Jana was trying on some clothing in a small consignment store. I was the only one in the store with the owner while Jana was in the back. And, as always, I had a book with me.
(I always bring a book when shopping with Jana. It's amazing how cheerful and patient you can be if you have a good book. Hours can pass in a clothing store and I'll hardly notice. It's a win/win. I love shopping/reading.)
Anyway, the owner saw me reading.
"What book are you reading?"
"The Executed God."
"Huh? The Executed God? What's that about?"
"It's a Christian book about mass incareration and captital punishment. The argument is that since Jesus was arrested and executed by the state we should look for Jesus among those being jailed and executed by the state."
"That's a huge problem in America, all the people we put in jail."
"I know. The point of the book is that if we want to find Jesus in the world we should look for him among those being oppressed by the state."
And what followed was a very interesting conversation. The owner had never thought about Jesus in quite this way before.
As Jana and I were leaving the store she called to me:
"I'm going to by that book!"
