Friday's Coup de Grace

Friday was an impossibly long day for me.

After helping one neighbor move, and after hearing of another friend being taken into custody as the result of a drug court sanction, I attended an apologetics course that was being held that evening at our church.

Now for those of you who don't know, the term apologetics comes from the Greek apologia, which means "defense" or "answer." Apologetics then, is the task of defending a particular idea or belief system and answering its critics. Christian apologetics, is the art and the science of making a reasoned, intellectual case for Christianity and Christian beliefs.

From the very start, I had some serious issues with the information being presented at the seminar. Several times I found myself snorting in outrage only to have my husband tap my leg and silently plead with his eyes for me to please just sit and be quiet.

So what had me snorting so indelicately?

Well.....

Did you know that our university system is currently under the control of liberal relativists?

and....

Did you know that our high school science programs are teaching that the Galapagos finch will one day evolve into elephants?

I was horrified by these misrepresentations.

I have two children who are high school age, and neither have been instructed that Darwin's theory of evolution is anything more than a widely accepted scientific theory. They certainly aren't being taught that the Galapagos finch, due to it's fluctuations in beak size will ever evolve into elephants.

My feelings of disgruntlement intensified when one participant later asserted that a serious problem confronting the Christian believer was breaking through the materialism that has enslaved the nonbeliever.

As I looked around the table where I was sitting, I took note of the diamond wedding rings, all of which I'm sure exceeded 1 carat. I looked at the women's carefully manicured fingers; and as my eyes traveled up to their beautifully made up faces, I noted their expensive salon dyed hair and I couldn't help but wonder which $30,000 SUV was theirs in the parking lot.

It would seem to me, that materialism is an equal opportunity enslaver, now isn't it?

The coup de grace however, occurred as my husband and I were leaving. A frantic woman ran up to us and said, would you please stay with "this gentleman" in the lobby until I get the pastor?

"This gentleman" was an obviously intoxicated black man, who seemed determined to do three things in grand repetition. First, he wanted to shake every person's hand who passed, to lean in and bump his right shoulder to their right shoulder and then to regale each individual with a string of drunken Smokey Robinson renditions.

"This gentleman" was so determined to sing Smokey tunes and so unable to introduce himself in any understandable way, that I began to think of him as "Mr. Robinson".

Now I know drunks. I've been one myself. I wasn't affronted or embarrassed by his slurred speech, or his sour smell.

What I did find to be embarrassing however, were the reactions of my brothers and sisters in Christ.

Some met Mr. Robinson's blurry gaze with a smile, accepted his out stretched hand and even bumped shoulders with him.

Others looked confused and awkwardly shied away; while others hurried by as if Mr. Robinson were invisible.

I even heard one woman growl, "Get away from me, I don't have any money."

Eventually, the pastor arrived and as we left, I shook Mr. Robinson's hand, bumped shoulders with him once again, and I slipped him a few phone numbers for two men whom I knew would be willing to share his recovery journey should he choose to embrace sober living.

Now before you get to thinking that I'm "all that", you need to know that my first reaction to Mr. Robinson, was one of annoyance and irritation. I was tired and all I wanted was for Mr. Robinson to sit down and behave himself, so that I would be able to get myself home in time to throw on my jammies and to catch the last 30 minutes of the newest Dr. Who episode on the SciFi channel.

My own self interest very nearly won me over....it would have been so easy to walk past Mr. Robinson and to pretend he wasn't there.

It would have been just as easy to snort in derision and to judge those who did walk past; but truly, I am not all that much better than any of them and it is my prayer that God will forgive me my moment of indecision before I sided with Christ and chose his way of compassion and grace.

I suppose what strikes me now, two days later is the supreme irony of the evening.....

Nearly one hundred Christ followers had gathered, to learn together how to defend the Christian faith and when Christ appeared in our lobby, with his stinking, alcohol laced breath, his dark skin, his shabby clothing and destitute state, what did we do?

Some of us responded graciously; but most of us shrank in fear and revulsion.

As a result of my own derision, my own indecision, as well as the actions of others, I am left wondering......

Of what value is apologetics, if we are not willing to live the love of Christ in our every day lives?