Jonathots Daily Blog
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You Need to Do to Make a Stew
1. Find out what you’ve got. (Don’t forget the back of the refrigerator.)
2. Chop it all up.
Jesonian … January 20th, 2018
Jonathots Daily Blog
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A growling grouchiness tends to fester my soul every time I sit down in front of some sort of clerk who wants to ask me questions so that he or she can “punch me into their system.”
I have a natural inclination to turn and run full speed out of the room, thus “unplugging.”
Systems don’t work.
Now, I know over-generalized conclusions such as this one are frowned on by people who want to remain congenial and open to all parties, but once any organization or movement acquires a mortgage, as far as humanity is concerned, they usually become no damn good.
Rules are established, guidelines are formulated, temperaments are discussed and limitations established.
I don’t care if the system is taking care of the poor, preaching the Gospel or electing candidates to office–just the presence of the instinct to follow an “inner office memo” filled with stipulations stifles creativity and smother passion.
Nicodemus came to see Jesus by night-Step 1 of any system.
Play it safe.
Nicodemus did not know whether his friends would approve of him interacting with the rogue Galilean, so he “came by night.” I’m sure he thought he was smart. I’m sure he believed he was more open-minded than his buddies, who wouldn’t come at all, even if it was pitch black.
He begins his dialogue with Jesus by trying to coerce a mutual sense of equality from the Nazarene–Step 2 of a system. “We know you’re a teacher sent by God.”
(Just like us…)
Every system wants to make everything the same for everybody, because if it isn’t, it’s just not fair–and if you acquiesce to one person, then everyone wants the same consideration.
I am not a conceited man, but my mission is not the same as the pastor of some United Methodist church in Wisconsin. I am not better than him–but I have been given more. And the scriptures tell me that because I’ve been given more, more is expected of me.
Jesus doesn’t mince any words with Nicodemus. He doesn’t give in to the equality theory, but tells Nicodemus that he “must be born again.” The cleverness of the statement–the parallel of spiritual rebirth to original birth are ignored by this scripture peruser.
He does what people always do to someone who apparently wants to rock the boat–he mocks the simplicity. He makes fun of Jesus suggesting that an old man could go back into his mother’s womb. He might even have chuckled at his own reference. He is convinced that in a world of black and white, it is necessary to strictly honor the available colorations.
Jesus explains to him that it’s an uncomplicated concept and challenges Nicodemus to walk more in his intelligence instead of marching in beat with the purists. Jesus says, “If I tell you of Earthly things and you don’t understand, how could I ever tell you of heavenly things?”
Then, as always, the system is offended, and begins to denigrate the concepts which lead to the conclusion of personal responsibility.
It is so much easier to be religious if you believe God is in control, has a plan for your life, is moving angels and demons back and forth and has already won the battle. It becomes a bit more intricate when you realize the Kingdom of God is within you.
Nicodemus departs, unimpressed. Matter of fact, later on the scriptures refer to “some of the Jewish leaders” who privately had sympathy for Jesus and his Kingdom movement, but were afraid to speak up.
Nicodemus found himself trapped. When the Council decided to have a meeting to put Jesus on trial, and Nicodemus objects to them indicting the Master without hearing him, they dismiss Nicodemus. They ask if “he, too, is a Galilean.”
He says nothing more. He is silenced.
You will never make strides in your spiritual life or truly understand the humanity of Jesus and the mission he had to save souls as long as you hide behind vespers and prayers.
Jesonian is a lifestyle.
And Jesus spent his life being the champion of the human race. To do so, he had to dodge many systems and ignore those who were locked up in the mindset of the moment instead of grasping the born-again heart of those who were fully aware that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son.”
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PoHymn: A Rustling in the Stagnant … August 9th, 2017
Jonathots Daily Blog
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Come To My Door
I am so much more than you see
Yet far from where I want to be
There is a magnificent story
Laced with pain and glory
Waiting to be told
Chiseled from the cold
Warming the hearts of the frigid
Loosening the bonds of the rigid
I declare the angel of simplicity
I am bound to the tenement
A victim of the sentiment
Advanced as a theory
Muddled, confused and weary
I know where I am going
Careful with what I’m sowing
But trapped by time and chance
Barely given a flitting glance
By a horde perniciously bored
I am not discouraged by the lack
Yearning for the faith, standing at the back
I press toward a mark
A pinlight in the dark
Yes, there is no failing when all are blind
Does every seek garner a find?
Preparing my ask to make it kind
Come to my door and give a knock
Roll with me as I learn to rock.
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Dear Man/Dear Woman: A Noteworthy Conversation … April 9th, 2016
Jonathots Daily Blog
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Dear Man: So what did they tell you?
Dear Woman: They told me that women are beautiful, but very emotional. What did they tell you?
Dear Man: I was told that men are handsome and strong.
Dear Woman: Well, since “beautiful” and “handsome” are literally in the eye of the beholder, that leaves emotional and strong.
