I Am The Priest

INTRO: (Phone Tag)
The other night I was awaken by a screaming noise. These days it seems that is usually my son, but this time I could hear singing. I realized it was my phone ringing. I sprung from the bed and stumbled down the hallway. Anyone calling this late/early on a Sunday night/Monday morning must be in trouble. When I arrived at my phone I noticed I had missed a call from G. I usually get calls from G. at 2 in the morning on weekends when I know he's been rummaging towns with Sailor in hand (which is every weekend) and he just wants to say AHOY! But this is usually after we have already spoken through phone or text earlier in the night to concede yet another weekend drowned in the Sailor.

Worried, I called back immediately. No answer. Just voicemail. I called my phone to retrieve the voicemail he had left me. Needless to say I could tell within seconds that this call was the result of a bumped phone in the pocket of a drunk mate. I listened to a 10 minute long mumbled conversation and then went back to sleep. Of course G. got home hours later and noticed a missed call from me. After a days worth of phone tag, we finally connected to straighten out the whole mess. However, as I hung up the phone with my first mate, I realized that God works in mysterious ways.

When I am with G. it is Pints, Rum, Oracle, Occurrence and Foolery. The nights seem to linger, yet fly by so fast. But there are rare occasions when we have been able to focus on just one of these attributes with intensity. God chose Oracle for this recent phone call.

MEAT: (Value :: Values)
In the midst of private conversation, G. dove into a theory, nay, a truth of modern mythology. (Read here - Myth Building) In the ends of the conversation he dropped the line, We create our own values and we create our own value. I cannot say if he read that somewhere or if he graced it with his own brain, but it shook me.

I look at my life and I realize I am exactly what God knew I would be. He gave me the mind, spirit and soul to create myself. He new what I had to work with and he knew what I would do with it. If not so than his Omni-potence is void. And so my choice is to enjoy what I have created or changed it. It's my choice. Yes, He created me. But he created me to make myself. To give myself values and value. Understand the difference in verb just by adding the "s".

To me the "s" is Style. My value is put to work in my Style of living. My style of living reflects my valueS. And what made me smile was that G. made me realize that it is not I who should fear the cynics and the pharisees, yet it is they who should fear me!

In fact it was just Sunday at church that our morning class dove into a discussion about the prophecy of Simeon over Jesus on the 8th day after his birth when he said, "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too." Luke 2:34,35

Jesus created his own value. And we value him to this day. But he also created his own values. He was probably the biggest let down to the Jewish community at that time in history since Moses turned meat into manna. They wanted the ultimate pharisee. The ultimate leader/prophet/puppet this side of the Red Sea. Yet, Jesus was not content to be restricted to their values. He chose his own. And though he hung with hookers and losers, he became the reason I live.

So what is MY value? What are MY values....

THE DIVE: (92 P.R.O.O.F.)
I hang with the 1%. We are pirates, thief's and vagabonds. Roaming the seas of life bragging on our treasure and enjoying the excess of it. Tis true! We did not discover this treasure on our own. It was given to us by the greatest Pirate, the biggest rebel of them all. He gave us this treasure and told us to create value to our path, love all, be free, help others and above all.... enjoy life.

I am 92 Proof. We are few, yet we are strong. My first mate is captain and I am proud to be on this broken vessel of a ship. Yo Ho! There are jesters, scientists, mad men, and me. Me? I am the priest. Can you believe that? Of everyone.... I deem myself the priest. Does it scare you? It shouldn't.

Because while the "believers" of the world are scared, hungry, dying and bitter. We sail on high seas, enjoying life among the Pints Rum Oracle Occurrence and Foolery.

Blessings to the Blessed