***THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT***
(Matthew 5,6,&7)
The Beatitudes2:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom
of
heaven. Blessed are those who mourn for they shall
be
comforted. Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the
earth.”
Encouragement to the citizens of heaven on earth
comes naturally from Jesus. He knows his own, and
knows they are not of this world. They see
themselves as spiritually poor (they know they
need divine help).
Mahatma Gandhi said that the closer he got to God the more
aware he became of the distance between he and God. This, I
feel, is a good example of what Jesus meant by being
spiritually poor.
Those who follow Jesus mourn the ways of
peoplekind. They don't simply accept the ways of
the world with a positive attitude. These ways
make them very sad.
The true followers are meek, never seeking to offend God,
seldom seeking to offend their fellow beings.
Jesus assures them of a better world and thereby
instantly creates it for them here on earth not as
the world would see it but on a different plane,
on a different level ... one in which thieves
cannot break in and steal, where moth nor rust
corrupt. He creates it in the realm of spirit and truth.3
I think it's important to pay attention to the
general tone of the Beatitudes. Who is it in our
every day lives that reminds us of those that
Jesus declares blessed? Who resembles the
opposite.
"Blessed are those whose hunger and thirst is for
Righteousness".
When we find ourselves enrapped by the world, we
hunger and thirst for many things ... mostly for
things we want, rather than need -- mostly for
material things and things to support our ego. When
our hunger and thirst is for spiritual things we will
find ourselves closer to the Way. When the spiritual
things we desire, are things that are helpful to the
whole planet, to every creature, we will find
ourselves closer still.
"Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy."
We will be shown mercy by others, but moreso, by
ourselves and God (within & without). What goes
around certainly comes around.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God."
Study as we will, we won't find God in intellectual
endeavours. God is spirit and is closely connected
to pure desires and motives. When our motives become
more pure, we are better able to receive God.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the
children of God."
This reminds me of many of the flower children during
the Viet-Nam war ... unpopular folk, not claiming
kinship to God, but perhaps closer to Him/Her than
many who claim kinship.
"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and
falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven,
for in the same way they [my underline]
persecuted the
prophets who were before you."
One of the greatest weapons that the establishment has in maintaining
its position is the use of the concept that if you can't
point your finger to specific criminals or threats, they don't exist.
People who are wary of the powers of this world
are often lumped into the group of those who are paranoid.
There Is an evil force in the world;
one which cares little for anyone other than itself and its own kind.
And so we find that same word, "they" in verse 12.
This "they" is nearly timeless, the same throughout history.
And it's not paranoia.
It is those who are in charge in an earthly sense,
and it emphasises the antipathy
between God's way and the world's way.
The beatitudes should be enough guidance to last us for a
lifetime, but Jesus goes on, and so does Buddha, and so does Gandhi.
Through their sayings and Holy Lives
we have more than we could possibly ask for.
More encouragement:
"You are the salt of the earth...the Light of the
world." One of the main characteristics of God's
people, is
non-aggressiveness, and non-aggressive people tend to be
shy. Better to be shy than aggressive in my opinion, but better
still to assert
the truth as we know it
in a non-threatenning way.
There is a real difference between assertive and
aggressive behaviour. Assertiveness will not let the truth
of a situation be denied, and has little to do with
selfishness. Aggressive behaviour often seeks to destroy
the truth of a situation and has everything to do with
selfishness. Jesus encourages those who tend to be shy to
stand up against injustice by refusing to participate in it
and by speaking up and opposing it when appropriate. It is
said that all that is necessary for evil to succeed is that
good people do nothing. Jesus asks his humble followers to
let their good works shine while they may remain unseen, so
that the world might see God working,
and perhaps some will turn to Him.
They are it's true leaders,
though the world knows it not.
In defence of the Law of His Father:
Jesus has a strong link to His Father, and I think
He traces that link right back through the ages, in the ways
he sees God manifesting his Spirit ... through Moses and
Abraham particularly. I, too, feel a very strong, warm link
to and through my spiritual ancestors, their Law and their
ways.
I don't think Jesus would agree with Paul's
attitude toward the Law "of Moses". Paul went overboard
with his persecution of the Christians earlier, and it is my
humble opinion that he likewise went overboard with his
denunciation of the worth of the Law.
The basics of the Law:
The basic tenets of the law lie not in the actions
but in the motives, the attitudes. Jesus not only refused
to replace the Law, he strengthened it, and got down to the
cause of the problem, so as to root it out.
In order not to kill, you cease hating.
In order not to commit sexual perversion, you
cease lusting, and remain faithful.
In order not to lie, you cease overstatements,
(being very careful regarding promises as
many things are beyond our control).
To treat your neighbour with justice, you must
not even retaliate.
And if you would be perfect, you must love even
your worst enemy.
Now you can see why many think Jesus' Sermon on The
Mount was meant for "somebody else". We're only one third
of the way through it, and He doesn't let up.
Have courage, though. Once the right attitude is taken
up, the full cost determined, and the decision made, it
becomes our home, our nourishment, a song of joy.
Goodness, pride, or grossness.
In the Hindu Bhagavad-Gita, it is stated that if you are not
in the mode of Goodness, you will either be found in the
mode of passion (pride) or ignorance (grossness). And what
do we find Jesus speaking about in Matthew 6? ... Pride and
materialism.
