Customer Service

We’d like a different Jesus, please.
We’d like to return this one.
This one keeps insisting that the meek will inherit the earth
And that he had come to bring good news to the poor.
By his steady gaze he reminds us
That our sins and weaknesses are known to him
And that they are not “better” than othersAnd our excuses don’t excuse.
When we declare that our people rule the world
Because we are quite naturally rulers
He tells us that those who follow him
Ought not to “lord it” over others,
And that he came to serve.
When we point out that we deserve what we have
His story reminds us that he took what we deserve
On the cross.
When we try to tell our children that He values
Hard work, excellence and family,
He interrupts and tells them that
He values love, mercy, forgiveness
And radical welcome.
We try to keep him within safe boundaries
By reading in the back of the book
And avoiding the red letters,
But the problem is He’s alive
And His Spirit keeps reminding us
Of what we already read.
We want to return this Jesus
And carry home the one
The radio voices seem to know.
That one would just go better
With our color scheme
And is easier in polite
Company.
We’d like a different Jesus.