I am quick to tell you that I grew up in the 60’s,
but just a little too late (much to my chagrin) to be a true hippie. I was more
of a hippie-wanna-be.
I was just in time though, to be a Jesus Person.
Jesus People were kind of “Jesus-hippies,” most of whom had never been real
hippies, but liked the idea of long hair, bell-bottom pants, and VW vans. I
liked all of that plus I loved the cool clothes, Beatles music and psychedelic posters. While my mom and dad wouldn’t let me be a hippie, they did reluctantly
allow me to be a Jesus Person, but I think only because it had the word “Jesus”
in it.
I had a room down in our basement that I painted
with brightly colored stripes. I strung some lights up and rigged it so they
would pulse with the beat of the music. I would sit down there for hours and
listen to my albums and pretend to be tripping out, although I had no idea what
that meant.
It was during this period of time that Jesus Christ
Superstar and Godspell became popular. I used to listen to the music in my
hippie…I mean Jesus Person room downstairs. It was…groovy.
When the movies came out, I went to see them too. I
was intrigued in both movies with how the disciples of Jesus were portrayed.
Growing up in a very conservative church and home, I guess I always assumed the
disciples had crew cuts and wore suits. And even if they wore something other
than suits, I was certain they at least wore frowns. Every Christian I knew
wore a frown…why should they be any different?
But in the movies, being a disciple, or following
Jesus was portrayed as something enjoyable. The disciples actually sat around
and enjoyed being with Jesus. The first song I learned from Jesus Christ
Superstar was “What’s the Buzz…Tell Me What’s ‘a Happenin.’” I could just hear
the disciples singing it. It was so fun to sing. But then, when Godspell came
out…oh what fun the disciples seemed to be having as they danced, laughed and dressed
up...it makes me smile just to think about it.
The problem was I couldn’t reconcile what I had
always assumed was true, (the disciples in their straight-laced clothing and
hair styles following Jesus single file in lock-step) with the possibility that
perhaps following Jesus was individual, creative, enjoyable and something that
brought a smile to the faces to those in Jesus’ group (which of course was the
First Baptist Church of Jerusalem).
A lot of people I talk to still think following
Jesus is pretty boring and restrictive. I’m pretty sure they got that idea from
us. I’m still not sure those of us who call ourselves Christians are convinced
following Jesus can be a blast. Perhaps one reason those watching us are not too
anxious to join us is because we look so miserable. Here’s a little idea that
might help. Try singing, “What’s the Buzz” today. It’s a pretty catchy tune. Or
maybe dress up as a clown and…well, maybe that’s going too far, but do
something that makes you smile and maybe most importantly something that makes
other people smile. I’m usually the odd one, but really I think it’s pretty great
following Jesus. As a matter of fact one of my favorite things to tell people
is that when I grow up…I want to be a hippie! That almost always makes them
smile.
