Eyes Wide Open

Most of you know I ride a motorcycle. With the recent addition of a new baby, I’m beginning to re-evaluate how often I will ride this coming summer. I always wear a helmet, drive the speed limit, and never drink/drive. All of these are great safety measures, but, of course, do not guarantee me anything. So, thanks to the Think Christian weblog, I’ve discovered “Biker Jesus” (they also have surfer Jesus and rodeo Jesus, among many others). My thinking, though slightly off-kilter, is this: If Jesus can be my imputed righteousness, my propitiation, can he also be my “imputed biker” when I am not able to ride? Can He be for me what I am unable to be?

In all seriousness, sometimes it becomes a bit too convenient to treat Jesus like a car-jack. A jack is something that stays buried in the trunk of your car and only comes out when you have really need it, like when you have a flat tire. I referenced this analogy in a homily on Good Friday when speaking of the two robbers hanging next to Jesus on the cross. Both wanted to be saved, but one was looking to Jesus to simply “jack me off of this cross,” while the other saw what no other disciple had yet to fully embrace the fullness of life that was truly on offer from the Messiah.

“Remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” To which Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Now, that’s my kind of Jesus.

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