As I lay upon my recliner watching a The West Wing episode on Netflix, I seemed to doze, and I bethought me that I dreamed. And lo, there appeared to me one like unto Allison Janney, and also like unto C.J. Cregg, and unto Bonnie from Mom, and even like unto Job herself (see previous post). And she spoke to me and said:
"Daughter, I have seen thy suffering, and how you face serious abuse and repression."
And I said, "But Allison Janney, I am a member of a ELCA church here in Arlington Heights, and have never known serious abuse and repression. And I have a recliner and Netflix, so I don't think I can be said to be suffering."
And she said unto me, "Daughter, when you attend worship, what doth the liturgy commend to thy saying at the end of each time of worship?"
And I said, "We say, 'Make Christ Known. Thanks be to God.'"
And she said unto me, "And do thy pastors and teachers and religious leaders and fellow congregants ever ask you in what wise you have made Christ known in your world in that week preceding?"
And I said, "Good heavens no, we are not accountable to them for our actions in the world as Christians."
And she said, "Daughter, can you explain to me why this should be so?"
And I said, "Because if they were to ask us, we might demand a like accounting of them, which would be embarrassing and possibly hurt people's feelings."
And then Allison Janney (for such she seemed) took me up upon a high mountain, and she showed me a world in which there were no humans, but only goats and sheep. And the goats and sheep fought each other without ceasing, and there was much blood, but no barbecue.
And she said, "Daughter, what do you see?"
And I said, "I see a lot of goats and sheep fighting each other. Is this a metaphor?"
And she said unto me, "Daughter, I will explain the figure to you. These goats which you see are those who think that all religion is but chaff and unworthy to be thought upon. And these sheep are those who understand only that they are right and all others wrong."
And I said to her, "Allison Janney, where have all the humans gone?"
And she said, "Daughter, they have not gone: they are only invisible. Those who cannot speak cannot be seen, and their tongues have all withered; for they never learned to speak of their faith in any way that did not make them sound preachy, patronizing, or self-righteous. This their church never expected of them, nor did it teach, nor equip them, to speak briefly, cheerfully, and eloquently of their deepest values. This I call abuse and repression, for now they cannot be heard nor seen, and now all draws to an end."
And I said, "But Allison Janney, we just have to decide to practice talking about our beliefs like ordinary practical human beings in ordinary practical situations. Nobody is stopping us."
And she looked upon me sternly, and spoke, and said, "Daughter, seeing is believing, and hearing is yet more. And now I must leave you, and you shall see me no more, save in reruns. Go your way, Daughter, and tell thy people to get it in gear."
Then I awoke and decided that it wouldn't kill me to hold myself a little more accountable to my faith community by explaining what I do at Garrett in a way that is quick and light-hearted and not all jargon-y and blah blah blah. And then I decided to watch X-Files, as being an excellent example of a modern use of the genre of apocalyptic.
(For those who don't know anything about the genre of apocalyptic, this is from Christopher D. Stanley's book, The Hebrew Bible: A Comparative Approach, pages 484-485:
"...most scholars would agree that apocalyptic thinking has its roots in the prophetic movement. Apocalyptic texts share many features with the prophetic books. Common elements include:
- a belief that Yahweh reveals his plans to humans through episodes of prophetic inspiration;
- a conviction that Yahweh stands on the side of a faithful but oppressed minority within the people of Israel;
- a critical attitude toward those who hold positions of power and influence within the society;
- an expectation that Yahweh will act at the appropriate time to bring down the powerful and rescue those who are oppressed;
- an anticipation of a future era in which everyone will be devoted to Yahweh and righteousness and justice will prevail; and
- a reliance on symbolic and exaggerated language to describe both present and future events.
- more frequent and more extensive reports of visionary experiences;
- more detailed descriptions of the heavenly realm and its inhabitants;
- more specific predictions about the future course of human events;
- a vital role for the supernatural forces that stand in opposition to Yahweh;
- a highly pessimistic view of human nature and the present universe;
- an assurance that the day of judgement and salvation will occur soon;
- depictions of the fates of the righteous and the wicked after death; and
- scenes of a final, universal judgement that will eliminate evil from the universe and inaugurate a new era of peace and joy for the righteous.")
