Tonight I experienced something very strange...it's called irony. I was at church because there was a meeting for anyone interested in participating in a mission trip to Joplin, Missouri. At the end of the meeting, we all left the sanctuary and went into the entry hall that has beautiful ceramic tile flooring. My daughter wanted to stand on top of my feet and have me walk around. Everything was fine until we lost our balance and I fell to the floor and hit it hard. Here comes the ironic part. This is a "Christian" church and not one person, not one adult, not one man, woman or child except my daughter asked me if I was hurt. I just layed on the floor like a big, beached whale. Where's the love? Where's the compassion? Where's the Christian spirit? The congregants are sure happy to reach out a helping hand when I'm putting money in the offering plate every Sunday. But when I'm on the ground obviously hurt, the helping hands were nowhere in sight. Oh well, it's all window-dressing anyway. These people "play church", they don't actually live it.
Irony Kicked My Butt
When the church likes to see you fall.
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Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Yosef February 15, 2013 at 01:24 am
Rich, it makes me sad to hear what happened to you when you fell at church. I wish I had an explanation or words of comfort but I don't. I hope you feel better soon.
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Jim Frain February 15, 2013 at 01:09 pm
Rich, I too am sorry that you fell and hurt yourself at church. Your daughter came to you immediately and gave you comfort in a difficult time. I cannot speak for the others but I do know that the world is full of caring and compassionate people who are concerned for you, your daughter, the people in your church and the rest of the world too. Two men just came to you with concern and wishes for your healing...Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Yosef and Jim Frain...I praise God that there are millions and millions more of us out here. All will be fine...Good triumphs. Forgive those people who were confused or not paying attention to your situation that night. Pray that they will slow down a bit, and remember the love of God and how it needs to be shared.
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Jim Frain February 17, 2013 at 05:04 pm
Greetings Rabbi, When I am confused by something and want to make a response I always try to wait a few days to see if the confusion has not gone away. I am still confused, so here goes. I would have thought that a Rabbi, a man of God of knowledge of wisdom and caring, would who passed on words of understanding or explanation or justification or even condemnation for the confustion that Rich felt when he fell at his church and only his daughter came to his aid.... I have always felt that my religion, my pastor, my fellow Christians, even my friends could offer an explanation of what happened to Rich - they would have had some words of comfort or explanation...You had no words of comfort or explanation for him. You left him angry and frustrated allowing him to blame the church and its people who ignored him...I believe that there is a lesson for everything that happens to us and our faith will get us through it. That surprises me. that you only said "I wish I had an explanation or words of comfort but I don't"... Please explain what I am missing here, if, in fact I am missing something.
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Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Yosef February 17, 2013 at 05:51 pm
Jim, thanks for the email. I can't offer any explanation for Rich because I am unable to read the hearts of men. Maybe some of the people didn't see what happened? Maybe Rich got up so quickly that they figured he was not hurt? Maybe some thought he was clowning around to make his daughter laugh. Since I wasn't there to see for myself, I can't speculate as to why only his daughter came to his aid. I can only say this with certainty. I believe that you and I would have walked over just to make sure everything was okay.
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Jim Frain February 17, 2013 at 05:53 pm
Yes Rabbi, You and I would have given aid and comfort to Rich.
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Rich Pope March 21, 2013 at 05:26 pm
Rabbi, I just read these comments again today and remembered Passover is starting for you. I hope you have a great holiday.
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Jordan Lanham (Editor) June 17, 2013 at 12:04 pm
This sounds like so much fun! Thanks for sharing Marcia!
Jim Frain June 13, 2013 at 04:55 pm
This is an important opportunity for all residents who want to have input on Civic Park and the…Read More changes that they want to see now that Civic Hall is gone. The men and women of the city council and parks department who are making these decisions need to hear from us.
Patrick Breyne June 18, 2013 at 09:05 am
The O'Fallon Parks and Recreation Advisory board encourages all residents to come out on the 20th to…Read More view the proposed plans for Civic Park & Civic Hall. A couple of great ideas will be presented keeping in mind both the history of Civic Hall/Park and the current and future recreation needs of all of the the citizens of O'Fallon. We need your input!
Jordan Lanham (Editor) June 11, 2013 at 02:46 pm
Thanks for the reminder Jim! Sounds like the perfect concert to kick off summer!
Jim Frain June 7, 2013 at 12:51 pm
We all need to get out there to cheer the Rascals on to some long extended victories!
Mike Kromer June 7, 2013 at 08:52 pm
Agreed...love watching a good ballgame, even a bad one, on a warm summer evening!
Joe Barker (Editor) June 3, 2013 at 03:31 pm
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Malarkey Jones June 4, 2013 at 01:05 pm
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Michael Linhardt June 4, 2013 at 09:18 am
Congrats!
I've met Jason and he is a super nice guy with tons of knowledge about their products.
Jim Pepper June 3, 2013 at 08:15 am
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Joe Barker (Editor) June 3, 2013 at 09:58 am
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Daniel 'Cubby' Moynihan June 4, 2013 at 02:18 am
Just a heads up... while browsing on my phone I have to click leave a comment link above instead of…Read More the box which is typical... just an fyi