Oooooh the Draaaah-maaaah
!!!!!
I love my friend Irwin (not his real name),
however it took me a while to enjoy his company. Irwin is dramatic. Someone has always wronged him, or something
fabulous is always happening to him, so that if you get him going, you will
need to spend a while, maybe reschedule some stuff.
The drama used to annoy me. I would feel a prisoner. It became hard to feign interest. It was too
much emotion, too often. Eventually I learned
this is just who Irwin is, and I appreciate him, and I can experience it
without being drawn in, and without being overwhelmed by the desire to
escape. I learned to let Irwin be Irwin,
hear the drama, be his friend, but not let his drama become my drama. It takes all sorts to make a world.
My friend may be an extreme, but the reality is
drama is an important part of our life.
I may have a calmer life than Irwin, but it has its share of upheaval,
injustice, and delight. There are events
that move me deeply with sadness, with joy, with confusion, with a whole myriad
of emotions. This is life, and I have
spent decades trying to unravel the meaning and significance of some of it. Drama demands attention, propels us to
reflection.
This Sunday is a day of drama. The fickle crowd welcomes Jesus because they
think he will expel the Romans from Judea.
However, when they learn he is non-violent, they themselves cry out for
his brutal execution at the hands of the very Romans they despise. Then imagine a few days later women say
Jesus’ body is gone and he is raised from the dead. This is drama. This series of events is so pregnant with
significance that we have been reenacting it, pondering it, talking about it,
for almost two thousand years.
We may not like the extremes in emotion, but the
dramatic events of our lives point to the depth of our being. They propel us to find meaning in our losses,
our loves, our wonders. This is why
symbol, myth, legend, story and yes, drama, assist to explore that
meaning. Drama is an important tool in
exposing our souls, and discovering our depth. ~Father John
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