Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. (Matthew 15:30, NIV)
 
Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down…. He said:  “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
(Matthew 5: 1-3)
 
I try to imagine our meeting house so crowded that every seat is taken, and people are forced to sit on the floor or look in from the doorways of rooms. While attendance at Old Chatham Meeting is quite good, I doubt that we’ve ever had such an experience. Jesus, of course, was always attracting throngs of people; and—while he was always respectful and compassionate toward individuals in a crowd—he frequently fled the crush of the crowds, praying in lonely and deserted places.

So, who made up the crowds? Yes, there was an occasional scribe or pharisee from the higher echelons of society, but—for the most part—those who came to Jesus were the poor and powerless. They were dispossessed farmers, day laborers, women, and children—half-starved because of Roman taxation, suffering  a variety of ailments like leprosy and mental illness. They were ignorant and despised, “unclean” and shunned by their betters.

Well, liberal Friends are not like these people at all! By and large, we have education and money; and we are not “poor in spirit.” We are instead the bearers of culture and a rich spiritual tradition. And yet—in our hearts, we know that we’re more like the poor than we’d care to admit. Perhaps we’re not addicted to alcohol or crack cocaine; but maybe we compulsively use social media, maybe material comfort and convenience is our drug of choice. And, as we age, we inevitably fall prey to the disability and illness that the poor have suffered earlier in their lives.  

Moreover, we did not give ourselves the advantage of good genes and good parenting. God bestowed those gifts on us. All human beings come from God, are created by God, and are therefore God’s children. The truth is—we’re part of the crowd of paralytics and demoniacs that Jesus ministered to, and we need God’s grace if we are to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. (inspired by a sermon of Diana Butler Bass)

~ Richard Russell               

A number of messages came through on art and the genius of art this morning.  The afterthought that I had was regarding the redemptive and regenerative power of art in our lives. 
 
As a wordsmith and a person who loves and writes poetry, the power of word has been a constant theme in my life.  An art form with so much promise and power.  Our word is something we strive to honor as Quakers, but also the utterances, the very act of speech and the choice of words, creates new worlds and new possibilities that we can then live into. 
 
Words can create or destroy and the mindful use of words could be our greatest human asset.   I am reminded of a poem that imagines space and time and solitude as love. 
 
MEDITATION IN SUNLIGHT
by May Sarton

In space in time I sit
Thousands of feet above
The sea and meditate
On solitude on love

Near all is brown and poor
Houses are made of earth
Sun opens every door
The city is a hearth

Far all is blue and strange
The sky looks down on snow
And meets the mountain-range
Where time is light not shadow

Time in the heart held still
Space as the household god
And joy instead of will
Knows love as solitude

Knows solitude as love
Knows time as light not shadow
Thousands of feet above
The sea where I am now

Creating these spaces, these containers, as we do in Quaker Meeting and the other groups we participate in is by and of itself a transfiguration. A complete change in form or appearance. I have watched the debt of fear, worry and concern lift in community as we feel the love in solitude.   The regenerative aspects of what we share in messages and the healing power of the gathered community is, I think, more than any of us can fully comprehend.  

Words fail to describe experience but also offer a glimpse. 

Words create. 

Word = creation

Creation of the world we seek. 

~ Joseph Olejak 

Well, bungee jumping isn’t my idea of fun; but April Fulton in an NPR article argues that—instead of obsessively seeking happiness—we should concentrate more on fun activities.

Looking back, what endeavors have been fun for me? Well, camping, hiking, and travel come to mind. Fulton maintains that scheduling such activities is important if we’re to actually engage in them.

So, what—specifically—should I put on my calendar? I could drive to the Austin-San Antonio area for some interesting camp sites. I could also travel to Big Bend and camp out in the Chisos Mountains, perhaps hiking up to the South Rim. At age 76, that might be a challenge as such a hike is somewhat strenuous, entailing six miles of upward climb. I’d have to first undertake an exercise program to restore strength and balance lost to old age and sedentary habits. Moreover, I wouldn’t dare go on such a hike without a younger, more vigorous partner to help in case of emergencies like falling in the trail rubble or being bitten by a rattlesnake.

Of course, foreign travel is a lot of fun for me; and my wife and I are in the first stages of planning a trip to Peru, where staying with her relatives would help keep costs down. A lot of the fun of such a vacation is simply speaking Spanish all the time, which—for me—produces a mild exhilaration. In lieu of an actual trip, I guess I could watch Spanish-language TV and travel documentaries in English or Spanish.

And, while New York is not a foreign country, it’s enough different from Texas to make it a fun destination. Visiting Old Chatham Friends is always refreshing. With Covid around, I would even wear a bunny suit to talk face-to-face with Bill and Beverly Thompson. Then, there’s the possibility of going to the North Carolina Conservative Yearly Meeting and seeing Mary Linda McKinney, Mark Wutka, Sarah Miller, and Nat Corwin. While I appreciate the diverse spiritualities of Old Chatham Meeting, the North Carolina group is definitely Christocentric and more in harmony with my own spiritual identity.

