Post by Brian Cady on Apr 4, 2014 10:04:34 GMT -5
<><><><><>FLASHBACK ALMOST 44 MONTHS<><><><><>
Date: Sunday August 14, 2011
Time: 10:51 am EST
Site: St. Francis of Assisi – Delaware Avenue Site (Albany, New York)
{Scene: As we take a look inside the Delaware Avenue site of the newly-formed Saint Francis of Assisi parish, we see the 10:30am mass going on as they celebrate the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time. The second reading has completed, and Brian Cady stands up from his seat next to Father Leo O’Brien. Cady receives a blessing from Father, before walking over to the pulpit and motioning for the congregation to stand.}
Brian Cady: “Alleluia, Alleluia.”
Congregation: “Alleluia, Alleluia.”
Brian Cady: “Great is your faith, says the Lord. Salvation lies within. Alleluia, Alleluia.”
Congregation: “Alleluia, Alleluia.”
Brian Cady: “The Lord be with you.”
Congregation: “And also with you.”
Brian Cady: “A reading from the Holy Gospel, according to Saint Matthew.”
Congregation: “Glory to you, O Lord.”
{ Brian Cady goes on to read the Gospel.}
“At that time, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out,
"Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!
My daughter is tormented by a demon."
But Jesus did not say a word in answer to her.
Jesus' disciples came and asked him,
"Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us."
He said in reply,
"I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
But the woman came and did Jesus homage, saying, "Lord, help me."
He said in reply,
"It is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs."
She said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps
that fall from the table of their masters."
Then Jesus said to her in reply,
"O woman, great is your faith!
Let it be done for you as you wish."
And the woman's daughter was healed from that hour.”
Brian Cady: “The Gospel of the Lord.”
Congregation: “Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.”
{The congregation sits down in their pews, as Cady closes the Book of Gospels and pulls a small packet of folded papers out of his back pocket.}
Brian Cady: “The phrase ‘Survival of the fittest’ is one which is commonly used in contexts other than intended by its first two proponents. British philosopher Herbert Spencer first used the phrase in his ‘Principles of Biology,’ in which he drew parallels between his own economic theories and Darwin's biological ones.
“However, an interpretation of the phrase ‘survival of the fittest’ to mean ‘only the fittest organisms will prevail’ is not consistent with the actual theory of evolution. Any individual organism which succeeds in reproducing itself is ‘fit’ and will contribute to survival of its species, not just the ‘physically fittest’ ones, though some of the population will be better adapted to the circumstances than others. A more accurate characterization of evolution would be ‘survival of the fit enough.’
“Moreover, to misunderstand or misapply the phrase to simply mean ‘survival of those who are better equipped for surviving’ is rhetorical tautology. What Darwin meant was ‘better adapted for immediate, local environment’ by differential preservation of organisms that are better adapted to live in changing environments. The concept is not tautological as it contains an independent criterion of fitness.”
{Cady reaches down under the pulpit, grabs a quick drink from a bottle of water and continues on.}
Brian Cady: “What you just heard come out of my mouth was three paragraphs of complete and total BULLSHIT from the website Wikipedia. My brothers and sisters, as we take a look at today’s Gospel, at face value… it shows that Jesus was being sympathetic to a woman of great faith. This Canaanite comes down to the Lord, pleading and begging for a blessing upon her daughter.
“Jesus ignores her request, to a point where the disciples insist that he do something to get rid of her. After addressing this woman, she keeps coming and coming. Finally, the Lord tells her that it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs. But ah, she’s ready for him… the Canaanite woman replies by saying that even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.
“Now this woman’s faith saved her daughter and opened the eyes of Jesus, showing that the strongest of faith will set you free from ANY situation you may encounter in life. However, my brothers and sisters, we must dig deeper to realize that this story from the life of our Lord… is nothing more than a fallacy.
“Dig deep, dig past the face value, DIG PAST… the propaganda. Dig deep into the LANGUAGE… of what is said. Focus mainly on the words of Jesus, himself… and the words of his disciples. They are insistent with the Lord that the woman should be sent away… INSISTENT!!
