Let's cut to the chase, and simply respond with a resounding YES! But this affirmative response requires some explanation, for the skeptic or critic would ask that I make some doctrinal choices, or at least be challenged to the core by the lack of religious discipline on the part of Mr. Buffett. While I do not want to offer a book report on what I've been reading, nor an apologetic for the belief system of the very experienced fruitcake like Jimmy Buffett, I would like to entertain the notion that my Catholic faith can maintain itself as the center of a free-spirited and care-free life in "Margaritaville".
The Faith of Fruitcake, the Hope of Parrotheads, and the Love of the Journey: In my initial, and very quick search of my own official rule book, The Catechism of the Catholic Church, I am pleased to say that there is much basis for my Catholicism being celebrated in the works of one of its most famous former members, Jimmy Buffett. For this purpose, I will concentrate on three simple Truths of my faith: All are created in God's love, especially the "Fruitcake". We are all called to live in a community that is strengthened by making sure that "the other guy" is loved and taken care of. And we're all living, and sailing for that "One Particular Harbour".
The Fruitcake: The Catechism teaches me that "Creation has its own goodness and proper perfection, but it did not spring forth complete from the hands of the Creator. The universe was created "in a state of journeying" toward an ultimate perfection yet to be attained, to which God has destined it. We call "divine providence" the dispositions by which God guides his creation toward this perfection..." (CCC 302) One of my favorite Buffett songs is a tune called Fruitcakes, and it begins to make the case for folks like you and me, when he proclaims, "You know I was talking to my friend Desdemona the other day she runs this space station and bake shop down near boomtown. She told me that human beings are flawed individuals. The cosmic bakers took us out of the oven a little too early. and that's the reason were as crazy as we are and I believe it." (Fruitcakes, Jimmy Buffett) Look at the similarity in philosophies offered by the Church and Buffett. We're not created perfect. We're set forth on this journey of life to be and become more perfect! With God's divine providence, a few good decisions, and some good fortune, people like us are gonna make it big in this life! The song goes on to advocate for a care-free nature that allows us to be open to the many possibilities of getting from point A to point B, maybe even via a point C, D, or even Z. The point I'd like focus on here is simply that we're all a bit different, and wonderfully made to do great things, not to be held back by some worldly expectation, but rather, set free to walk through crosswalks with nothing but a smile, knowing that there are "half-baked cookies in the oven, half-baked people on the bus, [and] a little bit of fruitcake, left in everyone of us!" So keep walking and journeying through this life towards the promise of God love for you, and us all, to be the best fruitcake ever! But be wary, for there are a few phony "Cosmic Baker Wannabe's" out there... Stay focused on the solutions, and help one another on "The Way"!
Parrotheads and a Community of Believers: This time, I'll give Margaritaville the first word, for “Buffett and his audience have a symbiotic relationship where each saves the other. And since we’re all sinners, we have an affinity and understanding for [the] man in a Hawaiian shirt and Bermuda shorts.” (McKenna & Pratt) The Church would add that common good is to be understood [as] the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily. The common good concerns the life of all." (CCC 1906). The key words above are 'symbiotic relationship'! and 'common good'! Our nature is not so much to save each other, but to acknowledge, or remind those that we journey with that the "Good News" of our mutual salvation is true for us all! During my recent reading on the philosophy of Jimmy, I learned of a Western American Philosopher Josiah Royce, and his reassurance that it community that brings salvation. (http://www.iep.utm.edu/roycejos/#SH2a) That supposition came from the obvious notion that when we take care of one another , we are saved from harm. My Christian faith, and the notion of ultimate Salvation also comes through community as exemplified by Christ, the one true Body who feeds us all! In this community, salvation is freely given for us all as God wanted us to live together and share in His love (through His Son Jesus Chrsit). It's in that sharing that we are made whole, and that we act to support the salvation that is afforded us all within the community, a.k.a. The Church. I'm sure this is where the cynic or critic would scream of the huge difference between the Buffett Concert and going to church! While I would agree, that church offers more for my faith and salvation, sitting in a much cheaper seat, or pew as the case may be, experiencing a Buffett Concert with my friends also provides me with an opportunity to embrace the kind of guy that I really am... The fruitcake simply trying to make sense of my fellow journeyers, and our love for the journey! Is there a link between concerts and church? There is when you allow for the Spirit to enter the experience. A point here is that every individual needs to allow oneself to PARTICIPATE in life through a community. Whether it is singing a great song with the "Fins Up" salute above your head, or praying your Creed in unison with others, the fact that all are welcome, and all are included (especially the Fruitcakes) supports a constant Truth in the faith that I profess... We are fed and forever linked by the Body Christ, and in that welcome, we are healed by "the wound that would not heal, so that always and forever, we'd remember how it feels." (Reggabilly Hill, Jimmy Buffett)
That One Particular Harbour: Finally, and without much need of a detailed argument or explanation, there is an ideal that we all hope to achieve. Whether we are "working for the weekend" (Everybody's Working for the Weekend, Locerboy), or journeying towards a calling by God, one Mass, or Hail Mary at a time, we are on a journey, and we do hope to reach its end a bit better off than when we started. Ralph Waldo Emerson describes the successful journey as "to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived - that is to have succeeded”. The Church would add that, "we can hope in the glory of heaven promised by God to those who love him and do his will. In every circumstance, each one of us should hope, with the grace of God, to persevere "to the end" and to obtain the joy of heaven, as God's eternal reward for the good works accomplished with the grace of Christ. In hope, the Church prays for "all [of us] to be saved." (CCC 1821) Jimmy would conclude that "there's that one particular harbour, sheltered from the wind, where the children play on the shore each day, and all are safe within. Most mysterious calling harbour, so far but yet so near, I can see the day when my hair's full gray, and I finally disappear."
So in the end, there are these three, faith, hope and love! (1Corinthians 13:13) But I would also contend that equally real is that faith of a Fruitcake, like me and you, celebrating in hope with a bunch of Parrotheads, friends and fellow believers, as we journey towards God's love and mystery of that "One Horbour". I would also contend that there is much more that needs to be written here on the subject, for I am sure that the critic, the skeptic, and Jimmy himself have raised eyebrows at the notion that a fallen away Catholic, former Altar Boy, and agnostic musician living a care-free life in Margaritaville could be an example of the Mystery of Faith. But I also contend... No, I believe, that God's plan is one that offers us all a journey, especially us Fruitcakes, to live and travel together, even with Jimmy Buffett as our guide from time to time. Salvation from God, with a loving community all around us, seeking to help one another get to the new beginning that awaits us all... What could be more Catholic than that?
This GregBlog is very much inspired by the reading of Erin McKenna & Scott L. Pratt. “Jimmy Buffett and Philosophy.” Perseus, 2010-07-22. iBooks. This material may be protected by copyright. Check out this book on the iBooks Store: https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewBook?id=383905736
A Sunrise Over Gulf Shores, Alabama...
The One Particular Harbour?
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