Whatever you do as a part of your spiritual life, do it
not to be praised by men, but in secret so that men will see
the effect it has on others but not who administered it and
thus praise the unseen. Your reward will come from God.
And I suspect a great deal of that reward will come in your
person, in your character ... and your character has a lot
to do with your ability to experience heaven anyway.
Jesus singles out acts of charity, praying and fasting,
but all of our righteousness should be done for God, for
others benefit, for its own sake and to build up our own
character. To cash in on the praise of men is to miss out
on much.
And so Jesus tells us not to chase popularity, not to
live by pride. He even more tells us to avoid material-
istic thinking and living. How anyone could chase both God
and money after reading the rest of Chapter 6, I know not.
I've never read such a clear-cut statement against
materialism, and the source is Jesus, himself:
"Do not store up riches on earth where moths and
rust destroy, and robbers break in and steal.
Instead store them up in heaven ... For your heart
will always be where your riches are."
"You cannot serve both God and money."
"...do not be worried about the food and drink you
need to stay alive...(or) about your clothes..."
"Look at the birds of the air (God feeds them)."
"...and the lilies of the fields (God clothes
them)."
"Seek first the Kingdom of God and all else
will follow". "So do not worry about tomorrow ...
there is no need to add to the troubles that each
day brings."
"Judge not"
Today, as we move from the 1900s into the 2000s,
I believe this to be the most over used quote of Jesus' words.
It is fashionable to do your
own thing and let others do theirs. It is not fashionable
to speak of what is good and what is not. "Whatever makes you
happy" seems to be the guiding "light". "Truth is relative"
and therefore lacks any significant meaning.
Discernment has left the building.
The same Jesus who said, "Judge not" also said, in the
same chapter (Matt.7), "Beware of false prophets...
you will know them by their fruit".4
The point I believe Jesus was making was that Judgement
should be left to God, while discernment should be
maintained. We do better to refrain from saying who is
acceptable to God and who is not, though we do well to
discern the motives of those who would teach us before
trying to understand what they teach.
Those who are quick to judge others harshly are often
in great need of repair themselves; their impatience, and
harshness are pretty good signs of this.
On the other hand following guru after guru
who tell us to put ourselves first is a sure sign
that we are in a perpetual state of peacelessness and delusion
and in need of a bit of discernment.
It does us good to follow the good.
His words help us to discern between true prophets and false ...
between abiding truths and those which are not:
"You will know them by
their fruits".
The Golden Rule
IS
The Essence
"Do unto others as you would have them do unto
you:
this is the meaning of the Law of Moses and the teaching of the
prophets"
(Matthew 7:12).
Do this alone and you/we will have found the Way ...
We will have fulfilled all.
More encouragement
"Ask, seek, knock ... your Father in heaven will
give good things to those who ask him." I often tell
people, "Be careful what you ask for, you just might get
it." And they laugh, thinking "if only I could get half of
what I could ask for!" Our society is very materialistic
and most of us don't realise the dangers that come with
"having" things.
God, however, gives good gifts. Besides material gifts
He provides a person with seemingly insignificant things
like a smile from someone (at just the right moment), or
better yet provides things like patience, and compassion to
those who seek spiritual riches. And to those who ask for
the Holy Spirit (Truth) he surely will give it. God gives
these things to those who, realizing their true value,
seek them.
The Chosen Few
It often strikes me that the chosen
few
are the few who have chosen
(and LIVE what they have chosen).
The Narrow Gate
"Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the
road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many
who travel it. The gate is narrow and the way is hard that
leads to life, and few people find it."
A remnant survive
the experience of Self
And find Life.
Nominal Christians:
"Not every person who calls me, `Lord, Lord' will enter
into ... heaven ... but those who do what my father in
heaven wants them to do."
And I would add that some who have never called Jesus
`Lord' by their mouth, testify about Him with their lives,
and are among the chosen.
And so, like the story of the two house builders brings
out, "It is not the hearers of the law that are justified
but the doers of the law." Be a doer of God's will. Better
yet,
Be as God wills.
And so ends one of many commentaries on a great sermon.
Study it for yourself
Study it for us all
let it affect your Life ... our Life
MIRACLES5
The true miracle is that one individual can genuinely
love another. The miracle's that most people seek are ones
of power. We always want to be with the strong guy ... the
guy whose going to win in the end. Well, the guy whose
going to win in the end is Love. The rest is illusion.
Jesus was not predisposed to miracles; he
performed them because of his compassion. There were times He
refused
to do them, because he knew the hearts of men.
They think mostly of food, other material things,
of themselves and how to get ahead of somebody else.
Jesus was the miracle,
and still Is,
as his Father Is,
as all who love Are.
The other miracles are mainly to gain people's
attention, hoping that they will soon find the eternal.
I'm quite sure Jesus could have done any of the
miracles stated in the gospels. I'm not sure they were
always reported exactly as they happened.
When an unusually spiritual person is present, unusual
and miraculous things happen to those who experience
him/her. It's hard to write about these things. In order
to convey the importance of the person it almost becomes
necessary to present events in a miraculous way. They ARE
miraculous, but perhaps not exactly in the way depicted.
Some miracles can be explained by natural events which
have taken place in a supernatural setting; some can be
supernatural events which take place within all witnessing
the event, and described (because of the lack of any other
way to do it) in physical terms. Again, I don't doubt
Jesus' ability to do any of the miracles, and I think He did
do some of them. I'm not certain He did them all, or that
they all happened exactly as they were described.
