Exit 10 Edison Jesus

My Life Group is currently following the church’s study in Kaleo: to this you were called. We are called to be light. The study goes on to say, “Jesus calls us the ‘light of the world.’ In truth Jesus is the true light of all the world and He has lighted a light in the life of each one of his follower.” Huh.

On Sunday, Pastor Tom held up a lamp to illustrate his points: light on, light off, light with lamp shade….you get the point. And I’m sitting there trying not to think of that ‘80’s Praise & Worship song, Shine Jesus Shine.

And just leave it to Urban Outfitters (this time Edison NJ) to take this passage quite literally to produce the Jesus LED Light, (no need for a lamp shade here).

Now that got me thinking of all things LED and I just had to do some research on what the heck light-emitting diodes had to do with Jesus. And ya know, there’s some website out there which explains How Stuff Works which says, “Basically, LEDs are just tiny light bulbs that fit easily into an electrical circuit. But unlike ordinary incandescent bulbs, they don’t have a filament that will burn out.” Huh.

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine makes a little more sense each day.

John 8:12:

Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

Exit 9 New Brunswick Jesus

New Brunswick was first settled way back in 1681 as Prigmore’s Swamp and was later renamed in 1714 after the city of Braunschweig, Germany. Now the Duke of Brunswick later became King George I of Great Britain and the street, which bears his name, cuts through the heart of this college town.

Here on George Street you’ll find The Blingdom of God, perhaps the largest collection of gold Jesus heads in the state supplied by the Gangsta Gold Company. Go figure.

As I stood on the street soaking in all the Jesus bling, the owner came out and asked if I was interested in a Jesus Piece. I quickly accessed my portable Urban Dictionary to find Jesus Piece:

Oversized platinum, gold or silver pendant sometimes encrusted with diamonds and other gems made in the likeness of Jesus. These pendants are worn on a heavy rope style of necklace.

The Jesus piece, and other styles of large pendants worn with rope style jewelry have been a staple of hip-hop youth culture for nearly thirty years. Presently, hip hop artists and fans alike use the Jesus piece as a symbol of being "hood" or keepin' it real and being extravagantly wealthy at the same time. The Jesus piece testifies to the fact "you can take the man out of the ghetto, but you can't take the ghetto out of the man."

Well that got me thinking of the other type of Jesus Peace and ya know, that Urban Dictionary was all over it:

Giving advice to walk away -Ay man throw up that Jesus Peace and walk away man, its not worth it.

Or a greeting-Ay My Dude! Jesus Peace, wuzup?

Luke 7:50: Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

Acts 17:29: Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man's design and skill.

Exit 9 NJTurnpike - South River Jesus

Since 1683, this town has been named South River Landing, Willettstown, Washington, Washington Village, Washington Woods, Little Washington and finally in 1897 everyone agreed on South River. All the name changes will make your head spin and probably accounts for the name not appearing on the Exit 9 sign.

Also head spinning is the dual portrait of Jesus here. At one end of the spectrum is the Jesus at the center of St. Mary of Ostrabrama Roman Catholic Church. Surrounded by majestic angels, he holds up the written word evoking the words of John 1:1.

In sharp contrast, South River also gives rise (or perhaps fall) to Jesus Bomb, the punk band. Vocalist Danny credits Pope John Paul as a musical influence and states: "god is dead, lies in truth are in my head..." His goal is to play CBGB. Truth is CBGB is closed and worshipers still gather at St. Mary of Osbrabrama Roman Catholic Church.

John 1
The Word Became Flesh:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.


St. Mary’s interior photo courtesy of Oleg Shpak from http://www.niteart.com/