The Sidewalk Cries Out


Thursday night, I headed to downtown Lancaster to catch the band Kingsfoil, a Central Pa. band who are really good. One of their claims to fame is that they used to have a drummer formerly from some TV show. Really not worth looking up. I think it was Malcolm In The Middle. I have been listening to Kingsfoil for the last couple of months on Spotify. Time will tell if Spotify's model will work. Americans like to mooch without paying up. Although, I have been amused by people complaining on  Facebook, who should know better, about the ads directed at us freeloaders. As the old saying goes, "Beggars can't be choosers." My conscience was bothering me because I don't have any intention of paying up on Spotify. Just like iPhone apps. If I have to pay for them, I am not downloading them. So, I accept the AutoZone guys screaming and even the occasional condom ad on Spotify.

Yet, I think artists deserve support. So, there to the Lancaster Convention Center I went. Convention Centers and Casinos are cities' grand plans for economic development. Tourism rather than industry and manufacturing being the backbone of a region. So, Lancaster has wagered a lot on this strategy and the results are mixed."Doing Well But Deep In Debt" reads the title of a recent report. The line in this photo was for the show. Many of the line-waiters were Millersville University students gearing up for the headliner, Panic in the Disco.  Originally, Kingsfoil was listed as playing at 6:00. Since it was already close to six, I was going to bag it. and I started walking back to my car. Turns out that they were not coming on to 8:00. I thought to myself how many of the 1,000 or so college kids knew Jesus, or was this just one more line to nowhere.

But, before I saw the revised time on my iPhone Launch Festival app, as I walked around the block, some middle-aged man was speaking loudly to a young boy and girl about how the existence of God made no sense. He used an analogy of him wanting the Philadelphia Eagles to win the Superbowl, stating that just because he wanted it to happen, did not mean it was going to. Kind of a street-level Freudian argument for wish fulfillment of the Father projected onto an imaginary Deity. The kids, about 4 or 5 years of age, looked confused and discouraged. I was going to say something but wasn't sure I could do so gracefully. Inside, I was angry. A fool pretending to be wise, and dragging kids, presumably his own, down with him into the abyss of meaninglessness. The Bible states in Psalm 14:1 that 'The Fool Says in His Heart That There is No God."  The Hebrew word for fool used her, Nabal, means stupid; wicked (especially impious):-- fool(-ish, -ish man, -ish woman), vile person. Harsh words, a very serious warning, not to be dismissed casually.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem and His Disciples cried "Hosanna" the Pharisees tried to have Jesus shush them. Jesus replied that if He did so, the rocks would cry out. It was not a compliment, He was essentially calling the Pharisees dumber than rocks by implication. I am ashamed that I said nothing to the man and the children. I let them pass by. I could have responded like Jesus did when seeing Jerusalem, and made the prophesy of her destruction, with tears and cries. For if I do not do so, the sidewalk will....



 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shake the Dust: Anis Mojgani

Pslam 90:2 "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God." I am not real certain where Anis Mojgani comes from belief-wise. Cats like him tend to be synchrestic spiritually rather than Christ-centered. Yet, this poem captures the spirit of Jesus. What this poem also needs is grace....we shake off sin and mortality and take on Christ and immortality. This is for the fat girls This is for the little brothers For the former prom queen And for the milk crate ball players This is for the school yard wimps And the childhood bullies that tormented them Shake the dust. This is for the benches and the people sitting upon them. This is for the bus drivers driving a million broken hymns And for the men who have to hold down 3 jobs, Simply to hold up their children. For the nighttime schoolers And for the midnight bike riders trying to fly Shake the dust. For the two year olds who cann
Read more

White Shoes, White Stones

Rev 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. To him that overcometh, to him will I give of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and upon the stone a new name written, which no one knoweth but he that receiveth it. (ASV) With the white stone mentioned above in the Scripture verse, "And will give him a white stone" it is "Supposed that by the white stone is meant pardon or acquittance, and the evidence of it; and that there is an allusion here to the custom observed by judges in ancient times, who were accustomed to give their suffrages by white and black pebbles; those who gave the former were for absolving the culprit, those who gave the latter were for his condemnation." (Clarke) What has brought about this essay was my purchasing the other day of some very white and new Nike jogging shoes. My old pair of Nike's have been worn down. I was developing serious pain in my feet which is a solid sign that it is t
Read more

Going Rogue: Dare, Risk, Dream

Image
I picked up a bumper sticker at a Pub recently from the Rogue Brewery . On it there are the words: DARE, RISK, DREAM. Typically, the word Rogue is a negative term. I will let you decide if Sarah Palin and her book has made the word less or more so. Initially, I taped the bumper sticker to my computer lap top with the backing still on it in case I wanted to remove it. Just a second ago, I committed fully, and pulled the backing off and affixed it to my Dell. No turning back. Is that not an illustration of how to accomplish great things? We have to stick and commit. If we go taping ourselves to the backs of things, it leads to easier removal but also to tepid efforts. Now, if I take this bumper sticker off the back of my lap top it is going to be a mess...I am all in. Consequences be damned. My summer vacation officially began today at noon (why else would I be blogging at 3:26 am?) and my creed for the summer is DARE, RISK, DREAM. A Kerouac quote to light the fireworks... "Great th
Read more