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Wednesday, August 08, 2012

JC 2.0

The best part is
the experts had been
wrong.

Within minutes
Jesus went on
international TV
and held
a press conference,
sans interpreter.

After He did a few
magic tricks
to entertain and
convince the crowd,
He explained that John
had been hallucinating
in a jail cell when he
dreamed up
The Revelation,
and that it had been,
like so many other
human communiques,
screwed-up in translation.

The eternal conscious torment
of Hell
was similarly annulled,
and JC 2.0
(as the tabloids would
soon dub Him)
explained that while
everyone sinned,
everyone would have to go
through the fire to be
purified,

but here was where
JC 2.0 blew everyone’s
mind:

the fire didn’t hurt.

The fire was warm
and comforting
and some of the most sinful,
most pained miscreants
lingered in the fire 
far too long,
finally experiencing
something welcoming,
something that wasn’t cold
for the first time
they ever remembered.

JC 2.0 brought
the pure love,
which asked for nothing
in return,
not even faith.

He quickly went viral
and soon all that was left
were the skeptics
and the doubters,
and Jesus eventually won
them over too,

some with magic tricks,
some with genuine empathy
and an outstretched
welcoming
embrace.

Then JC 2.0
commandeered the planet
and set sail for
the far side of the Sun,

where preparations for
The Great Reunification
were already
in full swing.

[Written for the "Out of Standard with Izy"  imaginary garden with real toads challenge.]

44 comments:

  1. Love it!~! LOL
    JC 2.0 LOL
    I think you've hit it right on the nail with this.
    I know it's tongue in cheek but, it's about where we humans are these days. Good for JC 2.0
    Very clever and witty write Mosk. Really enjoyed it.

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    1. Thanks - I don't have a degree in eschatology, but I might be right.

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  2. I love it, and who's to say a word of this "end of days" scenario is wrong. I can buy the idea of severe miscommunication (deliberate) by those in charge back in the Middle Ages (Let's control the peasants with this scenario... large pots of boiling oil et al..)
    No, I much prefer this:

    JC 2.0 brought
    the pure love,
    which asked for nothing
    in return,
    not even faith....

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    1. Thanks, and after reading Bart Ehrman's "Misquoting Jesus" I don't know who / what version of the Bible to trust!

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  3. OMG, this is ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL. Best happy ending ever!!!!!!!! (And I read something about how He Who Has Been Awaited will appear on tv and people of every language will be able to understand him........so you may be not too far off the mark). I so love this poem.

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    1. Thanks, Sherry! Yes, I think there is a happy ending to it all, or to bring to mind Rob Bell's book "Love Wins."

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    1. Thanks, Caren. I hope I'm not wrong!

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  5. Woohoo! "He quickly went viral" You crack me up! This is too likely--at least in the terms we live in today. I will prefer to read it as satire than sacrilege, and enjoy it even more. WE should do this! We the people, if only we knew how.

    Have you seen/read the drama "Angels in America" by Tony Kushner? In the second part, Perestroika, those who died are put on trial, and--if I remember right--they were blessed with more life!!

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    1. Thanks Susan - heck, that's the real measure of market penetration. No, I didn't see AIA (wasn't it like 9 hours?) but it sounds interesting indeed. I *did* see "Defending Your Life" by Albert Brooks, which is the "first true story of what happens after you die." It's great!

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    2. I liked "defending your life" too, thought I would not know where to begin!

      I just woke from my days and realized everyone is welcoming you as a new toad! I want to welcome you too! I am a new toad as of 2 weeks ago, and haven't learned to read my mail everyday yet. As Hedgewitch says, it is a small pond, but the company is great and the food is yummy, nurturing, and thought provoking. I like reading from the list on the left of the blog as well as the numbered linkies--sometimes instead of, if I am in a hurry. I am delighted to welcome you of the Inland Empire to the Imaginary Garden.

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  6. I love this, it speaks so much truth. Just wow, there is so much I can say but I'm still speechless, lol.

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    1. I love that you're speechless - I hope it's in a good way! :)

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  7. I love it, this poem speaks so much truth. You took a touchy subject and brought it into the present and still keep the eternal message. I have goose bumps, LOL

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    1. Thanks, my friend, I value your praise. I love that it gave you goose bumps!

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  8. You've nailed it, Mosk!! You really have.

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    1. Thanks so much! That's my eschatology and I'm sticking to it.

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  9. Kay, I definitely like your perspective here! Nice doomsday write.

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  10. Think of all the fundie churches and conservative commentators who would go out of business!