Dear Man: That it does. And what do those two words mean?
Dear Woman: Well, emotional means having lots of feelings.
Dear Man: And for simplicity, strong means having lots of muscles.
Dear Woman: So I guess the thought is, when feelings are needed, women are handy and in everything else, men have the edge because they can lift the weights.
Dear Man: Here’s my question–can anybody achieve anything without emotion? Can the football team win the national championship without great feelings and energy to propel them?
Dear Woman: And can anything be accomplished as a human being without utilizing strength? For instance, can a woman actually go through the difficulty of puberty, struggles in the economy, birthing and raising children–without possessing tremendous physical fortitude?
Dear Man: Of course not. But we’re led to believe that I’m emotional and you are strong. So if you decide I’m overly emotional, you can just beat the crap out of me.
Dear Woman: Well, I personally wouldn’t do that…
Dear Man: I know that. But deep in the recesses of your primeval brain is the notion that you could take me down.
Dear Woman: And equally deep in your evolution is the information that you may only be able to get what you want by crying and expressing your feelings.
Dear Man: So what’s the truth?
Dear Woman: Well, that’s easy. None of us can live without emotion and strength. To be a human being, you must know how to tap your emotions, and be able to be strong in the hour of trial.
Dear Man: Exactly. So maybe the problem is the words we use.
Dear Woman: I’m listening.
Dear Man: What I mean is that emotion without purpose and direction is useless. If you add purpose it becomes passion.
Dear Woman: And strength without the willingness to include endurance is just macho energy because it doesn’t hang in there and last to the end. So what I’m saying is that an emotional and strong football team doesn’t win the game.
Dear Man: No, it’s a passionate team–one with great endurance–that lasts through the fourth quarter and takes the day.
Dear Woman: Do you realize, there’s no Bible for the boys and another for the girls. There’s no Constitution for the men and another one for women. In our higher forms of reasoning, we already understand that we need to be human beings and not just genders.
Dear Man: Well said. So maybe the best thing we can do is teach our children–and maybe ourselves–that women are not emotional and men strong, but instead, that human beings are learning to use their passion with endurance.
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Jesonian: Reasonable (Part 8) Priority … January 24th, 2016
Jonathots Daily Blog
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I am often reluctant to quote directly from the Good Book.
It is not due to a lack of respect or devotion to the volume. I would have a similar sensation about reading passages from Moby Dick if historically the Melville work had brought about horrific division and chaos.
But sometimes a particular passage from the Bible needs to be shared in its simplicity–and entirety–to point out how misunderstanding has driven us away from the consensus of what makes things good.
“Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.”
It is virtually impossible for a theologian to interpret that verse without adding his or her religious convictions, practices and pious overtones.
Yet it’s really quite simple. It’s divided into three sections:
- The kingdom of God.
- His righteousness.
- All these things.
To identify what these mean, you must have an awareness of the overall and abiding principles that are represented.
The kingdom of God is not a church, a belief system or a denominational approach to religion. Jesus made it clear that the kingdom of God is within us.
So the first step to establishing priority in our journey is to find ourselves.
The creation story tells us that God breathed into humans the breath of life and we became living souls. So if we can’t find that breath, we don’t know how to breathe. And all attempts we make to find the kingdom of God outside the confines of our own created space are not only futile, but often lead us in the wrong direction–trying to become sanctified without really being holy.
Here is the kingdom of God: I am happiest when I can be strong enough to help others.
- We are not happy when we are weak.
- We are not happy if we have sufficiency and choose selfishness.
The breath of God is the blessing of finding ourselves and then dispensing mercy to others.
We are told to seek this first.
Dare I say that many religious people are so riddled with insecurity and superstition that the only way they know how to express salvation to others is to load them down with guilt, intimidate them over their lifestyle, then stand back and judge their actions. It is a waste of time.
Get happy, be happy, and from that position of joy, find a way to make others happy.
Which brings us to His righteousness.
This is not my righteousness. This is not a general righteousness. This is God’s righteousness.
It doesn’t take too long in perusing the Good Book to discover that God is content when we grow in confidence so we can help others around us whom He would love to touch with His grace.
If you believe that God is stomping around Heaven, angry about the Ten Commandments being broken, you should probably read the Good Book a little more carefully.
“It’s not His will that any should perish, but that all come to repentance.”
Exactly.
Which brings us to the final thought: “all these things.”
While Wall Street and business tycoons try to figure out the secret to accumulating loot, the process is accessible. Satisfied souls who manifest a creative and passionate life become a magnet to material goods.
It’s just the way it works.
Everybody who chases money, fights for money or kills for money always ends up vanquished by those who are stronger. All the things we desire in life will be at our disposal when we find the breath so that we can breathe, become creative and allow our lives to be filled with passion.
So this little journey we have taken in the Gospel of Matthew is summed up best in this way to discover priority:
I will find the breath of God within me, which will enable me to breathe and become strong so I can help others. I do this because God has one great mission statement: help people. And in the process of finding my confidence, being creative and having a passionate life, the opportunity to gain what I need will be readily available.
