4:34 p.m. - Saturday, Jun. 26, 2004
Officer McGruff and the Gypsy Preacher
I went to a community barbecue in the west side today (why is the poor part of every town in America always the west side?), and I saw a few things.
First, I saw Officer McGruff bow his head in prayer. He would have closed his eyes, but they were plastic, so he couldn't. Still, let it be known that Officer McGruff is a God-fearing dog, and when a gypsy preacher steps up to the microphone to pray, McGruff will bow his head.
Then I saw a gypsy preacher. His name is James and he goes to my church. He's one of the most interesting people I've ever met. He's a real gypsy, born and raised on the road. He grew up doing all kinds of manual labour, mostly cleaning septic tanks, and learned how to 'gyp' people. A few years after he became a Christian, he started travelling the country tent-preaching. He hasn't done it in a while, so when the opportunity came along for him to preach at this barbecue, he was there. He gave a loud sermon, and it was good.
I saw a biker chick singing praise to God wearing a black shirt with bright, yellow, heavy-metal letters which read "SATAN SUCKS!" He does indeed. It put to mind another shirt that I saw once. On it was a drawing of an angel with a huge sword cutting off a demon's head with a caption that read, "Satan is my bitch."
I saw Anna today, too. I gave her a ride home one day after I saw her wandering around the church after mass. She's mentally ill, and will just start walking and end up miles from her group home. Somehow she'd found her way to the barbecue today. I didn't see her before we left. I hope she had a ride home.
I saw a lady quiet a crowd with her voice. A couple of bands had been up, playing badly and abusing the sound system. Another well-intentioned man gave a fairly bad speech on the rapture. And then came Renee. An unassuming African-American lady with no instruments began singing a song of God's grace, and everyone fell silent. It was really quite amazing, and quite beautiful. She ushered in the God's spirit of peace with the sound of her voice.
Finally, I saw James Flaherty sing from his heart. He's our homeless, singer-songwriter friend. Virtually the same thing happened when he sang. There is something very powerful about a humble heart and a voice.
There is a lot to see in this world, and the best stuff isn't even seen by most.
