...So You Do Unto Me...
Jesus Christ, You Really Rock!
By NanceGreggs
As the Christian world gears up for the celebration of Easter, I am reminded of who you were and what you stood for. And sorry for saying so, but it has nothing to do with being a Christian, or accepting you as my personal savior – which I’m not, and which I don’t.
What it does have to do with is that You, as a person (whether real or
imagined), were willing (or so the story goes) to wind up nailed to a cross
rather than give an inch to those who said that doing unto others as we would
have done to ourselves was not the way to live – or was a concept not worth
ultimately dying for.
In the midst of a world gone mad, bent on the destruction of our fellow human beings who hold different religious beliefs than our own, it is so totally cool to remember that You had it all sussed out over two thousand years ago – blessing the Peacemakers, and declaring that they will be called the Sons of God. I’m liking that right about now, and so are people all over the world. Has a nice ring to it. And people are kind of listening.
Now, truth be told – and I’m given to understand You know the Truth when you hear it – I’ve never been an adherent of the “died for my sins” theory. But that being said, there’s something about the Human side of you that puts me in mind of being part of the Divine.
There’s something about the guy who didn’t just talk the talk, but walked the walk, that appeals to people like me – people who have seen what incredible greed can do to a nation, what unspeakable fanaticism can do to a people, what unfathomable selfish and self-serving interests can do to the world at large.
Even as we speak (assuming you’re listening), there are people dying of hunger and thirst, people displaced by wars waged for profit, people being abused, disenfranchised, dismissed out-of-hand, and tortured in Your name. Damn them all, those who do such unspeakable things (oh, and BTW, if it is somehow within your power to actually damn them all, no one would be more grateful than me, just sayin').
But I'm pretty sure I realize what Your message was, is, and ever shall be, amen (just being a Sunday sermon smart-ass there): “As you do to the least among you, so you do unto me.”
Gotcha.
While I don’t believe You “saved” me by being nailed to a cross, I do believe you led the way to a better world – by being willing to say the ultimate STFU to those who are still selling your story to the masses as they pass the collection plate, without ever bothering to know who you were and what you were all about. I hear ya – and so do millions of people around the world. Finally. Better late than never.
Just wanted to let you know that your message was received – and actually taken to heart by those who may not believe in you as the Son of God, but believe in your message all the same.
And maybe the message is what it was about all along – and there’s something God-like and Divine in having sent it – and having heard it. Works both ways – just like it’s supposed to.
But you knew that all along.
By NanceGreggs
As the Christian world gears up for the celebration of Easter, I am reminded of who you were and what you stood for. And sorry for saying so, but it has nothing to do with being a Christian, or accepting you as my personal savior – which I’m not, and which I don’t.
What it does have to do with is that You, as a person (whether real or
imagined), were willing (or so the story goes) to wind up nailed to a cross
rather than give an inch to those who said that doing unto others as we would
have done to ourselves was not the way to live – or was a concept not worth
ultimately dying for. In the midst of a world gone mad, bent on the destruction of our fellow human beings who hold different religious beliefs than our own, it is so totally cool to remember that You had it all sussed out over two thousand years ago – blessing the Peacemakers, and declaring that they will be called the Sons of God. I’m liking that right about now, and so are people all over the world. Has a nice ring to it. And people are kind of listening.
Now, truth be told – and I’m given to understand You know the Truth when you hear it – I’ve never been an adherent of the “died for my sins” theory. But that being said, there’s something about the Human side of you that puts me in mind of being part of the Divine.
There’s something about the guy who didn’t just talk the talk, but walked the walk, that appeals to people like me – people who have seen what incredible greed can do to a nation, what unspeakable fanaticism can do to a people, what unfathomable selfish and self-serving interests can do to the world at large.
Even as we speak (assuming you’re listening), there are people dying of hunger and thirst, people displaced by wars waged for profit, people being abused, disenfranchised, dismissed out-of-hand, and tortured in Your name. Damn them all, those who do such unspeakable things (oh, and BTW, if it is somehow within your power to actually damn them all, no one would be more grateful than me, just sayin').
But I'm pretty sure I realize what Your message was, is, and ever shall be, amen (just being a Sunday sermon smart-ass there): “As you do to the least among you, so you do unto me.”
Gotcha.
While I don’t believe You “saved” me by being nailed to a cross, I do believe you led the way to a better world – by being willing to say the ultimate STFU to those who are still selling your story to the masses as they pass the collection plate, without ever bothering to know who you were and what you were all about. I hear ya – and so do millions of people around the world. Finally. Better late than never.
Just wanted to let you know that your message was received – and actually taken to heart by those who may not believe in you as the Son of God, but believe in your message all the same.
And maybe the message is what it was about all along – and there’s something God-like and Divine in having sent it – and having heard it. Works both ways – just like it’s supposed to.
But you knew that all along.
