Accidental Documentary

I don’t get a chance to listen to many programs on the radio, but there is one program that I try to listen to regularly, This American Life from Public Radio International.  One of the reasons that I like listening to this particular program is because they try to spend an entire show talking about a ‘typical’ American life.  The program can range anywhere from a son trying to figure out how to take care of his mom who is in a nursing home, to a young man who found inspiration to write a book from people he met riding Greyhound buses.  There was one story that really caught my attention.  It was called Accidental Documentaries and originally aired February 21, 1996 and several times since.  The first segment is a reel-to-reel letter that was recorded from a family in Berrien Springs, MI to their son who was going to school in Loma Linda, CA in 1967.  The recording was found in a Salvation Army store and when it was recorded by the family it was not intended to be on the air at all, but simply a personal letter from two parents to their son.

One of the reasons that this story fascinated me was that as you listened to the letter, it was clear that the parents had no idea that anything would ever be done with the recording, they were simply, honestly, and openly sharing their lives, their activities, and their feelings with their son.  It provided a glimpse into the everyday lives of people living in Michigan in 1967 without them knowing that anyone else would ever hear what was said.  It made me think about what it would be like if my conversations and actions were recorded without me knowing and then played back for people who didn’t know me at all.  What would that recording say about me?  Would people be able to tell that I am a Christian by what they hear?

If my life ended up as an accidental documentary what would be heard and interpreted from that recording?  What if people found an accidental documentary of your life, what would it say about you?  Many times when no one else is around, or when it is just close family, we may think that we can relax a little because no one is going to know what we are saying or doing anyway.  The challenge is that we are not called to be Christians just in public or when it is easy.  We are called to be Christians all the time, no matter where we are or what we are doing.  Faith in Christ is not an occupation that we can leave at 5pm Monday-Friday, or 12pm on Sunday, and not think about until we report for duty on our next work day, but it is a new identity and way of living that permeates our entire lives.  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”  2 Corinthians 5:17 

We are called to be Christians 24 hours a day 7 days a week.  We can not do this on our own but only through the grace and mercy of God and through a relationship with God as we continue to immerse ourselves in God’s word and God’s presence.  If there is ever an accidental documentary of us, I pray that people will be able to say that there is clear evidence that we are Christians and that with God’s help we worked to be faithful disciples even when we thought no one was looking.

God bless, Rev. Liz Arakelian, www.LivingHopeEC.org

Btw, if you want to read a transcript of this particular episode of This American Life, you can find it here:  http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/14/transcript