Ghosts May Bring Protestant/Catholic Unity

The Sci-Fi Channel taught me last night that hope remains in the search for unity among Catholics and Protestants.

I was just flipping through the channels and just happened upon a show called “Ghost Hunters.” OK. OK. I wasn’t just flipping by. I like the show. Look, anytime you have two Roto-Rooter plumbers running around scary houses and ancient prisons at night I’m there. I’m right there. Call it a weakness. Call it imbecility. I’ve been called worse.

Last night the crew saw some pretty weird stuff in a vacation home and the lead ghost hunter Jason had a flashlight knocked out of his hands. Then they heard a voice growl out the name of the homeowner. Now typically, these guys are as cavalier as can be about ghosts but this incident rattled them enough to bring in a “demonologist” named Keith Johnson, a Protestant with a self declared “strong faith.”

He was asked to bless the house. Everyone gathered around him nervously and asked him what he was going to do. Keith held his bible up. It was one of those creased and worn bibles you can tell gets read often with post it notes sticking out of pages. And then as if to validate the blessing Johnson pointed to a vial of water and remarked that it was “real holy water” blessed by a priest. And this guy splashed the stuff everywhere. He was like a spiritual exterminator with demonicide.

I thought this was pretty funny. When things got ugly and the principalities and powers started howling names and knocking things around the team brought out the Catholics. It’s easy to discard the Church in the daylight but when the fallen angels are suspected of rising and bark in the night I’m just thinking we’re putting the rectory in our “5” above Mother Rainbow’s Church of Jesus.

I’m not critiquing, I’m just saying that in the late innings with the game on the line who in your heart of hearts do you want batting cleanup?

Maybe there is hope for unity… if only things get ugly enough.