New Year, New Life

It's the first day of 2017 A.D., anno Domini, Latin for "in the year of our Lord."  It's amazing, if you think about it, that the significance of that number, 2017, is ignored amidst the fireworks, champagne and choruses of Auld Lang Syne.  It never ceases to amaze [and disappoint] me that we seem to go out of our way to avoid talking about Jesus in the important matters of life. Or if He is brought up, it is usually in some distorted or caricaturish  way that has little or nothing to do with who he is, based on someone's inept means of trying to live the Christian life. Those who are blind to Christ or threatened by his authority love to mock him by exaggerating the distortions that have emerged from the Christian lifestyle, as if there were no distortions in every endeavor of life. Some seem to militantly avoid his amazing, deep and liberating teachings, and how much aid to the poor, sick and traumatized people of the world has been ministered in his name. Many still say we are a Christian nation, and it seems very evident that our Founding Fathers and Mothers were basing this democracy on Biblical principles that, to them, were transcendent and universal. The roots of Christianity run deep in our nation. And I believe that is precisely why we have enjoyed such prosperity and especially freedom, since the God of the Bible is free, and sent ten plaques against those who had enslaved His people. Jesus said that he came to "set at liberty those who are oppressed." This is profound because oppression permeates the hearts and minds of those who live in prosperity; not just the poor. Freedom is not primarily a political phenomenon; it is primarily an issue of the soul. Some in prison sing songs of joy; and some living in palaces commit suicide.
I hope that 2017 will be a year with increased emphasis on the One whose life and teachings are demarcated by it. If so, it will truly be a very good year.

Christmas Morning

It's Christmas morning. Millions of my brothers and sisters are mindful, in a special way that the God of this universe, the Cosmic Conscious Core of all existence, all living and inorganic material, has revealed a Love that is at the very apex of human understanding: the sacrificial giving of an only child. Jesus, full of Grace and Truth, has come to dispel the darkness of sin and spiritual blindness. "No more let sins nor sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground. He comes to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found."  (Isaac Watts)  I've been inspired by the story of Simeon. Here's his story, recorded in Luke Chapter 2.

25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,

you may now dismiss[fn] your servant in peace.

30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,

31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:

32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

and the glory of your people Israel.”

33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

He was "righteous and devout",  longing for the "consolation" of his people. When Mary and Joseph came to the Temple to have Jesus circumcised, he was literally "inspired" [moved by  the Spirit] to take the child in his arms. He supernaturally recognized that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah, God's offering of salvation, a light of revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Israel. God had promised that he would not die before seeing this amazing, holy, divine intervention. I try to imagine his face when he looked upon the infant, realizing the he was the One, the long-awaited [since Abraham] Savior of the world. Mary and Joseph must have been taken aback, shocked by this compassionate intrusion; but seeing the awe in Simeon's face, Mary allowed him to hold her child. Then listened intently as he reaffirmed the dawning truth first related to her by the angel Gabriel: that he was "destined  to cause the rising and falling of many in Israel, and a sign that will be spoken against." Spoken against indeed! Hated and plotted against. Despised. Rejected. Mocked. Crucified! [A sword would indeed pierce her soul!] But also worshiped and adored by those who had the eyes to see and the ears to hear. He said he came to bring a sword to separate people from people: those who could see from those who could or would not. Even separating fathers from sons, mothers from daughters: believers from unbelievers. Bringing believers into a new family: the family of God; the Kingdom of God. "Who is my mother, sister and brother?" he asked. "He who knows and does the will of my Father [God]."  

