Setting aside the rhetoric of having a “personal relationship with Jesus,” which is nothing more than an inner spiritual meditation framed around a particular idea, I would like to know what it would really be like to hang out with him.
What conversations would happen as we walked endlessly?
How would he react to my nonsensical ramblings around the dinner table?
Could he cure me of my endless gas that is apparently powerful enough to fumigate a household (according to my kids)?
It’s easy to get lost in nonsensical religious battles over benign details that were enough to split societies, forgetting that he was also a thirty-something year old man who grew up in this world. If he were around today, I’m certain we’d be speaking about him with the same candour and heartfelt awe as Keanu Reeves.
Yes, I made the comparison and should some ecclesial authority wish to excommunicate me on the matter, also note I once asked an exam question to explain their similarities.
I guess the real consideration is what expectations I would have of him. Aside from his miracles and acts of healing, he didn’t smite the Roman Empire and bring peace to the world. He was executed.
The onus was on his followers to continue his work. Not in some cataclysmic event, but in the every day interactions with the people they came across. Which leads me back to wonder what it would have been like to hang out with him.
I’m not sure, but I’ve taken my best guess, attempted to act the same towards others and hoped it would be enough to plant a seed of peace and joy in their lives. No megaphones on street corners necessary.