Corralling Jesus
I've been trying to catch Jesus all my life. I was raised as
a Southern Baptist; baptized at eight years of age. Heard the call to preach at
age ten. Licensed to preach when I was 19 years old. The youngest person to be
ordained a deacon at my church. Ordained to pastoral ministry in 1970 (age 22).
I've served as pastor of churches in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and Alabama—Baptist,
Presbyterian and Lutheran churches.
I've been very religious to say the least. I received my Master of Divinity degree from a Southern Baptist seminary. I took a theology course (on Tillich's theology) at a Disciples of Christ seminary. I studied Feminist Theology (taught by a nun) at a Catholic University. And I took a graduate course in liturgy at the University of Notre Dame (taught by a female Lutheran liturgical scholar).
For a long time I was sure I had caught Jesus. My granddaughter likes to watch cooking shows. (She is only five years old as I write this.) Occasionally I will sit down with her and watch The Pioneer Woman. The cook on the show is Ree Drummond, and she lives on a ranch. There will be scenes of her husband and their children out in the fields, mounted on their horses and rounding up cattle. Those scenes remind me of my Biblical and theological studies through the years. Through study I have tried to corral Jesus. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Jesus kept slipping through the fence. I thought I could bring him back to the ranch because he had our brand on him. But it never worked out. Everyone else claimed he had their brand.
Which brings me to the Gospel of John.
I've been very religious to say the least. I received my Master of Divinity degree from a Southern Baptist seminary. I took a theology course (on Tillich's theology) at a Disciples of Christ seminary. I studied Feminist Theology (taught by a nun) at a Catholic University. And I took a graduate course in liturgy at the University of Notre Dame (taught by a female Lutheran liturgical scholar).
For a long time I was sure I had caught Jesus. My granddaughter likes to watch cooking shows. (She is only five years old as I write this.) Occasionally I will sit down with her and watch The Pioneer Woman. The cook on the show is Ree Drummond, and she lives on a ranch. There will be scenes of her husband and their children out in the fields, mounted on their horses and rounding up cattle. Those scenes remind me of my Biblical and theological studies through the years. Through study I have tried to corral Jesus. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Jesus kept slipping through the fence. I thought I could bring him back to the ranch because he had our brand on him. But it never worked out. Everyone else claimed he had their brand.
Which brings me to the Gospel of John.
(continued in next post)
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