God, the only God of this universe, the Creator, brought forth in the universe this beautiful earth, filled it with life, conscious beings in His own image, then, in Love, set us free; departed from our direct conscious awareness, but lovingly left a fingerprint, bold, unmistakable, clear, accessible: His Holy Word. This Word tells the story of God and mankind; man's risings and fallings, the epic battle between good and evil, light and darkness. And how One would come to bring a great light: a King of kings and Lord of lords; consolation, healing, deliverance, salvation, forgiveness, hope, joy, peace, abundant and eternal [!] life.  Harmonious unity that destroys the effects of evil. Jesus brings all this and more--more than can be received or related. Simeon recognized the baby in Mary's arms to be the fulfillment of that promise given in God's fingerprint. Later, His followers, also, would begin to see Him as Truth in the flesh. It seemed to dawn in their awareness, like it has with us, like the dawning of the sun, rising toward the full light of day. Culminating, in Simon Peter's case, with the bold, earth-shaking statement, "You are the Christ! The Son of the living God!" Praise God for this dawning! The angels were surely rejoicing!  As they rejoice with every soul who comes to understand and accept Jesus as the Messiah. He reveals us to ourselves, and delivers us from the darkness that is in us. Christmas hymns are the brightest and most joyful of Christian hymns. "Joy to the world!" "Good Christian men rejoice, with heart and soul and voice." "Go tell it on the mountain!" "Gloria in Excelsis Deo!"  "Joy has dawned upon the world." "Peace on the earth, good will to men, from heaven's all gracious King." "He is born, the divine Christ-Child; play the oboe and bagpipes merrily!"  "Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!"  "Glory to the newborn King!" It's all superficial though until it is internalized. We continue to wander in the darkness, even though this great Light has come to earth, until we bow in reverent submission, like the wise men, and offer the most important gift: our hearts. Then begins the true adventure for which we have been created: the adventure of being the Light in this world that He has ordained and empowers us to be. Then comes the joy of learning to Love with His Love. Then comes the great and final victory of Light dispelling darkness in our own souls. Then, and only then, do we discover the true meaning, as an inner felt experience, of freedom!  

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will toward mankind! Peace! And Good Will! To all!  Welcome baby Jesus! Be born anew in our hearts. Be born in us with a life that is ever new, like, as You said, "a fountain of living water welling up to eternal life." Awaken us to the Truth that sets us free, and keeps us free. Deliver us from the worries and cares of this world, from guilt and shame and fear. Empower us, through Your promised Spirit within us, to truly love each other. May Your Name be praised forever and ever!

Mike Pence Booed and Lectured

When Mike Pence was booed and lectured to at Hamilton, he gracefully smiled and told his children "that's the sound of freedom."  But even though he is a public servant, shouldn't he be granted freedom to take his family to a play without being lectured or booed? Doesn't he deserve to be respected, especially in the presence of his children? When we are "in your face" with what we are free to do, freedom morphs into something I'm not proud to send my son off to war to defend and protect. This "freedom" is arrogant, impolite, entitled. It's the "freedom" that sows seeds of hostility and conflict--the stuff that makes freedom untenable. And there are certainly more extreme examples of this arrogance in recent American history. The freedom that we love, the freedom that enhances the quality of human life, is freedom that is self-restrained. It is restrained by love, mutual respect and humility. It is bold when necessary, like Martin Luther King, Jr.'s version. But we see in the Civil Rights movement, that tension between restrained and unrestrained freedom. Oppression builds up an energy that takes great discipline to restrain, and great courage to confront. Freedom requires both that courage and that restraint. Also, prosperity tends to breed entitlement and immaturity; traits that have historically preceded societal decline. Democracy is a fragile state of human existence. It is an out-of-balance condition when looked at from the worldwide historical perspective. It is somewhat of a glorious anomaly. And it can only be maintained by a psycho-spiritually mature populace. Our Founding Fathers, though imperfect as all men, seemed to realize this fragility, setting up a system with balanced power--a form of self-restraint. And not only providing freedom from state oppression of religion, but encouraging religion [the primary venue of psycho-spiritual maturity]. In fact, democracy is arguably a corollary of [result of] the psycho-spiritual maturity of a people who were willing to fight for religious liberty and who were determined enough  to endure grave hardships to flee religious oppression.  Let us hope that this stamina still exists in the prosperity and obesity of our democratic republic.  The most important foundation of democracy is  healthy religion; the Christian Faith of our Founding Fathers. This Faith must never be imposed, but its repression is a grave symptom of the decline of all freedoms, and the rise of authoritarianism.

