The Second Mary

 So in Mark’s gospel there was a second Mary who went to the tomb with the more famous Mary of Magdalene.  By the time we get to John’s gospel, this second Mary has disappeared.  What happened? Alternative facts?  Whatever, she was not all that important to John.  Nor was the sun’s rising all that important to John.  In Mark the sun is risen but for John it is still dark.  I connect with this second Mary in Mark.  Over time she gets ignored or forgotten, but that does not change her experience of the resurrection, the empty tomb, the awe and mystery of it all.  So it is OK if I am ignored and forgotten because that does not change my experience of Jesus the risen one in my life.  I can still have the daily awe and mystery.  I still have faith which does not depend upon my importance in the world.  My ego gets crucified in being ignored and forgotten by the powers that be.  But my living as Jesus taught does not depend on what others think of me or don’t think of me at all.  It depends on my daily being in touch with the awe and the mystery of life, called eternal life.  That is the life Jesus is living.  

Awe And Mystery

 I like Mark’s Gospel ending the best.  It ends with verse 8 in chapter 16.  What is added later is done by others who can’t live well with awe and mystery.  I like the simplicity of awe and mystery.  The angel in the tomb simply says Jesus of Nazareth, crucified. This is what the two women knew.  Then the angel adds, he has been raised up and gone back to the beginning of the story, Galilee.  There is nothing about Divinity, Christ, Second Person of Trinity.  To me, Mark is saying that my life is to be lived according to the first 15 chapters of his gospel.  No matter what happens to me, I am challenged to keep living as Jesus taught me.  And when I die, it will not be the end for me.  Live like Jesus lived and I will die as he did, but it will not be the end. So many people emphasize the divinity of Jesus and then skip living like the first 15 chapters of Mark taught.  They just pray for Jesus to fix their lives, make thing miraculously better for them, in spite of bad behavior or behavior not fitting to the way Jesus lived.  Sort of worship Jesus but then ignore everyone who does not think, look like, and act like you.  For me, the raised up Jesus, loves the enemy, the neighbor you don’t like.  Now that is awe and wonder.  

Easter

 Well, it is Easter Sunday around here so I went out early while you were sleeping and looked up at the clear sky.  Magnificent at 8,000 foot altitude.  Lots of wonderful stars.  A vast universe and some Creative Power did all this.  I am in awe.  But is it possible that this same power became a little human being just like me, in some insignificant country, at a time when there was no indoor plumbing or electricity or internet?  And then got crucified because he would not play along with the religious and political powers that be?  And then today, Easter Sunday his grave was found empty, but he appeared alive to his friends?  If you say you are certain of this, then I guess you don’t need faith.  Faith and certainty don’t mix.  But I have faith that this Power did all the above.  I think this Power is calling me to stop the blog for now and sit quietly in meditation.  It is called feeding my faith.  How about you?

Feelings Follow

 Someone reminded me that you don't need to feel like forgiving in order to forgive.  It is an act of the will.  Feelings follow...eventually.  I try to keep this in mind.  My withholding forgiveness may not bother another person at all.  But it will bother me  I will host revenge, resentment, anger, judgment and other nasty "feelings."  In that case, forgiveness as an act of the will is to relieve me of some pain.  Then I can use a prayer to ask my spiritual power, God in this case, to help those feelings to giddy up and get here sooner rather than later.  My use of the will to forgive is to prevent me from doing something foolish to relieve my negative, bothersome feelings.  I cannot control my feelings very easily, but I can make use of my will.  And if I have some willpower at work, I am already better than I used to be.  

Direction

 Face the direction in which you are going.  It is actually a sign at an airport.  How many times I have been thrown off my path, bumped into something or someone, caused confusion, all because I was walking in one direction bu looking in another.  The worst is to be driving and fixing your rear view mirror or staring into it!  Yikes.  The spiritual path is the same way.  Avoid a focus on distractions.  If they do come up, let go and get back to your original purpose.  Take a zoom meeting on a spiritual topic or growing into fit spiritual condition.  You check into the meeting, and then instead of listening and participating, you go into checking your email or FB page.  Maybe the meeting is on your iPad and you go into your cell phone.  What you are doing is bumping into your self in its self-centered, self-imploded mode.  You contribute nothing to the virtual meeting and get nothing from it.  I confess.  Been there and done that.  Face the direction in which you are going.  

Economic Influences

Religion influences economics.  How so?  Well, when we had the Protestant Reformation in England, there was a group called, "Puritans."  They were not interested in Anglican High Church stuff that was too much Vatican for them.  Having the correct faith was what counted.  If you had the correct dogma then you were "in."  If not, look out.  Love of neighbor was not so big an issue, especially if neighbor was not Puritan.  So it was very much the individual with the correct dogma.  And each individual interpreted the Bible as they saw it.  A lot of individual here.  This is the 17th century and capitalism is not quite in its infancy.  But the idea of each individual free to do the best for themself was in the air.  Then comes Adam Smith in the 18th century and the idea of the "invisible hand."  If you are free to do your business/commerce, and do it the best as you can for yourself, an invisible hand will make it all good for everyone else.  Voila!  Capitalism.  And where did this system flourish? Here in what became the United States, the place where the Puritans came to be free to do their way of life.  The Indians, those who were here, were not into puritanism or private land ownership.  So those who say religion is nothing while making lots of money is everything, you might think again.  I think that Pope Francis is trying to steer religion into making a different kind of economics.  Those who think dogma, correct belief, is central, don't much care for Francis.    

The Indifferent

 You think it is hard to love your enemies?  Yes, but I find it harder to love those who are indifferent to me.    I can try to be reconciled to the enemy.  There is something that is between us, that is getting in the way of relationship.  Maybe it is custom, or history, or ethnicity or sexuality, but usually something that makes us "enemy."  Whereas those who are indifferent to me, what is there to reconcile?  They don't avoid me or are unkind in any specific way.  They simply don't seem to care that I exist at all, and act at time as if I am not even present.  The enemy excludes someone.  The different ignore.  At least when you are an enemy you are somebody.  So I find it harder to love those who are indifferent to me.  The indifferent person is not hateful.  Indifference too often means that I am not significant enough for someone to have a strong feeling about me one way or the other.  I ry to avoid being indifferent to another person.   Oh, and Happy April Fool's Day!