high five Jesus

Growing up in Brooklyn, I was very familiar with the little cases that adorned the door frames of some apartment doors. The mezuzah is a scroll inscribed with verses from Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21. It starts with the phrase "Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is One." I remember seeing my Jewish friends and neighbors kiss the case with their fingers as they walked into or out of their apartments. It's a reminder to fulfill the Lord's commandments.

I bring this up because recently, while in Ecuador, Wendy and I bought a small wooden cross that we affixed next to our apartment door. The thought was that it would remind us about God's presence and blessings every time we left the apartment and returned. It's our version of the mezuzah in a way.

Living in New York City I find it is common to see the acknowledgment of a God in some way shape or form: Yarmulkes, hijabs, crosses on a chain, kissing the mezuzah, making the sign of the cross, and occassionally a Jesus tatoo on someone's neck. God is somehow everywhere in NYC. But still, I was surprised last night when I saw someone praying before their meal at a bar.

Very rarely you'll see someone bow their heads at a restaurant here, but I don't think I've ever seen it happen at a bar. I met up with a group of folks celebrating a birthday. They'd been out doing a bar crawl since 12 noon. A married couple got hungry at around midnight, got food, and prayed. With an "Amen" and an "I love you" they commenced their meal. It was a beautiful sight. Especially considering the time and place: midnight, a NYC bar, loud, and smokey. Yet still, there was time for God.

In today's Gospel reading, Peter is commanded by Jesus to walk on water towards Him. Peter does, but soon begins to sink and calls out, "Lord, save me!" You hear this a lot, but I wonder how often God hears prayers of "save me" versus prayers of thanksgiving. What would the ratio be?

I know I fall into the "save me" boat often. It's part of the reason we set up the cross by our door. By the way, we set it a little high, over our heads actually. So when we leave the apartment it actually looks like we're giving Jesus a high five. It's like high fiving Jesus for giving you another day in the morning, and giving Him a high five in the evening for bringing you home safely. It's a small step in an action plan to change our ratio.

"If there's ever the slightest bit of a chance..."

I read this story from the AP a couple of days ago and it reminded me of something I had told my wife a while ago... "if there's ever the slightest bit of a chance of me surviving, don't pull the plug." Slightly selfish? Perhaps.

I like to think of it as hopeful. As long as there's hope, and there are people praying for me, I believe there's a chance. Zach Dunlap got his chance. He's back and I hope he gets to kick some butt. It's not often you get a second chance. Read on:

OKLAHOMA CITY - Four months after he was declared brain dead and doctors were about to remove his organs for transplant, Zach Dunlap says he feels "pretty good."

Dunlap was pronounced dead Nov. 19 at United Regional Healthcare System in Wichita Falls, Texas, after he was injured in an all-terrain vehicle accident. His family approved having his organs harvested.

As family members were paying their last respects, he moved his foot and hand. He reacted to a pocketknife scraped across his foot and to pressure applied under a fingernail. After 48 days in the hospital, he was allowed to return home, where he continues to work on his recovery.

On Monday, he and his family were in New York, appearing on NBC's "Today."

"I feel pretty good. but it's just hard ... just ain't got the patience," Dunlap told NBC.

Dunlap, 21, of Frederick, said he has no recollection of the crash.

"I remember a little bit that was about an hour before the accident happened. But then about six hours before that, I remember," he said.

Dunlap said one thing he does remember is hearing the doctors pronounce him dead.

"I'm glad I couldn't get up and do what I wanted to do," he said.

Asked if he would have wanted to get up and shake them and say he's alive, Dunlap responded: "Probably would have been a broken window that went out."

His father, Doug, said he saw the results of the brain scan.

"There was no activity at all, no blood flow at all."

Zach's mother, Pam, said that when she discovered he was still alive, "That was the most miraculous feeling."

"We had gone, like I said, from the lowest possible emotion that a parent could feel to the top of the mountains again," she said.

She said her son is doing "amazingly well," but still has problems with his memory as his brain heals from the traumatic injury.

"It may take a year or more ... before he completely recovers," she said. "But that's OK. It doesn't matter how long it takes. We're just all so thankful and blessed that we have him here."

Dunlap now has the pocketknife that was scraped across his foot, causing the first reaction.

"Just makes me thankful, makes me thankful that they didn't give up," he said. "Only the good die young, so I didn't go."