A new revelation (to me):
Often when I disagree with a scripture that Jesus was reported
to have said, I later find that it was I that was wrong.
The same might tend to be true to a lesser degree with other folks
I have written about (especially Paul). Likewise,
while I have been inspired by my own writings, it amazes me that
they don't affect others in the same way until I remember how
different we are. Our differring experiences in life give us different
focuses and viewpoints and thus different things inspire us.
I hope we can live and grow in harmony with each other.
1. Others of
the same Spirit:
In places where Hinduism, and Buddhism have been
dominant, there have been others who people turn to. And
I
see them as being very similar to Jesus but under another name,
and perhaps with somewhat different personalities....
Yet it is my belief that Buddha, Jesus, Mahatma Gandhi,
and now the Dalai Lama have the same Spirit.
2. Matthew 5:1-10. Heaven,
to me, is a real place, but even
more is a state of Being. When Jesus said, "Blessed
are the
poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of God", he
advanced that state of Being within those to whom it applied
... to those who were truly listening to Him. His assurance
was (and is) a blessing in itself.
I feel much of my life has been spent in one form of
heaven or another. The first form was a false one, the
"American Dream" of the fifties. It was a false
form because
it didn't deal adequately with the majority world ("third
world")
but my personal experience in it contained portions of the real
heaven, as my parents raised me (I believe and hope) close
to God. A deep feeling of all good, comfort and security
entered me in the fifties, but attached themselves to my
beliefs and hopes about the true Heaven, one that encompasses
all sentient beings not just the guys in the white hats.
3. Paul, and the difference between
Biblical Truth and
secular "truths" in the Bible:
This is a touchy subject. To accept that Paul went
overboard in his denunciation of the Jews and the Law, and
that his teaching was thereby imperfect does two things.
Firstly, it overthrows some of our long held church teaching
(though, to me, not the teaching of Jesus). It's main
effect is on our churchly pride ... the pride that
tries to tell us why Christianity is so "superior" to
Judaism, and
other religions. And it's a good thing ... We need this
pride destroyed!
Jesus didn't go around building up an elitist group of
people. He accepted everyday people, forgave them
their past when they turned from their destructive lives; he associated
with
them. Paul wrote some beautiful things (1 Corintians 13
being perhaps the best). At the same time he was a
Pharisee, one of the most pharisaic, and a Roman and a
logical thinker. These things, at times, dominated his
writings, and the Truths of Jesus became less clear when they
did.
It's amazing how so many things in the Bible can lead us
from surface understanding to deeper truths about God's
ways. For example, God seems to take pleasure in breaking
down our prejudices by using despised people to do his will ...
to be His heroes. After Jesus put the Pharasees in their
place through long exhortations (and most of us believe that
this needed to be done), God chose Paul, the chief among
them, to spread His message. A great joke (and a strong
message in itself). My point is that Paul did not do so
without error. His presentation includes his own
personality ... and faults as well as beautiful expressions
of God.
If we accep that Paul had his limits it means that some
"scripture" is not as Godly as others. Jesus'
statements
hold much more weight than do Paul's ... or Peter's, or
Pilate's. If we accept Peter's statement that Jesus should
NEVER be crucified, for example (Matt.16:22), it puts a
completely different light on the Way of Jesus. And when
twentieth century humans accept Pilate's questioning of the
existence of Absolute Truth (John 18:38), we deny that,
as Mahatma Ghandi said, "in the end, the way of truth and
love
always wins". Life is quite different to those
who accept these things as "gospel". Why then
do we not see
the differences between what Jesus teaches and what Paul
taught? Perhaps we prefer the ways we see in Peter, Paul
and
Pilate to the Way of Jesus.
