Response #16 Pinkeye

March 23, 2014benmckelahan Ben Challenges, Ben Responds Tags: anatomy, Biology, disease, eyes, pink eye, pinkeye, response, The Challenger, the mysterious theologian Leave a comment

Mysterious Theologian: Ben

WebMD tells me that “Poor hand-washing is the main cause of the spread of pinkeye. Sharing an object, such as a washcloth or towel, with a person who has pinkeye can spread the infection.” Therefore…

Transcendent Pinkeye, you do not despise the infected and frail, you gladly give the apple of your eye with the sick and share it with the healthy. Our heads and tails are united together through you. Swell shut our eyes which judge the world by external appearance, and lead us to reach out with searching hands, so that all we touch might spread your presence. Amen.

CHALLENGE: We are branching out and inviting others to support us in our Lenten practice! So instead of challenging Chase, today I am challenge Pastor Amy Kienzle of St. John’s and Lutheran Church of the Messiah in Brooklyn, NY to see God in that most disgusting denizen of NYC…BED BUGS!

Challenge #16 Pink Eye

March 21, 2014March 21, 2014chasezforeman Chase Challenges Tags: Biology, challenge, disease, eyes, human body, infection, The Challenger Leave a comment

Ben, things have changed since the beginning of Lent. Don’t you feel like a whole different person? I bet you don’t even remember how into the Olympics you were. You probably don’t remember checking Twitter every 7 minutes to find pictures of toilets and curtains and glasses of weird water. But I bet you remember this…!

Ahhh! Dreaded pink eye. It makes em blood shot, seals em shut, and might even get you kicked off the TV for scaring children and/or winking “too harshly” in general… allegedly.

Challenge #10 Acne

March 15, 2014March 14, 2014chasezforeman Chase Challenges Tags: Biology, challenge, disease, human body, The Challenger Leave a comment

Ben, that last one really hit home. This one does too, I’m just glad I don’t have to write a prayer about… acne! You know the stuff don’t you? Or, were you born with that 5 o’clock shadow of yours? Acne is a plaguing and embarrassing thing. Medications can cause it, stress can cause it, being a teenager can cause it, anything and/or nothing can cause it… but it seems like we humans, old and young, are stuck with it. So, God must be in it somewhere… right?

Response #9 Dandruff

March 14, 2014March 14, 2014chasezforeman Chase Responds Tags: Biology, disease, human body, the mysterious theologian Leave a comment

A Three in One Prayer

Giving God, bless us with the courage to wear love and compassion on our sleeves like snot we’ve wiped from a child’s nose. And the courage to wear hope on our faces like chronic acne. And the courage to wear faith and trust on our shoulders like dandruff. And let that faith, hope, and love be your faith, hope, and love. It will be disgusting and unbelievable to some but to others, your children, it will be a beautiful and broken sign that points to the wholeness there is in you.

Amen

Challenge #9 Dandruff

March 14, 2014February 13, 2014benmckelahan Ben Challenges Tags: anatomy, Biology, challenge, dandruff, disease, hair, skin, The Challenger Leave a comment

Challenger: Ben

Alright, Chase, it’s time for dandruff! Dandruff, those bits of dead skin from your scalp that are itchy, flaky, messy, and a window into the divine!

Grimy God

Looking for God in the Grimiest Places

disease