Okay, so that title is a little flippant, but isn’t this whole deal? Staff writer, John Ewoldt, of the StarTribune (our local Minneapolis daily) brought this wonderful holiday gift idea to my attention in their 12/15 edition. The unbelievable notion comes from their assessment at the public’s interest in this 12-inch, $20 plastic Jesus doll that quotes Bible verses. I love the notion that these Jesus’ are “disappearing’ from shelves in Targets and Walmarts across the country. That sounds a little ‘Harry Potter-esque’ to me (do I hear an echo of ‘disapparating’?) but then what are we Americans great at except taking the best of various vaguely connected things and blending them together until we have a product with no integrity that we are all dying for? [pun intended] Even more fun is the observation that the consumer response to this version of Jesus is of ‘biblical proportions.’ Wow!
Will I be getting a Talking Jesus Doll? I won’t be buying one. (Although the truth is that I did buy a plastic action figure Jesus a few years ago. It’s on my desk. But it doesn’t talk…) Should one show up under the tree for me I’ll take it as a reminder that we followers of the one who inspired this toy need to be able to laugh at ourselves and not take ourselves too seriously. It will also be a reminder to look at my own “model” of Jesus. Have I made him in the image of something that I can handle and market, or am I allowing myself to be made me in God’s image?
I figure God has a much higher tolerance for blasphemy than many people think God has, and an even greater ability to use what we believe is unusable and to do great things with/through/despite it. Just take me for example – but that’s an entirely different story.
Merry Christmas. Jesus is coming! In more and different ways than we would ever expect.
Precarious Pastor 
Merry Christmas,
Just another example of the consumerisum of Christ.
Maybe a Jesus iPod is next.
I think it is called a jPod.
Or maybe not.