Last night I woke up about 4. I tossed and turned and then my mild case of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) kicked in.I think I said something to myself like, "Jesus Christ, I hate it when I can't sleep."
And then I began obsessing on that name. As in is Christ the last name of Jesus of Nazareth?
I've heard that name, Jesus Christ, all my life and had never thought to wonder about that before.
Was Jesus a member of the Christ family, as in, his earthly mom and dad were Joesph and Mary Christ? With, I think a brother named James Christ? Did Jesus have other siblings besides James, with the Christ last name?
Did James Christ marry and reproduce? Are there descendants of the Christ family walking the planet today?
And why is the birthday of Jesus Christ called Christmas? What's the "mas" part of the name? Some Catholic thing? A derivative of "mass?"
If Christ is not the last name of Jesus, what is it? Why is the birthday of Jesus not called Jesusmas? Well, actually that has absolutely no ring to it. We wish you a Merry Jesusmas, we wish you a Merry Jesusmas. No. That would not work.
I've never spent a lot of time in church. I'd probably know the answer to my Jesus Christ question if I'd listened better when I was in church. My mom and dad went through a going to church phase starting when I was about 10. Presbyterian. When I was 12 or 13 I became a member. I think.
The church going ended sometime after I was 16 when I brought home information I'd heard at school from a neighbor of our preacher, details about an affair he was having with the Sunday School Superintendent. This erupted into a big scandal. The preacher was replaced. If I remember right, my dad was an elder during the Affair of the Preacher Scandal.
A new preacher was found. Within a year he became embroiled in an affair with the Choir Director.
It was around then we quit going to church. I think mom and dad figured out us kids were learning all sorts of things about religion that they did not think was a good thing for us to be learning. Like it was around this time I started using the phrase "religious hypocrite."
I've lost track of how many religious leaders have taken a scandalous fall since I lost my innocence during the notorious Affair of the Preacher Scandal. There have been probably a dozen right here in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex since I've moved here.
I'll likely not ever know whether or not Christ is the last name of Jesus. Or something else. Like I'm still waiting for someone to explain to me why the day when Jesus Christ came back to life and started walking the planet again is called Easter.
