Now I'm a Ghost – Don Hanley’s blog #34

I’m glad that I’m back to dreaming about talking with Mary, and just as I sat down in my usual chair in her flower garden, she said:

“Well, Don, I am glad you returned to visit me. Now, I want to tell you that I, too, had a dream. In that dream, I visited with my son’s youngest companion, John.  I told him about you and your visits in my dream, and he was very interested. He asked me to ask you as clearly as possible, what you wanted to know about Jesus – my son and his friends. So, Don, tell me, as best you can, what you want to know.” She chuckled a little and added, “And you know what he called you?”

I shook my head, and she went on, “Ghost boy. Isn’t that funny?”

“It is funny as you tell it, Mary. If it were anyone else, it would be insulting.” She smiled and shook her head. I went on, “I guess my basic question is this: From what I have read and studied in what we call the New Testament in the Bible, Jesus wanted everyone to know that the God of us all, or Yahweh, has created us with the power or force to be lovingly kind, understanding, and connected to all creatures in the universe, especially other humans. And, now, in my home century of 2024 AD – we used to believe that stood for Anno Domine or Year of Our Lord – and Christians of all denominations have hated and even killed millions of other Believers and non-Christians. Did Jesus say or teach anything to justify that kind of behavior?” I did my best to look at Mary in a way that was beseeching her not to be offended by my question.

The serenity in  her countenance indicated that she was not offended but was, maybe, as puzzled as I was. After several minutes, she said, “I remember Jesus telling Joseph and me that Moses included in his 10 Commandments, ‘Thou shalt not kill.’ But that our fellow Jews disobeyed Yahweh and did kill others, even fellow Jews. It seems that only that it is only now that the might and fear of the Romans has stopped a great deal o the killing. Even hating and creating fear is a form of killing the human spirit or soul. Jesus also mentioned that changing humans’ habitual ways of doing things takes a long time and even centuries. He often stated that Our Father could not stop humans from doing destructive things without destroying our ability to choose and to create. I will do my best to think of other answers and talk with John about it the next time I see him – in person or my adventurous dreams.”

"I would also like to know whether Jesus ever said anything about him being the Messiah or having any kind of special relationship with Yahweh?" 

"No he did not, and I'll ask John about that the next time I talk with him. And I want you to know I enjoy your visits even if you don't bring up questions about Jesus." I told her that I felt the same way - I just enjoyed being in her presence even if it only was in my dreams. And I remember a twentieth century song that had a line like that. - 'I'll see you in my dreams.' Mary suddenly looked rather startled like she had seen something in the sky and said, "Maybe this will help, when he returned from the east he mentioned that there was a fellow named Buddha who talked about all of creation was connected and that we all must learn to realize, deep down in our being, that we are one with every other person. And I remember him saying he could not understand why Romans and others can kill and enslave other humans. He had shaken his head and looked quite puzzled and saddened by the thought. Does that help?" I nodded and wondered about what Jesus had experienced in India.

I wanted to know more about what the boy Jesus thought about when he was very young, but just then, I flew or somehow disappeared . . . Now, please.

Nurture your heart, ponder this menu, and then enjoy your banquet.

The Velveteen Rabbit – Don Hanley’s blog #33

I somehow brought one of my favorite books, The Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams, into my meeting with Mary. I read a few lines of it to Mary because I’m sure she didn’t read English. Here are the lines I chose that I thought stated what Mary had said about Jesus teaching that we are all one, even when we grow old and shabby, like me.

“Weeks passed, and the little Rabbit grew old and shabby, but the Boy loved him just as much. He loved him so hard that he loved all his whiskers off, and the pink lining to his ears turned grey, and his brown spots faded. He even began to lose his shape, and he scarcely looked like a rabbit anymore except to the boy. He was always beautiful to him, and that was all the little Rabbit cared about. He didn’t mind how he looked to other people because the nursery magic had made him Real, and when you are Real, shabbiness doesn’t matter.

One day, the boy became ill and had to leave the little Rabbit. Then, another miracle happened, and the loveliest fairy in the whole world visited the Rabbit and told him that she would make him Real.

’Wasn’t I Real before?’ asked the little Rabbit.

‘You were Real to the Boy,’ the Fairy said, ‘because the little boy loved you. Now you shall be Real to everyone.’ And just before the Fairy left, she said, ‘For once you are Real, you are Real Forever.’

I noticed there were tears in Mary’s eyes, and through her tears, she said, “Oh, Don, that is lovely. Thank you for reading that to me. I think Jesus would love it. And you know, I wish I had heard those lines the last time I was with Peter and John and all my son’s special friends after he was murdered. I believe that Jesus wanted every person to be Real through love."

Jesus was Real to Joseph and me and then to those closest to him, but now, his spirit could make him Real to everyone.” Before I could say anything, I left Mary thoughtfully sitting in Nazareth. And now . . .

