Very little shocks us. Fed a steady diet of blood-lust and sex over a lifetime we have disconnected with horror and perversion. A child was raped by his HIV infected father may get our attention, but no sooner has the headline faded from sight that it fades from memory too. Of course it is a defense mechanism, a heart can only stand so much heartache, even on behalf of others.
Sacred And Profane Love by Tiziano Vicellio (Titian). Painted at the age of 25, it symbolized the eternal nature of God's love and the ephemeral loves of earth.
On the same token, nothing is sacred. We ritualistically desecrate everything from the sacrament of marriage to the sanctity of life. But again, the psychology of it is not complex, it is the way fallen creatures find comfort, devaluing others to raise our sense of self worth, lowering everyone to one great coterie of the profane.
So it should not have shocked me today when an off-color remark was spoken to elicit laughter from a third party to the situation I found myself in. A simple process was taking way too long and the person said "This is taking so long the nails in Christ's wrists are rusting."
I wanted to scream, "That's the love of my life you're talking about!!" But I said nothing. If the man knew Jesus, loved Jesus he would not have said it, anymore than he could have been so cruel and callous about his daughter or wife or mother, anyone he adored, anyone he held sacred.
Stop the friggin' planet....I want off.