More importantly, I'm sure that the full extent of what He has
done,
and what He continues to do by his very Being,
has been little realised by the vast majority of us.
The connection
between physical health
and religious authority.
From studying the Bible and human beings, it seems to
me that some of the people that Jesus healed were being
imprisoned in their sick state by their sins, and by those
who religiously accused them.
Pharisees tended to "make heavy loads and pile them on
the shoulders of others, but [would] not themselves lift a
finger to ease the burden" (Matt. 23:4). Jesus healed
people often forgiving them at the same time, to which the
pharisees criticised, "Who can forgive sins, but God
himself?!" It seems to me that the Pharisees were so
concerned with their own status that sickness amongst the
masses was more of a comfort to them than a burden. A
person was sick because of his/her sins which (they hoped)
contrasted to the relatively healthy Pharisee, and thereby
helped secure his position. Jesus was a threat;
forgiveness was a threat; well people were threats.
I may be wrong in this. I've never heard or read of anybody else
interpreting this the same way.
But there is a tendancy for authorities to abuse those under their
care
in ways like this. It does seem to fit the scriptures.
Today, in the 2000s, do we still suffer because of
feelings of sin and guilt?
I think that those of us who are fortunate enough
to still have a conscience still do.
We are going through a slow shift in focus, however.
While the Bible, and those who still try to live by it
still have an influence,
our up and coming spiritual masters seem to be the television
and similar popular media.
We accept their ethics without much question.
Our morals are much more lax, but they still exist,
and we often suffer physically when we fall out of the new norm.
One of our most sought after cure attempts is
what I consider a new form of repression ...
positive thinking.
This only temporarily covers up the pain and delays the cure.
Unless we look at things as they are,
we cannot but continue to make mistake after mistake.
I would suggest looking squarely into the face of man's
world, into our own faces, face up to our responsibilities,
do what we can do, and then give God some space (in our
lives and in the lives of those around us)
to do what He* can do.
Things will get better, though perhaps not
according to our schedual or in the way we would order it.
There is a much better plane to be living on, a better
kingdom ... one which affects us in a better, stronger,
longer lasting way. It's not an easy road, just a good one
(and a real one). Character is worth more than fame or
wealth by a long shot. Reality is basically Spiritual.
Relationships rule the universe ... your world and mine.
*I am not concerned with the gender of God; as we approach
God, I believe we rise above our sexuality. I believe God's
essence to be likewise, far above any dominiating
influence of sex or gender.
The sending out of the twelve
(and the rest of us).
When Jesus gave them authority over
desease (Matthew 10:1), he
told them not to go to foreigners
(verse 5).
This is something I don't fully understand.
It seems that Jesus started with his own people,
and included a wider and wider circle of people as he went along.
He said to go to "the lost sheep of the house of Israel".
Perhaps he was avoiding the trap that so many of us fall into
when we send missionaries to "unsaved" people,
before fixing our own spiritually deficient social circles.
He told them (and us):
to minister to people without charge.
to take no money, no pack, no spare
coat, no sandals, no stick.
to find a suitable person to stay with,
staying with them while in
the area ... not going from
house to house
to leave our peace with them
if they listen to us, and
let it return to us if they don't
(In that case, we will no longer
have to live with them ... but
they will be stuck with themselves.)
He warned us of troubles in this world, troubles in
this mission. (The ways of the world are not our friends.)
When brought before judges He asked us to refrain from thinking ahead
of time
about what we will say in our defense;
God would then speak through us.
He warned us that we would not be very popular,
or well spoken of.
Then He assured us of God's long-range control:
nothing would happen without God's consent, and in the end I
think we'll find that our troubles will be forgotten easily
because of the great benefits involved in doing God's will
(making Love and Truth the co-rulers of our lives).
He warned us against taking Him lightly, and of putting
more value in our standing with friends or relatives.
God must come first in our life
if we seek to Live in Him.
Jesus ended up by stating that every good deed done for
his followers, no matter how small, will be rewarded.
I believe this to be a literal fact.
Recognizing the Messiah
When John the baptist asked Jesus if he was really the
Messiah, Jesus told him to look at his fruits:6
only good
came out of him ... miraculous good. He is, therefore, the
Messiah, not because the Bible says so, not because the
church says so, but because his fruits say so.
Someone asked me one day (in March '94) how you can tell
who is a true teacher of the Way. To me the answer to this is
simple,
but I believe people find this a problem because they overuse the "Judge
Not"
command of Jesus. And with it they lose their discernment.
Few go to church or any spiritual meeting at all.
The few who go often follow what their organisation says without question.
Those who read the Bible tend to pay more heed to what Paul said than
to what Jesus said.
The vast majority of the people go from guru to guru,
finding few if any with abiding truths.
Look at their fruits. If they instil Love in you,
honesty, integrity, faith, patience ... are these not good?
If on the other hand they build up your ego
(through flatteries such as "You are God", "take care of
yourself first, others second, and forget God"), if they
tend to make you angry, jealous, lustful ... are these good?
Hold on to your discernment; you will know them by their
fruits.
One of the most convincing tactics of false
teachers/false prophets is to try to get their listeners
(us) to forget that the means one uses to get to one's goals
is important, and to get us to focus only on the goal. This
is the opposite of what Buddha, Jesus, and Gandhi taught.
