from Nickle and Dimed

By Barbara Ehrenreich
(after attending Deliverance Church, near Portland, Maine)

It would be nice if someone would read this sad-eyed crowd the Sermon on the Mount, accompanied by a rousing commentary on income inequality and the need for a hike in the minimum wage. But Jesus makes his appearance here only as a corpse; the living man, the wine-guzzling vagrant and precocious socialist, is never once mentioned, nor anything he ever had to say. Christ crucified rules, and it may be that the true business of modern Christianity is to crucify him again and again so that he can never get a word out of his mouth. . . I get up to leave, timing my exit for when the preacher's metronomic head movements have him looking the other way, and walk out to search for my car, half expecting to find Jesus out there in the dark, gagged and tethered to a tent pole.

Holy Crap, What a Nice Guy

By Gus Kroll
Geez magazine

I have this friend. He was one of my best friends for the longest time, but now things are kinda awkward between us. I see him at church from time to time and I'm just never sure what to say to him or to his other really good friends. His name is Jesus. Jesus the nice guy. He's really white, has blow-dried hair and wanders around in a bath robe encouraging people to be concerned about everybody's souls and vote conservatively. It may sound strange, but this is how I grew up thinking about Jesus: he wants me to be a nice guy. Ah, except not towards those our country happens to be at war with, not to the gay community and not to people who have abortions. Now when I run into this Jesus I just want to scream, "Damn that guy pisses me off!" Over these last few years I've come to believe sin is not just personal but it is social; not just simple but multi-layered and complex; and that the kingdom of God isn't just pie-in-the-sky when we die, but it's shoes on the feet of orphans in Romania, redistribution of wealth in Boliva, homes for homeless in Detroit and democracy in South Africa. This is an amazing lens through which to view the incredible life of Jesus and the early church. Even if there is no heaven or hell. I believe the way of Jesus is a better way to live.

Readings of January 10, 2010