I once served in a parish where the rector had a three-foot tall Jesus doll sitting in her office. Every once in a while, she encouraged people in the congregation to take turns carrying around the doll wherever they went for an entire week — work, errands, restaurants, theaters, the library. One man even sat Jesus in the kiddie seat of his shopping cart at the grocery store.
Some had great fun with this exercise and were surprised by the joy they got out of sharing their faith when a stranger inquired about the doll. Others didn’t like the exercise at all and couldn’t handle the attention it generated, especially from people who stared without asking for an explanation. One woman actually exclaimed, “I admit it! I’m embarrassed to be seen with Jesus!” She said this half-jokingly. She was talking about a doll after all.
But this got me thinking — Was anyone ever embarrassed to be seen with Jesus? An unwed Mary with her pregnant belly, perhaps. Or maybe the disciples when Jesus caused a ruckus in the Temple. And then there’s us. We who frequently face the temptation to clam up about Christ, worried about how other people’s understandings and misunderstandings of Jesus (and his body, the Church) might reflect on us as Christians.
How do you deal with this temptation? When have you been reticent to mention your faith in Jesus and how it shapes your life? Better yet, how does it shape your life? Reflecting on that might give us the nerve to speak about what Jesus means to us and who Jesus is for us — and allow us to address some misperceptions in the process.
If you’d like to know why I carry Jesus with me wherever I go, I’d love to tell you…
Adrian+