Think of the means, of all its side effects. The perfect
way is simple, straightforward, powerful in the spiritual
world, and in the end has great power over the world of men
as well.
Pleasing Everyone
It can't be done!
"John the Baptist came neither eating nor
drinking and people say, `He is possessed';
the Son of man came, eating and drinking,
and they say, `Look at him! A glutton and a
drinker, a friend of tax-collectors and
sinners!'"7
So don't worry about it!
True Wisdom
God hides true wisdom from those claiming to be learned and wise,
and
reveals it to the simple (babes)8.
Wisdom does not come
from what we know, but from how we Live.
"Come to me, all of you who are tired from
carrying your heavy loads, and I will give you
rest. Take my yoke and put it on you, and
learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in
spirit; and you will find rest. The yoke I
will give you is easy, and the load I will put
on you is light."9
Getting away from ego, materialism and self centeredness is hard.
Living with Him ... with love and truth ... is easy,
once you make this your guiding light.
The Spirit of the Law is
more important
than the letter of the Law.
Jesus was criticised for allowing his disciples to pick
corn on the Sabbath when they were hungry. He reminded his accusers
of others in the scriptures who broke the literal
translation and yet were not considered guilty,
and ended by quoting,
"It is mercy I require, not sacrifice."
Recognising the source by its fruit, again.
"He drives out demons only because their ruler
Beelzebul gives him power to do so."10
So goes a typical
attempt of the Pharisees to discredit Jesus
(and his Authority).
Jesus again points to the fruit. Why would Beelzebul
willingly allow Jesus to destroy his kingdom of terror and
oppression? No, Jesus heals despite Beelzebul's resistance,
showing that the Kingdom of Heaven surely centers on Him and
on his Way.11
The unforgivable sin
This is another thing that I have a hard time
understanding12.
The only way that the unforgivable sin
makes logical sense to me is that Blasphemy of the Spirit
must be done In the spirit. It is possibly the final
decision to forever reject the Spirit (of Love and Truth). It
was not like Jesus to place an over-emphasis on outward actions.
I
think He was basically telling us that there was/is a point
of no return ... that we should be careful of the roads we
choose to travel.
And, for those who can accept it,
He was telling us that there is something even more valuable,
more sacred than even Himself.
The only thing greater than He
is the Spirit which makes him Holy.
A limit to Purity
Jesus told us about how an evil spirit, having been
cast out of a person seeks another place. If it can't find
one, and the person has not added good to his/her life,
taking up the void, the spirit may return with more evil than before.13
Today, this would seem to warn us (among other things)
about completely emptying our thoughts in meditation.
Instead, after getting rid of the unhelpful clutter in our
minds, we should seek simpler yet more heavenly thoughts and
feelings to meditate and pray on. It says the same to us
about our actions as well: Let us keep from
doing evil, filling that void with selfless actions.
Our True Family is Spiritual
How often do we hear quoted, "Charity begins at home"?
Who said it? Not Jesus. Jesus said, "...the person who
does what my Father in heaven wants him to do is my brother,
my sister, my mother." While He didn't mean that we are to
ignore the needs of our earthly families14,
he did encourage
us to move beyond the bonds of family, country, creed, etc.
to see our true family as those who do God's will
(and to extend our love and care far beyond even that!).
Parables
and the Reality that acts like a parable
to a wayward world
Parables are used to explain things that aren't
normally apparent to the listener. That spiritual things
control the material and not the reverse is not normally
apparent. Most of us see the material world as being in
charge. Brute force, money, physical health, seem to
determine our well-being. In reality, our character, our
attitude, our closeness to the Essence of the Universe has a
lot more to do with it. So parables are used.
The sower (giving freely)
This parable seems to say to me that we should not be
overly concerned about who we contact in a spiritual way,
but that we should spread our "seed" (God's Spirit) far and
wide. Some of it will come to fruition, though we know not
which at the time of sowing. This is just the opposite of
the teaching to not give what is Holy to dogs or throw our
pearls before swine15,
a teaching which seems so unlike
Jesus. I wonder, at times, if this verse wasn't thrown in
by an enemy to keep us from freely giving.
While it is similar to Jesus' early ministry
(when he asked his disciples to go not to foreigners,
but instead to the lost sheep of Israel),
the tone of it is more like the Pharisees
than like the Jesus I know.16
Jesus started with a small circle of believers,
spread His Word among His own people,
but instead of restricting his Way to an exclusive group,
he added more and more peoples to his flock
until He finally told us, to
"go unto all the world"17.
Weeds in the field (Why
evil is not wiped out)
This once again answers the often asked question,
"How can God (if there is a God) allow evil to happen."
Part of the answer seems to be that the act
of weeding out evil itself is an act which often destroys some of
the good which can otherwise survive along side it.
Patience and gentle nurturing seem to be important in spiritual growth.
The important factor here is not the evil that temporarily
co-exists with the good, but the time necessary for good to
mature.
People fail to see God mainly because
they wish not to see Him.
They make up excuses for themselves not to see Him, like
"If there Is a God how come there's so much sufferring?!"
Thinking in a materialistic way,
physical suffering seems overly horrendous to them;
there is an inability to see
the enduring nature of the Spirit.
