Where Is Jesus To Be Found

This week, @sharifawrites asked this question on Twitter: “I have been imagining where Jesus would be found if he were here (in the United States). Where do you think He would be and why?” The responses had me in tears as I held these word-pictures in my heart:

*Probably walking to the local church to speak to his people. But he’d stop at the spot by the Family Dollar where the homeless amputee, sleeps at the corner.

*He’d be late to church because he could not simply pass the man sleeping at the corner. Saw his face and knew his whole life and was moved by compassion to be with him.

*I think he’d stop and heal the man and then the man would follow him to church and the church would scratch their heads and feel uncomfortable and Jesus would tell them all a parable that would keep them seeking him for months.

*In our crumbling rural towns acting as the designated driver at bar close and the caretaker to the elderly whose children have left them for the draw of the city.

*I imagine Jesus: Asking “who do people say that I am?” on the Florida or Texas coasts (since he loves both water and talking to problematic religious experts). Hosting the BEST outdoor dinner parties. Living on the “wrong side of town.” Telling LOTS of parables about greed.

*At the border. Simultaneously weeping with families and calling out the complicit ones. And maybe in my house doing the same.

*He would be found comforting every scared and hungry child. He would wipe their tears and hug them until the tears stopped. Then He would feed them and tuck them in a warm and clean bed. The children would wake up tomorrow with a sense of hope.

Here is my own thoughts: He'd gently rub the deep indents that have been created on the faces of healthcare workers by PPEs at the end of their shifts and their faces would be simply glowing when he finished.

How about you? If Jesus was walking around the US right now, where do you think he’d be found? I hope you write down your thoughts in the comments!

Here is one final post someone wrote:

*Is it possible that Jesus would be in places that would surprise all of us in this thread, and not just in the places we’ve judged to be most in need? And is it also possible that, while imagining the “other” places he might be, we’re forgetting that he is right here?

Be well! Stay safe! Wear a mask!

With love,

Bishop Karen

The Dream of a Common Language

 Today, the United States elected a new president. Looking at the vote tallies, I am struck by what a divided nation we are. It is as if there are two (or more) understandings of the US, and the chasm between the two is wide and deep.  I have heard from people who are no longer speaking with parents, who have unfriended friends, and who have been maligned by those who live in that “other” America.

How do we close the chasm? How do we share a vision for an America that is for everyone?

The poet Adrienne Rich wrote about “The Dream of a Common Language”. The poet felt that poetry, art, and feminist ideas could create a common language to unite a fractured humanity. As a Christian, I, too, yearn for a common language. This language, for a Jesus-follower, is Love.

Love is the language that helps us enter into another’s worldview.

Love is the force that causes us to open our hearts to another’s pain.

Love is the energy that drives us to build a better world.

Love keeps us growing, pushes our world to expand beyond our comfort zone to include those who don’t live, love, or look like us.

Whether you are cheering the election results or feeling despair, learn the language of Love. Lean into this Love as you greet your neighbor who had the other candidate’s signs on their lawns. Listen with love. Bring your full self into this moment, and step into Love’s demands.

One of the poems in Rich’s book holds up a model for us of how we begin to speak a common language together:

“I choose to love this time for once
with all my intelligence”

Be well! Stay safe! Wear a mask!