8. Matthew 7:1-6 and 7:15-20
While we're on modern mistakes (in my opinion) the next
most over used Bible quote that I can think of comes from
Psalms and Jesus quoted it (and when you quote Jesus to me,
you definitely get my attention). He quoted, "Ye are
gods"
(John 10:24 which quotes Psalms 82), and said that scripture
cannot be untrue. If you study the context in which He said
it you will see he didn't focus on us as being gods but on
His own authority, as one who is especially close to God.
If you
go back to Psalms you will see the context does anything but
flatter those whom God calls "gods".
Psalms 82:6 "I said, 'You are "gods": You are all sons of the Most High.' But you will die like mere men: you will fall like every other ruler." and before that Psalms 82:1 God presides in the great assembly: he gives judment among the "gods": "How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? Selah [my note: does this ring any bells to those claiming to be gods?] Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless: maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy: deliver them from the hand of the wicked. They know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk aboutin darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
So be careful about
how you conceive of yourself, and be careful how you use
scripture (I'll try to do the same).
Another scripture used a lot today is "you will do
things greater than I". I have had a hard time
understanding this one, as I believe no one will ever
surpass Jesus when all things are taken into account. The
only way I can accept this quote (of Jesus) is that He is
speaking about single events. Perhaps Billy Graham has
spoken to more people. And if you look at it in one way
perhaps he has saved more souls than Jesus. But I think
Mr Graham would be the first to say that Jesus did the saving.
This brings up a good point. Jesus works "unseen"
today and
yet does more than Mr. Graham, who is very outfront. The
way I have interpreted this quote for quite a few years now
is "you will do `greater' things than I (and find out they
are less) and you will do `lesser' things (and find out they
are greater)".
*I am not concerned with the gender of God; I believe God is
not restricted to one, nor focused on it. If anything
She/He is both and beyond them.
The difference between Love and Truth:
In the vast majority of the cases there is no
difference, and that we aren't to compare and value one
virtue over another ... they are all one. Some people get
confused, however, by emphasising lesser forms of good at
the exclusion of the greater (Freedom, for example, at the
exclusion of Love). Finding the supreme has merit,
therefore, so long as we don't get hung up on the words.
Love and Truth are basically the same. It is my belief that
Love only just noses out Truth in the eternal standard of
things.
There are several examples in the Bible where the good
guy misleads people and is not chastised by God. Jacob and
Esau come to mind with Jacob virtually stealing his brothers
birthright and Isaac's blessing as well. One of the
patriarchs also told Pharoah that his wife was only his
sister, in order to save his own life. Pharoah's taking
of the wife,
by the way, made things go worse for Pharoah not better. When
he realised what he had done he gave the man back his wife.
According to another story Jacob worked for Laban for heaps of
years in
order to marry his daughter/s, but eventually conned him of
his wealth. God said nothing (nothing that the Bible
records anyway). Even Jesus, when Herod was hot on his
tail, mislead him in order to escape his clutches.
I don't think magic or miracles or deception is
generally God's way. Like Love and Truth, our Creator is
normally very straightforward. He has, however, created
a
free universe (with a few rules which keep reality from
getting completely lost), and as His people interact with
the ways of men, it becomes fun, and almost necessary to
play some of their silly games with them. The result is
that often miraculous things are seen to be operating. If
only the world really knew how miraculous the Kingdom of
Heaven is, how present it is, how it works here and now, as
well as there and forever.
But, alas, it cannot. It is going a different direction.
To be consistent in the things that matter most is very good. To be consistent in lesser things can take one off the Path. Most things are relative. Love and Truth are pretty stable as the most important of things. Other entities have their limits, and when they leave the Path of the most important, we must not follow them. To be consistent to important things sometimes mean inconsistency in lesser ones.
Gandhi wrote (The Words of Gandhi,
R. Attenborough,
1982, pp.105-106), "...what I have said and written is
useful only to the extent that it has helped you to
assimilate the great principles of truth and ahimsa. If
you
have not assimilated them [put them into practice, and thus
truly make them a part of your life], then my writings will
be of no use to you."
