This is sorta - kinda a non sequitur, but not completely. Back in the early years of the 21st century, an artist did a bronze sculpture of Jesus as a homeless man sleeping on a park bench outside of a gated community full of fancy homes & large incomes. There was much negativity, acrimony, dislike, etc. directed towards " homeless Jesus " & the artist / sculptor.
He's an inconvenient reminder & many of these same high income people would crucify him again OR have him committed to a psychiatric institution after claiming that he's a lunatic & a danger to himself & others.
The Jesus in /The Second Coming/ comics got in trouble with a mob (protesting outside an LGBTQ+ bar and grill, with "God Hates Fags", etc. signs) and was picked up by the local cops (He wasn't violent, natch; everyone else in the mob was [the cops rescued Him]). When asked what His name was, He told them "Jesus Christ" and was locked up in the local jail for a psych evaluation... X-P
Standard operating procedure for the Fellowship of Christian Haters. I've said it myself - I have Evangelicals in my family who don't even TRY to understand things. They ENJOY the tribalist " persecution game ". " HELP ! WE'RE BEIN' OPPRESSED ! ". My own cousin accused me of trying to make her forsake her faith once, & I was all " WTF was this about ? ! ".
It's why I love the graphic novel (from the comics), /The Second Coming/ from Ahoy Comics, written by Mark Russell. It literally has Him returning (and sharing a two-bedroom apartment with "Superman," basically), but He is puzzled...
"I know that I'm late, but I told everyone that I was coming back. So now that I'm here...why doesn't anyone believe me?"
Thanks, I’ll keep this one in mind — soon moving from wilderness back to the ‘burbs, land of the almighty HOA. If I take out the front-yard lawn & put in a veggie garden, do you think they’ll approve?? btw, a turquoise fence would be excellent.🏡
Sounds like you're way luckier than the poor guy in Florida who planted a bunch of sunflowers in /his own yard/...and I don't even think he was in one of those HOA gulags, just in Florida... X-P
Yay for you, though! :) Sounds like there are actually HOAs that aren't just petty li'l power-grabbing schmuck-heads! :D
I'm resisting painting things purple but it sounds fun. I went on a trip on a double decker bus through London (the English one) today, I'm visiting, and it suggested to me that Jesus would be a fellow passenger and not in the limo outside the Ritz or even in the SUV in the supermarket car park.
My little neighborhood was built in the late 50’s when HOA’s were just a twinkle in the home builder’s 👀 & since i leave my skeleton dogs & cat out 💀& Christmas lites & peace flag ☮️ up year round, i woulda been voted out years ago. But for those who love HOA’s - hey whatever floats your boat! Wonder if boats are allowed though? Or my motorcycle 🏍️? 🤔
Ha! Sounds like your street escaped the gospel of conformity. The first HOA was probably founded by a Pharisee with a clipboard. Blessed be the neighbors who decorate for joy instead of judgment.
Bravo! I live in a little old house in the county, where we don’t have to deal with an HOA, thank goodness! I just painted my front doors a mauve color. It’s my nod to living happily on a shoestring
HOAs are fascist! And yet I’m the person who appreciates rules and structure, so I constantly have to remind myself that we have it, and not artificially thru community bylaws (don’t get me started on the $250 fine from an HOA that prompted selling our condo and traveling the world). The rule is golden and the structure greater than and foundational to the law and prophets: LOVE. Can it really be that simple?? (Yes, but not easy, because why does my neighbor have a loud rooster and their tree roots encroach on my lawn and the color of the front door is personally offensive to me because it clashes with the gutter. Loving is hard)
The ego’s inner HOA is exposed.... hilarious and witty. Yes..true spirit blooms not in compliance, but in the wild. Blessed are the unapproved, for they shall inherit the kingdom within.
