I chose a drawing of what Jesus was more likely to have looked like.
Easter time leaves me with conflicted emotions. Most dogmatic Christians probably would not consider me a Christian. Of course some of those don’t consider other faiths “Christian.” I can’t count the number of times I’ve read “Christians and Catholics.”
No, you may disagree with their top heavy, Saint focused, take on Christianity, but they still accept Christ for who he is claimed to be. This is true of many faiths people claim really aren’t Christian, even some not considered a traditional part of the Catholic/Protestant divide.
However: considering the wider view, I think Christians from many versions of the faith simply may get what he wanted wrong.
Why does it matter exactly where Jesus was was laid to rest? Why do we need to find the Holy Grail if it was a cup? When he rose did he say, “Thou shalt find my cup which will have magical properties?” …or, “Thou shalt worship the cross I was executed on?” Did Jesus say the cloth or the bones of the Saints have magical properties? Do you think “do this in memory of me” meant “you have to do it exactly as I did it?” That it matters whether we use grape juice or wine? Does transubstantiation matter more than the act of gathering to remember him?
I truly find the cannibalistic nature of transubstantiation odd, and frightening for little kids who may not understand. The Nosferatu nature of wine/grape juice part of communion, for some reason, reminds me of a local theater that put the shortened names for two movies they were showing up on their marquee. The result: “Jesus Zombies.”
Someone’s got to make that tongue in cheek movie! If you want some help with creative ideas I’m raising my hand. Someone finds what they think is his DNA and they keep trying to clone Jesus from his DNA but they get it wrong over and over again: Jesus Zombies!
”Brains! We need brains! Do it in memory of us!”
Humanity tends to have the wrong focus on a lot of things, tends to get real anal about things like “do this in memory of me.” Wars have been fought, people executed, tortured, over such petty differences.
Oh, I have no problem with the differences; in fact they reflect how we try to find more real meaning. Like for some his suffering matters more when displaying the cross. For some the grammatical atrocity, “He is risen” matters more. I understand focusing on either, no argument here. My only issue with the second one is the phrase…
Should be “was.” Sorry: former English Education major.
Surely he would consider his words, his lessons, his parables far more important than cups, wine or grape juice, dip em or sprinkle em baptism.
People will argue about what he actually said, or not, and IMO that’s OK. Perhaps we should all get a copy of Thomas Jefferson’s Bible where it only lists what the Bible says he said. Might help us do more of what was asked, and be closer to what he wanted, closer to “doing” in memory of him.
And maybe then believers would come closer to what was expressed in the splendid song Day by Day from Godspell.
Day by Day
By Stephen Schwartz“Day by day
Day by day
Oh Dear Lord
Three things I pray
To see thee more clearly
Love thee more dearly
Follow thee more nearly
Day by day”
-30-
“Inspection” is a column that has been written by Ken Carman for over 50 years. Inspection is dedicated to looking at odd angles, under all the rocks and into the unseen cracks and crevasses that constitute the issues and philosophical constructs of our day: places few think, or even dare, to venture.
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