Would the Real Jesus Please Stand Up?

Today I am going to talk about watching a friend die.

And, hopefully before I finish you will see how the stories about Jesus have become blurred over the millenia.

My best friend, Ellen, died this past year.

She was 42, too young to die.

She died a slow and painful death to ovarian cancer.

And her friends, a whole bunch of us, were their to witness her dying.

Here is what happens when someone you love dies slowly and unexpectantly while in their prime.

Especially, someone who was blessed with a multitude of friends. Many who, like me, felt that she was their best friend.

We came together and as we talked throughout the death watch... we confirmed the things that we knew about our precious Ellen that were consistent amongst all of us.

We could all agree that she was funny, mischievous, passionate, intelligent, and that she had captured a special place in each of our hearts.

But, then the stories diverge.


When you are losing someone who has filled such a huge space in your life... their is an "ownership" thing that starts to go on.

"My friend", "my Ellen".

Each of us had our own connection there... and probably for some of us, there was a need to acknowledge that our loss was significant because there was a part of this delightful person that only we knew on an intimate level.

I am not saying that is a good thing... it is just human nature.

"My Ellen" was not the same Ellen that I was hearing about amongst her other intimates.

Some of us needed to share our knowledge of Ellen and some of us just needed to keep that quiet and safe, shut away from the eyes and ears of others.

Now...

Don't you think the same thing happened when Jesus died?

Those who witnessed His death... they may have felt a kinship with one another in having experienced this horrible event together.

And the ones that ran away... how were they feeling about that? The humiliation of leaving behind a friend in His most dire moment? The shame... and possibly anger at self for not being there because of fear?

And wouldn't some of the very, very human friends of Jesus have "ownership" issues after His passing on?

"My Jesus"... this is the man I knew.

Well, Jesus being who He was (and is)... a multidimensional fully actualized human being and Divine to boot... wouldn't He be many things to many people?

And being all loving... wouldn't each person who experienced Jesus in person have felt that they had a special connection with Him?

So I have to wonder... how is it that only a few folks got "ownership" of the story of Jesus?

What would His mother, Mary, have said about Jesus?

Or Joseph?

Or His grandparents?

His childhood friends?

His teachers?

Or Mary Magdelene?

Or those who were healed?

Or the multitude of followers who may have written about Jesus, but their work has been lost in the sands of time... or deemed unowrthy to be carried on?

And what about the texts discovered in the Qumran in the 1940's... now known as the Dead Sea Scrolls?

Do we really have the full story of Jesus, or just a tailored view by the authors deemed worthy by the Council of Nicea?

Who is the real Jesus?

Can we find Him in the books, in what is said at the pulpit, or is Jesus an experience?

Can you only know Jesus through a supernatural relationship that defies the manmade constructs that have attempted to squeeze Him into a narrowed view that serves the purposes of those who feel they alone are the keepers of the truth?

Who is the real Jesus?

Who, indeed?












RESOURCES:


DEAD SEA SCROLLS:
http://www.ibiblio.org/expo/deadsea.scrolls.exhibit/Library/library.html

JAMES THE BROTHER OF JESUS:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=pd_sl_aw_tops-1_stripbooks_7189314_2/103-8337517-7547001?search-alias=aps&keywords=james%20brother%20of%20jesus




COUNCIL OF NICEA:
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/society/A0835563.html
http://www.highbeam.com/library/docfree.asp?DOCID=1E1:Nicaea-F&ctrlInfo=Round18%3AMode18c%3ADocG%3AResult&ao=

Beliefnet: Group Forum "In Search of Jesus"

Here is an interesting website to receive more insight into the face of Jesus.



http://www.beliefnet.com/features/searchforjesus/appearance/appearance1.asp



You also are invited to join in the discussion.

ENJOY.