The First Hippy of the New Age

Everyone wants a piece of him. We have been talking about him for two thousand years and are not about to stop.

Your own personal Jesus.

Though he never disavowed his Essene Judaism, a whole line of new religions were sparked by him, and most of the others give him a nod. The Christian churches all give him a starring role, but divide themselves into endless factions when it comes to exactly who and what he is or was, ranging from the Catholic idea that he is one third of God, to the Protestant idea that he is the one and only way to God, to the Unitarian idea that he was a great teacher. Even the Hindus call him an avatar, an incarnation of God, the Moslems regard him as a saint, and the to the Buddhists he is a Buddha, an enlightened one. In the new age thought he is called an ascended master. 

Some anthropologists have doubted the actual historical existence of Jesus, pointing out that many aspects of the Jesus story were identical to the storylines of the deities of other groups in the Middle East at the time.

But feminists have noticed the lack of sexism of the words attributed to Jesus as evidence that he probably did exist, given the unlikelihood he would have been made up by the patriarchy of the time.

But whatever you believe, you must acknowledge the the fact that we are still trying to figure him out even after all these centuries.

And you must at least notice that the entity we call Jesus had so much charisma, that despite all of the noble deeds and atrocities committed in his name all down the years, he still stands in our midst, whether in our hearts and minds, or in marble in the square, or in the literature and culture of our planet.

And despite the attempts of the fundamentalists to use him for political gain, and the murderous crusades, and the co-optation of his name by racist groups, and all of the endless foibles of his followers, I still can find no fault in this self proclaimed son of man, himself.

His gentle teachings stand the test of time, seeping like a solvent, through the ages. He taught care for the powerless, kindness to children and animals, respect for wimmin, disregard for materialistic pursuits and worldly power over others, and above all, forgiveness. His challenge is hard, except for all of the other ways. If he walked the Earth today, we would call him a hippy. He would probably be wearing blue jeans.

All of the mud fashioned around him by those who seek to shape him for their own lesser ends, slips off, leaving him still shining through the ages. Beckoning even. So, I say, ignore them, they know not what they do. 

I wonder if we can ever let go of trying to cop his charisma and just practice his teachings.

I say, let’s take back the Jesus, First Hippy of the New Age.

“And who do you say that I am?”