book-looks

Went out to dinner tonight and took some school work with me. The textbook I brought along was this one, for our "Christian Scriptures" course. I was sitting at a table in this little café in Oakland with this book sitting face-up on the chair next to me when this guy walks by my table, glances at the book, then makes a . . . I don't know . . . a face, I guess.

Or maybe it was all in my imagination.

It occurred to me then that I'm not used to running in circles where "Jesus-talk" is really appropriate. Not that it's inappropriate in any of the groups I hang out with, but many of them are full of people who have been hurt, in one way or another, by the exclusivity of so much of today's Christianity. I'm thinking mostly of gay people here, but I also have a lot of friends at my church (a Unitarian-Universalist church) who left the Catholic church or felt they weren't allowed to be themselves among Christians.

So now I'm finding myself hyper-sensitive to the looks I might (or might not) be getting from passers-by whenever I'm seen carrying a Bible or a Christian-looking textbook. Because I know what they might be thinking about me. I know what kind of attitude they might think I have.

But the truth is, my spiritual roots go way down, and they begin with the Catholic Church. I'm enjoying this opportunity to teach young people about the Bible, and I really feel I've been led to this work by Grace.

And maybe the funny looks really are just in my imagination.

Either way, I can't teach the class without carrying the books around, so I'm just going to need to get over it.

Posted: Wed - January 7, 2004 at 11:09 PM

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