I sat in the living room of my bestes budz the other day (on a very uncomfortable pink couch that often gets used for all kinds of werner & petri activities, yeah I went there:-) and I watched the movie "Talladega Nights"...since the dudes heard that I'd never seen the "ballad of Ricky Bobby" before they were pretty persistent on me watching it, and so, for the sake of our friendship (and my peace of mind) I agreed.
I must admit, It’s a pretty funny ride, but between the "shake & bake", the "if your not first your last", the "when I get up in the morning I piss excellence" philosophies, something else caught my attention...and it caught it good.
The scene happens around the dinner table, where the whole family and Cal (Ricky’s best buddy) folds their hands in prayer: “dear eight pound six ounce baby Jesus, in your golden fleece diapers...” Ricky starts too pray... its then when Carley, Ricky’s hot blonde wife, starts complaining about how weird and off-putting it is to pray to a baby, when she knows that Jesus was a full grown man with a beard...and this starts the wild and hilariously funny conversation where every person around the table including Walker and Texas Ranger, states their view of Jesus...
I was laughing my ass of at this point, when Cal (Ricky's best buddy) said:
“I like to think of Jesus as wearin' a tuxedo T-shirt, 'cause it says, like, "I want to be formal, but I'm here to party too." I like to party, so I like my Jesus to party.”
silence.
Don't misunderstand me, I wasn't offended at all, I was pulled into a new "reality." Cal said that he sees Jesus as a party animal because he himself is a party animal...he likes to party so he likes his Jesus to party...i do that too!!! I base the identity of Jesus on my likes and dislikes...I create Jesus as the dude that I would want to hang out with, the kind of guy i would like...I created God in my freaking image!!!!!!! My Jesus likes to party coz i like to party, damn!!!!!!!
After this “revealisation” (a new word i created to be a substitute for revelation...you may quote me on that ;-) i posted a question on my facebook status " what’s your image of Jesus?" and i got a pretty wide response (there were about 84 ish messages in my inbox.) Some said that they see Jesus as the blue eyed boy, others said they see him as a terrorist, a rockstar, a dude in jeanz, a rebel, a Goth, a knight, a hippie, a lion, a mental person, a preacher-ass-kicker, a hobo, a drinking buddy, a socialist, a bohemian, a husband and daddy (Dan Brown Style) a gay rights fighter and the list goes on and on and on and on...
Do you remember those rubber bands we use to wear as kids (maybe you still wear one today)...the WWJD bands...i had a purple one. What Would Jesus Do? Man, how simple that question used to be...how easy the sunday school teacher made the answer...it was either a "yes" or a "no"...a "yay" or a "nay" but now i find myself stuck in the "gray"...
The answer to the WWJD question is not as simple as the religious right made it out to be...Rockstar Jesus wants to do something completely different then lion Jesus or bearded Jesus or drinking buddy Jesus or gay-activist Jesus...eeeeesh!!!Before i can ask WWJD i should probably discover who Jesus really is...not who i've made him to be...who HE IS.
Matthew 16:15-17 Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, ”You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”Jesus replied, ”You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.”
YOU DID NOT LEARN THIS FROM ANY HUMAN BEING
I don't think i know the answer to WWJD coz i don't think i know the real Jesus, i only know what i, a puny human being, have created him to be...and thats not him.i cannot be taught who Jesus is by a church or a preacher or a teacher or a friend or a tele-evangelist *spit* or my mother or my father or my brothers...Jesus can only truthfully be revealed to me by...tamtamtam... Jesus
Relationship.
So, me personally, is heading on back to the drawing board (and this time He has the chalk)...and i desperately ask, no matter who You really are, and what that really means, and what You really would do, and what You really really reeeeally wanna use me for...no matter if it kills me
(and i have a feeling its going too)
WILL THE REAL JESUS PLEASE STAND UP
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I agree. I often catch myself with such arrogant and lofty notions that i actually know enough about Jesus to be fine and to live a good life. When in truth, there is so much to this Jesus that i profess to worship that i have not even begun to consider.
ReplyDeleteIn essence, i think that it is a lifelong journey. The mere question, "Who is Jesus", is not a mere question. It is a lifelong pursuit of purpose and a deliberate choosing of submission and a full realization of dependence.
I think that many a man has laid awake with the question, "Who is Jesus"? And yes, i think that only He can fully answer that question.