Big Apple Jesus

Having my attention drawn to the current cover of Newsweek by a colleague this afternoon, I decided to look back at previous issues. It seems that Newsweek have had a conversion experience! Instead of being stuck in the imaginings of medieval artists and victorian stained glass Jesus has stepped boldly onto the streets of New York - or rather Newsweek have suddenly spotted him there (He was there all along, I suspect, even in NY).

Andrew Sullivan, former editor of The New Republic, takes a hard look in this lead article at the politicisation of American religious institutions, suggesting that many churches and religious establishments in the US are simply used as vehicles for achieving political power. In his frusatration he suggests we "forget the church and follow Jesus". The only problem is that he seems to forget that to follow Jesus is to walk straight back into the church. It is not so easy to divorce Jesus and church - take away the church and you take away the Body of Jesus and end up with a spiritualised, idealised, dis-embodied idea you might want to call Jesus - but it just aint Jesus. The church is messy, distorted, - yes, sinful, but it is the Body of Jesus and if we follow Jesus we have to cope with the church however much it frustrates and pains us! After all it is us.

So, don't forget the church. By all means forget the institution, the establishment, the political Right, heirachy and ecclesial power - but not the Body of Jesus, whose PHYSICAL resurrection we will celebrate again this week. Rather pray for its re-creation in His image.