VMB, that comparison of the ego with HOAs was delish! Aging is such a wonderful thing as I find myself (ooh! Complete thought there!) no longer caring what my ego thinks. I’ve always preferred the ‘lived in look’ in my personal world; clean enough to not promote disease and disorderly enough that there is no discomfort around ‘I’ll get that later’.
My wife and I lived in a very nice neighborhood once, a strange little nook of about 2 city blocks with no HOA surrounded by a band of tightly regulated, HOA-centric neighborhoods. Oh how those neighbors loved to come and complain about our very tidy but not compliant homes and lawns. I mean, we lived on an airbase flight line, our neighbors were very nearly all retired AF or some other branch of military, order came from the inner world and was reflected in the outer. I could never get why everyone cared so much about our little slice.
So, there’s the answer, ego. Or should I say EGO? Easing God Out by imposing man made order from without in order to imply a uniformity of thought within. It seems to make a certain kind of small mind comfortable to think ‘everyone agrees with me’ and in some ways I think that’s what the HOA is all about. It’s Stepford Wives for your city blocks
I knew there was a reason why I always disliked HOAs. This is such a brilliant analogy. One of your gifts is you can always clearly place these Parables in the present.
This is sorta - kinda a non sequitur, but not completely. Back in the early years of the 21st century, an artist did a bronze sculpture of Jesus as a homeless man sleeping on a park bench outside of a gated community full of fancy homes & large incomes. There was much negativity, acrimony, dislike, etc. directed towards " homeless Jesus " & the artist / sculptor.
There's a lesson there, I think.
Yes. The lesson is that most people want a Savior who can afford the HOA fees.
They want crosses polished, not carried.
“Homeless Jesus” is the parable the Church keeps trying to evict.
Every time he shows up on a park bench, he reminds us who the kingdom was really built for.
He's an inconvenient reminder & many of these same high income people would crucify him again OR have him committed to a psychiatric institution after claiming that he's a lunatic & a danger to himself & others.
The Jesus in /The Second Coming/ comics got in trouble with a mob (protesting outside an LGBTQ+ bar and grill, with "God Hates Fags", etc. signs) and was picked up by the local cops (He wasn't violent, natch; everyone else in the mob was [the cops rescued Him]). When asked what His name was, He told them "Jesus Christ" and was locked up in the local jail for a psych evaluation... X-P
Standard operating procedure for the Fellowship of Christian Haters. I've said it myself - I have Evangelicals in my family who don't even TRY to understand things. They ENJOY the tribalist " persecution game ". " HELP ! WE'RE BEIN' OPPRESSED ! ". My own cousin accused me of trying to make her forsake her faith once, & I was all " WTF was this about ? ! ".
I absolutely love this! It’s so true! Fortunately I rent. There are so many reasons Yeshua/Jesus would be crucified again today if he came back …
It's why I love the graphic novel (from the comics), /The Second Coming/ from Ahoy Comics, written by Mark Russell. It literally has Him returning (and sharing a two-bedroom apartment with "Superman," basically), but He is puzzled...
"I know that I'm late, but I told everyone that I was coming back. So now that I'm here...why doesn't anyone believe me?"
Thanks, I’ll keep this one in mind — soon moving from wilderness back to the ‘burbs, land of the almighty HOA. If I take out the front-yard lawn & put in a veggie garden, do you think they’ll approve?? btw, a turquoise fence would be excellent.🏡
I wish you a miracle but never forget I got your back 😉💞
Thank you, Magnolia Blossom, your wish came true, I can move around Halloween. The bats & ghosts will help!👻
YEEEESSSSS!!!!! 🦇🧙🏻 (and i know some good witches, don’t worry, they use aliases)
Sounds like you're way luckier than the poor guy in Florida who planted a bunch of sunflowers in /his own yard/...and I don't even think he was in one of those HOA gulags, just in Florida... X-P
Yay for you, though! :) Sounds like there are actually HOAs that aren't just petty li'l power-grabbing schmuck-heads! :D
Turquoise Fences is an excellent band name!!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I'm resisting painting things purple but it sounds fun. I went on a trip on a double decker bus through London (the English one) today, I'm visiting, and it suggested to me that Jesus would be a fellow passenger and not in the limo outside the Ritz or even in the SUV in the supermarket car park.
