Not a tame lion

“Sixteen years old, stubborn to see the world for myself, I embarked on my first reading of the four Gospels. How it struck me to realize that Jesus of Nazareth, the "Lord" of the Lord's Prayer, was not in league with every person or in favor of every value esteemed in my world or my parents' world. He was not, after all, a member in good standing of that club that included Walt Disney, Betty Crocker, President Nixon and my Uncle Louie. In fact, in one way or another Jesus would undoubtedly have irritated every single one of them. This is a recognition from which I have never fully recovered.

“And it recurs over time. All that changes is the company of which I have too readily made Jesus a member, the values that I have too easily sanctioned in his name. I suppose we all do this. We place Jesus on a mental guest list with "our sort," only to have him say or do something that puts the entire party out of sorts. He is with us to the ends of the earth, yes, but on another level you can't take him anywhere.”

- Garrett Keizer