Dear Reader,
Today I was introduced to Marcus Borg, author of Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time. The title itself intrigued me, as did the background of the author.
Marcus Borg (1942–2015) was an American New Testament scholar and theologian, widely recognized as one of the most influential voices in Liberal Christianity. His book invites readers on a journey of reflection—one that connects scholarship, recovery, faith, and everyday life.
Childhood
My first impressions of Jesus came through Sunday School. I had a hard time believing that paper pictures of a “storybook Jesus” held much value. By the age of eight, I changed churches and began attending my grandmother’s Christian Science congregation. There I learned that Jesus healed, taught, and fed multitudes through divine power. I was taught that Christ’s sacrifice opened the way for all people to enter the loving Kingdom of God.
Borg observes: “Most of us first met Jesus through childhood stories or church lessons. Those images—Jesus as gentle shepherd, miracle worker, or distant divine judge—stuck with us.”
Life
Near the age of twenty-one, when my mother died of cancer while relying on Christian Science for healing, my image of Jesus as a divine healer shattered. The Jesus I thought of as comforter felt distant, even absent.
I turned instead to living life my way: socializing, dating, marriage, family, chasing success, and eventually alcohol and drugs. For twenty-two years, the once spiritually minded child brushed only briefly against the thought of God or the holy.
The consequences came hard—two divorces, losing custody of my son, and near homelessness. In recovery terms, I had “hit bottom.”
A Cry for Help
At that point, a hand reached out to me through Alcoholics Anonymous.
Borg reminds us: “The good news is—faith isn’t about clinging to one frozen picture. It’s about rediscovering Jesus again and again, in ways that deepen as we grow.”
In AA, I found a fellowship of people who understood my struggles and who had overcome them. They stayed sober by living the Twelve Steps, serving others, and carrying the message of hope. Because I could see the results of their actions, I began to believe recovery was possible.
I was asked to find a Power greater than myself, and to turn my will and my life over to that Power “as I understood it.” At first, that Power was simply “The Force”—a mystical energy like the one George Lucas imagined in Star Wars. Over time, that “Force” became real to me as God, my Higher Power.
Recovery
For more than thirty-four years, that Higher Power has given me strength to rebuild my life and to help others in their recovery. Sponsoring men and women, walking with them through their struggles, has been one of the greatest gifts of my sobriety.
And yet, even after decades of recovery, I sensed something was missing.
Marcus Borg helped give language to that gap: the “pre-Easter Jesus” and the “post-Easter Jesus.”
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Pre-Easter Jesus: A man of flesh and blood, who walked the dusty roads of Galilee, who felt pain, and even wept at the death of Lazarus.
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Post-Easter Jesus: The risen Christ, Son of God, alive in the experience of believers.
One mortal, one immortal.
As mortal, Jesus was:
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A spirit-filled person deeply connected to God.
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A wisdom teacher who told stories that shook people awake.
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A social prophet who challenged injustice.
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A movement founder who inspired others to live differently.
Borg notes: “Seeing this human Jesus doesn’t take away from faith—it makes him even more approachable.”
I see this pre-Easter Jesus in my own recovery—welcoming outcasts, teaching compassion, and embodying what Borg calls “firsthand spirituality”—living in the presence of God here and now.
As the Gospel of John declares: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us… full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Borg describes this as “the wisdom of the universe walking around in sandals.”
Reflection question:
If you pictured Jesus as the embodiment of wisdom, how might that change the way you follow him?
Faith
Arriving at the post-Easter Jesus, I see my present life: one of charity, love, and faith.
My recovery today is built not only on freedom from alcohol but also on fellowship with my new family in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Here I serve locally in missionary work, and in the temple as a worker.
It is a life centered on repentance, service, and grace—helping souls on both sides of the veil and embracing God’s gift of new beginnings.
As Borg writes, faith is not just believing—it is living a story of liberation, homecoming, grace, and growth.
Well, there you have it: A five-part story of my life—Childhood, Life, A Cry for Help, Recovery, and Faith.
Thank you for reading. I testify of these truths in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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