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  11. Hello! I am ashamed to admit this is the first piece of yours that I have read. You have been a member of real toads for some days now, so let me extend a warm welcome by complimenting the hell out of this piece in a sincere and genuine manner.

    The playful, light hearted tone you used captured the spirit of my prompt perfectly, but it wasn't too playful, there was some societal subtext...I felt like I was listening to a lost Arlo Guthrie track (meant to be a compliment, if you hate Arlo Guthrie that's an issue only you can address and reconcile). An example having the press dub Jesus JC 2.0, or just your use of "blowing minds" I found fun. That phrase is so rarely used in poems: perhaps that is next months prompt.

    I like the concept you chose, the kindly, benevolent fire we should embrace (but not too long, lest we be thought of miscreants). I also admire your simple, clean word choice. If you had gone heavy handed or overly complicated it would have slowed down the pace and meaning of this poem. I don't know why, maybe because I watched Martin Scorcese's 3 hours documentary about Bob Dylan, but I am choosing to read this as a folk song ballad from a dimension where it all actually happened.

    Well done, and viva la

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind and effusive praise. The Arlo Guthrie comparison is quite the compliment. I'm old enough to remember him and the Alice's Restaurant Thanksgiving Day Massacre.

      I just bought "No Direction Home" on DVD, and I'm a big Dylan fan myself. Thanks for noticing that I use simple language - I try to be authentic and accessible. What's the point of writing if my ideas are lost in transmission.

      And, as a Christian Universalist/Humanist, I do believe that everyone will be saved in the end, regardless of whether they believe or not. That's just the way God rolls (I believe).

      Thanks and mice to meet you,
      Moskowitz

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  12. Fabulous! I love your take on this.
    K

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  13. JC 2.0 Love it. It is full of truth.

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    1. Thanks, Susie! In humor, there is truth. This is why I don't let my church know my pseudonym.

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  14. Darlin', you have written the most cool, optimistic, loving peace about The Big Last Sis=Boom-Bah I've read yet! Your Jesus, and I love the tabloid nickname (if he'd had Mary Magdalene in tow, they'd be JesMar in a New York minute!), offering fire that does not burn, yet purifies... your very correct posit that John wrote gibberish in Revelation (and you didn't call it "Revelations," a pet peeve of mine) that was only aimed at getting it past the Roman guards... PERFECT. Loved it. Still working on mine, but here's how a lot of a-holes will meet their reward. Your sistah, Ameleh
    http://sharplittlepencil.com/2012/08/07/rocket-ship-to-the-sun-trifecta/

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    1. Thanks, Ameleh, But I read where the galley proofs were originally titled "Revelations" but a typo led them to be title in the singular. Hey, it's my eschatology and I'll cry if I want to.

      Loved your rocketship to the sun, BTW.

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  15. Buddah- This is such a refreshing take on doomsday! If only...

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    1. Yes - what if I'm right? How rare would that be? Thanks!

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  17. I wish we heard more messages like this from the christian experience--I like it, and especially liked that even going totally commercial worldwide didn't spoil JC 2.0 and make him change his style or die of an OD. I guess being perfect helps. Way to rock the pronpt, Mosk, and welcome to Toads. It's a small and comfortable pond to swim in, I think, and the water plants are delicious.

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    1. Thanks for the welcome and the kind words. Make no mistake: my interpretation of the Christian experience is considered heresy by most - but I hope to keep prying this shell open a little a time to let in more hope. - mosk

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  18. Well done Buddah!!!

    Welcome to Toads!!

    I love this:

    "JC 2.0 brought
    the pure love,
    which asked for nothing
    in return,
    not even faith."

    Excellent!

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    1. Thanks so much. If God brings us grace and love ONLY IF we profess faith, then the grace and love are cheapened to mere traded commodities. - Your pal, Mosk

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  19. screwed-up in translation! & I also loved JC 2.0

    God knows WHAT we know and what we don't know. I feel we can't be judged for what we don't know... the trick is do we search for truth, for goodness within ourselves.

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    1. Thanks, and even before I was a Christian, I still held the same credo: love and take care of each other.

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  20. Wow!!! What a trip!!!

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  21. I think that's how I want everything to go.All embracing finally letting love and nobody left behind.

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  22. This is so how I want the world to end....I have always looked at revelations as a stretch and book out of place, believer or not, so I love that part the best I think. Just the JC 2.0 is genius and I think you have something here. Fun, not heavy handed and sincerely a joy to read. Great job, I loved it.

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  23. I am not religious, and neverr will be, but if I were I would tweet about JC 2.0 and friend request him on Facebook. I love this.

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