I DON’T LIKE JESUS
By Robert Fontana
Jesus lives in my neighborhood. I do not mean to shock you with this fact, but I don’t like him. When I see Neighbor Jesus coming towards me or find myself walking towards him, I want to avoid any interaction. Neighbor Jesus is nothing like the Bible Jesus I see depicted in movies, hear about in sermons and homilies, or even imagine in my own mind. Bible Jesus is awesome! He is a great storyteller, welcomes children, loves animals and nature, challenges hypocritical religious leaders, and comforts the sick and the sorrowful.
I like Bible Jesus. But Neighbor Jesus, that’s another story.
Neighbor Jesus lives in the green space near our home that is about one-half mile long and maybe 100 yards wide. The green space begins at Cowen Park which has a large open meadow and playground. The green space continues east forming a deep ravine with a flowing stream and lush trees and ferns on either side. It concludes at Ravenna Park with a ballfield and playground which give the green space its popular name, Ravenna Ravine.
At a random point anywhere between the two parks, Neighbor Jesus will find a spot to call home and settle in. Sometimes this means he brings in a tent along with a collection of items I assume are stolen from people’s yards and nearby stores. These items get strewn around his tent along with milk cartons, food wrappings, plastic bags, and other garbage. And, yes, when Neighbor Jesus leaves one spot to move to another, he leaves his former spot a mess for someone else to clean up.
Neighbor Jesus is nice enough, though I have heard some angry outbursts from him on occasion. We do exchange pleasantries when we cross paths. Lori and I have “friendship bags” prepared for people whom we encounter who do not have homes. These bags contain soft food items, socks, sweet treats, and a handout with information about how to access nearby shelters. We’ve given Neighbor Jesus a number of these, plus I often bring him coffee and occasionally an egg sandwich. He is grateful for these kindnesses.
I confess I don’t like continuing to give him these friendship bags because I do not want him to stay in the area. I certainly do not want him to know where I live and have him come knock on my door asking for help. And I don’t want to be picking up all the “trash” from the Friendship Bag that I gave him only a few days ago.
I walk through the Ravenna Ravine 3-4 times a week for my prayer time. I walk through the beautiful and diverse trees to spend time with Bible Jesus whom I like…and I do not want to encounter Neighbor Jesus. I do not like finding him sprawled out under a tree or hanging out on a bench asking me for a “cuppa coffee.” He ruins my time with Bible Jesus! He’s such an inconvenience!
Just today we had such an encounter. I was polite enough as I spoke to Neighbor Jesus who was just waking up, huddled beneath a tarp, obviously freezing cold in the 19-degree weather overnight. Yes, he asked me for coffee, and I said, “No, sorry, I don’t have any.” Which was true; I wasn’t carrying any coffee with me. But what I was really saying was, “Don’t interrupt my time with Bible Jesus! I only have so much time, and I don’t want to use it up on you, Neighbor Jesus.”
Predictably, as I walked away and turned my attention to Bible Jesus, I felt uncomfortable. I could hear Bible Jesus reminding me of a key passage from Scripture, “When I was hungry…sick… imprisoned…naked…you comforted me.” And then I heard a voice in my head/heart say, “There is little difference between Bible Jesus and Neighbor Jesus. Neighbor Jesus is what Bible Jesus looks like crucified, crucified by who knows what. Childhood trauma? Severe addiction? Terrible decisions? All of the above? Perhaps he has a criminal record? Perhaps he has burned all his family relationships? What is yours to do now?”
I walked back to Neighbor Jesus whose birth name is Jay and asked if he still wanted that coffee. “Yeah,” he replied, sitting up. “And you got one of them bags with stuff for me?”
“Wait here,” I said. And I walked back home to get hot coffee, an egg sandwich, and yet another Friendship Bag for my Neighbor Jesus.
