I Had A Dream!

I had a dream! Last night I dreamt that Jesus changed his plans in order to give us another chance, with another “coming” before the final one. The denomination he chose to identify with was a bit obscured in the dream, but it was definitely hierarchical in form with clearly defined ecclesiastical levels of authority identified by rank and position.

He started at the bottom, following protocol, purposefully working within the system, conforming where necessary and inching up through the layered chain of command, obtaining each coveted title along the way until at long last, in his waning days (3 years before retirement, no extensions), the crowning moment came: “Head Honcho,” be it Pope, General, Archbishop, General Superintendent, Whatever?

Upon reaching that long sought after, hard fought for position, He used that authority to begin leveling the playing field, thereby flattening the hierarchy, thus bringing a semblance of equality and oneness to the Body. His work completed, and while ascending the second time, he said, “You won’t know the time of my next coming, that’s the Father’s business. Be my witnesses in Honolulu, all over America, even to the ends of the world.” In that Spirit the Church began to multiply and prosper, comparably to the period following his first ascension.

Those who followed, several Head Honchos later, began to carefully restructure the hierarchy as it had once been. With increasing levels, titles and infrastructure there came, comparably, an ever decreasing number in followers.

At this point I woke up drenched in sweat; not a dream, a veritable nightmare! In the waking moments of reality, the thought came to me, Were he here, would Jesus even entertain taking on a title: General Jesus or Pope Jesus or Archbishop Jesus?

Kind of a scary thought, isn’t it?

Remember the time when James and John, jockeying for position, approached Jesus asking, “Arrange it so that we will be awarded the highest places of honor in your glory—one of us at your right, the other at your left?”

Jesus’ response in effect was, “Better think this through, boys. You have no idea what you’re asking.” When the other disciples heard this they lost their temper and became indignant, maybe even a teensy weensy bit jealous.

Then we hear Jesus’ great discourse about “rulers who lord it over them and high officials who exercise authority over them,” saying, “It’s not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to first among you must be your slave” (Mark 35-45).

Easy for you to say, Commissioner! I hear you thinking. Hey, I was just as surprised as the rest of you, perhaps more so. And besides didn’t Jesus also say something about the first being last?

Now that’s really scary!

Faux Pas!

I was out of the country for an extended period of time, making me late paying the credit card bill. It was a large bill, the penalty being very hefty as you might imagine. I called the company, begging, pleading and even wallowing a bit, explaining that my contract-breaking lateness was genuinely unavoidable for all the right reasons. After a little lecture reminding me of the legal contract I had signed, the representative of a normally ruthless industry had compassion on me saying, “Since you have been a good, loyal customer for many years and because you don’t have a history of lateness, we will exercise some flexibility this time. However, in the event you are late again, the penalty will have to be paid.” I thanked her profusely vowing never to be late again.

Almost simultaneously, I was denied a hefty refund for critical dental work by my denominational health care plan because I had failed to read the fine print about the UCR (Usual Customary Rate) Policy, and obviously the dental fee was significantly over that rate. Incidentally, I had to schedule the work quickly as I was going to be out of the country for an extended period of time, i.e. above, and it couldn’t wait.

I wrote the official denominational representative, begging, pleading and even wallowing a bit, explaining that my policy-breaking “faux pas” was a result of genuine ignorance, and if some compassion and flexibility were shown I promised that it wouldn’t happen again. The fact that we had been loyal servants of the institution for 45 years remained unsaid. After making the customary bureaucratic rounds, my appeal was denied on the grounds that it was a hard-line policy with a line having to be drawn somewhere, me being the “somewhere.” Well, so much for “Compassion in Action!” And it did cause me to rethink the ruthless part.

I was also reminded that Jesus broke the denominational Sabbath hard-line policy (rules), not because of ignorance or lateness, but because He and his disciples were genuinely hungry, a pretty good reason don’t you think? What impressed me most was the flexibility He preached. After reminding the lawmakers of past exceptions to the rule, He said:

"There is far more at stake here than religion. If you had any idea what this Scripture meant—'I prefer a flexible heart to an inflexible ritual'—you wouldn't be nitpicking like this. The Son of Man is no lackey to the Sabbath; he's in charge" (Matthew 12:6).

For context, I direct you to the second to last paragraph in the post below. Irreverent or irregular? You make the call. And if so inclined, pass this link along to the “keepers of the law” within your own denominational structure.

PS The penalty, ultimately, for Jesus' faux pas was death; mine was a measly $465, hardly a comparison. But it still hurts!