He Drives an Astro Van
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He Drives an Astro Van
John Paul Derryberry
I'm jogging behind the double stroller as the music plays my combined friends' playlist: a bunch of songs we all like put together to accompany our weekend camping trips. My two little ones bob along to the music and, between the chips and music, they quite enjoy a 4-mile run with dad on Sunday mornings. This is the only run during the week I play music. I prefer my random thoughts on most of my runs. I know I'm in the minority on that, but I firmly believe we distract our brains with too much stuff nowadays.
The girls are giggling as they play keep away with a chip. I chuckle at how they have learned to mess with each other at such a young age. A family of four, dressed in their Sunday best, is heading to their car about four to five houses ahead. Astro van by Mt. Joy songs shuffle in the current playing slot. As we approach the song's first crescendo's toward the first chorus and lyrics are loud enough for the young man, probably between 10 and 13, to hear. As he is getting into the back seat hears the words, " Jesus Drives an Astro van. Yes, he does."
He pauses, looks at me, chuckles, smiles, waves, and finishes getting into the back seat. I wave back and laugh at the thought of a young man probably heading to church thinking about Jesus' driving an Astro van. My first thought is about him thinking, I don't think that's in the Bible. My second thought is him thinking, what vehicle would Jesus drive, if he drove at all. My third thought is how his brain could process his life, knowing of Jesus with hearing one line from a song from a band he more than likely doesn't know.
The young man and I parted ways as quickly as we connected. The rest of my run was spent thinking about how tenets and pillars of what we believe are placed into us as children. Some of us break free of those chains and seek our own truth; some of us never break free. Some of us, on our search for our own truth, find it right in our early life lessons from our trusted parents. Some realize there is a world beyond what our early teachers taught us, or worse, that we were fed lies: manipulated lies about race, gender, sexuality, sex, faith, the homeless, socialism, capitalism, government, war, work ethic, poverty, and every taboo topic.
I remember my first Jesus Drives an Astro van moment. I was sitting in a World's Religion class taught by a pastor. One student challenged his way of teaching snippets of all major religions. The devout Christian student asked the professor, who was a Lutheran Pastor, how could he, a man of faith, teach just as passionately Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism as he did the true religion of Christianity. The professor/pastor stated that an arrogant person speaks of knowing the universe's or God's truth. He said maybe in God's or the Universe's infinite wisdom, it was decided that the world needed many faiths to reach everyone. He followed that up with, "whether as a pastor or an educator, my job is to teach and guide people to a better place, not force them to my place."
That was it for me. I decided to become curious about other cultures, religions, music. I hold no absolutes in my heart because absolutes lead us to dismiss people who practice faith as not religious and embracing people who never step foot on holy ground as anointed. And, we also accept countless other thinking errors to prove ourselves just, correct and vindicated instead of allowing the evidence to guide us to the truth. I have no clue if Jesus would drive an Astro van. It would be cool if he did. The point of life is to be curious enough about our beliefs to put them to the ultimate test, letting them go and searching for the truth. If we are right, we will return to our original place. If we are wrong, we will find ourselves better.