A full day. How lucky am I? Starts with a crisply cold morn with wisps of snow, blessed holiday snow, on the way to early service, just in time for the Decalogue.
Interesting--upon reading the 2nd Commandment… “Thou (i.e. YOU, suckah!, okay me too) shalt not make unto thee any graven image of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth” and I thought, WOW is the very cross that we revere AN IDOL? Seems to fit the definition, but who am I to say, a cynic and a sinner and one who actually liked Kentucky’s smiley-faced license plate (before it won the award for the country’s best).
Rev. Sally’s customarily great sermon rightfully praised Joseph’s faithfulness in God’s word that his fiancé’s pregnancy was of the Spirit, and not by what Joseph supposed was Mary’s philandering. Rev Sally had us put ourselves in Joseph’s shoes and realize that indeed, to have the faith of Joseph in a circumstance where he discovers his betrothed to be pregnant (without of course having “relations” with her), then to marry Mary, and name and raise Jesus as God’s angel, Gabriel, directed was an incredible act of faith that resulted in the world’s salvation [in my belief for Christians and non-Christians alike, as I do not believe Jesus would have chosen ANY religion, but that is another subject…].
She then noted the blessed nature of the “Virgin mother” Mary, considered the most high, especially in the Catholic faith. Then a thought hit me like a bombshell: Jesus’ own attitude and treatment of his mother—at least what the Gospels show—was NOT very respectful…at least not near the adoration of her Catholic followers.
One of the few times the Gospels show Jesus’ interaction with his mother is in John 2:4 at the wedding in Cana where Mary, “the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, WOMAN, WHAT HAVE I TO DO WITH THEE?” Wow, THIS is “honoring thy mother” (the 5th Commandment)? I dunno about that, but hey, he’s Jesus, so give him the Michael Jordan no foul call.
I mean, he thinks so little of his birth mother that he says in Luke 8:21 “My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God and do it” in response to his being told that his mother and brothers were there to see him.
I am not judging, but simply observing what appears to be Jesusian behavior diametrically opposed to what we would assume and suppose to be the ideal, that is, what follows to the T the TC (Ten Commandments). Like when he healed on the Sabbath, and says—and I paraphrase in the lingo of an independent Southerner… "By Gawd the Sabbath was made for MAN, not the other way around!”
You know, there’s something about “Mary” because not only was that the name of his mother, but also his consort of sorts, Mary Magdalene. No proof that Jesus did more than absolve her and restore her to God’s embrace, but who knows. There’s so much missing, like all those years between his youth and his last days—weeks--months from which we learn all we know about Issa (the Hindi name for Jesus, apparently he spent some of those missing years traveling India, perhaps picking up and/or sharing his own, spirituality…definitely another subject).
This thread (which I had no intention of starting at this post’s inception) of biblical reality in conflict with traditional perception, I will sew up with a referral to Acts 4:32-37, a section you won’t often see cited, as it is a God-given prescription for the ideal way a community should live so as to maximize the COMMON WEALTH. These passages are really a description of what centuries later would be called theoretical COMMUNISM/SOCIALISM (NOT Soviet or any Communism as practiced today with tyrranical, terroristic force!), where the disciples had the townspeople sell what they had, bring all together for the common good so that people took what they needed and all lived happily and well thereafter. Incredible, but true, read it!…
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**OOH, OOH (Car 54 Where Are You OOH, OOH)-- watching It’s a Wonderful Life as I write this, it’s just at the point where George Bailey defends his dad and lays into Potter who criticized giving easy, generous terms to low income working class citizens which he claimed created a “discontented lazy rabble instead of a thrifty working class all because a few starry eyed dreamers like Peter Bailey stirs them up and fills their head with impossible ideas!”
George Bailey stood up and CORRECTLY said his dad selflessly forsook higher profits, lived frugally so as to help others live better and observes “Don’t it make them better citizens, don’t it make them better customers?” Yes, yes, a thousand times yes it does.
So what is today’s selfless (low, little, private profit that enables low income people to have more) version of Bailey’s Building and Loan? To be continued….**
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The rest of the day included a heartfelt talk with a friend at the bookstore, another one or two in other stores, including our own, more Christmas decorating at home, more space heaters bought (hopefully ones that will actually WORK so that I can pay the electric company instead of the gas co.), then to my one of my best friend’s party at his festively decorated new home, and now for the past few hours typing and watching Smokey and the Bandit and Holy Christmas was JACKIE GLEASON HILARIOUS!!
It doesn’t get funnier! What a day.
Moo on! Rfd, December 19 & 20, 2004
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