Dude
I love the commercial in which there is only one word used to express a range of situations, emotions, and responses by young men. The entire commercial is made using the word “Dude” in various contexts. It is really very funny and illustrates one of the rules of semantics — that 85% of the meaning of a word is according to the given context (the surrounding circumstances).
If Jesus lived and ministered today in our society, he would have used the word “Dude” on a fairly regular basis. Jesus confronted people using a wide range of words and actions. The dynamic equivalent of some of those would be “Dude!” — especially in reference to some of his closest followers. I can hear him now after Simon Peter told him he was not going to die in Jerusalem: “Dude! The Son of Man has to die…” Instead of saying, “Get behind me Satan…” he might have said something like, “Dude you are totally off track and have joined the dark side!”
The Holy Spirit uses our own words, and is not limited to Elizabethan English or King James expressions. There is also a closeness to us that is familiar yet transcendent. I can hear the God-given little voices of reason, sanity, and spirit inside my soul saying things like: “Dude you missed the point.” When I really mess up I can hear: “DUDE!!!! — What were you thinking?”
A modern day Saul of Tarsus on the road to Los Angeles from Frisco would hear: “Dude! Why are you kicking my shins?” What is most threatening to humans is the closeness and familiarity of God. In response we create all sorts of special terms to try to keep God at distance. Spirituality is relegated to a sort of “mystical terms” approach that can be monopolized by religious institutions and professional classes (clergy and theologians).
Dude! Don’t try to keep God at arm’s length with fancy words! He wants to be close to you. Dude! Don’t waste your time trying to make God politically correct or in your own image. Dude! Be yourself! The first words you hear after death may well be: “Dude! Welcome home!
Dude!