The Mustard Seed
The parable of the mustard seed intimates to me that
the Kingdom of Heaven has a lot to do with our character
which we develop all through our lives. It starts out very
small inside us. In time, if we work on it, it becomes very
great, a source of refuge to the little ones around us
seeking its shelter ...... And this, to me, is an
understatement!
The Yeast
Jesus spoke of yeast in both positive and negative
senses. This time it was the True hidden yeast which
quietly enriches peoples lives. In another place18
he
warned of the Pharisees' yeast as being dangerous to those
it would puff up.
The Hidden Pearl; the Hidden
Treasure
These parables again point to the Kingdom of Heaven as
being hidden from the world, and yet of much more value than
what is seen. Heaven is not far away from any of us; we
must, however, be willing to forsake all else, in order to
enter it: We must go there with our whole being. It has
been said that Heaven is not so much a place as a state of
mind, an attitude of the spirit, real and enduring though it
is.
The fish in the Net
There Will be a sorting out. Evil will not be allowed
to continue indefinitely. I'm not sure whether God will
step in directly or whether His laws of justice and karma
will perform the trick. One thing I believe is that there
will be no escape. Those who truly turn to God (to Good)
will find much forgiven; those who would fake it at the
last minute will find no way out.
New and old Treasure
Here, Jesus again refuses to do away with the Law.
There is only One way, yet that way has been known and
taught by many different religions (though not all)19.
The
founders of most religions knew and taught it. Their
followers quickly made a club out of it, and thus lost its
Essence. I'm afraid Christianity has suffered no less a
fate. Go to the essence, if you find Love and Truth there,
you'll have found a real treasure.
Peter, his Declaration
and the keys of the Church
"You are the Messiah, the son of the living God."20
This is the statement that the Catholic Church believes
earned Peter the keys of the Church and thus their
authority. I do feel a certain authority when I enter a
Catholic Church, the same way I feel the foundations of my
faith when I enter a Synagogue. Perhaps I have been
brain-washed, I don't know. No matter where God's way comes
from, it is the way to follow, no matter who says otherwise.
Jesus with Moses and Elijah
(the transfiguration)
Were Moses and Elijah seen with Jesus merely to give
him ultimate authority, or could the whole situation also be
a way of showing us the timelessness of Truth?21
I prefer the latter. Why then do we argue as to whom we
must follow? The Truth is the Truth
Our arguing over which church ... which version of the Truth ... shows
that we
haven't found the Essence of he whom we claim to follow.
A reason to pay tax
In Jesus' day, citizens didn't pay tax, only the
conquered people did. Jesus questioned the authority's right
to ask
the True citizens (of the kingdom of Heaven) for tax.
He was questionning more than just taxes;
He was claiming that God was in charge ... He had ultimate authority.
The true citizens of Any country are those devoted to the One true
God.
This is a very revolutionary concept.
Even so he instructed His disciples to pay tax
"so as not to offend them".22
The payment of taxes was not an important enough issue to fight over.
Jesus was to stand and die over the straight out claim
that He (and not the Romans nor anyone else) held ultimate authority
over their lives
because True power lies not in physical mastery
but in spiritual devotion.
The GREATEST in Heaven
is she or he who humbles her/himself
as a child does.
Temptations to sin23
Whatever tempts you/me to sin should be cut off, be it
our ego, our desires, our attachments, whatever.
Tantra yoga, if I understand it right is the yoga of
understanding what causes us to do the things we do and
understanding where these actions are taking us. The
emphasis is not on changing our ways so much as coming to an
understanding of them. It is assumed that when one realises
the foolishness of ones ways they will cease. Tantra yoga
is better than mindlessly following our craving and attachments, and
it is
better than mindlessly repressing these things.
Jesus and Gandhi (and probably Buddha) taught us to
refrain from our possessive urges ... to immediately change the energy
into more universal pursuits.
And yet, these two ways,
to me, are not in conflict.
Repentance and Forgiveness24
It is said that God rejoices more over one who repents
than over those who hold the faith.
The schedule for asking a person to repent, again
doesn't sound like the Jesus I know. It doesn't sound like
the one who asks us to turn the other cheek. It sounds like
the results of a committee, the rules of an organisation.
They're not bad rules if you can't get past your problem
with the offender; they just don't sound like Jesus;
they don't go far enough.
Jesus' answer to Peter's question about how many times
we must forgive someone who does us wrong Does sound like Jesus.
His answer, most of us feel, is not a numerical number, but
"indefinitely" or at least a lot longer than most of us do.
Another point about not forgiving someone is that it
eats away at you, so why double the hurt you already feel?
Forgiveness limits the hurt, and starts the cure.
Marriage, Divorce and
Celibacy 24.5
Jesus only agrees with official divorce when the
reality (infidelity) is already present.
He offers the possibility of celibacy to those who can
accept it, but doesn't require it.
Let the little children come to Me25
This phrase has come up several times at key points in
my life. I haven't been so good at following it at those
times. One time it did "work out" was at the end of a walk
across a desert with a group of Christians. I hadn't spent
much time with the youngest member in our group. A
camera-man asked me to walk with her while he photographed
us. I put my arm around her, pulled out the Bible and
started to read at random, "Let the little children come to
me...". We both rejoiced at the appropriateness of this
verse! I will always remember it; I think she will too.
