By Kay Augustine
I am so grateful for our Friendly Bible Study, where every Monday morning I am spiritually enriched by reading both canonical and apocryphal scriptures and am especially rewarded by and grateful for the insights and knowledge shared by members of the group.
One insight in particular which I wish to share here is in regard to the Gospel of Thomas which we are presently reading, one saying of Jesus at a time. This “sayings” gospel was discovered by farmers near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in December 1945. It is thought by some scholars to be among the earliest records of the sayings of Jesus preserved by a community of followers who focused less on the person of Jesus than on his message.
To me, this is huge! A wholly different way of viewing religion! And it is not new to me, although I was delighted to learn that at least some early Christian communities (maybe before they were called Christian) put less emphasis on the person of Jesus than on sharing his message. After all, from what we know about Jesus, wouldn’t he have been more likely to want us to hear, practice, and share his message than to worship him? That’s always seemed logical to me.
Do any of you remember a time—I think it may have been the 1970s—when one often saw bumper stickers reading “ANOTHER FAMILY FOR JESUS”? I remember just where I was driving when I saw one: heading south on Humboldt Avenue just north of North. It annoyed me, so I wrote this poem:
Vandal
When I saw the bumper sticker that read
ANOTHER FAMILY FOR JESUS
I pictured that madcap rebel rabbi
crossing out his sacred name and
writing in some other words, then
standing back with a grin to read
ANOTHER FAMILY FOR THE POOR
And recently I came upon a song I wrote in 1999 for the Bay View United Methodist Church, where I had agreed to serve as an interim choir and orchestra director. We sang it for the Sunday when the Gospel reading was John 15:5, “I am the vine, you are the branches.”
My song was a sort of country western gospel song–if you can imagine that–in waltz time and based on an experience I had with sheep we’d raised when I was young. The refrain, which introduced and ended the song, began, “You are the vine (lower voices echo), We are the branches (same echo),” and in the verse I referenced Jesus with the line, “I need you here beside me.”
Looking at the song again yesterday, I found myself uncomfortable with its implicit references to Jesus and Lord. It was his message—to know and share love—that had meaning for me, not his person. So I rewrote the song. You can imagine your own tune, in waltz time:
(Refrain) Love is the vine – – we are the branches – –
Love is the shepherd – – we are the sheep – –
We too are called – – to shepherd each other – –
We are called – – to love one another – –
- Now, I grew up in Wisconsin, and once I had some sheep. Sheep are not the brightest of creatures; I remember one: She got stuck behind an open door; she would not turn around. And sometimes I am just like her
2. Spirit of Love among us, you live in ev’ry heart. In drawing strength from you we bear fruit, and not by ourselves alone. Be Light in our darkness, be courage when we are afraid. In Love we find our reason for being; in Love we are made One. (Refrain)
Going back to that bumper sticker, what does it mean to say we are for Jesus? Doesn’t it mean we are for living as he showed us how to live, with the help of the Spirit of Love he promised he’d send to be among us? So why not say that?
Editor’s Note: Accompanying picture found on Etsy and is from Wit N Whimsy Handmade