A faded fragment of papyrus known as the “Gospel of Jesus’ Wife,” which caused an uproar when unveiled by a Harvard Divinity School historian in 2012, has been tested by scientists who conclude in a journal published on Thursday that the link and papyrus are very likely ancient, and not a modern forgery. - from “Papyrus Referring to Jesus’ Wife Is More Likely Ancient Than Fake, Scientists Say,” The New York Times, April 10, 2014 Date: April 1, DC (During Christ) From: Jesus Christ, Son of God, Son of Man, Alpha & Omega, Light of the World 1 Everlasting Way Nazareth To: James, Brother of Jesus Pastor, First Baptist Church of Jerusalem 40 Good Shepherd Drive Jerusalem Dear James, Greetings brother! It is so good to hear from you. It seems like it’s been forever. I know I should visit more often, but you know me and Baptists. I’m glad you can tolerate them. First of all, congratulations on your engagement! I know you and Mary are going to be wonderful together, and I wish you all the happiness that me and my Mary have had over the years. (Isn’t it funny how every woman we know these days is named Mary?) I know Mom and Pop are thrilled at the prospect of a church wedding, especially after Mary and I eloped all those years ago. Remember how mad they got? Jeez, and I thought dad was pissed when I left the family carpentry biz! Oh well, what could we say: we were young and in love, and frankly, once women began anointing my feet with oil and drying them with their hair, that was all she wrote. My Mary got hotter than a Pharisee at a pig roast. She said, “That’s it! We’re getting married or you’re getting lost!” And I remember thinking to myself at the time, what doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world, but suffer the loss of his girlfriend. Or to put it another way, whaddayagonnado? So we got married. You asked for a little brotherly advice, and though I am not one to preach, I’ll say this: marriage is great, but it is an adjustment. Gone are the days when I could just roam the countryside, traveling from town to town, hanging out with the fellas. And frankly, it’s been an adjustment for the fellas too: Bartholomew is still upset; Peter acts like he’s never heard of me; and Thomas said he’d give the whole marriage six months. But that was ten years ago, so what did they know? These days I’m home by sundown and all the better for it. I still get together with Phillip, Andrew, and a few others for poker night, but it’s not like the old days. But where was I? Oh yes, adjustment. When you get married, you are going to have to change some of your personal habits. Cleanliness is next to godliness, or so I’ve been told. Put the seat down, shake the dust off your feet before you enter the house, that sort of thing. As Mary says to me time after time, “what were you, born in a barn?” I try to explain the whole Christmas narrative, but she is clearly not buying it. Marriage is all about compromise. It doesn’t matter whether you are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Get over yourself. When you are married, the “me” changes to “we.” Be willing to give a little. Sure, I’d be happy watching Godspell over and over again, but sometimes, for the good of your marriage, you have to shut up and watch The Notebook. One of the most important things you and your Mary will need to work on are your communication skills. I cannot tell you the number of times I’ve said something like, “If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you,” and Mary looks at me like I’m speaking in tongues. Speak clearly. Parables are no way to communicate in a marriage. What else, what else. Oh, forgiveness. Very important. Forgiveness takes on a whole new meaning once you get married. Just saying. “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone” sounds really great on paper, but let me tell you, Mary has good aim and an arm like Roger Clemens. Try and establish a good relationship with your in-laws. Take Mary’s dad, Roger, for example. Even after all these years, I still have a hard time calling him “Dad,” I don’t know why. Every time they come over for a visit, I end up saying something like, “Hey . . . you.” Also, you may be God’s gift to your mother, but not necessarily where your mother-in-law is concerned. So work on it. Finally, you might not want to share everything with your new bride. Some secrets you want to keep to yourself. Like that whole water into wine thing? I should never have told Mary about that. It’s become her favorite parlor trick. She makes me do it every time we have company. After a while, it gets kind of embarrassing. Let me conclude by saying marriage is wonderful and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Gay, straight, everybody ought to give it a go, at least once anyway. I probably should have said more about my marriage back when I was preaching, but every time I mentioned “the bride of Christ” people seemed to take it the wrong way. Looking forward to your wedding! Your brother, JC PS: Thanks for the papyrus. This is some heavy duty material you sent. It ought to last forever!
Posted on: Mon, 14 Apr 2014 19:00:00 +0000
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