This Is Our Church

Where to stand on the subway platform is one of the most important daily decisions of the NYC commuter. To the layman, it seems trivial. In his eyes, all subway cars are created equal. He'll only realize his error on the day he chooses wrong, and ends up riding from Prospect to Flatbush with a subway prophet. Seriously, watch that video. Look at the guy in the brown jacket and blue shirt. He personifies the attitude of the commuter when he realizes he has to listen to this man preach and rant. He is defeated. He accepts the gravity of his situation, but he cannot wait for it to end. Meanwhile, the subway prophet is simply excited about his faith, and wants to share the lessons he's learned with his fellow travelers. He's preaching his own gospel truth, doing what his religion says he should do. But dude, it's 8 in the morning, chill.

Maybe it's just a case of wrong place, wrong time. The early morning subway might not be the optimal venue for his enthusiasm. A church, of course, comes to mind as the place where people can express their religiosity. But if you're Catholic like me, you know full well that the usual subway prophet would be glared at and kicked out faster than you could say "WWJD?" Really think about it: if you believe, like I and billions of other people do, that God created you and loves you so much that he sent his son to die for you, wouldn't you be pretty goddamn happy about it? Wouldn't you want to share it with everyone you know? Wouldn't it bring you closer to your fellow believers? Practically, society frowns on people who answer this question with an emphatic "yes." So if we can't go publicly crazy about our beliefs in something as grandiose as faith, we can't do so anywhere, right?

Just ask these people.

These people are going nuckin' futs over a dozen or so guys who play a game. They're opting for paint instead of shirts to display their favorite group of tall guys they'll never meet. In many cases, they're paying hundreds or thousands of dollars for this opportunity. And everyone is having fun with them.

For better or worse, sports are a religion. You're born into your rooting interest. You have to set aside some time on Sundays to honor it. And while people convert to other religions, even go from not believing in God to believing (and vice versa), Mets fans stay Mets fans.

The gospel writers undertook to record the history of their faith. We do the same.

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