Old Blasphemer From Way Back

Today I attended the 10:30 service at St. John’s Cathedral in downtown Denver. The Cathedral is under renovation, both inside and out. So about half the interior is currently occupied by scaffolding all the way to the ceiling 65′ above the floor. That meant that remaining seats in the nave were at a premium. Lucky for me, I came early. That’s because my favorite heavily-tattooed foul-mouthed six-foot-two female clergy-person, Nadia Boltz-Weber, was the scheduled homilist.

 

 

Nadia’s sermon begins at 12:13 of the SJC Wilderness livestream, here. I recommend you get to it quick because they tend to overlay with whatever’s the latest sermon. And as an old blasphemer from way back, based on today’s Gospel lesson from Mark 3:20-35 (see the complete lectionary, here), this is of particular interest to me. Normally I’d never even think about posting something from a church service on my blog. But I had such a great response to my last lengthy David Brooks Realpolitik post, here, I figured, what the hell: May as well go for broke.

 

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A few things you should know about Nadia. First off, her full time gig these days is ministering without compensation to the murderers, prostitutes, drug addicts, and check fraud convicts at Denver’s Women’s Prison. Needless to say, at services “inside,” they never pass the plate. Paid subscritions to Nadia’s blog, The Corners, keep her in comfortable enough economic circumstances that she drives a snazzy new charcoal gray Tesla. I only know this last bit because she parked beside me this morning in the lot at St. John’s. I didn’t say “hi” to her because I know how clergy prepping to preach detest being waylaid on their way in the door by adoring fans – of which I am one. Hey, we all have our little contributions we make to furthing G*d’s Kingdom.  Well, giving Nadia some breathing room in the parking lot is mine.

The other thing you should know about Nadia is that she recently re-married. For a honeymoon, she and her new husband walked the Camino Santiago in Spain for a month. And I can honestly say, I have never seen her look happier or more relaxed. Now, let me go on record right here and say, I am insanely jealous. Then again, as part of my ongoing contribution to the furtherance of the Kingdom, I’m willing to cut her some slack. SOME slack, I said. But let’s not get carried away, okay?

 

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If you read that “Cathedral For All Generations” blurb, you will notice they are spending 6 or 7 million dollars to refurbish the physical plant @SJC, especially shoring up the mounts on those stained glass windows. That’s in addition to whatever they already spent last year replacing the floor, the pews, and the heating system.  As a former Church Treasurer, just thinking about it gives me a headache. The bottom line? A women’s prison this ain’t. But Nadia considers it part of her outreach to the Frozen Chosen to come speak @SJC once a quarter. And if she’s willing to go that far, then I’m willing to drive an hour in from the far Galilean hills to hear her speak downtown. My other option would be to undergo a sex change and get myself incarcerated for bank fraud. But there are some lines even an old blasphemer like me won’t cross – not even to further the Kingdom. Mea Culpa.