"At the time of writing I never think
of what I have
said before. My aim is not to be consistent with my
previous statements on a given question, but to be
consistent with truth as it may present itself to me at a
given moment. The result has been that I have grown from
truth to truth; I have saved my memory an undue strain; and
what is more, whenever I have been obliged to compare my
writing even of fifty years ago with the latest, I have
discovered no inconsistency between the two. But friends
who observe inconsistency will do well to take the meaning
that my latest writing may yield unless, of course, they
prefer the old. But before making the choice they should
try to see if there is not an underlying and abiding
consistency between the two seeming inconsistencies."
By the way, the exceptions to the rule about
"whatever helps us to care for folks" (Way of JC, p.11)
have
to do with short and long term goals of the source. We
don't need to suspect the motives of any source that leads
us to good; there's no problem being swayed to good by
anyone. When they seem to change or when they would change
our avenue of help, we need to once again look at their
fruits. What is their history? What are they likely
to be
aiming at? When we are doing well, there's no reason to
change ... only when we are not.
The Authority of Jesus in my Life
I have not always agreed with Jesus on all matters.
Sex and marriage have been areas that I have thought that
Jesus might not have known much about, not having personally
experienced them. Since I have seen his wisdom in nearly
every other area of life, I have grown to believe that
perhaps the error has been on my part. I have thus sought
to accept and live the rest of His teaching and do so to the
limit of my understanding.
This uncharacteristic statement of Jesus' does have a positive meaning to me. It does emphasize the importance and value of Spiritual teachings. They are not to be taken lightly or to be allowed to be trampled on in one's own mind by people not understanding them. They are sacred. When the woman spoke to Jesus about the puppies being allowed to pick up the scraps she was showing humility and respect for the teachings. Jesus could then offer them to those not of the original flock who showed by their understanding that they were able to value them and ready to put them into practice.
19. I believe the first recorded incident of Jesus healing
a gentile
person is in Matthew 15:21-28 when in exchange for a wise saying
from a woman he healed her young boy. Did Jesus grow in
his understanding at this point
or was this more a good opportunity for him to express a deeper
truth to
us all? He began by telling her that what is Holy should
not be given to
the dogs. She countered that even the puppies under the
table are allowed
to eat the scraps that fall from the table. He responded
that for this saying
(a saying which contained much humility and respect for God's
people)
he would heal her child (Matthew 15:21-28). Some claim that
this is when
Jesus started expanding his ministry beyond the Jews. I
don't know.
At any rate, Jesus' tendancy throughout his ministry was to
include people
rather than exclude them. In the end he is recorded as having
told us
to extend his Way to the entire world (Matt.28:16-20).
I've tended to let the Holy Spirit guide me concerning when
and to whom
I should share spiritual Truth. Often it is when someone
has brought up
the subject themself and seems to have a listening ear.
22. There seems to be two religions.
-One says, "Thank you for all that's been
given me; how
can I be of service to us all".
-The other says, "I am what counts most;
how can I get
things and people to serve me".
The Bible seems to state that the religions of the tribes
surrounding the Jews were of the second (false) variety
and this seems to be the whole reason for a special race of God's
people.
Babylon seems to symbolize this false religion in
Revelations. As with the tower of Babel, it tries to gain
power through mechanisms instead of through building
character and faith. This false religion has been very
popular throughout history and continues to be the major
religion of today. The end times will be when this major
(false) religion will find its match. And the Truth will
set us free of it!
The end times, by the way (I feel), come to us all,
individually. And I feel that they will occur on a
worldwide scale as well. There has never been an escape
from ultimate Truth ... it dwells within us and all around
us.
SURRENDER UNTO GOD
Just a thought not connected to the rest of the text
that I know of yet:
E. Stanley Jones, missionary to India, wrote a book
called something like "Surrender unto God", in which
he
asserts that when we Give ourselves to God, God uses us.