Persevere

Let us not become weary in doing good, for in the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Gal 6:9
And because wickedness is multiplied, most men's love will grow cold, but he who endures to the end will be saved. Jesus Mt. 24:12-13

I wish to express my deepest gratitude to all my brothers and sisters in Christ (those who have received Him, recognizing that He is the Messiah) who are prayerfully seeking to be the Light in this world that He has ordained us to be.  In our time there are many Christian voices warning us of spiritual decline, just as in the days of Israel's decline before she was taken into captivity.  And, as then, most seem to be ignoring these prophetic warnings.  We should pray for discernment, for evil is deceptive and insidious, like unnoticed cancer cells growing in the physical body. Jesus says evil is so deceptive that, if God did not shorten the time of its rise, even the very "elect" (all of us sincere Christians) would be deceived (Mt. 24:22,24).  None of us is above reproach or immune to the deceptions of evil except as we diligently abide in Christ--in His Spirit, being careful, watchful, sober-minded; for Satan, like a roaring lion, roams to and fro throughout the earth seeking to devour those who stray from the safety of the flock of God's children--the Kingdom introduced by Christ, which is comparable to the Ark of Noah's day.  We should try to remain in the very center of the Kingdom; not out on the periphery, barely saved but not practicing our Faith. We must not make ourselves vulnerable to the subtle deceptions of the world,  which can slowly and imperceptibly lure us farther and farther into eternal darkness. We should not fear evil, but we should be very aware of  its deceptive and destructive powers. How many family members or friends do you know who have fallen into one of Satan's sticky traps? Some of them have not been able to get out. And how many Christians do you know who don't seem to take their walk seriously, as if were a nice option, but not crucial to life? Even though the effects of evil glare boldly at us through our media and everyday human interactions--perhaps because it does--we can become dull and desensitized to its devastation, and unknowingly allow ourselves to be pulled by its subtle currents farther and farther out into the sea of endless darkness. The Bible, and Jesus Himself, warn us to stay awake to the lurking horrors of evil. If you want to know how bad things can get in a Godless culture read Deuteronomy 28:15-68. There seems to be no end to the difficulties and gut-wrenching sorrows that beset a nation or culture that drifts from the Truth of Christ. God has given us freedom; and the responsibilities that naturally accrue to it. If we ignore the responsibilities that God has commanded, revealed and generously given to us in Christ, we should expect our lives to become progressively more difficult, fruitless and void. But if we will diligently seek Him and walk in the Light of the Love of Christ, He will not fail to bless us with eternal blessings, like the dawning of the sun, growing brighter and brighter to the full light of day (see Deut. 28:1-14).

Darkness/Light

Out of what kind of darkness has come the living specter of  technically advanced nations harboring weapons powerful enough to annihilate civilization and destroy the earth--nations with men  on alert twenty-four hours of every day, perpetually going through training designed to enable them to know how. when. and under what circumstances these fiery demons would be released upon the earth, demons that would scorch the earth, blacken the sky and pollute the oceans, destroying the balance that sustains life on this planet? What level of responsibility does this call forth from humankind?  How can we exercise this responsibility?
My answer: Do all you can to propagate the teachings of Jesus the Christ. He commanded His followers to love their enemies; and He demonstrated this Love in His own life. He is the Light that shines into the darkness from which those demon-weapons have come. He is our best hope of keeping these demons from being released; and He will protect His followers, even if they are.

Wisdom

The intelligence that garners wisdom was not born in this generation, and this generation does not exclusively possess it. And if you get lost in what has manifested in this generation--the bells and whistles, Facebook postings, movies and tweets, etc--you may miss something much deeper and sweeter for your soul; something that is ancient, ageless, liberating, and fresh as the morning dew. When you seek this ageless Truth, you will begin to see it everywhere. You will see the good and evil currents flowing through all your Facebook postings and tweets; and through your self. You will eventually come to sit at the feet of the One Who said, "I am the ...Truth..." And you will know that He is. Or you will remain in the anchor-less drifting darkness.

Quite A Moment

Startled by my motorcycle, rolling slowly through wide pools of four inch deep “High Water” (as the sign had warned) hundreds of tightly aligned purple martins peeled off the power line above me to join hundreds more circling, circling in the wide expanse of blue windy sky on this September day, the coolest after two months of summer heat, while, to my right, waves on the rain swollen Tchefuncta glistened in the sun as it poured its way the short distance remaining to Lake Pontchartrain. It was, I would say, quite a moment.