Do you remember your first encounter with Jesus? It was probably in a Sunday School class or a Vacation Bible School. I remember vividly seeing the brightly colored pictures of this vibrant, happy man, Jesus, from the pages of my Sunday School quarterly. In my childhood mind, he seemed so simple, so easy to grasp. Yet I wonder, where did that simple Jesus go? When did he get so complicated? Today, Jesus gets lost in the shuffle of doctrines, ideologies and rhetoric. Who is Jesus? Certainly he has to be more than a story, more than words on a page. I consider myself a Christian, but if I'm being honest, I sometimes I pause and ask myself "why?". The Jesus I remember from Sunday School, the same Jesus we sing about in the great hymns of faith, the same Jesus who came to live among us as our redeemer, has gotten lost along the way. Yet, I suspect that in spite of the fact that our view of him has changed, I figure he's pretty much remained the same.
So, my more conservative, fundamentally-minded friends are probably going to find more reason to pray for my soul after reading this, and my more liberal-minded friends may think I've lost my mind. I fit somewhere in the middle, I think. I still believe in the Jesus from Sunday School. You know, the Jesus full of compassion, the one who healed the sick, and the one who performed miracles? But, as a Christian who has spent the better part of every Sunday over the last twenty years in church, I look at Jesus through a much broader lens than I did in the beginning. We are told the Bible is a book that is divinely inspired. I can accept that, somewhat. What gets me is the things about Jesus that aren't in the Bible. The Bible itself even says that there are things Jesus did that aren't contained in scripture. Is the Bible literal, allegorical or a combination of both? It's the great debate of all the ages. It boggles my mind.
A lot of times, I've been lackadaisical in my faith. I've gone through the motions with little action. It's comfy to sit in the pew, the choir, or even the organ or piano bench and just go with the flow. But, now, I look at the crucifix, and I study it with wonder, with question, with intensity. Who is Jesus Christ? How does he relate to me today or how do I relate to him? I recently made a mix CD for a friend and I included a lot of the contemporary Christian music from the '90s that had given me comfort. I had an encounter with Christ while listening to the music I had put together. Again, it was the simple Jesus that I know and love. But, I paused, and thought, how much of this is truth and how much of it is convoluted by man's opinion? How can I really get to know Jesus? Still, I found comfort in those old songs, the memories of days gone by, the faith I once possessed?
I've written before, and will probably write again, that I struggle with Jesus being the one and only way to heaven (this is where my conservative friends drop to their knees in prayer for me). Of all the world's religions, I see benefit in many of them. To me, being a Christian is a wonderful spiritual experience, and the way that I chose to express my faith. But, at the same time, I'm not so closed minded in my belief system to believe that there is an open and shut case for Christianity.
Here's my confession: The message of the Sunday School Jesus of my childhood was—is—simple. Love One Another. That's the greatest commandment. That's the crux of the entire Gospel. Why did Jesus come to earth? Love. Why did he die? Love. Why did he spend time with the unpopular people of his day? It was love. Love was surely the only motivation Jesus had in anything he did. I find myself often thinking of Christ and what he would say about the things we do in his name. Hatred and Intolerance have often been justified by his followers as what he would have us do. Look at slavery, segregation, and today’s hot-topic, gay marriage. What Would Jesus Do?
I find myself often looking up at the crucifix during Mass. My church has a “Risen Christ” as our crucifix. I’ve found so much comfort looking to that crucifix. I see the compassion depicted in Christ’s eyes, And yet, I wonder, what if we have it all wrong? What if Jesus is more complex than we have him made out to be…or more likely—what if he is more simple? The one thing that is certain, it would seem, is that you can’t but Christ in a box. He’s far bigger than any box. I’m not saying that there aren’t right and wrong in the world, and that we shouldn’t try to avoid “sin”, but still I’m left pondering the question, What Would Jesus Do? What would the simple Jesus from Sunday School have me do? Is he the only way, or just one expression of any number of ways? I quietly hear that Jesus from the pages of the Sunday School quarterly whispering “love”. Love is the answer. Go, now, in Peace to love and serve one another.
So, my more conservative, fundamentally-minded friends are probably going to find more reason to pray for my soul after reading this, and my more liberal-minded friends may think I've lost my mind. I fit somewhere in the middle, I think. I still believe in the Jesus from Sunday School. You know, the Jesus full of compassion, the one who healed the sick, and the one who performed miracles? But, as a Christian who has spent the better part of every Sunday over the last twenty years in church, I look at Jesus through a much broader lens than I did in the beginning. We are told the Bible is a book that is divinely inspired. I can accept that, somewhat. What gets me is the things about Jesus that aren't in the Bible. The Bible itself even says that there are things Jesus did that aren't contained in scripture. Is the Bible literal, allegorical or a combination of both? It's the great debate of all the ages. It boggles my mind.
A lot of times, I've been lackadaisical in my faith. I've gone through the motions with little action. It's comfy to sit in the pew, the choir, or even the organ or piano bench and just go with the flow. But, now, I look at the crucifix, and I study it with wonder, with question, with intensity. Who is Jesus Christ? How does he relate to me today or how do I relate to him? I recently made a mix CD for a friend and I included a lot of the contemporary Christian music from the '90s that had given me comfort. I had an encounter with Christ while listening to the music I had put together. Again, it was the simple Jesus that I know and love. But, I paused, and thought, how much of this is truth and how much of it is convoluted by man's opinion? How can I really get to know Jesus? Still, I found comfort in those old songs, the memories of days gone by, the faith I once possessed?
I've written before, and will probably write again, that I struggle with Jesus being the one and only way to heaven (this is where my conservative friends drop to their knees in prayer for me). Of all the world's religions, I see benefit in many of them. To me, being a Christian is a wonderful spiritual experience, and the way that I chose to express my faith. But, at the same time, I'm not so closed minded in my belief system to believe that there is an open and shut case for Christianity.
Here's my confession: The message of the Sunday School Jesus of my childhood was—is—simple. Love One Another. That's the greatest commandment. That's the crux of the entire Gospel. Why did Jesus come to earth? Love. Why did he die? Love. Why did he spend time with the unpopular people of his day? It was love. Love was surely the only motivation Jesus had in anything he did. I find myself often thinking of Christ and what he would say about the things we do in his name. Hatred and Intolerance have often been justified by his followers as what he would have us do. Look at slavery, segregation, and today’s hot-topic, gay marriage. What Would Jesus Do?
I find myself often looking up at the crucifix during Mass. My church has a “Risen Christ” as our crucifix. I’ve found so much comfort looking to that crucifix. I see the compassion depicted in Christ’s eyes, And yet, I wonder, what if we have it all wrong? What if Jesus is more complex than we have him made out to be…or more likely—what if he is more simple? The one thing that is certain, it would seem, is that you can’t but Christ in a box. He’s far bigger than any box. I’m not saying that there aren’t right and wrong in the world, and that we shouldn’t try to avoid “sin”, but still I’m left pondering the question, What Would Jesus Do? What would the simple Jesus from Sunday School have me do? Is he the only way, or just one expression of any number of ways? I quietly hear that Jesus from the pages of the Sunday School quarterly whispering “love”. Love is the answer. Go, now, in Peace to love and serve one another.
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