Nurture your heart, ponder this menu, and continue being REAL!

I Dream of Mary – Don Hanley’s blog #31

Ah, and my dream continues, only this time, I’m wearing a red and black plaid shirt.

Mary smiled and said, “Well, Don, I’m glad you returned to see me. You asked me about my son, Jesus, and what he was like as a boy, correct?”

I nodded, and she continued, “And I’m still interested in some things you’ve heard about him over the years, right? If I remember correctly, you said centuries, not years, right?” I nodded again, and Mary didn’t give me time to respond before she added, “You made me think back to the many times Jesus talked with Joseph and me about the Jewish heroes of history. Joseph was always interested in it and encouraged our son. Jesus learned to read very early, and I remember him commenting on the first book of the Sacred Scriptures.

‘Mother and Father,’ he would say, ‘This is funny; this book says that God created everything, even us people, in six days.’ He chuckled and said, ‘And he created light, and then, days later, he created the sun. Isn’t that funny?’

“Joseph and I had never thought of that, and we laughed with him. Jesus made us think about the Word of God in an entirely new way. Do people in the future still read the Sacred Word?”

Mary looked at me in a way that indicated that she wanted to know the answer.

I said, “Oh. We call it the Bible or Sacred Scriptures. Some think God Himself wrote it and whispered to the human writer who wrote it down in Hebrew. Do you speak Hebrew?”

“I understand it, but I do not speak it very well. Jesus spoke Hebrew and even read it when he was about five years old – about the same time he read Aramaic. Joseph and other village people were amazed.” Mary shook her head as if she were still amazed.

I had many questions about Scripture that I wanted to discuss with her, but I was more interested in what she had to say about Jesus himself.

“Many people believe that Jesus was, and is, the one and only Son of God. What do you say to that – or would you say to them?”

She looked at the sky, laughed delightfully, and said, “You know, Don, you are talking to a Jewish mother. We all think our sons are the sons of God, you know.” She continued to laugh. "But you mean that they believe that my Jesus was the Son of God – that he was, and you said ‘is,’ the Son of God or, as the Scriptures say, Yahweh. And you know, Yahweh means, ‘I am who I am.’ I heard that when I was listening to men talking when I was a child - that we cannot know the true nature of God. You know, Jesus told both Joseph and me that, after our first trip to Jerusalem. We never found out how he learned that. Oh, imagine for a moment that if God were Jesus’s father, that would mean that God impregnated me.” She sat back, held her stomach with both hands, and laughed heartily.

I hated to interrupt her laughter, but I had to say, “The belief was, and most often is, that God just created a Godman in you, and this was called a ‘virgin birth.’”

Mary looked at me with a mischievous grin and said, “So your believers take all the fun out of it, is that right?”  I nodded and told her that most believers still do, and they call her the Virgin Mother of God.

Again, she burst out laughing and, through tears, pointed at her little house and said, “And does this look like the house a mother of God would live in?”

I nodded and muttered, “I think most still do.”

Regretfully, I woke up. I still hope you continue to . . . 

Nurture your heart and do not eat the menus, even this one.

As For Worshiping – Don Hanley’s blog #32

Love – Not Worship – My Friend

I’m already sleeping too much, and now, with my Mary dreams, I enjoy sleeping even more. So, I'm back sitting in Mary’s flower garden – in the same chair Joseph built some years ago.

“You know, my young, old man, I look forward to your visits. I somehow believe you are doing your best to tell me how admirers of my son, Jesus, saw him over many centuries, but I still find it hard to believe. So, anyway, my friend, tell me a few more of your strange stories.”

“First, I’m happy that you are finding me believable, but if I had visited you in what we call the Middle Ages and told others about my visit with you, I would have been burned at the stake.”

Mary looked at me, first with astonishment and then with horror. She covered her mouth with a hand and muttered, “Oh, dear, why in the world would they do that?”

“Because no one, if they are true believers in Jesus, should ever even think of talking with His mother. Evil spirits must possess that person.”

Mary began to laugh, and through her guffaws, she said, “Now, you surely are joking with me, are you not?”

“I wish I were joking, but I’m not. In those years, you were worshipped, and they even built one of the most beautiful temples in the world in a city named Paris. They named it ‘Our Lady’ or ‘Notre Dame.’

Mary looked so alarmed that I feared she would faint and fall out of the chair.

“Oh, Mary, I do not want to hurt or frighten you. What can I do for you?”

“Oh, I don’t know. How did they go so wrong about my Jesus and me?”

“I honestly don’t know. I think they thought they were honoring both you and Jesus.” I shook my head as if to shake some answer in there."

“Don’t they know that Jesus did not want to be glorified in any way? He just wanted everyone to know that Yahweh created them and that they can love and be kind to themselves and one another.”

I wanted to answer her, but I left her sitting there. So, all I could do was to…

Nurture my heart, glance at the biblical menu again, and not eat it.