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Jonathan Roumie Quote

30 Dec

“And if I never did anything else again in entertainment, I would be sad, but I would be content knowing that I said yes to this very very intense, long mission–it will be ten years by the time it’s all released from the time I started–and I will feel like, okay, I’ve done something with my life…I’ve seen what this kind of storytelling, and what’s at the heart of it, how it can literally change people’s lives…You see it. They go from non-belief to belief. They go from no being active in the sacraments to all of a sudden going to confession, and going to mass, and taking communion again. And that the difference between life and death. Spiritual life and death. And there’s nothing that’s going to be more important for me than affecting an individual’s relationship with their creator. It trumps everything. It is the top priority in everybody’s life if they acknowledge that there is a relationship like that to be had. And once you know you’ve somehow been a touch point for that person’s journey, it’s like, well, what else is there? What else matters in my work as an artist? Nothing. Nothing does.” (5:15 mark of the video)

Dear God, I listened to this interview from yesterday at least a couple of times, and this is quote is the part that spoke to me the most. I think it comes down to the heart of everything we are called by you to be. And I bolded the part that really touched me with the rest to set the context for Mr. Roumie’s statement: “And there’s nothing that going to be more important for me than affecting an individual’s relationship with their creator. It trumps everything. It is the top priority in everybody’s life if they acknowledge that there is a relationship like that to be had.”

I can’t help but think about the narrow gate. Jesus references it in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:13-14: 13 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to [destruction] is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it. I think I’ve found the narrow gate. And it’s frustrating to try to help friends decide to find it and have them turn me down. Family too.

So what does the narrow gate look like to me? How would I describe the narrow gate? I think answering this question might be different for a lot of Christians, and there are parts of this that I’m better at than other parts, but here’s what I’m thinking off of the top of my head.

  • Humility: Admit I am powerless and I need the God of the universe to restore me to sanity (combination of the first two steps in AA).
  • Make a decision to turn my life and will over to you, repent before you and others, receive your grace and love through Jesus, and turn my life over to you, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit to start to remove my character defects (steps 3-7 in AA).
  • Seek you through prayer and meditation (step 11 in AA).
  • Love others and carry this message to others (step 12).

I know I talked recently about a book that talked about the spiritual significance of the 12 steps in AA, and I think they ring pretty true here. I think if I walk in these steps then I have found the narrow gate. The one thing that is missing that, frankly, I’m not good at, is the intercessory prayer part for others. I think it’s important to pray for others and have them on our hearts, but outside of carrying the message to others there isn’t much in the 12 steps on that. But it’s important, and it’s something that my wife is so much better about than I am.

Father, make a difference in the world through my life. Today. In this moment. Of course, I want it for tomorrow too, but I just want to be in this moment today. Help me to be a man who continuously chooses the narrow gate and then guides others through it. Not so they can be saved from hell, but so they can know the peace and joy of relationship with you. And please forgive me for how I hurt others, myself, and you, and help me to know in the moment when I am doing something harmful and guide me out of it.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 30, 2025 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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Fr. Mike Schmitz Interviews Jonathan Roumie

29 Dec

Dear God, I watched this interview this morning as I got ready for work, and it really struck me. I think a better word is humbled. It humbled me. I fight against it, but there are so many times that I get a bit full of myself and my “spiritual maturity.” The truth is, I’m an idiot. I don’t have anything to say. I don’t have anything to teach. I’m such a fool. I just need to listen and learn and appear foolish instead of opening my mouth and removing all doubt.

So I listened to Mr. Roumie’s experience playing Jesus–especially having just filmed the crucifixion–and it struck me how much I still take this for granted. How much all of us do. And we can’t, we simply can’t appreciate what you experienced during those 18 or so hours 2,000 years ago. He said he asked you for just a small taste, and even that left him overwhelmed and something that he might have to work through for the rest of his life.

Yeah, I just don’t get it. And I don’t know that I have the courage to ask you to help me get it. I almost prefer to insulate myself from really getting the depths of what you experienced through your incarnation, life as a human, brutal death, and resurrection. Can I just say that I get it and move on?

Father, thank you for fellow believers who inspire me. Fr. Mike and Mr. Roumie are people who inspire me. My young niece and her husband are believers who inspire me. I have young men I know through Christian Men’s Life Skills who inspire me. All of this makes me better. I love you, Lord. And I lift my voice to worship you. Oh, my soul, rejoice! Take joy, my King, in what you hear. Let it be a sweet, sweet sound in your ears. With my foolish ignorance and all, let it be a sweet, sweet sound in your ears.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 29, 2025 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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“It’s a Quest…For God.”

01 Dec

Dear God, I want to quote the movie Jesus Revolution. I was thinking about it this morning after I just saw a headline on my news feed from a reddit thread called “Am I the A*****?” It’s a place online where people bring their anger and hatred and look for redemption and affirmation among others who are angry and bitter. For some reason, when I saw it I thought back to this scene in Jesus Revolution. This is just a little clip, but it doesn’t have everything I was looking for. It cuts off just a little too soon:

Lonnie Frisbee is talking to Chuck Smith, the more traditional pastor. He’s explaining the hippies to Chuck:

“It reminds me of the words of Jesus: ‘To what then can I compare this generation? What are they like?’

“I was up in San Francisco for long time, living in in Haight Ashbury. In the Streets. All over. Man, we did everything and everyone. But that was the point. You see, the drugs. It’s a quest…For God.”

I look around me now as I enter this season of advent and I see people putting their faith in so many things. It might not be drugs. It might be a politician or political power. It might be money. It might be sex. And those idols start to let them down so they get angry. They get so angry. That’s what it feels like to me right now. It feels like I see so many people who are angry, and they are looking for you. They just don’t know they are looking for you.

My wife and I were talking yesterday about different forms of prosperity gospel. Some are more obvious and some more subtle. The more obvious ones say, “Do X and God will give you success.” Usually money. The more subtle ones will tell you that there is a formula for a successful life. This is one I bought into for a while until I was disillusioned. I was worshipping you, but I expected you to deliver me the family life I wanted. I wasn’t as focused on career, but I had an ideal of what a family could and should be, and I was incredibly disappointed in you when it didn’t turn out that way.

Of course, the reaction to an idol that disappoints us isn’t always anger. It can be depression too. Isn’t it interesting that more people in developed countries need antidepressants than those who live in undeveloped nations? We have everything at our fingertips while the person in the undeveloped nation has to struggle for something as basic as clean water. And yet we are the ones who suffer from anxiety at a higher rate. My uneducated guess is that they simply don’t have time to worry. They just struggle. It’s also interesting that those are the areas of the world where your church is growing. I know I always grow more when I am struggling.

So now I am waiting on Jesus during this season of Advent. I feel like I should maybe be doing something special here like I did with Lent. I’m not sure what that is, however. I have a devotion on the way that I will see if it helps. That’s what I did for Lent. But I know I want to continue to root out my own idols, expose them, reject them, and banish them. I want to be at peace with the path you have for me. I want to be willing to risk everything for you. Not my family, of course, because they are your highest calling to me. But if doing what you want me to do costs me reputation, money, comfort, security, etc., then I want to be willing to put that on the table. Thoughtfully. Prayerfully. Intentionally. I want to do exactly what you want me to do. Use the next 25 days to transform me into the next step of who you want me to be.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 1, 2024 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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