I Am the Nerdy Healer!

When Jesus hung out with the drunks, prostitutes, and tax collectors, it doesn’t appear that he actively worked to change them.  In other words, I don’t think any preaching or teaching went on while they ate, drank, and danced--he just had a good time with them.

Was he criticized for being with them? Of course he was, but his answer to the criticism was that they needed him, so he was there for them. It wasn’t just his teaching or miracles or good example that affected them. They needed him because it is the presence of Jesus that is healing and restorative. For them, the eating, drinking, and dancing became the church activities that facilitated their being with Jesus.   

I wonder sometimes... was Jesus the life of every party.  You know, the fun guy toward whom everyone gravitated? I figure he was, considering his entertaining stories and personal popularity.  Yeah, he was probably cool. 

Not so with me.  I usually end up sitting on the periphery of these gatherings, watching, listening, and smiling, because I enjoy people. However, I never quite know how to participate in these settings, and sadly, people become a little uncomfortable about turning it loose in front of the pastor.  Occasionally a kind person will come over and speak to me for a moment, then wander back to the crowd.   

I’d like to be cooler, but wine gives me a headache and as I get older I become more and more the absent minded professor who isn’t well versed in pop references. I can’t dance and I listen to music that’s a little out of the mainstream, which is to say dull.  I don’t even follow sports.  No matter how hard I try, there’s just no changing the fact that I’m kind of a nerd. 

And that’s okay because in addition to the drunks, prostitutes, and tax collectors, Jesus loves nerds like me.  He sees the worth in all of us, and when I look through his eyes, I see more deeply the worth of each person, including myself. 

I don’t have to be exactly like Jesus, which is good because my personality is somewhat different. But I can be happy being me, and I can enjoy being with others, appreciating them just as they are.  And that makes me a kind of healer too, even if I am a nerd.

A Happy Jesus

Evidently, Jesus liked to have a good time. Everybody talked about his going to the parties where the real action occurred with wealthy tax collectors and prostitutes.  Plus, he was known to keep the fun going at wedding feasts, where he could be counted on to provide the very best wine.  

Then the very next day he would go to worship in the synagogue like some kind of saint, even daring to take the seat of authority to preach.  The truly religious people thought he was the worst kind of hypocrite.

No wonder he was so popular with regular folks. 

I have lived in religious communities where the people cultivated dour looks of pained endurance as they sang dull songs and listened to dull sermons, and claimed to feel joyful about it.  They would insist that heaven is like one long worship service, and I’ll admit when I was a kid, the worship time sure seemed like an eternity. 

I’m not sure where I’m going with this.

Maybe it’s to say that occasionally, we should change our perspective of Jesus.  Perhaps he was more than a “suffering servant,” or a religious reformer.  He was a shepherd, a storyteller, a healer, a prophet, and he liked to go to parties.

Maybe it’s to say that it’s okay to enjoy the moment, to laugh, sing and dance, just like Jesus did. 

Perhaps it’s to say that churches ought to “loosen up” instead of making people feel so guarded and self controlled.  Perhaps we could help each other get more in touch with freedom and joy.

And, I confess I might simply wish to entertain myself by teasing my friends who take themselves just a little too seriously.  Perhaps it’s also a reminder that I should refrain from taking myself to too seriously.