![\"Pope_Francis_Korea_Haemi_Castle_19_(cropped)\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/173\/2015\/09\/Pope_Francis_Korea_Haemi_Castle_19_cropped.jpg\")
<\/a>There it was. Someone had told me about it, but to see it right there in front of me as I raced through Philadelphia International Airport well, the desire to buy it overwhelmed me. I am now the proud owner of Bobblehead Pope Francis, the pinnacle of American kitsch, the ultimate expression of the consumer culture the man abhors.<\/p>\nMy wife doesn\u2019t understand it, and I\u2019ll grant that I have an off beat sense of humor, (a product of my upbringing in New Jersey I\u2019m sure), so Bobblehead Pope Francis doesn\u2019t sit on the hearth next to the statues of Kwan Yin, the Buddha, and a hand carved cross. OK, so maybe it doesn\u2019t fit in there, but it has a place. For he sits in my office now and with every shake of his head he reminds me that the income equality gap isn\u2019t an abstract problem, it impacts real people. It keeps real people from becoming what God is calling them to become. It reminds me that refugees have a face, have hopes, dreams and fears just like me. Somehow he inspires the imagination so I can see in my mind\u2019s eye, how my environmental footprint will impact real people in two, and three and four generations, and then makes me see the consequences we are reaping right now. Somehow if the man said, \u201cAll lives matter,\u201d we would know he wasn\u2019t belittling the horrifying experience of African Americans in a still racist society. I couldn\u2019t do that.<\/p>\n
The man has a huge, unimaginable job, and I\u2019m sure his handlers work very hard to craft his image. I\u2019m certain that if we got close enough we\u2019d see his rough edges. But then the genuine humility would show up, the heart that says, \u201cWho am I to judge?\u201d In the midst of all that he transcends the ludicrous image of this bobblehead. Now I ask you, how many public figures can do that? How about a John Boehner bobblehead? Ridiculous. A Trump Bobblehead? Well OK, I guess there\u2019s not much difference between that and the real thing. Hillary Bobblehead (currently out of stock at bobbleheads.com)? I like her; I really do, but no, I don\u2019t think she could transcend a rendering of her blond locks in bobblehead form. I couldn\u2019t either; it would just remind people of the many foolish things I\u2019ve done, (like buying a Bobblehead Pope Francis). That leaves only Pope Francis (and maybe Albert Einstein).<\/p>\n
So there he sits in my office with the Tennent Bible, a piece of scrimshaw that\u2019s been in the family for four generations, a clock I need to fix, and a pyramid. It\u2019s like he\u2019s reminding me to look inside and find the Spirit that grows the heart, and of course, he\u2019s also giving me a smile.<\/p>\n
So if you\u2019re from New Jersey (and thus have an off beat sense of humor), or are just curious, have a look, click on the video clip and see what it inspires in you.<\/p>\n