Journal of Michelle Smith

James was one who said, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we shall go into such and such a town, spend a year there doing business, and make a profit’–you have no idea what your life will be like tomorrow. You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears. Instead you should say, ‘If the Lord wills it, we shall live to do this or that.” James 4:13-15

These verses resonate with me today because a friend of mine is fighting for his life today. You may have driven past or seen the horrific accident on the news at Grand and St. Louis Avenue that was attributed to two drag racers. My friend was the innocent driver hit head-on.

This man is truly a man of God. He used to hold the position of Athletic Director (that I hold now) at my church when there was no salary. He did it out of the goodness of his heart. Yesterday, he was on his way down to the church (as he was nearly every day) to help other volunteers unload food and gifts for those who go without at Christmas. HE WAS ON HIS WAY TO DO THE WORK OF THE LORD.

We all pray that he will make a full recovery. We all give thanks to the Lord for the example he has been to all of us and his family.

If it is the Lord’s will, may we see another day to be of service to the children of God, as my friend has been everyday of his life.

A friend called me the other day and said, “Can I ask you a question?” My response was, “Sure you can.” Then she asked, “Do you mind answering in public?” Now, the lawyer in me kicked in and I responded, “Well that depends on the question and who’s listening.” That answer was followed by, “Oh, it’s a catechism question.” So I said, “Oh, in that case, sure. Go ahead.”

My friend put her friend Becky on the line who asked, “In Catechism classes, do they teach you about the birth and death of Jesus?” I said, “Yes.” Becky went on to talk about the new movie, “The Nativity Story,” which takes us into the world of Mary and Joseph and we get a glimpse into what they both must have gone through after Mary said yes to the Lord.

Well, Becky said that she was talking to a Catholic person about the movie and she was confused because the person to whom she was talking asked her whether she thought what was in the movie was factual. So, that led Becky to think, “What do they teach you in catechism class?”

Our discussion after that involved me giving an explanation of the liturgical calendar and how we’re now at the beginning, in the season of Advent. I talked about how this movie, like “The Passion of the Christ” gives a look into the world of the text of the Bible, so we can get a sense of what it was like back then. We also talked about how it seems like some Catholics don’t know the scriptures very well. I did affirm that there seems to be a cry among some for more Bible study, and I informed her to not be too shocked if she runs into some who are not as familiar with scriptures as she.

After the call ended, I texted a message back to my friend who originally called me because I wanted to be sure that Becky and others listening did not take from my comments a sweeping generalization that all Catholics do not know the scriptures and all Protestants do. That would be absurd and untrue. However, the question even goes deeper than who knows what about the Bible. It becomes, again, a question of faith.

Even if “The Nativity Story” like “The Passion of the Christ” is taken primarily from the Bible with some artistic license, we are still left with the ultimate question–did that really happen? You see, it seems to me, that the question posed to Becky may not have been about what that person learned or didn’t learn in Catechism class. It may have just been a question of faith. In other words, was that particular Catholic a believer or not? God only knows…