Sanitizing the Sacred

Thanks to my friend and guest blogger today.  Great post!

Sanitizing the Sacred

By Gary Zelesky

Matt, 15:33 After Jesus had taken him aside from the crowd; he stuck his fingers in the man's ears. Then he spit and put it on the man's tongue.

Matt. 16:23Jesus took him by the hand and led him out of the village, where he spit into the man's eyes

John 9:6 After Jesus said this, he spit on the ground. He made some mud and smeared it on the man's eyes.

The Jesus I have come to know over the past 42 years was a man’s man; He was never predictable, seldom on time, hanging out with the wrong kind of people, didn’t always tell his parents where he was going and apparently liked to spit.

He was a carpenter most of his life and knew the touch of wood and what it was like to feel the pain of the hammer and the nail. He worked in a dirty carpenters shop making stuff out of wood with his father Joseph. He lived at home until he was 30 years of age and yet took on the full responsibility of a man when he turned 13.

When he went to church he hung out with the old guys having no problem talking to them about the things that mattered and they listened to him.

When he decided to start his church he chooses 12 dudes many who never went to church and put a thief in charge of the money. Apparently he lacked insight! Most of the time his guys didn’t have a clue what Jesus was even talking about but his only requirement of them was to follow! I guess he knew guys liked it simple.

What if Jesus were to plant a church today?

He better have a non-spitting leadership team.  He better know the right target audience he will be reaching out to and never spit. He must know what acceptable behavior is and never spit. And he must never hang around those who do spit or he could become a spitter too.

I find it a bit ironic that what we find as gross and disgusting Jesus used as a healing anointing oil. I fear that men have lost the power of the Holy Spirit and the adventure of living the Christian life because they are no longer allowed just to be men. We can no longer spit! Many Christian men are bored with their lives because it has become ruled by a feminist approach to being a man!

I not saying that men become the chauvinistic pigs that ruled the church years ago but what I am saying is that we have so sanitized the sacred that we have replaced the power of the Holy Spirit for the sophistication of acceptability. My heart is broken!