Jesus Impersonators

The ranks of organized Elvis Presley impersonators continue to enlarge. A recent “Weekend Edition” of National Public Radio revealed that there are some twenty thousand of them in the U.S.A. alone. Of that number, two hundred or more are professional entertainers who have built successful careers doing their “Elvis” impersonations.

In a very real sense, the aim of the New Testament writers is to recognize, recruit and organize Jesus Christ impersonators, all in keeping with the detailed instructions of the Lord Himself. For example, in today’s Gospel Lesson, the Apostles are worried about a Jesus impersonator who is trying to help a person in distress. They see him as an impostor, and they report this to Jesus, saying, “Master, we saw a man who is not one of us casting our devils in Your Name, and because he was not one of us we tried to stop him.” But Jesus says no, “You must not stop him”: you must not stop anyone who, in imitation…