Hi all,
Opinions amongst the general public about Jesus amount to hearsay, very often based on prejudices picked up from the street, mixed with unfounded imagination and shaken by emotions. The source of our information about him seems to be a book with seven seals so that paperbacks about the biblical theme seem to be more appealing than the most sold book in the world itself. The use of film and pictures and the embarrassing portrayal of Jesus in the media are only a few methods of loosing the biblical source out of view. The Hollywood productions, depending on the intention of the films producers, have done their best to promote their own vision of Jesus in the modern age. The picture of a young smiling man, seldom with oriental or Semitic features, amongst hundreds of people flocking to see him, sticks in our minds.
What becomes apparent about Jesus when reading the Bible, is that he avoided crowds regularly and especially when people least expected him to. His followers seemed to believe that he was looking for popularity and assumed that he would fulfil messianic hopes so that they literally hunted him when he sought seclusion. But he forbade them using the term “Messiahâ€, foresaw a less glorious end for himself and dampened many jubilant exclamations, having more the appearance of a humble sage rather than that of a victorious hero.
Of course we read about him silencing the Scribes and the Pharisees, but not in a manner that would bring him wide renown. Rather, he was a prophet who was “without honour … in his own country, and in his own house.†He was a Galilean, who found little respect in Judea. He was regarded subversive, having come from the area where numerous uprisings had been initiated, and took steps not to be lumped in with the Zealots. He was unknown among the learned of his age and considered too young to have an inspired teaching.
In numerous occasions, we read how he observes daily life from the side, commenting to his followers on his observations, showing the hypocrisy of the ruling class, who also provided the High Priest, whilst exemplifying those people who were looked down upon. But he also commented on the schools of the Pharisees and Scribes, telling those who listened that they should pay attention to what the Scribes and Pharisees say, but not to behave like them. He turned the advocated principles around, advancing the unseen blessedness of the poor, of the mourning, of the meek, of those hungering and thirsting for righteousness, of the kind, of the clean in heart, of the peacemakers and of the persecuted, whilst on the other hand criticising extroverted piety.
Rather, he tells his followers to “go into their chamber, and having shut their door, to pray to their Father … in secret†and not display their devoutness openly. They were told not to “not give that which is sacred to the dogsâ€, or cast their figurative pearls before the swine. However, his select few were to be neither elitist, nor snobby, but rather modest and unassuming, seeking the best for others and being more concerned with being a “good tree†which bears “good fruit†with an considerate character, rather than concerned with a pious image. Neither were they to be resentful, but prepared to move on where they were not welcome. Thereby his followers would be actively working on the substance of society, unhampered by an image issue, by simply retaining a low profile.
The “multitudes†of which we read in the Bible were rather “large throngs†of people from various districts, showing that people were placing their hope in this alternative hero, who seemed to be more promising than the militant activists who had opposed the Roman occupation. But we also read that he was uncomfortable with the hope people were placing in him, answering “Why do you call me good? No one is good except One, God!†For Jesus, the precepts of the Torah were the door to real life, which found expression by doing the will of God.
However, these and many more examples show me a unique man who had been shown a “Way†that constituted a renewed covenant, bringing about a new quality in the relationship with the Eternal One, with the Law written on the “heart and soul†of his people, with all obstinacy forgiven and past sin forgotten. However, it is an inward turning that turns to the realm in our midst, and not to something external. It is complementary to all external reality, revealing a spiritual lacking that we otherwise miss. This lacking is the metaphorical “Beam†in the eye, a one-sidedness, an imbalance that needs something to regain balance and fullness. The fullness offered by Jesus, the rest for the soul and the yoke that helps us stem the burdens we have to bear is light, and it is enhanced by faith and contemplation.
Introspection is common to Indo-Germanic and Semitic cultures, although Socrates is also said to have used introspection as a way of looking into an individual’s mind through their experiences. It is apparent in the way Jesus has people look at their lives that he saw their inability to see the true bane of their lives – their sin, or separation from the fullness in God. We are incomplete, imperfect and see only partially the reality of our existence. It is said to be portrayed in the Fall of Adam supremely, indicating that our dualism – the knowledge of good and evil – halves our perception, because of which we eventually become sick and die spiritually.
No wonder then that at the end of Matthew 5, which begins with the Beatitudes, the lesson ends with “… ye shall therefore be complete, as your Father in the heavens is complete.†The word here is τέλειος (teleios) meaning ‘complete’ and can be applied to labour, growth, mental and moral character, amongst other things. The need for such completion is apparent in the world today. We still struggle one-eyed for what we perceive to be “good†and deem other things “evilâ€, but our judgement is impaired and it is only in the introspective confrontation with God’s wholeness that we understand and become humble and gentle – something Jesus says we can learn from him.
Any thoughts?
Shalom
but you are right, not all exercises lead to awareness. However, if we take awareness in Greek to also mean “to see completelyâ€, you can see the connection between Unity, completeness and awareness.