“And why is that? Because the disciples were able to see through this woman, recognizing her weaknesses and shortcomings. They knew what their calling was, they knew what their RESPONSIBILITY WAS… and they were trying to live up to it. At first, Jesus agrees by saying that he was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
“My brothers and sisters, this wasn’t just some random dismissive comment, NO, NO!! What we see here… is proof in the pudding, that survival of the fittest isn’t just some random scientific creation. It’s not just something two random dudes named Herbert Spencer and Charles Darwin came up with for ‘scientific explanation of evolution.’ It goes… deeper than that.
“What we must recognize is that ‘survival of the fittest’ isn’t just something that exists in science with animals and organisms and all that other BULLSHIT… that has been hand-fed to you since you were a little kid in your Earth Science classes. No, no… it goes deeper than that. What we must accept, what we must recognize, what we must LIVE BY…is the simple fact of the matter that ‘survival of the fittest’ is in us… and around us… every minute of every HOUR of every WAKING DAY WE LIVE ON THIS EARTH!! And if you don’t live by the rules of this jungle we call Planet earth, you will be fed… to the dogs.
“My brothers and sisters, today’s Gospel goes deeper than the face value… of being rewarded for your faith. This Gospel, this preaching, this STORY… of our Lord Jesus Christ’s life goes beyond face value. It goes beyond simple words ON A PIECE OF PAPER!! It has deeper meaning… than that. And that deeper meaning is telling you to be steadfast and strong in every little thing you do. From putting out the garbage at night, to getting the big promotion at work… you bust YOUR ASS… week in and week out, month in and month out, YEAR IN… AND YEAR OUT… until you become the fittest of YOUR SPECIES… in the jungle.”
{Cady reaches down and grabs another quick drink from a bottle of water, then goes on.}
Brian Cady: “I have stood up here to two months now, two LONG months… and I have looked at you people week in, week out. I have given my preachings, my teachings, my recommendations about living the life of Christ. Well TODAY…. Today, I say you are all crazy. Today, I say… you are all out of your damn minds. Because LIVING the way of CHRIST… DOES NOT WORK… in 2011. Living the way of Christ… HAS NOT WORKED… for nearly TWO-THOUSAND YEARS!! Living the way of Christ has not been a survival guide to life for CENTURIES, it has been DEAD AND BURIED!!
“What you all must learn is what I have learned in my life, through MY trials and MY tribulations… and it’s this: there is only one person… that can determine who survives… and that’s you. Not your parents, your siblings, your aunts and uncles, your grandparents, your spouses, your children, your nieces and nephews… IT DOESN’T MATTER!! Nobody… can help you survive… more than you.
“I’ve tried, I’ve really… REALLY tried… to live a life of Christ. But as I stand before you this morning, I realize now more than ever before… that it is IMPOSSIBLE TO SURVIVE… by living a life… in Christ. The next time any of you may see me will be on television, probably beating somebody’s ass. And when you see that, take it as my preaching… of the Good Word… of ‘The X Effect.’
“SAY AMEN TO THAT!!”
{Cady rips off the white alb to reveal dark blue jeans and a WGWF t-shirt, before storming away from the pulpit, down the center aisle of the church and out the back door.}
<><><><><>FADE TO BLACK<><><><><>
<><><><><>FAST FORWARD 31 MONTHS<><><><><>
Date: Monday March 17, 2014
Time: 1:03 pm EST
Site: Home of Brian Cady (Albany, New York)
{Scene: Just a few weeks ago marked 28 months since Brian Cady last worked for a wrestling company and his life completely changed. The bright lights, the roar of the crowds, the physicality of working his craft like Beethoven working a masterpiece on a blank piece sheet of paper – it all disappeared. On the other end of the spectrum, so did the constant travel, the supreme exhaustion of little to no sleep and the occasional sketchy hotel on the outskirts of the town where a show was taking place.
{In the 28 and a half months since his departure, Cady has found a stable life for himself – working at a local cluster of radio stations as an overnight engineer / producer, while providing daily prayer group sessions on weekdays and providing the occasional sermons at weekend masses. On this particular day, St. Patrick’s Day, Cady is leading a prayer group through a session in the living room of his house – Cady is sitting in the middle of a couch holding a Bible open, with another person on either side of him and another six surrounding him in dining room chairs.}
Brian Cady: “A reading from the Holy Gospel, according to Luke.”
Prayer Group: “Glory to you, oh Lord.”
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
“Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you.”
Brian Cady: “The Gospel of the Lord.”
Prayer Group: “Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.”
