Angels in America(n E-Mail)

(apologies for copyright violation to the left -- I hope this falls within "fair use" parameters) 

Yesterday I received one of those egregious e-mail chain letters, this one promising an angelically-inspired message and/or blessing at a (computer generated) appointed time, so long as the message was passed on to 7 or more people.  The skeptic in me was curious to see what happened at my appointed time, 9:21 am today.  I selected 10 people from my address book -- those who either dislike me already or like me enough to forgive me for sending them that kind of crap.  I promised the recipients to let them know and asked them to return the favor if they played along, and apologized in the name of applied science.

I had the time written out on a Post-it next to my computer terminal so I wouldn't forget it. At about 9 am, I started checking my e-mail, sort of to keep all sources of communication open.  This takes a little background to explain, but bear with me.

I have an ongoing dialog with my Uncle John through e-mail.  He frequently sends just the kind of e-mail spam I love to ignore.  I had included him in the mailing list of the angelic message thing as payback.  He is 83 or so, screamingly reactionary, bigoted, and fundamentalist Christian.  However, our communication makes him happy and he is unfailingly kind to his sister, my mother, and I appreciate it.  Also, he is very pleased that late in life I am rediscovering Christianity and have found it compatible with my VERY different perspective, so long as I stay away from organized religion and ponder the words and actions of Jesus in my heart, without cant.

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John forwarded a few days ago a hateful "blame the victim" e-mail tract about Louisiana and the Katrina disaster.  It never said the word "black" but argued that the lack of recovery in Louisiana is the fault of the corrupt Democratic state government repeatedly re-elected by "ignorant voters" and other code words, and the message went on to say this proves Bush is blameless.  It was a classic piece of illogical pseudo-racism of the kind that, like those "pass it on" e-mails, I usually ignore, but this was so full of BS and struck on a topic I feel so strongly about that I wrote back, lovingly but clearly saying that we must agree to disagree on the subject and please don't send me anything similar about Katrina or the people of the Gulf Coast.  (I spent 3 weeks in the area immediately post-Katrina with the Red Cross, for those who don't know, and it changed my life, including bringing me, eventually, to accept Christianity as a viable faith.)  Also, I froth at the mouth at the thought of excusing Bush for anything, much less the Katrina recovery debacle.  The corruption of Bush's government dwarfs anything in Louisiana a hundred fold.

 

Uncle John wrote back immediately, surprising me by agreeing with me for the most part, and astonishingly announcing he will support Clinton because the Republican party is so flawed (actually, he believes it's demonic possession, he said, along with a lot of crap about Obama being a black Muslim who will bring us down in flames, etc., but I'll ignore that easily.  It's not how well the bear dances, it's that it dances at all!)  Anyway, this morning at about 9:15 I got caught up with my reply, which closed with the following, then I looked at the clock:

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I love you, Uncle John, and I hope you don't take offense when I speak my mind.  I do believe in tolerance and avoiding judgments (and this from a woman who worked with judges for almost 20 years!) with all my heart, and I do not judge you at all.  Sometimes, though, I stand on my hind legs when stuff touches a nerve and sound off.  Must be the lawyer in me.  Not exactly Christ-like, even if he did get tee'd off at the moneychangers in the temple.  That's the kind of corruption of power that causes direct suffering of those Christ would protect that gets my goat, and that's what I see in Washington today.

Wishing you all the best.

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Love, Me

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PS -- Ooooh, it's 9:23, and I realized that at 9:21, the time of my supposed "angelic message" or blessing, I wrote the last paragraph about Christ.  Maybe that's a sign?  It wasn't the lottery people calling me to tell me I'm rich, the message I was hoping for, but perhaps keeping Christ in my thoughts will make me spiritually rich down the road ... it has already ...

The phone didn't ring, no voice from the heavens, my cats did not speak in tongues at 9:21.  If there was any message, it came from me, or the Christ in me, the Holy Ghost if I want to get all trinitarian about it. 

An interesting experiment -- in the larger scale, I think the timed "blessing" idea is one of those tautologies that always produce results, but probably without divine cause.  It will always work because any moment in our lives, examined closely enough through a lens of "here's a message" will produce a message.  Humans are reason-seeking creatures, pattern-recognition hardwired, which explains seeing the Virgin Mary in tortillas and the like.  That's the cynical scientific side of the coin.

The other side of the coin says, who cares about the science, if you find a helpful kernel of truth or comfort.  The unexamined life, and all that.  If you like, call it the work of angels, the Holy Ghost, the whisperings of the Giant Rat of Sumatra, may she enfold me in her holy whiskers ... we can use all the help we can get in this life, regardless of how we find it.

Comments

[Sid Leavitt]

Again, a thought-provoking, positive essay in keeping with the season. Best wishes for the holidays.

[rio]

"Humans are reason-seeking creatures, pattern-recognition hardwired, which explains seeing the Virgin Mary in tortillas and the like."

How true. Sometimes we ought to learn to abstract from things like that. I'm slightly glad nothing happened at 9:21, because being the eternal skeptic that I am, I would've fallen off my chair had your cats started talking or had some amazing revelation appeared itself to you.

Happy holidays!

[Alejandro]

Question...where do you stand as far as a personal faith? Just wondering. Your comments on spirituality confuse me.

[Fragile Industries]

I'm confused myself, but I'm trying to keep an open mind about where I find my inspiration. Thanks for asking. I guess my point is that personal faith is just that, personal, and not only does it not have to make sense to anyone else, it shouldn't be imposed on anyone else either, by e-mail, law, my Uncle John -- no one has a patent on anyone else's spirituality.