One of my core memories is sitting in the pew at Mass, shriveling up with secondhand embarrassment. This was in the early 80’s, and the old French Canadian pastor, Fr. M, loved to roam around the apse, emoting.
One of his favorite hymns was “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” and when he got to the part that goes, “Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble” he would demonstrate by rolling his eyes up to the ceiling and doing a sort of jazz hands motion with each “tremble.” The liturgical dancers swooped around him in their polyester robes, he rolled his eyes, and I shriveled in my pew.
It was terrible. Completely terrible. I was old enough to know it was terrible, but also self-aware enough to feel terrible that I felt that way. Because he was talking about being there when they crucified my Lord! And here I was, wishing the roof would fall in so he would stop. What is a girl to do?
I now have a whole category for this kind of thing. It’s called “Cringe for Christ,” and I think it’s what will save me. It’s the same thing I feel when I want to share something on social media, but I hesitate because, even though it’s indisputably true, it’s from The Wrong Group. It’s what I feel when I have to teach my kids things like, “When that couple in the movie you’re watching starts having sex, you need to turn your face away, like THIS” and show them.
I felt something similar when I saw the videos of the protesting Minnesotans walking slowly through the streets, singing their 21st century protest songs: “Ho-o-o-o-o-ld on, ho-o-o-o-old onnnnn, my dear ones, here comes the dawn,” or gathering outside the hotel windows of ICE agents, crooning, “It’s okay to change your mind.”
I’m well aware many readers here do not think the protestors have a worthy cause. That’s okay! I can live with that. My point still stands.
“Cringe for Christ” is a flexible principle, applicable to many situations and to literally everyone. It doesn’t matter who you are: Sincerity is more important than good taste. It’s great to have both, and often we can; but if we have to choose one or the other, we should choose sincerity every time. Virtue over vibes.
It sounds so obvious, and I doubt you disagree. But I think we are more susceptible than we realize …
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