Conclusion
The experience of getting away with it is a common human experience. Yet, it is mostly
unexplored. Phillips ends his essay with: “Getting away with it, whatever else the phrase
portends, is a way of talking about unexpectable experience” (p. 211). Until one tells the
experience, it remains alive and private in one’s imagination. A person who experienced a
getting away with it moment and who told about it can be surprised when what is private,
even secret, becomes public. Phillips wonders how one reflects on an experience one never
had, but one that remains alive in one’s imagination? Considering possibilities of what might
have been and exploring how one’s life might have been different if cause and effect
unfolded in the usual manner can be fruitful exploration. Still, “[w]e can never quite be
sure when the possibility for an experience is over; wanting to mourn missed opportunities is
sometimes an attempt to foreclose this unknowable future” (p. 211).
If Jesus got away with it, as I argued in this essay, how might it have influenced a
movement built around his person? What message did he send regarding desire, authority,
684 Pastoral Psychol (2013) 62:671–686
and even death? Can it be that, because Jesus seemingly overcame his desires in his ministry,
those who follow him now look down—with authority—on all who seek or embrace or
embody desire, especially persons who are not heterosexual? And can this be a reason why
many Christians have difficulty embracing depression, for example, for they remember Jesus
getting away with despair, continuing on his path after being forsaken by God (Matthew
27:46; Mark 15:34). And how might getting away from death impact a conversation on
euthanasia or suicide, where one does not avoid death, but actually seeks it out intentionally?
These questions, I believe, are logical consequences of reading Jesus through the lens of
getting away with it. The dynamic, however, can inform our lives in deeper ways than
helping us understand the roots of Christianity.
In a world that seems to become angrier and more oppressive every day, where power is
misused and where many persons experience exploitation and vulnerability, getting away with
it experiences can be saving graces. As an act of resistance, average persons can benefit if
counselors and therapists educate persons about this experience. Persons can be encouraged not
to end getting away with it experiences prematurely or be showed how formative these
experiences are in our lives, bringing knowledge that imbues self-confidence even as these
experiences give one a deeper sense of discipline and punish. Moreover, individuals can be
encouraged to differentiate between a denial of embodied desire and getting away with it
experiences. The life of fantasy contained in getting away with it experiences is worth living.