Pope Benedict the Comedian

It's hard to believe August is upon us, and even harder to believe we are just over two weeks away from the beginning of school. The tell-tale signs of summer's end have begun to appear, and I have spent the last couple of weeks making the most out of what is left of the season. Camping trips, fishing, cookouts, swimming, picnics, bike rides, gardening, etc. All of these activities dotted in and amongst lots of overtime hours at work has left my blog to suffer. I have heard from several of you who grace my little discussions with your thoughts and insight, and I apologize to you for my little sabbatical.

Something has been on my mind for quite some time now, and I intended on addressing it long before now. Because the topic has found its way into a few discussions over the last couple of weeks tells me it's not something which will just dissipate if I ignore it. So, I shall address it.

As many of you know, Mandi and I began the Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey several months ago, and are well on our way to becoming debt-free. It has been an enlightening and educational journey, as we have learned to live without many of the luxuries we really don't need. One such luxury I have forced myself to live without over and over is a subscription to Sports Illustrated. I love the magazine, but I know it's not something I absolutely need at this point. That said, you can imagine my shock when I discovered my wife has subscribed to Mad Magazine. Not only is such a move completely off the radar in terms of what we are trying to accomplish financially, but it's even further off the radar in terms of Mandi's brand of humor. In addition, she hadn't even bothered to discuss this move with yours truly! Not that she has to clear anything with me, but since we don't even subscribe to a magazine, or didn't, I would have loved to have offered my two-cents. What about my needs???

At any rate, I discovered the magazine on the kitchen table a couple of weeks ago, and it was open to an article which I found to be the funniest thing I've read in a long time. So hilarious was this piece that it nearly justified my wife's silly investment in the aforementioned subscription. The topic of the article was the assertion by Pope Benedict XVI that the Catholic Church is the only true path to salvation, and other Christian communities are "either defective or not true churches." Now that is good stuff, people. When did the Pope become a comedian? Who knew the Vatican would allow His Holiness to hold a second job, and especially one in stand-up comedy??? I mean, I thought this guy was a serious, ultra-conservative, strictly-by-the-book kind of Pope. I figured his reign would have no room for anything funny. Tell ya what, I'll be the first in line if this guy ever makes it to a local comedy club. Catholicism the only true path to salvation? Other churches are jokes?? This is priceless, roll-on-the-floor kind of humor!

And here's where the joke ends. My wife never actually subscribed to Mad Magazine. The article I have referenced actually appeared in the local paper, which means its contents were true. The Pope actually made such a ludicrous statement, and I was merely hoping that what I was reading was from some off the wall comedic publication. To be honest, after I read the article, I wanted to vomit. I was sick. I simply cannot wrap my brain around the thought of a prominent religious leader drawing lines and using religion to divide, though it happens far more than I care to acknowledge. Such action is so far removed from what I believe to be Jesus' central message, which is that we are all God's children. We are human beings, regardless of color, regardless of faith, regardless of sexual preference. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the WORLD...." It does not say, "for God so loved the Catholics." Or, "for God so loved heterosexuals." Or, "for God so loved the Caucasians." Let me reiterate - the verse very plainly says, "For God so loved the world..." Seems pretty all-inclusive to me.

I ran the spectrum of emotions after reading the article, from being sick to sad to angry. Given my love for humor, I finally decided to shrug the whole thing off as simply funny. To think the Pope is so ignorant to actually believe in the stance he has taken is simply funny. I'm not a perfect specimen and I'll be the first to tell you that I tend to judge people way too much. I think it's a natural human tendency to draw lines. In the end, though, I believe we all come from the same Maker who loves us regardless of who we are or how we think. God's grace is the single most amazing gift in the world because its intended for....the WORLD. It's not the easiest concept to grasp, and to be sure, I'm still trying to understand it. And therein lies the beauty - regardless of the lines we silly humans tend to draw to separate each other and make labels, God's grace remains steadfast for all.

Keep 'em comin', Pope!