I do love that song, "What If God was One of Us?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDdOnl0bHO4
(first time watching the official video, though; not sure why it moved me to tears)
And this poem:
https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/preacher-ruminates-behind-sermon
Fun. And wise.
I luv ya' VMB! You are truly a national treasure!
"There's another kind of poverty that only rich men know, a moral malnutrition that starves their very souls"
Glenn Frey
Ooooooo….thats so so good. Glenn Frey is such a poet. 👏🏻💜
I began working through the Gospel of the Beloved Companion last week. It’s like a kaleidoscope that keeps moving the background to the fore.
My little neighborhood was built in the late 50’s when HOA’s were just a twinkle in the home builder’s 👀 & since i leave my skeleton dogs & cat out 💀& Christmas lites & peace flag ☮️ up year round, i woulda been voted out years ago. But for those who love HOA’s - hey whatever floats your boat! Wonder if boats are allowed though? Or my motorcycle 🏍️? 🤔
Ha! Sounds like your street escaped the gospel of conformity. The first HOA was probably founded by a Pharisee with a clipboard. Blessed be the neighbors who decorate for joy instead of judgment.
Hahahahaha A Pharisee with a clipboard 😂
Bravo! I live in a little old house in the county, where we don’t have to deal with an HOA, thank goodness! I just painted my front doors a mauve color. It’s my nod to living happily on a shoestring
HOAs are fascist! And yet I’m the person who appreciates rules and structure, so I constantly have to remind myself that we have it, and not artificially thru community bylaws (don’t get me started on the $250 fine from an HOA that prompted selling our condo and traveling the world). The rule is golden and the structure greater than and foundational to the law and prophets: LOVE. Can it really be that simple?? (Yes, but not easy, because why does my neighbor have a loud rooster and their tree roots encroach on my lawn and the color of the front door is personally offensive to me because it clashes with the gutter. Loving is hard)
The ego’s inner HOA is exposed.... hilarious and witty. Yes..true spirit blooms not in compliance, but in the wild. Blessed are the unapproved, for they shall inherit the kingdom within.
Thank you for this 🙏🙏
Love this!!!
Love itttttt perfect analogy thanks for the boost
Brilliant post. What a wonderful satire! May the message really hit home for those who need to hear it! 🙏🙏
VMB, that comparison of the ego with HOAs was delish! Aging is such a wonderful thing as I find myself (ooh! Complete thought there!) no longer caring what my ego thinks. I’ve always preferred the ‘lived in look’ in my personal world; clean enough to not promote disease and disorderly enough that there is no discomfort around ‘I’ll get that later’.
My wife and I lived in a very nice neighborhood once, a strange little nook of about 2 city blocks with no HOA surrounded by a band of tightly regulated, HOA-centric neighborhoods. Oh how those neighbors loved to come and complain about our very tidy but not compliant homes and lawns. I mean, we lived on an airbase flight line, our neighbors were very nearly all retired AF or some other branch of military, order came from the inner world and was reflected in the outer. I could never get why everyone cared so much about our little slice.
So, there’s the answer, ego. Or should I say EGO? Easing God Out by imposing man made order from without in order to imply a uniformity of thought within. It seems to make a certain kind of small mind comfortable to think ‘everyone agrees with me’ and in some ways I think that’s what the HOA is all about. It’s Stepford Wives for your city blocks
I knew there was a reason why I always disliked HOAs. This is such a brilliant analogy. One of your gifts is you can always clearly place these Parables in the present.
Ah, short story-telling... :)
One of the best ways to teach. :D
Right?! Who goes “egos are like HOAs?” Just the VMB! 👏🏻💜👏🏻