I am excited to share my review of NOTMYJESUS: Embracing our Sacred Role in a Changing World by Bob Fabey.
When not practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, traveling, or having coffee with his wife; Bob loves to speak about Dignity in keynotes, conferences, workshops and retreats. He draws upon 20 years of experience with a variety of organizations working with teams and leaders to increase effectiveness. Learn more about Bob at his web site.
I received this book for free to review from the Speakeasy Blogging book review network and this post may contain affiliate links.
Let me share my 6 takeaways from this book.
The Many Versions of Jesus
“Many people simply see Jesus the way they want to.”
“The Jesus of Christmas may mean a worship service or a recollection of worship services as a child. This Jesus remains a distant, unrelated figure, loosely connected to what is happening around them.”
“This view makes it difficult for Jesus to play a role in people’s daily lives. I mean, how much of a role can a 2000-year-old baby play?”
Bob mentions the many different versions of Jesus he has seen people describe. Some of these versions include: The Baby/Christmas Jesus, The Northern European Jesus, The Santa Claus Jesus, The Nice Guy Jesus, The Genie Jesus, The Cosmic Cop Jesus, The Divine Jesus, The Interplanetary Jesus to name a few. This begs the great question. How do you see Jesus? Who is he to you?
Jesus: Lord of Your Life
“But many live under the idea that Jesus can be their savior and not their Lord.”
“Jesus saves them for a future date to be with Him, but the here and now is theirs.”
I agree with Bob. Jesus just as your savior does not take it far enough. Jesus is much, much bigger than this. Jesus is Lord of my life. Jesus is Lord of my daily actions. Jesus is Lord of my thoughts and attitudes. I sit with Jesus during my Centering Prayer sits. I walk with Jesus during my non Centering Prayer times.
Jesus Was Judgmental
“The reality is that Jesus was judgmental. Jesus was critical of people. Jesus said things that made people hurt and angry.”
“Jesus was judgmental. Everyone was in His cross-hairs. He held nothing back when it came to telling it like it is.”
“Matthew records Jesus calling people names and pronouncing judgment on others on a consistent basis.”
“Why is He like this? What is He hoping to accomplish? And if He was so mean and judgmental, why are we still following Him two thousand years later?”
“This is why Jesus was judgmental. He didn’t do it to be a jerk. He didn’t do it to make people feel bad. He didn’t do it to prove how right He was. He didn’t do it to show people how smart He was or that He could win some argument. He did it to free people.”
“Hopefully, now, this is all coming into the light for you. Any picture we paint of Jesus, any mosaic we carefully craft of His character and action that doesn’t include how judgmental He was, is woefully incomplete.”
I share many quotes to make this point. Jesus was judgmental. Jesus wants us to think deeply and carefully about our thoughts and the actions we take. Jesus also wants to free us. We are not our thoughts. Do you feed yourself thoughts that simply are not true? We are not what others think or tell us we should be. We are loved by God. We are images of a God who loves us. We each have unique gifts to share with the world. We should feel free to share our innate gifts with the world. If we do not, we deprive the world.
Don’t Jam Up The Heavens
“God knows what you are going to say anyway, so don’t jam up the heavens with a bunch of words.”
This quote made me chuckle. That is why I am attracted to Centering Prayer. Centering Prayer is wordless prayer. We sit with God. We let God pray in us. It is like when you sit with a friend or lover. Words do not always need to be said. It is nice to just be with that person. You enjoy being in the company of that person. You each seem to know what you each need without saying it.
I do believe in verbal prayer. I enjoy when I praise and thank God. I do vent and ask for help aloud. However, I have discovered that I seem to migrate to silent prayer. It is where I go to be refreshed and refilled by God when my interior reserves run low.
Prescription for the Ills
“It is you. It is Christ at work in you. The Holy Spirit-infused work of God’s people is His prescription for the ills of the world.”
It is our job to take action when we see an injustice take place in the world. We are the eyes, the ears, the legs and the hands of God. The best place to start is within your local community or workplace. You do not need to venture far. We simply need to take care of our small corner of the world. Opportunities to perform a small act of kindness are as simple as: a smile, a meal, a listening ear or even when we say hello.
Love
“Jesus’ intention for His people was to make sure that love governed every human interaction.”
This is a tall order. Are all my human interactions governed by love? That is why I continue to sit in the silence of my Centering Prayer practice each day. I reconnect with God. I want my actions to be grounded in love. I admit that I am work in progress!
I encourage you to check out NOTMYJESUS.
Wisdom for Living: The Parables of Jesus by Thomas Keating, Contemplative Outreach: When rightly understood, the parables help us to see how extraordinary a wisdom teacher Jesus really was, and how revolutionary, in the best sense of the word, was the content of what he taught and to which he bore witness by his life and death.
Soulful Aging by Thomas Moore: As everyone knows, we are growing older all the time. But growing older is not the same as aging. Many people seem to grow older without going through the challenging life processes that make you a real person of substance and character. That kind of aging requires saying yes to the opportunities and difficult issues that life presents.
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