 530-792-1053
2. Terry's new CDs, Born to Dance and Sabbath Moments are coming soon. They have been slightly delayed in production. Thank you for your patience.
Poems / Prayers
New Terry Hershey videos
http://www.terryhershey.com
GOD'S GRANDEUR
THE world is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man's smudge and shares man's smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.
And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs --
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.
Gerald Manley Hopkins
Lord,
be a bright flame before me,
Today and for evermore.
Adapted from a prayer of Saint Columba
On the third day
we eat brunch
wear bright dresses
munch on jelly beans
and marshmallow bunnies
On the third day
we sing hymns
and go to church
if we can find a parking spot.
And on the third day
this God of ours
recovers from death
in a way that changes everything.
Tim Chown
Peace,
Terry Hershey
