Does Jesus Like Sassy Women?

Last week, a friend gently reprimanded me for my last post,

which included a prayer written in a sarcastic tone that "might have an
unintended effect on conservative Christians for whom prayer is a fundamentally
sacred part of daily life."

Does Jesus like sassy women?

Gee, I sure hope so.

Last week, a friend gently reprimanded me for my last post,
which included a prayer written in a sarcastic tone that "might have an
unintended effect on conservative Christians for whom prayer is a fundamentally
sacred part of daily life."

I bristled. Prayer is a fundamentally sacred part of my
daily life, too. I just believe it makes sense to talk to God the way I talk to
everybody else. God sees into my heart
and hears my innermost thoughts. So trying to mentally edit the sarcasm out of
my silent prayers isn't likely to fool Anybody.

Anyway, I think God loves that I'm funny. There's certainly
plenty of Biblical evidence to support that notion. I like Mark's version of
the encounter between Christ and the Phoenician-born Greek woman whose daughter
was possessed by a demon. When the
non-Jewish woman begs Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter, he puts her
off.

"First let the children eat all they want," he
tells her, "for it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it
to their dogs."

"Yes, Lord," she snaps back. "But even the dogs
under the table eat the children's crumbs."

You can almost hear Christ chuckle: "For such a reply, you
may go; the demon has left your daughter."

That's why I took such offense at the idea of the Indiana
Legislature – or any government body – presuming to offer up an "official"
prayer on my behalf. We all talk to God
in our individual ways, which is a good reason to do it privately or when
surrounded by like-minded church members. (And if you've ever tried to craft a
Prayer of the People by committee, you know that even members of the same
congregation are rarely "like-minded.")

I know that some people of faith think it's irreverent to
include sarcasm in prayer. I disagree — I think it's human. The saints who inspire me most are those who
are most nakedly human in their relationship with God. When disaster strikes, I am heartened by St.
Teresa de Avila's angry, spontaneous, and keenly heartfelt prayer: "If this is
the way You treat Your friends, no wonder You have so few!"

I grew up in a fundamentalist church in a conservative, fundamentalist
community, and I have great respect for many fundamentalists. But those of us who take a different path to God
need to stop apologizing for ourselves.
I believe God hears my prayers just as clearly as he hears those of
conservative Christians – and I don't believe he takes off points for sarcasm.

As St. Teresa de Avila once said: "The only service I have
ever rendered to God was to be myself."

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