Lemon Pie and Tears

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Lemon pie is probably my least favorite desert. I will choose anything over it, including just an entree and veggies, escaping to Baskin-Robbins later if I really want something sweet. However, when such a slice and I are captives in proximity with nothing else to do, I will, in fact, slowly consume it.

Which is what happened this past Monday, at our sales conference luncheon. The chicken was OK; the dressing dry, the veggies a little too greasy. I ignored the pie, but as the rest of the dishes were cleared away and the introductions began for the speakers, I sneaked (as much as you can sneak a fork full of pie in front of 10 close friends at a round table) a bite. Or two.

Then the keynote speaker got up. An actor. Nice looking, but he hunched over the mike as if this were as awkward for him as for us. The audience stirred. After all, actors aren’t really known for their speaking abilities. Without a script most of them stumble over the language as if it were new to them.

This actor came to speak, however, understanding that everyone in the room was aware of his biggest role to date; yet his talk was not about that role, exactly, but how God had led him, first back to Hollywood when he thought he would never make it, then through the role of a lifetime, to the point where he was standing here before us. About his faith and his friends, both of whom have sustained him through the hardships of his career, his doubts, and that role–even when the director tried to take it back…a conversation that led to one of the funniest moments in the speech.

All I can say is, Jim Caviezel does a helluva imitation of Mel Gibson.

He makes a pretty good Jesus Christ, too.

And he’s not a bad speaker either. The beginning was rough, but this audience, mainly jaded sales teams for our company, is a pretty tough. Yet his talk had all the right points: he led us in, made us laugh, lifted us up, made us cry. My nibbles of lemon pie gave way to sniffles. Needless to say, he got a standing ovation.

Mr. Caviezel appeared before us because Nelson is releasing a fully dramatized reading of the New Testament in October, and he reprises his role as Jesus Christ in the word-for-word reading. He’s joined by an amazing cast, including Marisa Tomei, Michael York, Stacy Keech, Lou Gossett, Jr., Richard Dreyfuss, and a slew of others. The Word of Promise has already received attention from the LA Times and other press.

Just in time for Christmas…

But for me, the point of the day wasn’t about Mr. Caviezel’s speech, or his appearance intended to get our sales folks excited about the product. It was, after all, a true marketing appearance, complete with a picture session afterwards for anyone who wanted to pose with him.

For me, it was the quiet, underlying message about trust, about listening to your own heart and about what you believe you hear God saying to your mind and soul–even when the man who hired you calls to say, “Think about this again because it’s probably going to ruin your career.”

Trust. It’s the hardest part of faith. That when you step off the limb, to see if God really plans for you to fly.

And, no, I didn’t stay for a picture. After his speech…I had a little flying of my own to do.

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