We know that the whole
creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation,
but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit groan inwardly while
we wait…hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen?
- Romans 8
David Letterman’s run on late night ended this week. While
the Late Show hasn’t been a regular
part of my television viewing habits in a number of years, it played a critical
role in my development as a person of faith. As a kid the very best part of
Thanksgiving and Christmas vacation was that my mom allowed me to stay up to
watch the Late Show. I loved it. It
was absurd and ridiculous. It had the veneer of your average network produced
show, but then when you paid attention it was…weird.
With all due respect to Rupert , Richard Simmons and Regis,
Stupid Pet Tricks and the Top Ten, my favorite recurring segment was Guess Mom’s Pies. Every Thanksgiving (which
meant I got to watch it) the Late Show
went live to Dave’s mom’s house in Indiana with a simple premise. She had prepared
two unidentified pies for Thanksgiving. It was the job of Dave, Paul, and the
audience to guess what kinds of pies Dave’s mom had made.
That’s it. It was stupid. There was no skill involved, there
were no prizes, and I loved it. (So did a number of online fans. In fact, there’s a website dedicated to
tracking the historic results of Guess
Mom’s Pies.) My favorite was the 1994 edition of GMP. That year Dave’s mom bucked the trends and prepared, not two,
but three pies. Get this…two of those pies were cherry! Insanity, human
sacrifice, cats and dogs living together, mass hysteria! Certainly the third pie
would be something different, but, no! Cherry, again!
Dave’s mom is now in her mid-nineties and the segment came
to an end a couple of years ago, but it has stuck with me. It’s absurdity, how
it turned the familiar (Thanksgiving, apple pies, moms) into the strange. Guess Mom’s Pies was one of the first
times that I began to see that the world is not as it seems. That’s where we find
ourselves in the church year. At Pentecost we speak of seeing visions and
dreams, not as illusions or the supernatural, but as the natural, as the way
the world really is. This weekend we proclaim that despite all signs to the
contrary (I’m looking at you Game of Thrones) life has the final word over
death. As the Late Show comes to a close I give thanks for the role it played
in revealing the coming kingdom. This
Pentecost may the Spirit come and open our eyes to see the world as it really
is, as a world filled with life and pies.
peace,
z
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