{Cady closes the Bible and places it on the coffee table in front of him.}
Brian Cady: “When it comes to your relationship to God as an individual, to our relationship with God as a church, what would you say is our greatest need? What is it, above anything else that we need as we approach God? I will tell you, because I know the answer – mercy. It is to be looked upon by God, not as we deserve to be looked upon, but looked upon favorably. That is what mercy is. It is a greater need than any other. Because without it, we can never come close to God – we can never seek his face, we can never ever depend upon him and call him our Father. We need mercy.
“Mercy is at the heart of the Christian faith. It is a word we wrap ourselves around. We use it often in our prayers. We sing it in our hymns and songs. I started to look through the Scriptures and count the number of items there that include the word – I soon lost count. Then I looked through the Psalms – 27 of the psalms focus on God’s mercy and our need of it. But I guess that if we use it so often it is either a word we understand very well – an aspect of God’s character that we fully grasp, or one which is simply another piece of jargon.
“Jargon is a great hindrance to us. This week I installed a brand new computer in my office. It is loaded up with Windows 7 with all of the proper software for Microsoft Office and Adobe Audition, so I can continue to record and load audio online. That all sounds very clever and knowledgeable – but some people don’t have the faintest idea what it means! Beware using jargon – let’s make sure we understand, we grasp, even if we have understood, we appreciate, what we are singing and talking and praying about.
“So, then, if it is of such great importance, then as we consider the character of God, which, remember is what we have been doing, we certainly need to think about God’s mercy.”
{Cady grabs a drink from the water bottle sitting on the coffee table in front of him, then continues.}
Brian Cady: “Have you noticed that our society has produced people who ignore their responsibilities & then blame others for their problems? ‘If I get into financial trouble, it’s not my fault, it’s because of easy credit. And the government needs to do something to protect me.’
“‘If I develop lung cancer from smoking, it’s not my fault. I blame the cigarette companies, & they need to pay.’
‘If I go into a rage & grab a gun & start shooting people, I’m not responsible. It’s in my genes, & I just can’t help it.’
‘If I practice sexual perversion, it’s not my fault; God made me this way.’
“As a society, we have become experts at blaming others. And that can even happen in the church. We begin to fall away from the Lord and we say, ‘It’s not my fault. I’m not to blame. It’s the church’s fault. They aren’t friendly enough, or the church didn’t meet my needs, or it’s the preacher’s fault. But it’s not my fault.’
“People are blaming heredity, environment, job pressures, poverty, prejudice, abuse, & anything else they can think of for their problems today. But I want you to know that the Bible very clearly teaches that we’re responsible for our choices. Romans 14:12 says, ‘So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.’ God is going to hold us responsible for the choices we make.
“There was a story several years ago about twin sisters who had an alcoholic mother. One of them became an alcoholic, but the other didn’t drink at all. When the alcoholic one was asked why, she said, ‘Well, my mother was an alcoholic, so what can you expect?’ When the other was asked why she wouldn’t drink she said, ‘Well, my mother was an alcoholic, so what do you expect?’
“You see, the choice is ours. Now if you’re a lettuce seed, you really have no choice. They’ll plant you in the ground, water you, & you’ll become a lettuce plant. You don’t have any choice about that. But God says that as human beings, we’re created higher than plants & animals, and we make choices. We can choose to be good or to be bad. We can choose to obey God or to disobey. But remember, we’re responsible for the choices we make.”
{A cell phone begins to ring, and Cady reaches into his pocket to look at who is calling.}
Brian Cady: “I’m really sorry, but please excuse me – I need to take this. Feel free to discuss what I was just talking about.”
{Cady stands up and walks out the door onto the front porch, shutting the door behind him before answering the phone.}
Brian Cady: “Hey there, what’s going on? …. Oh really? How bad is it? ….Okay…. right…. Damn. Sounds like someone needs to be shown what mercy and justice feels like. ….Okay, what were you thinking?”
{As the voice explains what they are thinking, an evil grin slowly grows on Cady’s face, almost as if the person is saying EXACTLY what he was hoping they would say. The voice finally stops talking…}
Brian Cady: “I’ll start packing.”
{Cady hangs up the phone and puts it back in his pocket, but what is he going to pack for… and who was on the other end of the phone call?!}
<><><><><>TO BE CONTINUED<><><><><>