Then he gives us back to ourselves and says something like,
"Now what do you want to do?" We then have the
choice to do
many things, only one of which is to resurrender ourselves
back to God.
From this it may be that...
To live forever with God we must forever
be choosing to do so.
Most of us think in materialistic terms. This is why
"third world poverty" seems so repulsive to us.
The
poverty that comes from our over emphasis on materialism
is much more severe. It is the poverty of the spirit.
To the degree that a person is unwilling to do without
material comforts, that person is possessed by them. A
small token of charity given to a person who is ultra poor
is often greatly appreciated by them. Sharing their life
with them, sharing their pain and suffering is even more
helpful. And showing someone, by example, a road to
spiritual success, is perhaps the best one can do. Truly,
success does not lie in holding possessions or power, but in
developing one's attitude, and character.
More about the "salt of the
earth":
Where Jesus says "...If the salt looses its taste how then
shall
it be restored", Jesus may have been asserting that
there is nothing in the world that can replace the good of the
Way of heaven.
Without Love, life on earth is worthless.
Victims
Jesus, Gandhi, and Buddha
and a "New Age" mistake
The new age accuses victims of having done something in this
life time or in a previous life time to deserve any thing
that comes to them. It also claims that we have control
over whether we allow ourselves to become victims and that
we should not rescue others, but should, instead, let them work
out
their own karma. There is a certain amount of truth in this,
and yet it has been used all too often as an excuse
in refraining from helping people in need.
Two Bible stories come to mind that contradict this: John 9:1-3
and the Book of Job
In the first Jesus was questionned about whether a man is born
blind because of his own sins or those of his parents.
Jesus answers that neither because of his nor his parents sins
was he born blind but to show the glory of God in the moment to
come (when Jesus heals him). There is something more important
going on here than telling someone why they have troubles and
leaving them to live with them. The Kingdom of Heaven is better
than that.
In the second (the book of Job) Job did nothing to warrent his
state. He was caught in the middle of an argument between the
Devil and God. The Devil claimed that he only followed God because
God was spoiling him. He sufferred to prove the Devil wrong. So,
not always are things so easily explained. Don't let devilry
steal your compassion.
Non-involvement is a translation of Karma that Jesus,
Gandhi, and Buddha to a man reject. It is the basis for
casts, excuses the rich and aggressive, and destroys
compassion. It is a skillful attempt of our lower selves
to
take us in and is all too often successful.
I pray that compassion will prevail.
[While, in general, we humans deserve our problems, I don't
believe that every pain or injustice that a person
experiences is necessarily a result of something they have
done to deserve it. There are true victims. Not all
is
deserved. Job (of the Old Testiment) did nothing to deserve
his state ... nor did the boy born blind that Jesus healed.
Other forces were at work and these two were just caught in
the middle. I believe that God eventually, and often
swiftly, comes to the aid of true victims, and that the New
Age avoidance of victimisation might be a tad overdone.
Blaming victims is, indeed, in bad taste, and very
pharasaical (consider the stories of the Good Samaritan and
Job).]
* * *
What Jesus really said and did:
I believe the Bible to be virtually accurate. The
message comes through to all who look with clear, honest,
and well motivated hearts. Peoples from other lands and
from other times [the twentieth century is one of those
foreign times] might find the same truth more readily in
other books, scriptures, or life in general, but if one
reads especially the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark,
and/or Luke) the truth has not been distorted ... it's there
pretty much as written.
Miracles? Jesus didn't place much
importance on them.
Those around him did.
Jesus in India,
Tibet, etc.? I think there is a good
reason why there are silent years in the gospel accounts.
I think it may be the same reason God choses unlikely
persons and peoples to do his bidding. When we get blue
prints we tend to focus on details and technicalities at the
expense of the Essence. There may be many ways to prepare
to follow the Spirit in a strong way. There is only one
Essence.
