Jesus in the house
I’m waiting for the movers and drinking the coffee nice Brett got for me. I need to wake the kids up in about ten minutes.
I reread my last post (and caught the typos but as is my policy, it’s been too long and I won’t fix ‘em) and think it was too awkward.
Most of you know that we’re an interfaith family and while it would make my rabbi plotz, we do have a nice happy Jesus cross that usually hangs in our bedroom by Brett’s side of the bed. It’s a cross from Ecuador that I got Brett when we were first dating as a symbol of my acceptance of his different beliefs. (Brett hasn’t bought any symbols for me but he stood with me and held Noah while our rabbi converted us both and you know that’s a way better symbol than any sort of thing I could hang on the wall.) On this cross, Jesus is very smiley and his arms are up and he’s got colorful clothes on.
Brett is not fond of evangelicals pushing an agenda but on the other hand, it’s taken him a long time to understand how it makes me feel. For him, it’s an awkward moment but if he wants to, he can smile and nod because even if he doesn’t believe in the fire and brimstone bit, he does believe in grace. He can pass, you know? He’s gone to enough bible studies that he can quote a bit of chapter and verse back or at least say, “Oh yeah, that’s a good part.”
The other incident I was talking about in the entry below went like this. The person (he’s an Episcopal priest but before that he was a charismatic preacher and there was more of that in him as far as I could tell) had a little fable to tell me:
Once upon a time his great-grandfather — who lived in Germany — was Jewish. And he was studying to be a rabbi like his father before him. One day on a bet he went to a Christian revival meeting and lo and behold! He saw the light and found Jesus that very day. When he came home his father said, “Well, son, you do what you like but I have to kick you out of the house and your brother, too, for also inconveniently finding Jesus. But here’s enough money to send you to America.” You know what happened? His whole family ended up in a concentration camp and everyone died! But not the great-grandfather or his brother! Moral of the story? Jesus really does save — literally and figuratively! (And bear in mind what he didn’t explicitly say — but if God could save the grandfather and his brother but let the little Jewish babies die, well, that doesn’t say much for God, does it? Or else God really does hate the Jews, which I seriously think was the implicit point of this guy’s story what with his meaningful raised eyebrows, concerned nods and glorious smile at the so-called happy ending.)
So the guy who’s telling me this happened to be adopted into this family (in another equally offensive conversation he let me know that he approves of “good” people saving innocent babies from “bad” people as his family saved him) but he ends the story by telling me that it’s certainly possible to be a proud Jew and a saved Christian! How does he know? Because he is one!
“Why,” he added chortling. “I’m probably more Jewish than a lot of Jews you know!”
(Because of Brett’s fundamentalist cousin, I figured this was code for “we celebrate the Hebrew feasts.”)
Plus, he told me, he hangs with rabbis sometimes at his interfaith conventions and rabbis dig him what with him being so Jewish and all.
It was with great satisfaction that I informed him that he is NOT Jewish because adopted children have to be converted. So there. It kinda took the wind out of his sails let me tell you. His very mustache looked deflated.
I used to think that Brett would be my get out of jail free card in these conversations but they must not think he’s a very good Christian to let his whole entire family burn in hell. Pretty ineffectual, is what they must be thinking. But my point in bringing Brett up is to say, “Hey, I didn’t grow up in a cave with only a Torah and a box of matzohs, you know. I live here in America. I’ve heard of Jesus. I’ve had opportunities to accept said Jesus into my heart. In fact there is a saved person right in my very bedroom. And you know what? I rejected Christianity because as surely as God spoke to you, so he spoke to me. And what God said to me is, ‘Hey Dawn! You’d make a nice Jew!’ So if you have any faith in God whatsoever, what’s say you trust him on this one, ‘kay?”
He told you that concentration camp story as a fable.
YUCK.
However you did smash all my images of your childhood by saying that you didn’t grow up in a gave with only the Torah and Matzos.
Crushed.
Love the end of this post. LOVE IT.
Hey Dawn,
You made me laugh. We are an interfaith family, too. Husband is Jewish–I’m not. We attend services at a Unitarian Fellowship. We’ve encountered many uncomfortable religious conversations, especially since I have two born-again sisters and one converted Jewish sister. Can ya picture holidays at my family’s house? It is FUUUn–let me tell you. Anyway, I love how you handled yourself with the “Jewish Christian.” My husband and I have had to sort out our faith feelings, too. Sounds like you and Brett (as usual) have been thoughtful and respectful of each other. Good luck with the MOVE.
Alison
My grandparents were avid “All in the Family” fans. I remember once where Meathead is tryin to have a conversation with Archie about faith.
“Archie, Jesus was a Jew.”
“Yeah, but only on his mother’s side.”
I loved reading your blog. I am a Christian but the Bible I read says that the Jews are the chosen people of G-D and have a special covenant with him. They don’t have to do the same things we Christians do, to be straight with Him. I hope you are able to laugh about the “mularky” they have been telling you. I think that more harm has been done in the name of relgion than any other cause. Listening to Dublyu last night with his revival talk made me sick. When did respect for different beliefs go out the window? Oh, well. Hopefully, This too shall pass.
elaine
“as surely as God spoke to you, so he spoke to me. And what God said to me is, ‘Hey Dawn! You’d make a nice Jew!’ So if you have any faith in God whatsoever, what’s say you trust him on this one, ‘kay?”"
heh-replace “Jew” with “lesbian” and I’ve had this conversation SO many times…
food for thought……
About that fable he told you, I think I like fables about foxes and birds better. In fact, I tend to always prefer fables that don’t involve real people getting killed in concentration camps.
At the worship service I attended today, during the pastor’s sermon he told the congregation that he had to skip singing some of the worship songs because he felt like he had sinned more than his share this week and singing that he had given all his worship to God would have been a lie.
There are some pastors that don’t confuse leading the congregation with being above them. It’s stinky that during such a stressful time, you were greeted by this guys ego instead of understanding.
I think his so-called fable is made up bullsh**, anti-semitic bullsh** at that. How obnoxious to have to deal with that man in any way, especially at such a stressful point. You sound much more patient that I would have been.
First visit to your blog, but I’ll be back, judging by this post.
Please, please tell me you not only wrote, but SAID that to self-righteous cousin. Please?
It’s very common for evangelical christians to claim they are more Jewish than Jews. It is one of their ploys when convincing Jewish kids to become Christians — Christians, are they say, “completed Jews”
the fact that jesus was jewish is the biggest irony of all.