So, this is how many of us first heard of John 3:16. Like the loud mouth guy outside Macy’s on 34th and 6th, standing on an upside-down empty bucket of drywall compound, holding a saran-wrap covered white sign scrawled with black magic marker, a big word “REPENT.” I loved that guy. He was so loud, and so engaged in what he believed. He never scared me into repenting, but he did give me hope that even a nut job has a place where he can be at his most nutty, right in the heart of Manhattan, and still survive. I miss that part of New York City more than anything: The ability to be an all-out-kook, and have folks not even notice because they are busy chasing down a cab, or picking your purse. What a town!
The Rainbow Man would be at the ballgames. You’d see him in the crowd with his own personal sign that read “John 3:16,” which reads as follows (King James Version):
“For God so loved the world that he gave his Only Begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have Everlasting Life.”
This is what the Rainbow Man wants us to know, and maybe the Drywall Bucket guy, too. “Why” is their business. But, the message itself, and what it means, is for all of us to decipher. Folks much better read than myself have no doubt picked this apart, but, I guess I’m entitled to my opinion such as it is.
In bible study this Sunday, the minister (a young and cool guy who is not, by a long shot, of the fundamentalist variety) stated that scholars agree the first half of this statement “For God so loved the world…” is frequently mis-interpreted as a quantitative statement of God’s love (”Daddy loved you SO MUCH that he worked hard to get you that broccoli, so you better eat it”), rather than a simple qualitative statement (”so” meaning “in such a way”) which is the accepted scholarly interpretation.
The diffusing of the potential sensationalism of these first words notwithstanding, the middle part of the statement requires that I take a larger leap of faith. Accepting that Jesus is the son of God involves a bit of understanding on my part that language breaks down a bit here. For years, I’ve reflected, read, talked, written and prayed about this. I’m in a position now to accept, with my own capabiity of understanding at all, that Jesus was the son of God. I’ve also learned to be really awestruck at the magnitude of generosity in the crucifixion, and the mystery of the resurrection. It’s all quite profound and beautiful, a feast for the soul when I allow myself to meditate on it.
Then we get to the part in John 3:16 about eternal life and perishing. That’s where, for me, the fundamentalists, with their “Left Behind” series (did you ever see the “Left Behind” guy? He has a really bad toupee that makes him look like Dennis Kucinich’s less good-looking brother. And I suspect a brow lift. I’m wondering if he gets to take the rug with him when Jesus comes, or if that gets “left behind”). The notions of “eternity” as we understand it, we being those who don’t have PhD’s in theology or physics, or don’t have the experiential and spiritual depth of a mystic like Thomas Merton, have a limited sense of what that means. But, I do have to plow on with this understanding within my own considerable limits.
The meaning of eternity is elusive, but comes to me non-verbally in moments I call “unity.” Those moments are when the universe and I seem to be vibrating at the same frequency. Full of anguish or joy, these moments are irretrievably real. I believe another term for this is “sublime.” In those moments, I have the ability to glimpse eternity because it is present in the moment in its entirety. That is, an eternity that is not limited by the notion of “forever”, that is, not just a really, really long time. Eternity is continual and instantanous being; a state of connecting cognitively, spatially, materially, and temporally to the all, both now and all the not-nows, which are one and the same.
In that context, eternity is here, so hell, perishing, or paradise, accompany it in this moment and all moments. There are hints of this in some of the other things Jesus says, including “The Kingdom of God is at hand. (Mark 1:14)” Of course, at the time of Jesus, folks may have wanted to believe that God was going to do some heavy-handed Roman-smiting, hence the “at hand” -edness, but, I think he was saying to get out of the way of God because he’s here, and you’re all being jerks wanting to war your way to paradise.
This is consistent with Eastern philosophies, and with Judaism, which emphasize the here and now over pondering on the potential nature of an eternity that begins at corporeal death. This notion of perishing right now by living in despair, instead of in faith, is a notion that is explored in the 12 steps as well. “A grateful drunk is a sober drunk,” I’ve heard a million times. In early sobriety, there is a saying called “ABCs: ashtrays, brooms, and chairs.” In other words, stay in the moment and make yourself useful. Cut the drama and do the next right thing consistently, one day at a time, and paradise will be with you.
And so we have the Rainbow Man. What notion of eternity and perishing does he proclaim? We may never know. He looks so utterly engrossed in the eternity of his moment in the wig, in the summer heat, in the sun-bleached baseball stands, spreading the word, and doing his evangelist thing. Maybe his moments are utterly sublime and connected to the one. I prefer his kind of no-holds-barred, completely John-the-Baptist-like social outcast approach, vs. the smarmy Chri$$tian Rock that is really unlistenable, bad, bad art. The Rainbow Guy may be a true prophet of our times, blessed for his willingness to be persecuted and reviled. The kind of brutal honesty that many performance artists try for, but just can’t approach, because they are doing the art, not being it. The Rainbow Man may just be the real thing.
Or maybe he’s just a kook.




