“Who shall I send?” “Send Jason”
Last Sunday, Jason Crosby, one of the staffmembers here at ICPJ, was officially ordained as a Baptist minister.
Even his dog, Wynona, joined the celebration by escaping from Jason’s office and joining as the clergy processed into the sanctuary. Even the animals celebrated Jason’s ordination.
As I watched Jason take his vows, I reflected on the passage from the Hebrew prophet Isaiah who hears God ask, “who shall I send?” Isaiah responds “Here I am. Send me.”
At his ordinatination, Jason also answered the call to proclaim peace, justice, and God’s love by saying “Send me.”
(Normally I wouldn’t use the words “God’s love” in this context, because it doesn’t reflect the full diversity of our Interfaith group, but this was a Baptist ordination, and God’s love was what Jason was saying yes to.)
The question is, how do you and I respond?
Do we say, “Send Jason”?
Do we sit back and be happy that Jason stepped up, so now maybe we don’t have to?
Or do we, like Jason’s dog Wynona, bound happily up the aisle and celebrate that Jason has heard and answered the call to work for peace.
How do we respond?
One of our members offered these “Theological Questions to Ponder” regarding Jason’s ordination:
* What free will offering did Wynona leave?
* Can she drink the dish out of which our Lord has drunk?
* And did she doo it in remembrance of him?
* Will she excel in church dogmatics?
* Will Sunday services now be called Woofship?
I can hear the Rev. Crosby now: “Wynona: Heel thyself!”
Chuck Booker Hirsch, the source of the earlier comments, has added more “Theological Pawnderings”
* Will intercessions begin, “Let us bow-wow our heads in prayer?”
* Will hymns such as “Dem Bones” and “O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee” take on new meaning? Will certain hymns be renamed — e.g., “Leash On, O King Eternal”?
* Will there be an occasional laying on and/or washing of paws?
* Instead of people rolling in the aisles, will there be fur flying in the aisles?
* Will the Good Shepherd be renamed the German Shepherd?
Chuck Booker Hirsch has added to his list of reflections following Wynona’s participation in the clergy procession:
* Will we hear her sing Christmas carols such as “Bark, the Herald Angels Sing” and “Away in a Mange-r”?
* Will she stoop to preaching on the mongrelization of the races? (that’s bad — “scratch” that)
* Will she “bone up” on that Great Dane, Soren Kierkegaard?
* Will she wear a collar?
* When she reaches an emotional peak in her sermons, will her hind leg move in circles?
He also comments
“As you can see … thou kneweth not what thou hath unleashed!”