These are the show
notes for season 4, episode 9, Who AreYou With?
In this episode Jonathan is joined by guest host Father
Jakob Thibault, rector and pastor of The Church of the Holy Paraclete – a
Christian Catholic Church.
In many ways we are defined by the people we hang out with
and those with whom we decide to associate. That is why your mother never liked
it when you hung out with Johnny Badseed even though he was soooo dreamy, and
smooth, and never had a problem with the law that merited a federal case. You
wanted to hang out with Johnny Badseed because he was so cool and just by being
with him elevated your coolness factor. But then you find out that J.B. (that
is what he close friends call him) likes to listen to Lawrence Welk when he is
working on cars. And the more you get to know him the more he insists that you
listen to Lawrence Welk and is going to open a garage where everyone has to
listen to Lawrence Welk. You love working on cars. You love being cool. You
love being round Johnny Badseed. Lawrence Welk, on the other hand, makes you
want peel off your own face. Yet because you are hanging out with Mr. Johnny
Badseed (which is what his teachers call him) people are giving you recordings
of Lawrence Welk because they assume that you must like him if you are friends
with Badseed. Now you are defined as a Lawrence Welk devotee all because you
hang out with Johnny Badseed.
Do you see
how your identity is shaped by those you are connected with? This is what Jakob
Thibault and Jonathan talk about, without the Lawrence Welk bashing in this
most recent episode. Jakob shares his story of how he wrestled with his
identity as a Catholic, primarily through the presence of and participation
with the sacraments, and at the same time as an openly gay man. The Roman
Catholic Church has drawn the strict line excluding homosexuality leaving Jakob
to have to decide to stay and be silent about who he is or to leave what has
been his spiritual home all of his life. In finding and connecting with the
Christian Catholic Church (Old Catholic Church), Jakob has found a place where he can connect with his
Catholic identity and be honest about who he is as a gay man.
With every
group, gathering, and people that we associate boundaries and lines are drawn
that shape our identity and we constantly negotiate and navigate those boundaries.
In Jakob’s case we see someone who deliberately decided to go outside of the
lines drawn by the Roman Catholic Church because he was not willing to let go
of a key identifying part of who he is. In the religious context (as well as
others) this is something that we should ask ourselves again and again. There
is no such thing as a perfect church or a perfect group of people. We will
always have to compromise to some degree in acts of conformity, but we must
always be weary as to the degree. There may be a point in all of our lives when
we have to decide to step outside the boundaries, to say “no” to the demands of
identity if it goes against who we truly are.
The book
that Jonathan referenced at the beginning of this segment is Catholic Identity: Balancing Reason, Faith,and Power by Michele Dillon. It is another good look at the ways different
groups of people navigate their identity with an institution that does not
fully accept them.
Railage
Jonathan
gets a flat tire and gets upset at the fact that he is getting upset and wishes
he could be a little calmer. Jakob agrees since he is only on his third
contractor for their church building and who knows how many plumbers. Really,
they both need to relax and stop sweating the small stuff.
Opening
the Word
Matthew
6:24-34 – remember the lilies and then sell them for profit. Not really, but
remember that God is with you and will not leave you. This is a challenge
calling us to trust God with the little and big things in our lives. Not an
easy thing to do.
Watcha’
Into –
Jonathan
LOVES the Lego Movie – sorry, you are
going to have to wait for it to come out on video to see it (or find a pirated
copy)
Thanks again for listening!
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