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Jesonian: Reasonable (Part 1) … December 6th, 2015
Jonathots Daily Blog
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Reasonable: being able to reason.
It seems like a noble idea until you realize it requires you to sift through your beliefs and discard the unreasonable portions.
The process of becoming a good Earth-citizen is acknowledging that there are billions of others, and the goal is to find a way to peacefully co-exist with your brothers and sisters without compromising the power of truth.
So what is the first step to being reasonable?
Free will.
We are not on Earth by God’s plan, by luck or to be guided by superstition. There is a way things work and a way they don’t, and the first step in understanding that process is comprehending that every human being has free will.
1. God died for free will.
Using the flesh-and-blood passport of Jesus of Nazareth, God came to Earth and submitted to the decisions of arrogant religionists, who gave a verdict of death because he preached love.
God did nothing to stop the process. But after it was completed, He used the bravery of Jesus as evidence of salvation.
2. You have free will.
Don’t ask God to live your life. He won’t.
You may convince yourself that certain events link together to form a plan, but actually, they happened because of your action or inaction.
Jesus characterized God as Father, and no good parent would ever try to control the life of His child.
3. Human beings have free will.
Therefore you can’t force your beliefs on others.
We have to learn the power of influence. And how do we influence people? By making them jealous of our success–so jealous that they imitate our actions in their own way, without ever giving us credit.
4. Because free will is immutable, if we’re going to impact others, we need to make sure that we’re constantly making our choices simpler and easier.
I can always tell when I’m in the presence of someone who is a novice to the human experience.
They talk about complexity.
Becoming mature is resisting difficulty.
We make progress by using our free will to find paths to greater ease and simplicity.
You will never be reasonable until you understand that human beings have been granted free will, and therefore will quite often choose ignorance over wisdom.
Selecting to blame God for this malady is not only a waste of time, but also puts you in a world of superstition … where you nervously await the next disaster.
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Jesonian: Say, Do, Become … April 6, 2014
Jonathots Daily Blog
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When I heard him say, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” honestly, I rolled my eyes.
It sounded like one of those statements made by someone who feels he is spiritually or intellectually superior, but tempers it with a short burst of manipulated humility.
But then, when the Centurion told him that he didn’t need to come to his house to heal his servant–just speak the word–and instead of becoming defensive or flexing his religious muscle, he praised the gentleman for the enlightenment, I realized that this one had the capacity to become a friend to the faithful.
Likewise, when he touted the importance of mourning, my cynicism came to the forefront. It’s so easy to elevate distress to a status of soulful discovery when you aren’t actually going through it.
But later, when he wept with his friends at the grave of Lazarus and shed tears for Jerusalem because of its hard-heartedness, I grasped that he had the capacity to become the savior to the ignorant.
“Blessed are the meek.”
Time after time he put that into practice as he was rejected by his family, the religious leaders, and even close friends. Yes, a respecter of the choices of others.
He told us to “hunger and thirst for righteousness.” He backed it up by fasting in the wilderness for forty days. A source to the seeker.
Being merciful is often a politically safe phrase to mouth in front of the masses but not so easy to enact–especially when they bring to you a woman caught in adultery, and the socially correct position is to condemn her.
He didn’t.
A champion of the lost.
I was a little surprised when he spoke about being “pure in heart.” And then, when I stood at his side, looking down at the very cold, pale and still body of a twelve-year-old girl who was obviously deceased, and he turned to the room with an almost foolish glee and told us not to doubt, “she’s just asleep,” my eyes filled with tears over such genuine simplicity. He became a child of the children.
A peacemaker? In our day and age? When it’s considered to be noble and righteous to stand up for your turf and proclaim your worth? I watched him carefully. When he was obviously snubbed one day by a Samaritan village which had formerly welcomed him, and now had decided to renege on the invitation, and those around him wanted to declare war on the inhabitants, he stopped them, and said that his was a spirit of reconciliation. God knows we needed it. Behold, a repairer of the breach.
I winced a bit when he suggested to the masses that they should be happy when they’re persecuted. But when his entourage grew into the thousands, only to shrink to a tiny handful every time a new rumor or misrepresentation of his words filtered through the crowd, he still pursued his calling.
In so doing, for all time, he shall be deemed the voice of reason.
I, myself, was startled by the notion of trying to find tenderness for those who speak evil against us. And then, at his trial, when the false accusers literally stumbled over one another to incriminate him, he remained still, and became the calm in the storm.
- I listened to what he had to say.
- I watched carefully what he chose to do.
- And I was there when the friend of the faithful, the savior of the ignorant, the respecter of others, the source of the seeker, the champion of the lost, the child of the children, the repairer of the breach, the voice of reason and the calm in the storm–yes, I was there when he rose from the dead and became the Son of God.
I learned from him. Choose what you say, because you will have to back it up with what you do.
Only then do you become what you believe.
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