Jesus, the best of the materialists (led by compassion)
I have written earlier in the comments about the
Bhagivad-Gita that in the mode of goodness, people tend to
"identify with those people and spirits which create Joy
by
their very being". This has a lot to do with
the power and
beauty of purity, and I often look to it as a guide....
It
is also good to look at the enigma of Jesus the materialist.
It may be strange to refer to Jesus as a materialist,
but that in a sense is the main difference between he and
his Father. He is God come to earth in order to have better
communication with man. He has sacrificed the great power
of pure Being for a form that human-kind can better relate
to.
There are probably plenty of people who tread the earth
thoughout history who were closer to the Essence of God, in
this way, than Jesus was while he was here. Plenty with
more faith in the final outcome of their Being. They
remained unheard of and unseen except to the soul that seeks
God ... that seeks pure Good. And in some ways they remain
better than Jesus was. And yet, there is something about
compassion which pushes past patience and seeks to nurture
and save less advanced spirits ... something which may be
even more important than pure Being or pure Faith.
While I and others may tend to trust God more,
Compassion works on a Love basis. Which is better?
Trust
God and Love; they are one. Sometimes it will lead God's
people to stand back in the shadows; at other times it will
lead them to step forward and take action.
It is a great boast but some of us can honestly claim this.
To have no enemies doesn't meant that no one considers you Their
enemy;
it just means that you don't consider them Your enemy.
One Way of Meditation (the way I tend to do it)
Much of living is to be worked out by each of us and
a blue print
from one person's life to the next isn't usually appropriate.
We all
have to experiment in Truth and find out what is best for each
of our
conditions ... for the world about us from where we stand.
Love and
Truth are always appropriate. How they are applied is different
for
each of us at any given moment and circumstance.
Meditation is similar. There are principles that are
helpful to
most of us. Other things are very individual. I tend
to meditate
without trying to completely empty my thoughts. I do start
with
quieting my mind of thoughts about the past or future and try
to
centre on the present. I work on bringing my thoughts from
inappropriate ones (i.e. how to impress someone) to more appropriate
ones (like the compassion and Love found in Jesus). The
mind inevitably
drifts off but each time I recognise it has I just bring it back.
I
find that when I can, about 45 minutes is a good amount of time
for
me to do this. You can tell when you're mind is getting
peaceful.
Around this time I usually go through a sort of long mantra (once).
The mantra lasts about 15 minutes and is composed of the song
"I need
Thee Every Hour", the three modes of life (according to the
Bhagavad
Gita), the Lord's Prayer, the Four Nobel Truths (of Buddhism),
and
the 23rd Psalm. I have found it very good for me/for
us.
Stephen's Speech
"Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory
appeared to
our father Abraham while he was still
in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran. 'Leave
your country and your people,' God said,
'and go to the land I will show you.'
So he left the land of the Chaldeans
and settled in Haran. After the death of his
father, God sent him to this land where
you are now living. He gave him no
inheritance here, not even a foot of
ground. But God promised him that he and his
descendants after him would possess the
land, even though at that time Abraham had
no child. God spoke to him in this way:
'Your descendants will be strangers in a
country not their own, and they will
be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
But I will punish the nation they serve
as slaves,' God said, 'and afterward they will
come out of that country and worship
me in this place.' Then he gave Abraham
the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham
became the father of Isaac and
circumcised him eight days after his
birth. Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, and
Jacob became the father of the twelve
patriarchs.
"Because the patriarchs were jealous
of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt.
But God was with him and rescued him
from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom
and enabled him to gain the goodwill
of Pharaoh king of Egypt; so he made him ruler
over Egypt and all his palace.
"Then a famine struck all Egypt and
Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our fathers
could not find food. When Jacob heard
that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our
fathers on their first visit. On their
second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he
was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph's
family. After this, Joseph sent for his
father Jacob and his whole family, seventy-five
in all. Then Jacob went down to
Egypt, where he and our fathers died.
