“But wait, there’s more! Isn’t that amazing?” Jim Squire August 1, 2021
Most people have never heard of Ron Popeil who died recently. He was a TV and cultural phenomenon. He had the enduring quality of being able to sell during different decades. He began what became known as the infomercial. I can still remember him selling his most famous product on TV. It was the Veg-O-Matic. He would speedily cut vegetables with it much faster than one could imagine. The name of his autobiography written in 1995 was The Salesman of the Century. The title wasn’t very humble, but it just may have reflected a truth as he became part of pop culture selling more than few salesmen had. He invented the Inside the Shell Electric Egg Scrambler, Spray on Fake Hair in a can, and many more. But he gave a phrase that is making headlines in our political culture today, and ironically two phrases that are at the heart of the Gospel.
“But wait, there’s more!” Just when people thought that they were getting a bargain to begin with, they were enticed that more would be coming. They couldn’t resist. It spoke to a core issue in human nature, the more we have the more we want, whether it be power, emotion, or money, or news. It grabbed hold of the many politicians after the election of Joe Biden and the loss of Trump. “But wait, there’s more!” should be a book title describing the constant unfolding of the damage done by Trump as we realize how close he came to overthrowing our democracy. Each day there is ongoing news of his exploits to deny Biden the presidency. Most recently we learned that he had pressured the Attorney General’s Office that, “All you have to say is that the election was a fraud, and the Republican Congress and I will take it from there.” He co-opted his fellow Republicans with one phrase. Trump produced a self-fulfilling prophecy as various Republican politicians have traveled to him to kiss his ring and beg for his support. They want more, power, money, emotion, and to be in the news.
What an awful interpretation of that phrase, ‘But wait, there’s more!” Life is a two-edged sword. Words can work for and against us. What could be a possible positive interpretation of Popeil’s words? If we think about it, those two expressions together are at the very heart of the Gospel of Jesus. It has drawn people to faith and belief over all of these centuries since Jesus’ death on a cross and then resurrection when the women became aware that he was not in the tomb. We discover in scripture the words, “You have heard it said that you should love your neighbor, but I tell you to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you that you may be children of your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:43-45 Jesus reminds them that wait, there’s more that you need to know.
Jesus’ ministry is a constant reminder that “there’s more.” Consider, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven.” WAIT, THERE’S MORE! ISN’T THAT AMAZING? “Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This is my life which I give for the life of the world.” John 6:51
“Wait, there’s more! Isn’t that amazing?” was at the heart of everything that the disciples and St. Paul initially proclaimed. It was at the heart of what the Church has proclaimed over the ages.
Something very bad can come from Popeil’s one phrase as we see the constant revelations of Trump’s actions that continue with lies and deceit Those two phrases together, however, point to the heart of what is good and redeeming. That’s how words are. Their meaning always comes from a context. They are words that touch the soul, making bad intentioned people worse and good intentioned people better. Life comes down to simple yet often complicated questions. What “more” do you and I want? Is it preparing us to love others in the world? Is it preparing us to live the good moral life? What more do we want in this life and the life to come?”
“Wait, there’s more! Isn’t that amazing?” could be the subtitle of the biblical record.
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