Encounters of the Baby Kind

So Grandma and I took my daughter on her first trip to the mall. Everyone duly proclaimed her cute or beautiful. I'm biased, she's the cutest baby in the world. We were in a national chain store of the "stink 'em-smell 'em-good 'em" kind as I pushed the stroller past these two teenaged girls; they looked to be about 15 or 16. They saw me and did the "Awww! How cute!" thing, and then one asked, "How old?"
"Almost 12 weeks," I replied in a proud-mommy fashion. Then instead of the typical responses of more aw-ing or comments on how little she is (she seems big to me, but she was quite small when she was born), I received a funny look from the two girls--something akin to disgust. I stood there smiling bewilderedly, waiting, because I could sense there was something coming next. Then one commented about my size. Let me insert here that I didn't look very pregnant when I was pregnant, and when my little girl came out, there was no mistaking me to be pregnant any longer. If this is not your experience, I apologize--I had nothing to do with it. Anyway, the long and short of it is that the one girl was slightly miffed that after 11 weeks I looked like I do. She then proceeded to ask, "How'd you do it?" I said I didn't know. She then points to herself and says, "This is after 18 months." Uh, yeah, okay.
I felt rather awkward because I didn't even see that one coming. How could I have even guessed that the teenager shopping with her friend in the mall was a mother--of a toddler, no less? I casually ended the conversation and went to rejoin my mother-in-law.
I shouldn't be so naive. I grew up in a county which had the highest teen pregnancy rate in the state, so it's not something new. I suppose what surprised me most was the blase manner in which the girl engaged the conversation. Like two moms in the park talking while the kids play on the swings.
Okay, here's where the moral of the story comes. The pithy, witty summary of the encounter. Mine forgot to show up for this blog post. I'm proud of the girl for having the baby. Good for her! I'm sad that she got pregnant when she was so young. I'm in my 30s and find it difficult to take care of a baby. I can't imagine doing it at half my age.
I guess I'll take the cheap way out for ending and quote Forrest Gump: "That's all I have to say about that."

Let's Go to a Show

We have season tickets to the Muny in Forest Park again this summer. It's a pretty good lineup this summer. As an aside, one Muny employee told me that because of the economy they wanted to have shows that were popular to be more of a draw.

Last week we got to see Godspell. I had never seen the show before, but was aware that it is based on one of the Gospels. It is based on the Gospel of Matthew, yet includes the story of the Prodigal Son, which is found only in Luke. I found the first paragraph in the program's write-up about the show very interesting:

John-Michael Teblak conceived of Godspell as a master's degree these at Carnegie Mellon University in 1970. His inspiration for the show came from a disheartening church experience on Easter Sunday of that year. Struck by the lack of joy in the service and the hostility of his fellow churchgoers, he sought to create a show that wold capture the love and happiness of the Gospel according to St. Matthew.

Wow, what does it say for a church when a person is so disappointed in Easter worship that he feels compelled to write a musical to make up for it? Especially one where Jesus and the 8 characters are supposed to be "clowns" and spend the show building a community.

The show was well-acted, and the cast sang very well. The production was well-done. The show was disjointed at best. If community building was the point, I missed that. It was more like a drawn-out VBS skit trying to teach Matthew-John at one sitting. The parables and stories were presented, but without context or theology to tie them together, one was left on his/her own to get out of it whatever one wanted. The Good Samaritan scene did have a bit of a moral to it, of course: "Be nice to people;" which, if you ask pretty much any Higher Things pastor, is not the main thrust of that parable. The Prodigal Son came closer to the main idea. The son who turns away is not the son we think. The "crucifixion" scene fell flat. Jesus was lashed to the sides of the gazebo, so at least there was a cruciform aspect, but the line, "O God, I'm bleeding," was a statement of the obvious, and the follow-up line, "O God, I'm dying," seemed to be there only to let the audience know that that what was supposed to be happening. The resurrection was glossed over--did he rise, or was he just back for the finale and curtain call--it was hard to tell.

All in all, I'm not surprised that there was no corporate sponsor for this show (although someone missed an opportunity there). I also don't plan to rush right out and see it again. At least this week's show is something nice, funny, and takes no theological translation: The Music Man. Harold Hill comes to the Muny. . .

'Cause Your Mamma Don't Dance And Your Daddy Don't Rock-n-Roll

An Ohio boy may be suspended from his Christian school if he takes his girlfriend to her public school prom. The Christian school forbids dancing; therefore, he would be in violation of his school's handbook which says that rock music "is part of the counterculture which seeks to implant seeds of rebellion in young people's hearts and minds."
I'll grant you, there's something to be said for some of the rock music which is out there. If one can actually understand the lyrics, there are some songs which are not edifying. On the other hand, there are plenty of Christians who imbibed in rock when they were young, and have grown up to be responsible members of society and the church. I admit--I still "rock out" to Queen. I don't necessarily hold to their life philosophies, but that doesn't stop me from the clap-clap-stomp sequence at a baseball game.
As for the prom--sure there will be rock music and other temptations. Drinking and driving, renting a hotel room after prom with the girlfriend. These are problems associated with proms across the country. Is it because the kids listen to rock-n-roll that they are tempted to drink, even though they are under 21? Is it because of a bass guitar and a drumbeat which tempts a couple to have post-prom sex? I venture to say that is not the case. It may be that there are lyrics which encourage behavior; however, the decision is the student's decision, and the upbringing is what guides the behavior. Sure, even good Christian kids make mistakes. Whatever happened to training a child in the way he should go? Christian adults need to give the children the tools they need to do the right thing rather than shelter them from the world "out there".
Another aspect of this story does bug me. What sort of witness is this school making? They have the American right to believe, teach, and confess what they want. On the other hand, how does it look when they are threatening to suspend or expel a student for doing what high schoolers do? Maybe they should be commended for sticking to their beliefs. On the other hand, there is something to be said for the freedom of the gospel.

Public Notice of Religious Events

The Saturday Post-Dispatch always has a religion section, and in this religion section is a listing of events for the week. Some highlights:
Today: Lead Now!—a workshop for leading 20 and 30-somethings with “innovative ideas”. Sad to say, this is being sponsored by an LCMS congregation.
Tomorrow: a spiritual growth class which talks about how a cup can be an image of prayer.
If you don’t like cups, try the “Jazz Vespers”. I guess the polka masses are only in Minnesota.
If neither of those sounds interesting enough for you, there’s the seminar on “troublesome Biblical texts”; at which they will discuss how disturbing texts in the Bible (those which deal with violence, gender bias, etc.) can be revelation.
On Tuesday there is a discussion on Biblical and contemporary ideas of violence.
One might want to check out the presentation on “Secret Rosicrucian Symbols of the 16th and 17th centuries on Thursday at the Rosicrucian Lodge.
The “Dances of Universal Peace” sounds like an event not-to-be missed. There is even an opportunity for audience involvement to join in on dances from “many different spiritual traditions. . .”
I suppose some of these are very good, theologically hard-hitting discussions. Then again, some of them seem like bait-and-switch. Maybe I’m just a cynic. Who cares how they come in, as long as they come in, right?
I’m thinking that maybe I’ll just head on down to the Tap Room on Monday for the Aquinas Institute of Theology’s event: Theology on Tap. After reading these notices, I might head on down before Monday. . .