Jesus and the Tale of the Pink Bicycle

Early one Saturday evening Jesus borrowed a little girl’s brand new, never-ridden pink bicycle to ride to the city in order to attend church. He asked a few friends to go to the porch where it was chained and tell the parents that he needed it. The bike had the small basket with plastic daisies attached to the front. Every now and then for fun he’d ring the silver bell attached to the handlebars by pushing the lever with his right thumb. You should have seen the look on people’s faces as he causally peddled past folks who worked in the nearby vineyards and lived just beyond the railroad tracks on the outskirts of town. This was the route Christians drove past on the way to church each morning. "Ring… ring…Ring, ring…" as the multi-colored tassels hanging from the white handgrips blew in the wind as the local farm workers waved at Jesus.

Upon his arrival at the massive structure it was getting dark so he went to the doors and pressed his face against the glass and gazed into the empty building. There were signs scattered throughout that said "PRIVATE PROPERTY." Apparently some of the local townspeople would occasionally show-up and "hang-out" in the parking lot, along with teenagers on skateboards who listened to loud secular music. He decided to hang out in the grassy yard just beyond the large parking lot until the first service the next morning.

Just as the sun was melting the layer of morning fog that allowed the warmth to begin to penetrate the asphalt, Jesus rose to hang out in the parking lot hoping to catch a glimpse into the lives of the folks whom attended.

For example, he watched a 28-year-old single woman with damp hair grab the hand of her curly blonde haired four-year-old daughter rush out their Toyota Corolla and walk briskly toward the front doors.

And there was the navy blue Ford F-150 he heard coming tearing up the parking lot long before he could see it. Blaring from inside was "Shine, Jesus Shine." Out popped a young man who spit something brown from his lip and grabbed a leather-bound New Living Translation Study Bible as he headed for the door. And there was the couple in their brand new silver Prius with their Starbucks Grande mochas. Jesus was intrigued by the car and wanted to ask about it, but they appeared to be in a hurry also.

He was a little hungry and thought he eat a few grapes from one of the many vines that scattered the area, but he noticed that there were no grapes on the vine. This apparently flustered Jesus so cursed the vine for its lack of fruit.

For some reason Jesus seemed pissed.

I suspect it was that he could see into the hearts of the folks he encountered in the parking lot. He must have noticed the heaviness of their souls and the weariness they hoped to relieve by attending church that day. He felt sorry for these folks who just wanted to connect with God. I imagine he was also frustrated that none of the local farmers, many who shared his name, were absent from the scene.

So Jesus did something a little unexpected.

He walked in the church kicked over the coffee machine and flipped the table that held all the recorded sermons onto the floor. And these were good sermons. I wrote them I should know! Sermons like-- How to Have a Successful Marriage, Your Best Life Now, and Find the Love of Your Life God’s Way: A Guide For Christian Singles. There was even a six-part series entitled: Give and be Blessed Now! Next, he grabbed the table that held the books written by the pastor and some of his friends and flung it out the front doors into the parking lot.

Needless to say, it seemed that Jesus was having a bad day.

Jesus said a few things that seemed to be fairly amazing to those listening, but a few folks said something about it not being "Christian enough" and wondered what this crazy man was doing on a pink bike claiming to speak for God.

He hopped on the bicycle and said, "I’m on my way to the Cathedral, but I’ll be back." Then he rung the bell again, "Ring… ring." With a serious look in his eyes he said, "I’m doing this because I truly love you. You’ll see," then headed over to the Cathedral where he heard there was going to be a baptism that day.

Some of the folks who had heard what he had to say that morning knew this was the one they had been searching for, so the crowd followed him to the Cathedral.
(To be Continued)