Apologies to Jesus

Sorry. I realized that that last thought in the last post was kind of snarky. I certainly don't think Jesus IS a dick. I was just surprised in the Book of Matthew about some of the things He says and does. He gets pissed off at a fig tree just because He's hungry and it doesn't have any figs, for goodness' sake! But He has this reputation for being all smiles and sunshine and groups of multi-ethnic children singing Kumbaya. In fact, one of the reasons I'm reading the New Testament is because at St. Mary's the Easter sermon was on how Jesus was all about "hey, all of this Mosaic law is unnecessary because there should be NO BARRIERS between you and God!" That message really resonated because that is exactly what we're trying to do in Luna's Wheel, a point that hit home for me even harder because of recent events in Dani's life.

So I decided to read the New Testament, and specifically the four Gospels, because I wanted to hear exactly what Jesus has to say on this subject. So far, I'm disappointed. He doesn't seem to so much sweep away Mosaic law as extend it. He says, "you all know that adultry is wrong, but I'm telling you that just thinking lustful thoughts about someone is just as bad and you mght as well gouge your eye out!" I'm sorry, Jesus, but that's just not helpful. He also talks about leaving your family and job and friends and trusting in the Lord to provide for you, lilies of the field style. But that seems really irresponsible to me. And He says you should obey the Commandments and honor thy father and mother, but then He denies His own family when they say they need Him, saying that His disciples are His new family. Then there's His total lack of patience with the disciples, who are the most useless bunch of losers, I know, but you'd think He could be a little nicer to them. He is Jesus, after all. Anyway, it's just weird, and muddy and confusing and unhelpful and not at all the Jesus I thought I knew. If any Christians can clarify this for me, that'd be cool. Or maybe we get to see the softer side of Him in other Books, I dunno. Anyway, I'll keep reading in the hopes that I'll get some answers. Also, sorry about what said in the last post, Jesus.

Coming up: some things I DO believe!