*Nan C. Merrill. Psalms for Praying. From "Psalm 148."
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Jesus was asked about whom God would accept or not accept. Said one man, “Jesus, do you believe in exclusivism?” “What is that?” “Oh, that only one religion is the way to salvation.” After a long silence, Jesus said, “No.”
The man asked, “Then, Jesus, do you believe in inclusivism?” “What is that?” “That means only one religion is the right way, but others are going to make it okay.” After a long silence, Jesus said, “No.”
The man asked, “Well, then you must believe in pluralism?” “What is that?” “Oh, well, that means that all religions are equal?” After a long silence, Jesus said, “No.”
The man was confused, and he asked, “Jesus, what do you believe in?” After a long silence, Jesus said, “Love.”
Blessed are those who no longer believe in religion, even if they choose to be religious.
*Brian Kenneth Wilcox. “OneLife Ministries.”
* * *
Jesus Christ said he had never been
to a football match. So we took him to one,
my friends and I. It was a ferocious
battle between the Protestant Punchers
and the Catholic Crusaders.
The Crusaders scored first. Jesus cheered
wildly and threw his hat up in the
air. Then the Punchers scored. And Jesus
cheered wildly and threw his hat high up
in the air.
This seemed to puzzle the man behind us.
He tapped Jesus on the shoulder and
asked, “Which side are you rooting for,
my good man?”
“Me?” replied Jesus, visibly excited
by the game. “Oh, I'm not rooting
for either side. I'm just enjoying
the game.”
The questioner turned to his neighbor
and sneered, “Humm, an atheist!”
We took him up on this after the game. Was he in the habit of never taking sides? “I side with people rather than religions,”said Jesus, “human beings rather than Sabbath.”
*Anthony de Mello. Song of the Bird. “Jesus At The Football Match.”
© OneLife Ministries. Feb 28, 2010.
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*OneLife Ministries is a ministry of Brian Kenneth Wilcox, SW Florida. Brian lives a vowed life and with his two dogs, Bandit Ty and St. Francis.
*Brian is on Facebook: search Brian Kenneth Wilcox.
*You can order his book An Ache for Union from major booksellers.