Note: I haven't done so bad with this one recently
having been a part of a youth shed
for about ten years
Lessons for the rich young man26
and all of us
A rich young man is said to have asked Jesus (the "Good Teacher")
what he must do to get to Heaven.
First, Jesus questions his use of the word "good",
saying only God knows of such things. He says two things to
me here. (1) that man is not capable of knowing ultimate
good ... something we've sought to do since the Garden of Eden
and (2) that this man might be inferring that Jesus was God.
Whether he was right or wrong about the second one,
Jesus did/does have a lot of God's wisdom.
He has a whole new Way to teach us.
To claim that everyone, regardless of how much or how little discipline,
dedication, and spiritual experience we have incorporated into our
lives,
has the same kind of wisdom, is folly ... in my opinion.
Some wisdom is beyond most of us
because we aren't willing to pay the cost of obtaining it.
Much "wisdom", like much of Solomon's, is earth centered and limited.
There is other Wisdom, however, which is spiritual and eternal,
and beings like Jesus know it because they have Lived it.
Now, whether Jesus knew/knows Everything is another matter.
There are places where Jesus does distinguish
between his limits and God's limitlessness. Perhaps we
shouldn't push Jesus' divinity to the point that it divides
us from Islaamic, Jewish or Buddhist peoples.
So Jesus questionned the rich young man's use of the word "Good".
The second thing he did was to direct him to follow the
Commandments. The man responded by asking Jesus "which ones?".
Jesus listed all the people oriented Commandments, leaving
out the God oriented ones. Buddha could have accepted
these. Why Jesus left out the God oriented ones I know not.
Perhaps as the disciple John says, unless we can love our
fellow human beings who we can see, how can we love God who
we cannot. It is interesting that the rich young man,
having assured Jesus that he had followed these Commandments
since his youth, found that Jesus loved him (Mark 10:21a).
He didn't need
to love God as such to receive Jesus' regard. Loving one
another is truly the same as loving our Creator.
And yet,
there was something keeping him from enterring heaven:
he wanted to be perfect.
Jesus pointed out to him what it was in his
life which was keeping him from perfection ... he was too
attached to his possessions. Though he had followed the
commandments, he valued his possessions more than the
Kingdom of Heaven. While Jesus could accept him, he could
not accept himself.
And so ... he missed Heaven.
"Where your treasures are, there, your heart will be also."
The story goes on
"It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye
of a
needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." A
chaplain in Memphis, Tennessee, had an interesting slant on
this statement. He said that there was a narrow pass in
Jerusalem that was called the "Needle's Eye", through which
camels could not pass without someone taking their packs off
them first. It has been proposed that a person can be rich
and enter heaven as long as that person is not attached to
his/her possessions. This is literally accurate, but in an
overly materialistic world it is nearly unthinkable that a
person would remain rich without considerable effort on
someone's part to keep him/her so. We can be stewards of
power, of valuable things, but let us not fool ourselves.
Are we truly using them for others, or are people like
Buddha, Jesus, and Gandhi doing the world more of a service
by renouncing such things?!!!
Think about it.
The next verse was twisted terribly by a minister in a
church in one of the richest counties in the United States.
"When the disciples heard of it they were completely amazed.
`Who can be saved then?' they asked." The assumption to
the minister was that it was understood that a rich man was
easier to save than a poor man. How ridiculous! The whole
context of the statement shows the opposite. This is
another example of people ignoring Jesus and following less
informed people, because it suits them. The next and final
verses show Jesus praising the disciples for having
renounced their possessions. In order to enter heaven you
must put heaven first, above all else. In order to stay in
heaven you must keep it there.
The Greatest in Heaven
are
Those who serve the rest.
(Matt. 20:20-28)
Palm Sunday (Matt.21)
One aspect of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem gives a new
slant on the history of God's Holy people. Crowds went
before Jesus and crowds followed Him. In Judeo-Christian
history there were people of God who came before Jesus, and
there have been people of God since him. Yet, He is the
central figure of this religion. This is not a picture of
evolution but of God's wisdom. At issue here, is whether mankind
as a whole
is gradually evolving, or merely wandering in the dark, and
catching glimpses of Truth as some of the best of His people
visit amongst us.
Man has a lot to learn; I believe that he/she learns it
not in a gradual evolving way and not necessarily as a group
but as God's grace and the choices of the chosen determine.
Jesus came into Jerusalem, triumphantly on a donkey.
He came triumphantly, yet humbly. This, again, speaks of
God's way, not man's.
Jesus' moments of violence27
(The cursing of the fig tree;
The direction to take up swords;
and the cleansing of the temple}
In these next few verses of Matthew, Jesus is
uncharacteristically violent. Think of the rest of His life
... of what he taught, of how he lived.
He lived humbly, forgiving and healing ... teaching love and peace.
And yet here He is seemingly supporting violence.
He would have had to be a bit tense at this time.
I am a person of peace, and yet I have my times of weakness.
I believe that Jesus also had times of weakness.
And at the same time, I can accept
that peaceful unity has its limits. Can we tell from
these cases what that limit is? I think not.
Jesus is quoted as saying,
"Whoever does not have a sword
... must buy one ... for ... the scripture must come true
which says `he was included with the criminals'"28.
When the disciples told him that they already had two swords, Jesus
said,
"Enough".
He was not into violence.
I believe either He or Matthew (in writing his story) wanted to show
scripture fulfilled.
