HAVE YOU TASTED JESUS?
At the university of Chicago Divinity School each year they have what is called 鈥淏aptist Day.鈥?It is a day when all the Baptists in the area are invited to the school. On this day each one is to bring a lunch to be eaten outdoors in a gra**y picnic area.
Every 鈥淏aptist Day鈥?the school would invite one of the greatest minds to lecture in the theological education center. One year they invited Dr. Paul Tillich. Dr. Tillich spoke for two and one-half hours proving that the resurrection of Jesus was false. He quoted scholar after scholar and book after book. He concluded that since there was no such thing as the historical resurrection, the religious tradition of the church was groundless, emotional, mumbo-jumbo because it was based on a relationship with a risen Jesus, who, in fact never rose from the dead in any literal sense. He then asked if there were any questions.
After about 30 seconds an old preacher with a head of white hair stood up in the back of the auditorium. 鈥淒octa Tillich, I got one question he said as all eyes turned on him, he reached into his lunch sack and pulled out an apple and began eating it. 鈥淒octa Tillich鈥︹?CRUNCH MUNCH鈥︹?my question is a simple question, CRUNCH, MUNCH鈥︹?Now I ain鈥檛 never read them books you read鈥︹?CRUNC MUNCH鈥︹?and I can鈥檛 recite the Scripture in the original Greek鈥︹?CRUNCH MUNCH鈥︹滻 don鈥檛 know nothing about Niebur and Heidegger..鈥?CRUNCH MUNCH鈥e finished the apple.
All I want to know is this apple I just ate---was it bitter or sweet? Dr. Tillich paused for a minute and answered in exemplary scholarly fashion, 鈥?I cannot answer that question, for I haven鈥檛 tasted your apple.鈥?The white haired preacher dropped the core of his apple into his crumpled paper bag, looked up at Doctor Tillich and said calmly, 鈥?Neither have you tasted my Jesus.鈥?The 1,000 plus people in the auditorium could not contain themselves. The auditorium erupted with applause and cheers. Dr. Tillich thanked his audience and promptly left the platform.
Well, I feel sorry for people like the good Doctor. They believe in electricity, even though they can鈥檛 actually see it. They can see the results of electricity working but they sure can鈥檛 see electricity. I guess you could say that even though you can鈥檛 see Jesus you can see the results of his presence in the lives of many of his followers. Now, I don鈥檛 want you Musing readers to think that 鈥榦le Gube has taken up preaching because I haven鈥檛. But, I don鈥檛 mind telling you that I have tasted the two things that the old white haired preacher was talking about in the story and both of them taste mighty good to me. Psalm 34:8 we read: 鈥淥 taste and see that the Lord is good, blessed is the man that trusteth Him.鈥?
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