Barefeet in the Catholic Church?

<>So it’s been a few days of break. It’s been pretty good on the whole. I’ve relaxed, thought a minimal amount about things that aren’t important, and I ate some good food too. Fun stuff. I read two books out of the Eragon series so I read more than I’d planned on…but those “nerdy dragon books” (as my friend Robb calls them) are just so frikkin’ good that you’ve gotta read them all once you finish the first one. Come on. Seriously? Haven’t you ever had that happen? No? I bet you think that books with magic and dragons teach kids that witchcraft and Satan are okay. I don’t agree. One thing’s for sure though: They make great stories.

I got lost in Bed, bath, and beyond when I went with my mom to buy my brother’s wedding gift. I felt like I was five again. I had a giant wicker hamper in my hand and couldn’t see my mom. Part of me wanted to shout, but the rest of me remembered I was 21 and I need to be able to find my way out of stores these days.

I mostly hate bed,bath, and beyond. It’s stupid in there. It’s as though every useless thing made by man has been placed on display in the sense of “you ought to buy this, it’ll make you happy”. There’s a brand called simple human there. Simple Human. If we are to measure simple humanity by the brand then in order to be simple humans we all will need shiny wastebins and polished chrome trashbag holders before we can ever claim the title. Sigh, I guess rational thought, emotions, and a soul don’t count anymore…or at least they’resupplimentary to the trashbag holders.
Sidenote: I dunno if I told you this, but I went to Nordstrom’s for the first time several weeks ago. My friends Wayne, and Jeff and myself all went. One of them wanted to buy a ridiculously expensive shirt. I hotly debated the issue. Needless to say, people end up spending their own money how they want. When we were in there Wayne pointed out a pair of shoes to me in the Men’s Department. He said, “This pair of shoes costs 500$.” I responded with, “What kind of jackass pays 500$ for a pair of shoes?” I said it quite loudly. All the jackasses in the room looked at me in shock that someone would doubt their fashion sense. I wasn’t really good about holding thoughts like that back, so Jeff and Wayne decided we should leave before we got kicked out. All I’ve gotta say is that 500$ can buy a lot of things. Think about that before you buy shoes at Nordstrom’s . Also, if you go there and see that foxy lady at the cosmetics stand…tell her I’m coming back sometime to overcome my shyness and introduce myself….not like the last time when I awkwardly walked by and wished I would have said something.

I was on a walk today (by the way I should have worn a jacket, because it is balls cold in Bellingham still) and I ended up desiring to talk to Jesus so I went into the Catholic church in my town…Why? Because it was there. Anyhow, I went in and sat in a warm gigantic room and listened to several hundred years of tradition go on about this and that. I sat next to a kindly old gentleman who married a filipino woman who used to be a nun for 19 years. Talk about impressive. I met her. She was intimidating.

I wonder if those priests ever want someone to start playing free-form jazz and have the whole congregation start dancing…probably not. I wish they would sometimes. I walked by the synagogue in our town and there was singing and happiness inside. It was lovely. I wish I would have gone in.  It was a Maundy Thursday service at the Catholic Church. That means it’s the night they remember the last supper. Christ washes Peter’s feet. They had a footwashing basin.The old gentleman and myself took off our shoes and walked barefoot down the isle (with many others) to the front of the church where we had our feet washed by total strangers. In serving everyone they became HUGE in the eyes of God. Impressive and Christ-like. As I was walking to the foot washing place without shoes on, in a flannel shirt and carhartt jeans I realized something . I was walking barefoot in a catholic church. We got to parade an awesome part of the kingdom (service) in a manner that spited Nordstrom’s and all those people who pay too much for shoes. Showing Jesus to other people means not being to big on their shoes. Not to say that shoes don’t matter, it’s just that the shoes get in the way of you washing their feet.That made me smile. If the priests are up for that…maybe a little free-form jazz wouldn’t be so out of line afterall.