Matthew was a tax collector ... into keeping records straight,
and eager to see books balanced, prophesies fulfilled.
On the cross Jesus uttered "Father, why hast Thou forsaken me".
Perhaps even Jesus didn't realise the extent to which God was with him.
Think of this later event, as recorded in the gospels. Think of
the scripture seeking to
be fulfilled (being amongst thieves); then consider who God placed
on either side of him at Calvary.
The Limit to Unity
While neither the cleansing of the temple, the cursing of the fig tree,
nor the statement in the garden show us the limit to peaceful unity,
there is another scripture which should be helpful here.
Jesus said, "I have come not to bring peace but a
sword" (Matthew 10:34-39). Study the context of this one
and we may find what we're looking for.
The "violence" Jesus is into here is certainly not physical.
It is the violence that Truth does to deception ... It Obliterates
it!!!
True Family
Jesus was wanting us to see our true families as those who hold the
same spiritual loyaties.
Jesus' message was so important that, even though he knew it would
divide biological families,
it had to be asserted.
He knew there would be some that would accept his Teaching
and some that wouldn't.
To put biological family before universal Love is a grave mistake.
We have many opportunities to express Love (and it often comes natural)
through and to the families
we are born of and who are born of us
and I for one am sorry I haven't expressed my love to them more than
I have.
But there comes a time when a person can be held back spiritually by
those who found her or him
easier to relate to before the person's Love expanded. At that
time we must choose our priorities.
I have found the impact of those choices very severe, very real and
very long lasting.
Unity has its limits
True Love does not.
Jesus, as wary as a serpent,
as innocent as a dove.
There were a couple of examples of Jesus following his
own teaching here. When people tried to trap him he used
discernment and cunning to escape their traps. One example
was when asked, "By what right do you have to do these things?"
(refering to his forgiving peoples' sins).
In response, he asked them by whose authority did John the
Baptist baptise. Since they didn't give him an answer he
gave none to them.29
Another was when Herod tried to frighten him into
running away (strenthenning Herod's cliam to power over him)
or dare him to stay long enough to be caught.
Jesus acted in such a way so as to allow neither to
happen.30
The Two Sons
This parable has been confused with the Prodigal Son.
In this one the older brother, who refuses to do his
father's will, goes ahead and does it. It's not what we
claim but what we do that counts.
The Tenants in the
Vineyard
The official keepers of the church have rarely done
their duty. They would rather take over God's place.
The Wedding Feast31
After Jesus tells us in parable after parable how
wonderful the Kingdom of God is, he assures us that few will
come when they are called. Most will think their busy-ness
is more important.
The taxes trap
By paying taxes we acknowledge that we depend on civil authority
to grant us justice (or mercy) for what we contribute to society.
Those who follow the Way of Jesus will find that they are
well rewarded by God.
The authorities tried to trap Jesus into saying something
treasonous that they could arrest him for. Jesus wasn't ready
to
confront their authority at this time and over such a seemingly small
issue, so
He aswered their question about whether it's right to pay tax
in a way that neither denied the Authority of God nor gave them
the ammunition they sought.
He wasn't going to be swept under the carpet for an issue
that most of us couldn't quite grasp.
He had a better way to confront the issue.
People were saying that Jesus
was very godly and wanted to make Him their king.
Caesar was not in charge ... Jesus was.
Jesus was not to be jailed for tax insurrection,
but to be crucified for claiming ultimate authority of his Way
over everything!
Life after death
God's opinion
"I AM the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God
of Jacob."
(God of the Living not of the dead)
The Great Commandment
(and the second)
There is no doubt which is the great commandment and
yet some people are still confused32.
And the golden rule
follows. They are two sides of the same coin. It is
interesting that Jesus's sermons aren't that of a lawyer,
defending these two commandments. He spoke as a salesman or
an artist, describing the indescribable (Heaven). The
spirit of the Law is more important than the letter.
Jesus is rough on one group
This group included the teachers of the law and the Pharisees ...33
the self righteous.
This is one of the groups that Jesus refers to in a
parable about robbing a strong man's house. These are some
of the folk he ties up first, taking away their influence
for ill on other people's lives, and replacing it with good.
What does he tie them up with?
I think he ties them up with Truth ... with his indomitable will
to live a life of Love regardless of threat or bribe.
They are powerless in the face of such a one.
End Time Prophecy
Last days, according to Jesus (Matt.
24) }
Jesus says three things to me in
this chapter about the end times:
First, that things will get worse,
like a woman in labour, before they get better.
Smooth evolution is not prophesied
here.
Second, that many will be deceived
by false prophets and false messiahs.
How many of these have appeared
already.
And finally that no one will be
able to predict the day or the hour.
Perhaps the final battle ... the
end ... comes to each of us individually
as well as on a world scale.
End times parables
Besides giving us some fairly specific
signs of the end times (Matt
24) Jesus also gave three parables
(In Matthew 25). It's best to read them for yourself.
To me the parable of the ten virgins says that we should work hard at
our
spiritual life of prayer, fasting, compassion, understanding etc.
because the time is coming when we will need extra faith.
We won't be able to count on others to give us this faith at that time.
The parable of the Talents says to me that we should use what we have
for God and each other. Hiding our talents away is the best way
to lose them.
