03/08/2025

Today’s blog

Lynn Murphy Mark

It was a God thing

Yesterday being Friday, I couldn’t wait to get home, eat a little lunch and get ready for my nap. Jan had other plans for me, so I made a trip to her Dierberg’s with a short list. While I was parking, my son, Ted, called. He had an interview yesterday with a university in Florida that is looking for a PhD in philosophy. He filled me in on his experience and it sounded quite positive to me. Now he waits to see if he gets a second, in person, interview. Of course I had googled the university to find out what I could. It’s a huge school in the Miami area and their philosophy department is looking for someone with Ted’s credentials for a tenure track professor. More will be revealed.

Some weeks ago two friends separately recommended an event that happened yesterday evening. I took their advice seriously and got a ticket to hear Nadia Bolz-Weber. I had vaguely heard of her but never read any of her books. Again, Mr. Google helped me read up on her in preparation for the event. I almost decided not to go, not to leave the house one more time. Something propelled me out the door and into the car, so off I went.

She is a part rebel and part wild-child Lutheran pastor. These are the first impressions I got when she came on stage leading the audience in Harry Belafonte’s famous song, “Amen”. The venue was Manchester United Methodist Church, a huge sanctuary that holds over 1,000 people. All seats were taken, so the sound of such a large crowd singing gave me goose bumps. Right away I knew I would be delighted with her. She has an alto range voice which makes her my kind of singer. She wore jeans and a cardigan and has a big mop of greying hair – the kind of color that you earn on the hard way through life.

But before she came on stage I found a seat in a pew on the very edge of the sanctuary. There was just enough room left for two pretty big men to join their friend and leave enough space for me. The man next to me was friendly and we chatted, sharing that neither of us knew much about what the evening would be like. He asked what I do for a living. When I told him I work as an immigration paralegal, his face lit up. “I might need your help.”, he said. 

He owns a construction company and employs many Hispanic people and Bosnians. I took a chance and asked how he verifies their eligibility to work “legally”. “Not well”, he said. We talked about the danger-fraught environment. His company has not been raided yet, but he knows that is always a possibility. He told me how close he and his family get to his employees. He said they are like family to him and his father. They attend all the Quinceanera celebrations, eat meals together, and pay a fair wage for a day’s work.

Something told me to reach in my purse and give him one of my cards. He asked for two more for his dad and his business partner. I promised to email him some “what to do if ICE approaches you” information that he could pass out to his workers. We decided that it was meant to be that we sat together. He gave me his contact information and Monday I will email him as much information as I can.

Back to Nadia Bolz-Weber. The evening unfolded in a most delightful combination of her philosophy and the occasional singing of some good old hymns. By this time I was a complete follower of her down to earth theology. She spoke of Jesus in terms that I could understand about this mysterious yet very real man. She spoke of the enduring power of a rebellious rule-breaker in the face of oppression and dominance by another culture. 

It was obvious to me that she was encouraging us to not lose hope in the face of what’s happening around our country; that good will always prevail, even if it happens after systems are broken and beyond repair. She spoke to us about faith, grace, human failings, and recovery. In many ways she reminds me of Anne Lamott, another woman that I admire greatly for her pithy, funny, and deep reflections on life.

Yesterday was a God day for me, all day long. I am so grateful.