BELCHERTOWN, Mass. (RNS) At the risk of sounding blasphemous, Lord Jesus Christ is a 50-year-old artist with gold-streaked dreadlocks down to his waist and a raspy voice who sometimes dresses in women’s clothing.
“I realize it’s controversial. I’m not what people picture Jesus Christ looking like,” the man said.
The Belchertown resident who a few years ago began calling himself Lord Jesus Christ gained prominence after he was struck by a car in a crosswalk in Northampton, Mass, on May 4.
The story was picked up by several dozen newspapers nationally and internationally, as a well as the major news networks like CNN, ABC, FOX and MSNBC.
“Really? That’s amazing,” said Jesus Christ, who said he was unaware of the attention generated by his accident.
Jesus Christ has no telephone and no access to the Internet at home. To go online, he needs to go to the local library, but since the accident, he has been too banged up to leave his apartment.
And though the news of Jesus Christ getting nailed in a crosswalk launched a thousand jokes the world over, he sees nothing funny about it.
The accident left him with some broken teeth, swelling to his face, a bruised hip and all-around soreness. He said he does not believe the accident was intentional but Jesus Christ has hired a lawyer anyway.
A 20-year-old female driver was cited for a crosswalk violation, Northampton police said.
Lord Jesus Christ is his legal name. He said he went to court a few years ago to have it legally changed. “It took two judges,” he said.
He declined to say what his given name was, saying that person has passed.
Asked why he chose the name Lord Jesus Christ as his new name, he said the answer was simple: God told him to do it.
“I’ve always been heavily religious and this is what God told me to,” he said. “He told me to change my name and so I did.”
When he is out in public, sometimes he dresses as a woman, depending on his mood. At the time of his accident, he was wearing a skirt. “I represent both men and women, so I dress that way,” he said.
When he looks back at his life, the man said he can only conclude it is part of God’s plan for him — even the car accident.
“Everything is part of the plan,” he said.
