For years I have collected an assortment of strange and unlikely Christian artifacts from our contemporary culture. I have kept chocolate crosses in my office until they molded because I just couldn't bring myself to eat them. Scripture mints in the ashtray of my car to provide needed inspiration for that sermon at the nursing home. A framed VHS tape (for the younger crowd, a magnetic cartridge used to record and play video and audio on VCR's used up until the new millennium-except in churches) on the wall of my office with instructions on what to do "when the owner of this video suddenly disappears." Thoughtfully, the video tape has enough room after the pre-recorded message for me to leave a message to my friends who search for me in my office following the Rapture. I own a fake "Wal*Mart gift card" reminding all of us that "Wal*Mart is not the only saving place . . . John 3:16." An ornamental insurance policy from "The Eternal Life Insurance Co." which details the perils my coverage protects me against hangs on my bulletin board. On my bookshelf are "The Gospel according to Superman," "The Gospel according to Charlie Brown," "The Gospel according to the Lord of the Rings," "The Gospel according to Harry Potter," etc.
While these items connect in one way or another with our contemporary society, they have (in my opinion) little relevance to the Christ of Christianity. I feel like these items are part of the reason the world looks at us and thinks we don't get the joke that we have become. Trite, silly, unserious, irrelevant, trivial, ridiculous, profane, ______________ (add your own adjective).
I just want to say, "Jesus died for this?"
No comments:
Post a Comment