From time to
time as I travel I enjoy a refreshing alternative to the good old BBC on the radio; I turn to my store
of podcasts, and listen to programs from the Irish national radio service, RTÉ. An amusing snippet
that has lingered in my memory from a few years ago came from a programme broadcast on the day of a key international soccer match. The presenter
had expressed a hope that all her listeners would be supporting the home team
that afternoon, and asked by way of interest whether they would join
in the singing of the national anthem, “or will you be shoving Annie?”
As a proud Irish-speaker herself, she then explained this expression. It referred to those Irishmen in the crowd who either didn’t speak Irish, or didn’t know the words of the national anthem, or both. Their habit, she alleged, was to mumble along with the tune until the rousing final line, when they would raise their voices (their actual words being disguised by the overall volume of the singing) and bellow, “Shoving Annie around the green!” This is a convenient piece of meaningless English doggerel that sounds roughly like the final words of the original, “Seo libh canaig amhrán na bhFiann.” Its use was an attempt, she said, to appear as one with the whole body of supporters, despite their personal linguistic shortcomings.
So, the term ‘shoving Annie’ would refer to mimics, imitators, people trying to be something they are not. Does this strike a chord with you? Do you prickle with embarrassment as you recall some way in which you try to cover up your inadequacies, hoping that others won’t notice as you seek benefits to which you aren’t entitled? The Bible condemns all falsehood, and this is no exception. We can see from his letters that Paul was on the case. “If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself,” he told his readers in Galatia (Gal. 6:3.) In another letter the apostle cautioned, “Be careful not to allow anyone to captivate you through an empty, deceitful philosophy that is according to human traditions and the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. (Col. 2:8.)”
Many of the frailties of the church’s rank and file are exposed in the ‘Letters to the Churches’ that St John shares in his Revelation. It was those in Thyatira who were told, “I know your deeds: your love, faith, service, and steadfast endurance. In fact, your more recent deeds are greater than your earlier ones.” Yes, they were very active, but beneath the surface they were far from pure: “I am the one who searches minds and hearts. I will repay each one of you what your deeds deserve.” (Rev. 2:19, 23b.)
The question that faces each of us is this: how
open are we to our Lord’s scrutiny? To
what extent are we trying to be something we’re not? Or put another way, are you a true believer (supporter),
or simply shoving Annie?
As a proud Irish-speaker herself, she then explained this expression. It referred to those Irishmen in the crowd who either didn’t speak Irish, or didn’t know the words of the national anthem, or both. Their habit, she alleged, was to mumble along with the tune until the rousing final line, when they would raise their voices (their actual words being disguised by the overall volume of the singing) and bellow, “Shoving Annie around the green!” This is a convenient piece of meaningless English doggerel that sounds roughly like the final words of the original, “Seo libh canaig amhrán na bhFiann.” Its use was an attempt, she said, to appear as one with the whole body of supporters, despite their personal linguistic shortcomings.
So, the term ‘shoving Annie’ would refer to mimics, imitators, people trying to be something they are not. Does this strike a chord with you? Do you prickle with embarrassment as you recall some way in which you try to cover up your inadequacies, hoping that others won’t notice as you seek benefits to which you aren’t entitled? The Bible condemns all falsehood, and this is no exception. We can see from his letters that Paul was on the case. “If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself,” he told his readers in Galatia (Gal. 6:3.) In another letter the apostle cautioned, “Be careful not to allow anyone to captivate you through an empty, deceitful philosophy that is according to human traditions and the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. (Col. 2:8.)”
Many of the frailties of the church’s rank and file are exposed in the ‘Letters to the Churches’ that St John shares in his Revelation. It was those in Thyatira who were told, “I know your deeds: your love, faith, service, and steadfast endurance. In fact, your more recent deeds are greater than your earlier ones.” Yes, they were very active, but beneath the surface they were far from pure: “I am the one who searches minds and hearts. I will repay each one of you what your deeds deserve.” (Rev. 2:19, 23b.)
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