If you, Friend, are thinking of putting more fun into your life, perhaps you should follow April Fulton’s advice:

1. Stop worrying about how happy you are.
   
2. Find your ‘fun magnets’ (pastimes you enjoy).
   
3. Put fun on the calendar.
   
4. Unplug (from social media, email, etc.).
   
5. Share the fun with someone (i.e., bungee jump with your wife, girlfriend, etc.).
   

Have enough fun, and you may well find yourself on the road to happiness.

~ Richard Russell

by Mary Jo Russell

When we tried once more to part
Our friends said that we cared too much.
But I’ve known within my heart
That our love was just a crutch.

Though we’re lonely when apart,
There’s always calm instead of storm.
All those teardrops from the start
Can’t keep my life and love from harm.

Chorus:
Till today I wasn’t sure
Why my life was insecure.
Now I know I can’t deny
I just can’t wait to say “goodbye.”

Though we’ve tried and tried anew,
Hoping our dreams would come around,
Another’s affection for you grew
And pushed aside the love I’d found.

Chorus:
Till today I wasn’t sure
Why my life was insecure.
Now I know I can’t deny
I just can’t wait to say “goodbye.”
 
The song above was written by my mother, no doubt referring to my abusive father. There are a multitude of good causes for Quakers to support, but the struggle to end domestic violence is surely one that Friends should consider.

~ submitted by Richard Russell

In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul writes,
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance:
that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he
was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the
Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 
After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers
and sisters, at the same time, most of whom are still living, though
some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the
apostles,  and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

Jesus’ disciples believed in his Resurrection because he appeared to them after his crucifixion and death. It’s possible, but improbable, that the appearances were objectively real: that, for example, if anyone had been with Peter (Cephas) when Peter saw the Risen Lord, that person—Roman or Jew, skeptic or believer—would also have seen Jesus. More probable is the conjecture that the appearances were hallucinations.

The word “hallucination” instantly brings to mind schizophrenia, a mental disorder in which people see, hear, or otherwise sense something that is not really there. But the disciples were not schizophrenics; and hallucinations are actually quite common, even among people who are psychologically normal. For example, A. Y. Tien in a 1991 study of 18,572 people found that 13 percent of them claimed to have experienced at least one vivid hallucination. Only 1 percent of the general population is schizophrenic. (statistics from Bart Ehrman)

Particularly common are so-called “bereavement hallucinations,” in which people sense the presence of a loved one who has recently died. Such hallucinations are often accompanied by a sense of guilt over some aspect of the relationship with the deceased. Certainly, Peter felt guilt over denying he knew Jesus; and the disciples in general must have felt shame over so consistently misunderstanding him during his life. Moreover, bereavement hallucinations tend to be associated with anger at the people or situation that caused the death of the beloved. Surely the disciples were angry with the Romans! Finally, stress makes hallucinations more likely. And the disciples were certainly stressed by Jesus’ death. They fled to Galilee after the crucifixion, fearing that the Romans would also want to execute them.

Based on Paul and the Gospels, it seems likely that only a handful of the disciples “saw” Jesus immediately after his death—perhaps Peter, James, and Mary Magdalene, perhaps one or two others. Of course, we can’t know for sure. We do have Paul’s testimony that at some point over 500 of Jesus’ followers experienced his presence. Ridiculous, right? Mass hallucinations are impossible!

Well, no. Mass hallucinations do occur. Even in modern times crowds of people have seen apparitions of the Virgin Mary. Notable is the phenomenon of October 13, 1917, when a crowd of 30,000 to 40,000 people in Portugal saw the sun fall toward the earth and zigzag in the sky while multi-colored lights flashed over the clouds and the landscape. The event was taken by many to be the miracle promised by the Virgin Mary to three Portuguese shepherd children, the so-called “Miracle of Fátima.” Skeptics have, of course, cast doubt on aspects of the Fátima event.  

Well, granted that some of the disciples saw “Jesus” after his death, who or what did they think they were seeing? The disciples had apparently expected Jesus to reveal himself in Jerusalem as the Messiah. A mysterious, cosmic “Son of Man” would descend from Heaven in power and glory, free Israel from Roman rule, and set up Jesus as the earthly King of the Jews. Instead, Jesus suffered the death of a slave or criminal.

When Jesus appeared to the disciples after his death, those appearances were usually brief. No matter that they were illusions, the disciples believed they were real. “Well, then,” asked the disciples, “Where was Jesus the rest of the time, between appearances?” The answer: he had to be in Heaven. God must have exalted him from merely human status to a semi-divinity. And now the disciples had solved the problem of the crucified Messiah. Jesus was both Messiah and Son of Man. Very soon he would return to earth permanently and rule Israel or even the whole world.  

One final question remains. Were the disciples’ visions merely psychological, or did they refer to some external, spiritual reality that is not a part of our every-day world? I vote for the latter. My faith tells me that the visions of Jesus were visions of someone who somewhere—somehow—still exists.

(This post closely follows the argument of Bart D. Ehrman in his book, How Jesus Became God.)

~ Richard Russell