Five Things I Dig About Jesus

Yay, I've been tagged! Thanks, Eileen.

1) I dig that Jesus stood up for people. Women, most especially; the one with the hemorrage, and the one who would have been stoned for adultery. He showed society’s throwaways, their true worth in the Kindom of God. If people listened to the actions of Jesus, rather than what they read into the words of Paul, we’d live in a more just world.

2) I dig that Jesus took time alone, to stay focused and to really pray. I’m not about to spend 40 days in the desert, fasting, but I can do this in small ways—if I carve out the time to be with God. I’ve started doing it this summer, taking long walks on the trails here so I can consciously pray, and paying attention when I’m caught by surprise. I’ll have to transition in September back into the city, school, and busy-ness—and I need to keep the priority of this relationship. I know that God is closer to me than my next breath—but often I forget to breathe.

3) I dig that Jesus knew how to celebrate. He made wine for a party. He ate with everybody: Zacchaeus, Levi/Matthew, the five thousand. Jesus knew how to create community, and he did it everywhere. The more outcasts and riffraff, the better. The Kindom is made up of all of us.

4) I dig that Jesus healed people. It didn’t matter who they were, or in some cases even if they were dead. And I also dig that at least on one occasion, he had to do it twice. Everything isn’t perfect, or easy, on the very first try; sometimes we have to work, keep the faith, stay in relationship. Bringing instant sight to a blind person is one thing; real healing takes commitment and time.

5) I dig that Jesus was a trickster. He walked on water just because he could, and he liked to surprise people: the temple authorities when he was a kid, the Pharisees time and again, the women at the Resurrection, his friends on their way to Emmaus. I picture him spending a lot of time smiling to himself, trying to suppress a giggle. I like that in my incarnate God.

Max
Jane
Mimi
Grandmere Mimi
Pisco

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