THE TROUBLE WITH JESUS TALK

Talking openly about Jesus Christ puts me in either the crazy camp or the Christian camp. Am I the only one? It’s gotten so complicated to actually be CHRISTIAN because of connotations, mythical expectations, spiritual caste systems and the like. I have an MA in Theology which means nothing to non-Christians and perhaps too much to “church folk”. It’s like the smart athlete dilemma. The nerds hate the jock who’s smart because…well…And the jocks don’t totally take the nerdy athlete seriously because no one does both. Analogous is the Christian who drifts between secular and Christian realms with fluidity. I feel like that drifter which sounds like I’m a relativist but hey…PAY ATTENTION. The Jesus we look more closely at on Good Friday seems to have been a drifter, moving effortlessly between two earthly worlds while placing utmost importance on his connectedness to the Father.

I have always had an insecurity issue which I’m sure comes out in these posts and that is what has made it hard to talk about Jesus. It gets easier though having learned how to compete and stand ground in athletic contests. I just hate how talk of Jesus is either lunatic talk or elite banter. When I relied on Jesus all those years I struggled to find my identity through basketball, I wasn’t trying to be in a club. I was just desperate, even more than now perhaps.  I would have these genuine experiences with Jesus, the kind so real and yet so unexplainable. Other times I would see that the fruit of those experiences was a confrontation with gross injustices like child abandonment, hedonism and greed. My anger would invariably put me at odds with people on the Christian side and the “other” side. To one group I was graceless and sinful in my determination to combat the evils so intensely and to the other I was just a prude who loved to judge other people. All I know is that I believe in Jesus and the spring festivities that come with honoring his sacrifice. I’m cool with whatever camp that puts me in. BTW…He is the 6ixth Man and you’ll likely spend an entire lifetime figuring out when to bring him off the bench. T.G.I.G.F