What Christ Said

With Donald Trump violently dispersing peaceful protestors with teargas and pepper spray so he could have a photo op (even Fox called it that) fondling "a" bible (not even his) in front of St. John's Episcopal Church, a place of worship he had visited only twice before in his over three years in office, I think it fitting, important, and an act of charity that I share with him a conversation I had with the Christ last night.

Yes, the Christ spoke with me last night. I call him that rather than the more familiar "Jesus" because I think it fair to say that we are not on a first-name basis. After all, judging by what I see around me, I am not by any stretch of the imagination what many, perhaps even most, would consider a practicing Christian, or even remotely religious as commonly understood. I guess you can imagine my surprise, then, when of all the people in the world he could have spoken with--clergy members, Presidents/political leaders, Fox "news" commentators, etc.--he chose me.

We should listen to those sane voices, religious or otherwise, of Francis, the Dali Lama, Malala Yousafzai, and Greta Thunberg who advise that we bring an end to inequality, poverty, and economic systems that breed greed, hatred, corruption, climate change, and war.

But who am I to question the will of the Son of God? Maybe he just needed to rant a bit, to blow off steam. Or maybe he wanted to talk with someone he could trust to just listen and not distort his words for their advantage or to the disadvantage of other human beings. I can certainly understand his frustration given the state of the world and the way his teachings have been ignored, misinterpreted, and exploited by those who claim to be his spokespersons and followers.

He began by asking me, and these are his words, not mine, to tell those fucking idiots who profess to be Christians that Christianity is not a tool to be exploited for political purposes or personal gain. Nor is it a cloak of self-righteousness with which to arrogantly claim dominance.

Now perhaps you may be as shocked as I was to hear the Christ use such language. But if you truly knew him, what he was like, what he stood for, I think you would realize, as I did, that such "colorful language" was perfectly in character as the Christ was truly a rebel, a homeless vagabond who disregarded convention and sought the company of activists, revolutionaries, prostitutes, criminals, and lepers. Now I am not sure if this is his normal manner of speaking, after all as I mentioned earlier, we do not converse very often, but it was clear to me, again in his own words, that he was really pissed.

But let me continue. He said that to "know" him is to be humble and to accept the sanctity and intrinsic worth of all members of the human community. It is to love all people, no matter their color, religion, sexual preference, or country of origin and to concern themselves with the welfare of ALL living beings and with the earth he entrusted to their care. He said that no species or people are chosen and no nation exceptional. He said it is time to clear his temple (this world) of moneychangers, banksters, and Wall Street criminals. That we should listen to those sane voices, religious or otherwise, of Francis, the Dali Lama, Malala Yousafzai, and Greta Thunberg who advise that we bring an end to inequality, poverty, and economic systems that breed greed, hatred, corruption, climate change, and war.

As our conversation drew to an end (I guess he had other places to be and other people to talk with), the Christ offered what I took to be a warning of sorts, to all of us but especially to Donald Trump and other bigots, racists, warists, homophobes, and those who preach hatred and intolerance, that we had better get our priorities in order, our shit together, and we had better do it now not later, as he is losing his fucking patience. His words, not mine.