Friday, June 08, 2007

(WWJWMTTHTL) Where Would Jesus Want Me to Take Him to Lunch?

I have a new phone which is also my new day-planner, because hey, I'm no Luddite. But I am a bit slow on the uptake. In my first week with the new phone I very nearly broke my Bluetooth (the yellow ones are just fine, thanks) and apparently did break the Internet. Sorry about that.

I'm all up and running now, but I'm still getting used to one of the phone's features: when you type something (anything, really), it offers to complete the word for you. Microsoft Word has a similar function, but we who work in the publishing industry usually disable such options because we so regularly spell such arcane and high-falutin' words. I've chosen to keep the feature on my PDA phone. but like I say, I'm still getting used to it.

Anyway, today I made an appointment to have lunch with my friend and coworker Jeff. I started keying my appointment into my PDA phone, somewhat disinterstedly I will freely admit, and then realized that my lunch with Jeff had become "lunch with Jesus." Well that can't be right.

I mean, no disrespect, Jeff, but I think it would be a different lunch entirely. I don't know where I would take him; the default restaurant of choice at my office is a barbecue pork joint (Uncle Bub's--no trip to Westmont, Illinois, is complete without a visit), but Jesus was Jewish, so pork seems inappropriate.

And then I remembered an ad campaign from a few years back when Christian environmentalists asked the question "What would Jesus Drive?" They were cashing in (a little late, I'm afraid) on the cultural renaissance of the nineteenth-century pious question "What would Jesus do?" made famous in the novel In His Steps and soon surely to make an appearance on VH1's undoubtedly planned "I Love the 90s." But it's a legitimate question: what would Jesus drive? And if it's not a Hyundai Elantra GT tracking an admittedly unsatisfactory number of miles per gallon, how could I comfortably buckle Jesus into the passenger seat to get us to lunch?

Of course there are restaurants within walking distance of my office, but most of them are national chains, and I get the impression from some of my friends who are concerned with economic justice that taking Jesus to a chain restaurant would be tantamount to cooking him up a pork sandwich on the grill of a Hummer H3. And then of course we'd have to walk right past the homeless guy with the bicycle camped out in the parking lot of the grocery store, and I can just picture Jesus talking about Samaritans and kids feeding five thousand people with a little bread and a few fish.

So I erased Jesus and keyed in the word "Jeff." And we're going to the pork place. Pray for me.

6 comments:

Web said...

Better check the appointment again tomorrow... just to make sure your appointment is really with Jeff.

Jennwith2ns said...

Random thoughts triggered by this post:

1. If you put "lunch with Jenn" in there, probably the same thing would have happened. Are you sure someone isn't trying to tell you something?'

2. There's a pretty good non-chain Indian restaurant in walking distance from your place of employment, I happen to know. One of your colleagues says you all need to branch out a little bit. And she now knows two non-spicy options there.

3. My visit to Westmont was not complete? (I didn't make it to the pork place.)

4. Thanks for the book. And for writing in it.

5. xwqaq. I'm just saying . . .

Out Of Jersey said...

I'm a burrito fan personally, I think Jesus would want to eat there.

Unknown said...

So, let me start with a serious observation...I love your writing, Dave! So engaging...makes me say, "hmmmm"

And, well, actually that's all the profound I got.

Pete Juvinall said...

Hmm. I would say he's going to the bbq place. Probably wouldn't eat the pork, but would have a heck of a time hanging out :).

(alternate sunday school response)

Why, Dave, isn't he with you when you go to lunch anyway?

Kami Rice said...

Nice. (This was so nicely done that it prompted me to respond, but I'm on deadline for an article, so I must save all of my better words for that right now. :-) )

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