Author: Mary Parker

Remember a couple weeks ago when Conrad sang “Lord Help Me Jesus” for Special Music? I love that song! It was so fun to sing that with everyone, so heartfelt, so soothing, such a beautiful melody. I looked around and the people I saw seemed completely taken by the song.

At the same time, I couldn’t help but think about how confusing that song is in our church, and how I really don’t like foggy theology. I mean, our apparent theological stance is that it’s okay to SING words like “Jesus, my soul’s in your hands”, but it’s not okay to SPEAK that way.

The truth is that words we SING actually lodge in our hearts more readily. We remember sung words more easily and we keep them for longer periods of time. The emotional attachment we have to sung words readily gives rise to what we call “belief”…that ability to trust, even when reason says, “hmm, not so fast…”

We have all been educated in the damage which the Christian religion has done, as it has been used as a weapon in the hands of unscrupulous people. And many at Walker feel personally abused by particular interpretations of the Christian religion inflicted upon them as children.

But Jesus is simply a Divine Human…one Divine Human among many in the world’s religions. A Divine Human is a character created by humans to fill a need…a person who radiates love and doesn’t get depleted. A person who is sustained solely by the Divine Energy, who doesn’t have to rely on help and affection from other people. A Divine Human is a wonderful being to believe in because you can love them, you can rely on them, you can receive forgiveness and nurture and strength and courage from them. They never let you down. You seek them, they answer. You can worship them because they will never never take power over you. The Divine Human is not the church institution. The church institution is just an organization of humans, prey to all human weaknesses. But a Divine Human is an imaginary being created to heal you, to calm you, to energize you, to help you make decisions, to comfort you…and to teach you how to let the Divine in yourself EMERGE…let your little light shine!

Why do we care if Jesus is imaginary? Is it not our imagination which has created everything we know? What is more reliable than our imagination? For humans, it’s our life! We were taught about the Scientific Method… we were taught that if something can’t be proven by the scientific method, then we shouldn’t trust it.

But come on! We know that results of experiments are affected by the observer. So much for “objectivity”.  And we also know that what we humans are able to observe is but a tiny slice of reality. So what do we know? At least we have imagination.

Jesus is imaginary. That’s not an insult. That’s not a put down. On the contrary, that means that he is the best we can know…the ultimate servant, lover, friend, helper, advocate, defender, constant, teacher…Jesus never fails!

Now, obviously, the Christian religion has been used for too long as a weapon…I don’t see any hope for trying to clear its reputation, really. But in my community, my home, I just want people to understand how I see this. I love Jesus.

Jesus told us that if we want to step into heaven (the present moment), we need to become like children again. Children are able to believe in their imaginings. Are you able to? Can you love and trust and follow Jesus even though you know he’s a construct of the imagination? What is your imagination? How much time do you really spend outside of it? Why don’t you let yourself go? Why don’t you relax? Why don’t you surrender?

Oh yes, Jesus, my soul’s in your hands.