I was delighted when I got an email Wednesday morning and the return address said jcheaven@gmail.com. One has to hand to those goggle folks for providing emails access to JC and others in heaven. Who knew? Of course, given all the information I can obtain by googling I should not be surprised that JC and the rest of the Trinity want to have a say so about what goes into this data base. At any rate, here is the email
From: jcheaven@gmail.com
To: pickettjf@gmail.com
Subj: Request for service
Good morning. This is Jesus as I am sure you gathered from the email address. I understand that you will see individuals for therapy even if they do not have money. As you might have guessed, here in heaven we never thought of the possibility of astro travel and needing money to exchange for services. We used all of our gold coins to pave the streets. At any rate, if your schedule permits, I would be greatly appreciative if you would agree to take me on as a client in exchange for me crossing off some items on that rather long list of misbehaviors you seem to have a compulsion in which to engage.
The problem is this. Many people have been leaving my name out of my birthday celebration. They have replaced the Christmas tree with holiday tree; Christmas sale with holiday sale; Christmas day with “Family day of love” and so on. I do appreciate the fact that there are a number of people who have complained about this. Daily there is someone writing a letter to the editor or demonstrating against this heinous crime, but no one seems to be paying attention. It seems as if the Jews, the Muslims, the Buddhist, various Native tribes, and, god forbid, even the pagans have decided to claim the day. Many of these have a holiday tree, give gifts, and make a point of inviting people from many different religious traditions and cultures over for dinner.
It seems as if I am no longer important. If I am just Jesus and not The Christ, what is my purpose? I know that early on I had some training as a carpenter, but do you realize how much the building trades tools and materials have changed in over 2000 years? Who would hire me? The only other thing I did was to hang out with people and sometimes speak in the temple. Now, who would ordain me as Rabbi or license me as a counselor. I would have to go back to school. You may not remember but formal education was not provided for peasants in my time. There were classes, so to speak, at the Temple and mom and dad did the best they could do but there were no public libraries, the internet, or even Amazon. I would probably have to start with taking the GED and frankly, I am worried about passing that!
I hate to admit this but I have been really depressed. One of your colleagues who connived their way into heaven suggested that I am having an identity crisis and should seek some counseling. Here in heaven, people seem reluctant to be honest with me. It seems as if they still think of me as The Christ. Well, actually, only those who come from a Christian background think of me as The Christ. Others such as the Jews and the Buddhist and even the pagans think I was a pretty good teacher some of the time. Yup, they are all here too. They have always known that The Christ lived in many forms and in many ages. Imagine!
I wonder if you would consider seeing me as a client to help me work through this “identity” crisis? I must tell you that I am pretty desperate. I mean, I am not exactly suicidal but I do seem to be sleeping a lot and have not been eating.
Me: (I read this email with tears in my eyes. I am one of those who has pushed for a more inclusive holiday. I mean, I come from a Christian framework but I have never been convinced that is the only possible framework.) Of course, I would be happy to see you JC. In fact, I just had a cancelation for 11:00 a.m. today. Would that work?
JC: That would be fine. I can make an adjustment to my schedule.
Me: Great. I will see you then. (I decided not to embarrass him by having him fill out the initial history form since I was not sure about his writing skills.)
11:00 a.m. arrived and I hear a knock on the door.
Me: Come on it. It is good to see you. Have a seat over there. Would you like something to drink?
JC: No thanks. How shall we start?
Me: Well, from what you told me earlier, it seems that you have gotten used to identifying with the label of Christ. As I recall, when you were hanging out here on earth with folks you just kind of did your thing and did not worry so much about what people called you.
JC: That is true but now it has been a long time and I have not been able to just hang out with the Christians. I do fine with the pagans, Jews, Buddhist and others. They never did think of me as The Christ, but the Christians did. I am almost ashamed to admit it, but I got used to being adored and the center of attention. I know that this is wrong, but I also know I have to be honest if you are going to help me.
Me: I really appreciate your honesty JC. It is great that the wise part of you knows that you do not have to have all others think of you as The Christ? I recall some of the stories about how good you were with people such as the one who made her living as a prostitute or the one who earned his living as a tax collector. Why, even you even embraced and kissed Judas rather than relating to him as The Traitor. You always seem to remember that we humans deserved love just for being us. You also seemed to believe that we were at our best when people did not criticize us or verbally beat us up.
JC: Well, that is true but why can’t I be okay with just being Jesus? I mean, JESUS, how did I allow myself to get so attached to being The Christ?
Me: One of the things I always admired about you was your willingness to be fully human. We humans often find ourselves getting attached to a role or a label. Why, even the folks complaining about the change to holiday sales and holiday trees are attached to thinking of themselves as belonging to an exclusive club which they think of as the only Holy Club – the only one You approve of. They apparently are frightened that if you are not “The Christ” that they have no identity. Isn’t it strange that in the end their issue is the same as yours?
Jesus: (smiling) Since you put it that way, it seems easy for me to love them just for being the imperfect humans that they are. Somehow I have taken all the Christ stuff so seriously that I am depressed if I am just Jesus. Even if I am The Christ it is not as if everyone else has to acknowledge it for me to be okay. Yikes ! This is just a trite, common issue. I really am embarrassed.
Me: What would you say to someone else who was embarrassed to be human?
JC: Well, I would tell them that is just the nature of being them and that if they just notice the embarrassment without making a big deal out of it, they would be able to let go of it quicker. I know that beating up oneself never helps one to be one’s best. Only love does that.
Me: So the irony is that the human part of the Trinity is attached to being acknowledged as The Christ, whereas the Christ part of you knows that it is just the spirit and not the label which counts.
JC: I could not have said it better myself, but what do I do?
Me: Well, you are going to just practice noticing this attachment and metaphorically embracing that part of you which feels as if you are not important if everyone on earth does not acknowledge that it is your party and not just a holiday party! Between now and our next appointment, I would like you to practice. If you do not quickly catch yourself and have already started telling yourself that you need others to acknowledge your birthday for you to be okay, then at that point just notice and embrace; notice and embrace; notice and embrace.
JC: I promise. I will practice. Can I see you again later in the week?
Me: Sure. How about the same time on Friday.
JC: Thanks so much. I do feel a little better.
Me : You are welcome. Want a hug?
JC: (Comes over to me with arms outstretched.) Thanks (sighs).
Written December 2, 2015
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