Uncle Joe, The Donald and Jesus

Old Wineskins

Jesus isn’t running this November; We’re stuck with Joe and Donald. Therefore perfection is not on the ballot, only The Donald and Uncle Joe. Kinda sad, really, but there you have it.

I know, comparing anyone to Jesus is not fair. I wouldn’t want someone doing it with me, so …

But I’m not running for President, so …

Old White Men

The first obvious comparison between Jesus and these two is that Jesus is a thirty-something, Middle Eastern Jew, while both these guys are seventy-something white American males. A thirty-something Middle Eastern Jew of any century does not think like a seventy-something white American male of any century.

First of all, thirty-somethings of any time or stripe have most of their life ahead of them. They are thinking about careers and kids and a house and student loan payback and other stuff, like sex. Seventy-somethings think about sex too, but not everyday or even every week. Seventy-somethings think about death and legacy, and sleeping through the night. We don’t have nimble minds either, we seventy-somethings. We forget stuff, like names and dates and lies we’ve told.

I don’t think Jesus lied much, maybe not at all. Joe and Donald are politicians, they lie every single day. President Trump might be the most prodigious liar that ever walked this planet. Seriously, I’m not lying. And Uncle Joe is known for his missteps and misspeaks. Truth is, we don’t seem to care. Somebody’s got to win, I know, but should it be just anybody?

Grave Questions

If Jesus were still in the tomb, I guarantee he’d be rolling over.

“These two are the best you can do, really?”

Okay, in my book, there is a clear choice, and my choice may not be yours. Neither Joe or Donald is perfect, far from it. They are not the best we can do, but they are who we did. And we ought to be ashamed of ourselves, in my opinion, because there are better choices out there.

President Trump is the ultimate strongman, an autocrat that everyone needs to please in order to be in favor. You either praise him, or you piss him off, and if you piss him off, you will pay. One thing that bothers me most about our current president is that every time a Republican Senator or House Representative speaks, it is to an audience of one. And that one is not God, nor it is that person’s constituents. That’s not good for anyone, including, and especially, our president. It’s just too much power!

Joe Biden is mostly nondescript. Please try and describe him. He’s what?Mostly, he’s safe. And that’s not bad. You hear people describe former Vice-President Biden as a good guy, decent, one who knows the pain of loss. And that’s not bad either.. He’s also a devote Catholic, which is also not bad. Uncle Joe goes to mass on a regular basis. And that’s good.

Then there’s the other Joe, inappropriate around women, crude, not very smart, etc. See? Not perfect either.

But then, come on, nobody is, right?

Political Jesus

Jesus was not a strongman, not the king first century Jews were wanting. And isn’t it interesting that all through human history people want a strongman even though our religious traditions repeatedly warn against it.

Jesus spoke with authority, but Jesus was not authoritative, not in any way. I think we ought to be looking for someone like Jesus, not someone like Caesar, or Che Guevara either, for that matter.

And Jesus was not safe, not nondescript, not simply a good guy. He was a thirty-something filled with life and vitality and vision and courage. Jesus had guts and grit. Like his cousin, John, Jesus was such a threat to the powerful in his day – the Temple leadership, the orthodox, the wealthy, the Jerusalem elite, the royal family, the Romans – that they lynched him.

We should care!

We don’t care that our candidate is not perfect, and worse yet, not even close. And this not caring; it’s a problem, I think.

And after this time around, after this November, we ought to all agree that four years from now, we can do better.

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