I've got Jesus on my side--really!

So, I still hang out in the coffee shop that I first walked into when I started this work. Of course I do. And I still converse with many of the people I first met when I moved here almost two years ago. One of these people is the barista who I've been trying to get to come to our Taize services for forever now. And each time I ask, she turns me down. So it goes. However, these days instead of her teasing me, I get to tease her a little bit.

Now, I asked her if I could blog about this and she said yes, so before I go further know that I have informed consent.

This young woman has many beautiful tattoos and I'm always admiring them, and seeing the new ones she's getting in addition to the hair color and piercings. She's fun. And now, she is getting a very large, very colorful tattoo of a stained glass image of Jesus on her side. And according to her, it's hurting like hell. So of course I could absolutely NOT resist jabbing her a bit. I mean, there ARE easier ways to have Jesus. Our little monthly services are humble and quiet; and we don't jab anyone with tiny little needles. We also have food when we are done--when was the last time a tattoo shop gave you a pancake for your trouble? I mean, really! Yet, the 2-dimensional Jesus is still more appealing than the Jesus matrix--the Jesus we find in community. Why is this? Why should this be? Maybe it is because the Jesus in the picture, drilled into her flesh, is somehow more real than the Jesus in the world. For her anyway.

I'm sure I'm going to love her new ink and I can't wait to see it finished, but I also can't help but wonder why the real Jesus sometimes struggles to break through. And not just for her, but for lots of people with the tattoo Jesus. And this is me not wondering just how it is that Jesus has failed, he hasn't, but rather how has the church failed to connect. So, how do we re-connect? The million dollar question, right? But I also believe that it is better to ask this question than to assume people are just going to show up--like they used to fifty years ago. Because they aren't. And the blessing in this is that we cannot, or can no longer, take our faith for granted. Not to say that we are faithful so that we still have church as its always been, but so we can have healing, reconciling communities who in their discipleship invite others to also be disciples. That way, even with a tattoo of Christ in your ribcage, it would still be possible for one to say that truly one had Christ on one's side. Because in fact, one would-- in all those others also walking the journey of faith.

Just my musings for the week....