16
May
My cousins Kabeya and Mbuyi, both pastors.
In Paris, I have been hanging out with pastors. Both of my cousins are pastors; They’re actually cool. We spend hours together talking about the Torah; It’s the only part of the bible we have in common (me being Jewish, them being Protestants). We diverge widely when it comes to the Jesus question, but we’re still family.
However outside of family, Jesus becomes a sore point. I went with my cousin Kabeya to visit one of his friends and colleagues, a pastor friend. As we sat down for tea in the pastor’s house in a banlieue of Paris, my cousin announced that I was Jewish. Right away, I knew my being Jewish was not going to be good news; since earlier, the pastor friend had berated non-observant Christians, saying they were the cause of hell on earth.
The energy in the room shifted. I suddenly became the representative Jew and was asked every single question about Judaism.
“What do you Jews think of Abraham?”
I kept telling him to go and ask a rabbi; after all I could not speak for the entire Jewish population. As I dragged myself through the insufferable conversation, the inevitable question about Jesus was asked.
“So for you, Jesus was just a prophet …?”
“Not even,” I replied bluntly. By then I was simply fed up. “He was just another Jewish guy who happened to be very learned.”
That did not sit well with the audience. Yes, the pastor’s wife was also present by now; she was as fervent as her husband. My cousin, he remained quiet.
Eternal Life
Then the pastor said, “Let me ask you something…” He paused and continued slowly, “Do you have eternal life?”
I froze. His question brought me back in time.
I was bicycling across the midwest. It was summer time. I stopped by a church in a very small town and asked to pitch my tent in the backyard. When I saw the pastor, my jaw dropped. The pastor was, I kid you not, the most beautiful man I have ever seen in my life. He generously offered me the church lawn as well as a huge basket of fruits and vegetables. Not only was he handsome, but kind too. I could have married him on the spot.
But then, the gorgeous pastor asked me, “Are you saved?”
All my romantic dreams came crashing down. Any lust I had towards the man disappeared.
Here I am in France more than a decade later, facing the same type of question.
“Do you have eternal life?” I don’t even know what that means! But if it has something to do with Jesus, I don’t want it. I am very happy being Jewish.