Their bodies were brought back to Shechem
and placed in the tomb that Abraham had
bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem
for a certain sum of money.
"As the time drew near for God to fulfill
his promise to Abraham, the number of our
people in Egypt greatly increased. Then
another king, who knew nothing about
Joseph, became ruler of Egypt. He dealt
treacherously with our people and
oppressed our forefathers by forcing
them to throw out their newborn babies so that
they would die.
"At that time Moses was born, and he
was no ordinary child. For three months he
was cared for in his father's house.
When he was placed outside, Pharaoh's daughter
took him and brought him up as her own
son. Moses was educated in all the wisdom
of the Egyptians and was powerful in
speech and action.
"When Moses was forty years old, he
decided to visit his fellow Israelites. He saw
one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian,
so he went to his defense and avenged
him by killing the Egyptian. Moses thought
that his own people would realize that
God was using him to rescue them, but
they did not. The next day Moses came upon
two Israelites who were fighting. He
tried to reconcile them by saying, 'Men, you are
brothers; why do you want to hurt each
other?'
"But the man who was mistreating the
other pushed Moses aside and said, 'Who
made you ruler and judge over us? Do
you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian
yesterday?' When Moses heard this, he
fled to Midian, where he settled as a
foreigner and had two sons.
"After forty years had passed, an angel
appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning
bush in the desert near Mount Sinai.
When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight.
As he went over to look more closely,
he heard the Lord's voice: 'I am the God of
your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob.' Moses trembled with fear and
did not dare to look.
"Then the Lord said to him, 'Take off
your sandals; the place where you are standing
is holy ground. I have indeed seen the
oppression of my people in Egypt. I have
heard their groaning and have come down
to set them free. Now come, I will send you
back to Egypt.'
"This is the same Moses whom they had
rejected with the words, 'Who made you
ruler and judge?' He was sent to be their
ruler and deliverer by God himself, through
the angel who appeared to him in the
bush. He led them out of Egypt and did
wonders and miraculous signs in Egypt,
at the Red Sea and for forty years in the
desert.
"This is that Moses who told the Israelites,
'God will send you a prophet like me from
your own people.' He was in the assembly
in the desert, with the angel who
spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with
our fathers; and he received living words to
pass on to us.
"But our fathers refused to obey him.
Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts
turned back to Egypt. They told Aaron,
'Make us gods who will go before us. As for
this fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt--we
don't know what has happened to
him!' That was the time they made an
idol in the form of a calf. They brought
sacrifices to it and held a celebration
in honor of what their hands had made. But
God turned away and gave them over to
the worship of the heavenly bodies. This
agrees with what is written in the book
of the prophets:
" 'Did you bring
me sacrifices and offerings
forty years in the desert, O house of Israel?
You have lifted
up the shrine of Molech
and the star of your god Rephan,
the idols you made to worship.
Therefore I will send
you into exile' beyond Babylon.
"Our forefathers had the tabernacle
of the Testimony with them in the desert. It had
been made as God directed Moses, according
to the pattern he had seen. Having
received the tabernacle, our fathers
under Joshua brought it with them when they took
the land from the nations God drove out
before them. It remained in the land until the
time of David, who enjoyed God's favor
and asked that he might provide a dwelling
place for the God of Jacob. But it was
Solomon who built the house for him.
"However, the Most High does not live
in houses made by men. As the prophet says:
49" 'Heaven
is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house
will you build for me? says the Lord.
Or where will my resting place be?
Has not my hand
made all these things?'
"You stiff-necked people, with
uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your
fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit!
Was there ever a prophet your fathers did
not persecute? They even killed those
who predicted the coming of the Righteous One.
And now you have betrayed and murdered
him-- you who have received the law
that was put into effect through angels
but have not obeyed it."
Recommended Reading:
Living Buddha, Living Christ
by Thich Nhat Hanh
Random House Australia (Pty) Ltd
Sydney
(last edit 27 October 2005)