Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Jesus might have been...

Does the idea of gay Jesus, married Jesus, Black Jesus, Brown Jesus, Jewish Jesus (this one’s not really up for debate), seditious Jesus, revolutionary Jesus, bi-Jesus, gender fluid Jesus, doubting Jesus, poor Jesus, homeless Jesus, illiterate Jesus, victimized Jesus, ethno-centric Jesus who might have grown past that, feminist Jesus, taboo smashing Jesus, generous to a fault Jesus, justice seeking/justice demanding Jesus, Jesus who never even heard of the Trinity, day laborer Jesus, philosopher Jesus, run of the mill healer/exorcist Jesus, mystic Jesus, kind of funny Jesus, storyteller Jesus, Jesus so buried in myth as to be practically unknown/unknowable...bother you? 

If so, why? What about the Jesus others have encountered, considered, wrestled with, played with, prayed with, journeyed with that threatens your experience? 

Is it possible Jesus was more than or other than what you’ve heard, believed, or so far experienced? And what if the others are completely wrong and you are completely right? Does that delegitimize their journey? Does that deny their right to explore and discover for themselves? 

We can discuss why our Jesus experiences differ. But if you come at me with insults and rage, not only will I probably be done from that moment, but I will also wonder why your experience of Jesus was so fragile that you couldn’t imagine that other experiences might also be possible.

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