ABOUT THIS BOOK
JESUS, MAN ON A MISSION is a story for you if you are guided by what Jesus said about his mission in the Lord’ Prayer, and not by what the Church said about his mission in the Apostles Creed.
In the prayer Jesus taught us God is our Father not our Judge, Jesus is our brother not our Lord, God’s name will be made holy when His kingdom comes on earth. Until that happens we cannot say to God: Thy will has been done on earth as it is in heaven.
In this prayer there is no mention of Satan or Hell. Our evil acts are trespasses against one another not sins against a touchy-tetchy God. They are forgiven as we forgive one another – no crucifixion or confession required.
Jesus showed how serious he was about his mission to those without bread in his madder than hell parable, told right before his missionary hands and feet were to be nailed to two planks of wood (Mt. 25:31-46) It is called the Parable of the Judgment of the Nations. You may remember how it goes: treat the least as if they were me or go straight to hell – no excuses accepted.
Every time I read that parable I think of a quip from a Groucho Marx movie: “Why a child of four could understand this report. Run out and find me a four year old child. I can’t make head or tail of it.”
This book should help the reader make head and tail out of Jesus’ mission and his terribly frightening last parable.
Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed were three game-changing incarnations. Two took up the sword, one did not. Why has the sword-less incarnation not even come close to being a game-changer? That is a most significant question in this cliff-hanging third millennium.
By the way, I gave Jesus a sense of humor in this story. Why not? He was a Jew. He most likely had one.
JESUS, MAN ON A MISSION is available at barnesandnoble.com; amazon.com; and my publisher booklocker.com.
Jim La Croce, S.T.D., retired, Professor Emeritus