Is there an appropriate response to "Jesus Loves You"?

Question

For Catholics we've got a lot of cool call and response stuff built into our liturgies that can easily translate to everyday life. So if someone in a truck shouts at me "Dominus Vobiscum", I know to say "Et cum spiritu tuo”.

I was wandering around down in the southern US a few day ago and someone in a truck yelled at me "Jesus Loves You". I thought that was wonderful and it really cheered me up. I waved and said "thanks".

Is there a cool thing that Protestants say (like "ping" - "pong" on IRC or that cool sign Harley guys do)? I know Bill Cosby thought it was cool that Protestants say "Amen", but I don't think that's an "Amen" moment. I want to say "Thanks for remembering me, Jesus loves you too!", I don't want to say "I know, ain't I cool".

Also, and this may be pertinent information to the question at hand, I really did look like a hobo at the time. I was walking from a Motel 6 to a Wafflehouse wearing 3 shirts, a jacket, a scraggly beard a stocking cap and carrying a mug and I'd just been camping for the weekend, the fact that I left my sleeping bag and over-stuffed backpack in the hotel room didn't seem to improve my appearance.

Just curious - has anyone ever shouted "Dominus Vobiscum" at you from a truck? — DJClayworth, Nov 27 '19 at 17:32
Just curious, but why not respond to "the Lord be with you" with "and you too"? — Lesley, Nov 27 '19 at 17:41
@Lesley I could say a number of things, what i'm wondering is if there is a standard thing Protestants say, mainly to ID each other or cool people. Maybe this is hidden knowledge I shouldn't be privy to. I'd also like to know if it's likely I was shouted at because I looked like a hobo or because shouting "Jesus Loves You" at people is a normal thing people do to each other in Georgia. — Peter Turner, Nov 27 '19 at 17:45
@lesley or are you asking why Catholic say "And with your spirit" instead of "and also with you" now? There's fairly good answers to that question here — Peter Turner, Nov 27 '19 at 17:50
I like the way you described parts of the liturgy as "cool call and response stuff." — Literalman, Nov 29 '19 at 15:40
shouting "Jesus Loves You" at people is a normal thing people do to each other in Georgia - well, given the context, in my limited experience on the roads in Georgia it was either that, or they give you the bird. (and the latter more frequently) — KorvinStarmast, Dec 04 '19 at 13:16
So, you're hoping that staunchly non-liturgical groups do something liturgical? — , Feb 08 '20 at 18:21

score 9 · Answer 1 · answered Nov 27 '19 at 17:22

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I guess if I was in Italy and someone said "Jesus loves you" in Latin, I might reply "et tu frater" or "et tu sorror". Don't know if I could get away with "Jesus te amo" or if that would give out the wrong signal, though.

In English, I would probably respond with "You too, brother" or "You too, sister". Or perhaps "Such love! Amazing love!" accompanied by a great big smile and a cheery wave.

answered Nov 27 '19 at 17:22

Lesley

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Jesus te amo means "Jesus I love you" in Spanish. In Latin it's a mess: Jesus is nominative, but amo is first person. I think it probably means that you're claiming both to be Jesus and to love the hearer. TL;DR you want amat, not amo. – Peter Taylor Nov 28 '19 at 08:19
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Good to know. Not much call for Spanish or Latin where I live, but could come in handy should I manage a return visit to north Italy. – Lesley Nov 28 '19 at 09:12
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The Latin should be, I think, "Te quoque, frater" (or soror). "Tu" means the one called is doing something - like in et tu, Brute?. So you'd be claiming that the truck driver also loves you.
And, unless the caller really used Latin (and so will understand the answer)... I am sorry, but in Italian and your (relative) is a common reply to an insult. Best to fully specify - Te quoque Iesu amat, frater/soror (Gesù ama anche te, fratello/sorella). (Forgive me if I sound pedantic, English is not my mother language - as you probably suspected, I am Italian).
– LSerni Nov 28 '19 at 10:05
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@LSerni Appreciate the information, and you're right to say it's unlikely that Latin would be spoken. But Italian is such a beautiful language! – Lesley Nov 28 '19 at 12:51
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Apart from a few famous sentences (e.g. "Abemus papam") we don't speak Latin in Italy, let alone shout it at strangers... – algiogia Nov 28 '19 at 15:25
In Spanish-speaking countries, this could be a problem. In many Western countries, the name "Jesus" needs no disambiguation, because no-one is called Jesus apart from the guy in the Bible. In Spanish-speaking countries though, "Jesus" is a very common first name. So if a Spanish man says this to you, there's a definitely-greater-than-zero chance he's talking about his friend sat at the next table! :) – Graham Nov 29 '19 at 11:39

Nigel J · Answer 2 · 2019-11-27T18:34:50.883

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'God bless you' is the most common courteous response I can think of. Or more simply :

Bless you.

Wikipedia comments on both varieties as does the Cambridge Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary (IV/9/b).

It is in scripture (Numbers 6:24) :

The LORD bless thee, and keep thee [KJV]

Jesus commands to say it even to enemies (Matthew 5:44) :

Love your enemies, bless them that curse you [KJV]

edited Nov 27 '19 at 18:34

answered Nov 27 '19 at 18:19

Nigel J

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score 7 · Answer 3 · answered Nov 29 '19 at 08:23

This calls for a rapid, pithy, meaningful, unambiguous (choose any four) response as the truck begins to recede into the distance :-)!

I suggest a loud immediate

"Hallelujah!"

Arm raised in air / "fist pump" A smile helps.

The following are somewhat related.
They need to be 'meaningful' and not just ritual formula to be useful:

To the more mundane and usual "have a good evening / afternoon / rest of your day" from cashiers and similar I usually respond ~= "And you too" (or similar - loudly enough to (hoepfully) be recognised.
That's would not be overly meaningful in either challenge or response, except, that most people do NOT respond to this standard salutation at all, so any response at all is more likely to be noticed.

When leaving any brief casual encounter with a stranger / friend I hadn't met I try to say "God bless you". This very seldom meets with overt negative response, moderately often meets with no response but often enough to be worthwhile results in a positive reaction.

I'm an older than young 'white' guy. A degree of discernment is accordingly needed, but, I try to smile at strangers who I walk past.
A gratifying amount of the time this results in a returned smile - often with a quite surprised initial look, followed by a response of (what usually seems to be) pleasure - probably that someone actually took the time and effort to flash a visual 'hello" in our usually ships-in-the-night public world.

Casual interaction with strangers can be a lot of fun. This can be at a somewhat below Good Samaritan / Jedi Master level and still form a useful part of the fabric of and-your-neighbour-as-yourself. One can be useful along the way. The old grey guy has a fair bit of fun in the process.

score 5 · Answer 4 · answered Nov 28 '19 at 00:44

Is there an appropriate response to “Jesus Loves You”?

One either returns with another such compliment or one increases the value return so to speak.

One could respond as such:

Jesus loves you too!

Or something similar to the following.

Jesus loves all (mankind)!

Let us always recall the words of St. John the Apostle:

16For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. - John 3: 16

I think 'Jesus loves all (mankind)!' is very elegant as it combines both 'Yes, I know' and 'Jesus loves you to'. — , Nov 28 '19 at 14:55

score 5 · Answer 5 · answered Nov 29 '19 at 06:53

While I haven't had this particular experience, I'm pretty sure that an average person who attends my church would be likely to respond with "Amen." My church isn't very ritualized, though, so a variety of responses would be possible, even likely.

"Amen" would be common and I can't think of any other specific response that I could expect to hear--I think any other response would be highly individualistic.

Is there an appropriate response to "Jesus Loves You"?

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