I was out for a bike ride on a new route last week, and I noticed this message on the marquee at a Southern Baptist church: "Same management for 2000 years." Jesus' job, apparently, is manager. This is new. In the past, the faithful have employed Jesus or God as a king, a teacher, a shepherd, a co-pilot, and as a guardian of the loaves of bread (i.e. Lord) among other things. I'm a little surprised that we don't hear more (yes, I know it's out there) about Jesus as President or Prime Minister. My point here, which I'm adapting from Le Durk, is that we tend to cast the divine in whatever social status is currently imbued with the most authority. In the day-in-day-out experiences of most people, the manager is a pretty powerful figure. This is specific to one kind of political economy. In others, the divine looks different.
Yes, Jesus, I got the memo. I promise that I will put the new cover sheet on my TPS reports from now on.
ReplyDeleteGreat. As king I could understand. I prefer physician, a title sometimes given to the Buddha as well, but as manager?
ReplyDeleteWouldn't owner be more accurate?