The "Sheep and the Goats" says that there will be a sorting out;
and it will be done not so much on the basis of how often we go to
church,
or give our money to charity,
but on how we have treated people in need that we meet every
day.
The lead up to crucifixion
This is a most riveting part of Jesus' story, yet I
don't like it. The gospel writers place too much emphasis, in
my opinion,
on the life and death issue, and not enough on character and morality.
While Jesus taught in word and deed
the supreme value of the Kingdom of Heaven,
I don't think his disciples took it all in.
The way this event is reported is an indication of this.
They string it out like slow motion in the cinema.
I would rather study in slow motion how a person
changes their character for the better. Perhaps that will
take a life-time (mine/yours).
"Believers", ever since, have focused on Jesus' death
and especially his resurrection as key elements to his
power. I have never seen them as such.
The quote is true ... "Greater love hath no man than he
who would lay down his life for another". I believe this to be
true.
And to me Love is the key. The hocus pocus
about the resurrection of Jesus being the centre and
cornerstone of our beliefs misses the point, in my opinion.
If Jesus died, and no one ever saw him again, He would mean
no less to me. His Spirit is eternal. It makes sense.
It
is the main joy and meaning of life. Jesus lives as long as
at least one of us values him. And I can assure you that
at least one of us does.
To do things in order to be rewarded later in Heaven,
or because the Big guy (God) is backing us may be one of the
first steps of faith, but to do things because they are
inherently right regardless of reward or no reward is the
way that true, full-time believers live.
Surrender Unto God
There are some parts of this passion that do mean a lot
to me. Gethsemane is perhaps the greatest. This is where
Jesus goes to contemplate the seriousness of what he is
about to do. He seeks to live, yet he seeks more to do his
father's will. "Not as I want, but as You want" is perhaps
the ultimate in ethics.
So many today confuse what is right with what they want
to do. The secret is not to ask the center of "me" what is
right, but to ask the Spirit which flows through us
(assuming we let it) ... the Spirit which we do not own, and
which is not unique to us individually, but the Spirit of
that which is best in Creation (the Creator's spirit), and
therefore, that which is best in us. Someone said one time,
"If in doubt as to which road is right, take the harder one."
Not a very popular idea today.
Extra Strength
"The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak." This
reminds me of the parable of the ten virgins.34
It reminds
me also of the boy the disciples couldn't heal.35
In the later, Jesus
told them that it required fasting and prayer. The more
intent we are in our spiritual life the more prepared we
will be for difficult times.
Jesus under persecution:
--taking the harder road36
--not seeking to excuse
--standing up for the truth
--friends desert37
--betrayers condemn themselves38
--feelings of being completely alone 39
"Father why hast thou forsaken me?"
(This quote was from Psalm 22, however, and
Jesus may have taken comfort in having fulfilled
another prophecy.)
Supernatural events seem to take place40
(something of the supernatural has been
experienced)
The Resurrection
It helps one to have faith, if we believe that Jesus
conquered the grave. To live a life of love without this
hope is truly a greater achievement.
Positive Proof that Jesus
Lives
"You ask me how I know He Lives
He Lives within my heart"
Positive Proof that you are Loved
I know you are Loved
because I Love you
The great Commission
As a piece of poetry, this scripture gives me great
spiritual strength.
While the bit about baptising in the names of the trinity is not so
important to me,
the overall statement says what I feel,
that spiritual good, has the ultimate say ... that we shouldn't hide
it,
but offer it to a lost world, and live it as examples, and
because it is the best way for ourselves as well. If Jesus
actually said it, so much the better.
"I have been given all authority in heaven and on
earth. Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and
make them my disciples: baptise them in the name
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have
commanded you. And remember! I will be with you
always, to the end of the age."41
--------------
---------
----
The other Gospels
MARK
The book of Mark seems to be the most historically accurate, and
the
least fantastic. Anyone who is interested in what went on
in the scientific hard facts sense should probably focus on
this gospel.
What really happened, however, is beyond words and
certainly beyond hard facts as we know them. It takes
parables, and fulfiled prophecy, and miracles, to even begin
to paint a picture of what actually happened there and then,
and how it affects us here and now.
LUKE
Luke's gospel is very much like Matthew's, and along
with Matthew and Mark is one of the synoptic gospels
(synoptic just means that they're a lot alike, and probably
had some common sources). Luke focuses more on poor people,
at the expense of the rich. Instead of Matthew's "Blessed
are the poor in spirit", Luke has "Blessed are the
poor...and woe to the rich". I personally like Luke's
gospel because materialism and consumerism are so accepted
and entrenched in today's (21st Century) world that they need
strong counteracting. The Truth, however, is in all of the gospels,
and
can easily be found by those who sincerely seek it.
JOHN
This gospel is well loved by the established churches,
and was probably written by their ancient ancestor. It
contains many beautiful scriptures. It also contains a
great deal of dogma. Written about 90 years after Jesus was
on earth, it was written "that you may believe that Jesus is
the Messiah, the Son of God...".42
Summary
How can anyone summarise what Jesus has done,
what He stands for, and what He continues to be?!!
Forget all else and focus your life on the Way of Jesus
and you can't go wrong.
Jesus' Way is the way of sharing your Love with your neighbour,
with strangers,
and finally, including even your enemies.
It doesn't neglect your own needs
so much as help you to see them a bit differently.
It is the way of nonviolence,
of standing up for Truth
and living Love.
