Jesus Would Carry Narcan
And you should too! Let me help you learn how.
When I made this design, I had no idea it would resonate with so many.
I originally released it as a sticker with proceeds going to orgs doing harm reduction and encampment aid. I sold 500 of them.
Recently I made the design into a shirt, again with the proceeds going to harm reduction orgs. It’s been a week, and I’ve already been able to make a $100 donation to Savage Sisters Recovery, a trailblazing org in Philadelphia and broader Pennsylvania. The campaign is still active, and I plan to put the next $100 to work here in Minneapolis.
Inevitably when I post this design, I get comments. Some are extremely concerning, arguing that people who use drugs deserve to overdose—though I’ve grown accustomed to hearing it, I refuse to grow numb to the ways we lie to ourselves and each other about human beings to the point of wishing their death. The comments that annoy me the most though say something like this:
“Jesus wouldn’t carry Narcan because he would just heal people.”
I get it—Jesus performed miraculous healings in a time before modern medicine, and it stands to reason that he would not need Narcan in order to save someone from an overdose.
But I still think he would.
This is probably a but too tidy, but I tend to think there are two main ways of thinking about Jesus. The first is that everything Jesus did was to show how great he was and by extension how great God is so that our response would be to fear and adore God. The second is that everything Jesus did was to show us what we ought to do so that our response would be live differently in the world in a way that effectively loves and honors both God and neighbor and resists evil.
I ascribe to the second one, and I think the writers of the New Testament do too. Jesus is constantly saying to those around him, “Go and do likewise.” He empowers his disciples to perform the same miracles he is doing, and toward the end of his time on earth tells the disciples that they will do greater things than he ever did. Jesus wasn’t interested in showing off so much as modeling ways of caring for people and disrupting the systems that destroy them.
So if Jesus were around in the age of Narcan, I absolutely believe he would carry it, even if he didn’t “need” it. Carrying Narcan is a way of saying to drug users,perhaps the most hurting and maligned group in our country, that you deserve to live, to participate in community, and that the community will learn how to keep you alive for as long as you need. It says to the powers and authorities that criminalize drug use so maliciously that we will keep fighting for drug users to stay alive despite the ways our system tries to erase them. This is Jesus-like behavior through and through.
Friends, getting trained in how to use Narcan is really easy. It’s such an effective tool and easy to use. If you know how to use it and have it when you need it, it can be life or death for someone God loves.
Because of this, I’m hosting three different virtual trainings on it next week. Over 40 people are already planning to go to one of these, but I bet we can get it to 50. Not only will you leave fully empowered to use Narcan, I’ll make sure that you get some.
Here are the three available times this week:
Wednesday, June 5 @ 6:30pm Central (4:30 Pacific, 7:30 Eastern) -
Christian Spirituality Version
Wednesday, June 5 @ 9:30pm Central (7:30 Pacific, 10:30 Eastern) -
Non-religious Version
Saturday, June 8 @ 12:30pm Central (10:30 Pacific, 1:30 Eastern) -
Christian Spirituality Version
If you’re interested in joining any of these, message me! (If you’re reading this newsletter in your email inbox, you can simply Reply like you would to any email. If you’re reading this on the Substack site or app, you can comment or Direct Message me.
Have you ever used Narcan before? I would love to hear your stories in the comments below!
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Love the shirt. For the spiritual ones how about a shirt that says, "Jesus healed, all others should carry Narcan."
It's true that Jesus wouldn't "Need" to use narcan. He also doesn't "Need" doctors or modern medicine to heal people, yet he chooses to use them. It always amazes me when people who consider themselves Christian and say they love the Lord make comments like the one you mentioned in your newsletter. I see it everyday. I saw it recently when we showed some love at a shelter for unhoused women and children. It's a really cool place that gives them 6 months of housing so that they can sock away some money and get on their feet. They can also get help to get connected to the services they need. When I was trying to get people at my church signed up to help, I got a lot of disdain and a lot of questions like, "do the women who live there have to help", and "They get to live there for free"! Like they were somehow less worthy because they're in a difficult situation. But I will say that since subscribing to your newsletter it has changed my attitude and and the way that I interact with people who are unhoused. We included a note with the Walmart gift cards that we gave to each woman and child. We didn't invite them to church, we didn't preach about God. We just said that we loved them, and that we understood that for any of us times could be tough, and we wanted to try and make it a little easier. That was it. But before reading your newsletters, I might have preached. I might have approached that differently. It was because you showed me how they might feel about that, and how they might interpret it that I was better equipped to handle it differently. So let's pray that those who are making the disparaging comments and not showing real love will have the same type of epiphany.