I was glad to be back in my dreamland and be with Mary, John, and Luke. Luke had told Ruth and Joshua that he would let them know when his surgeon friend could perform the surgery on Julie’s lip. They had gone back home before our dreamy night meeting.
Mary, as usual, greeted me warmly and said, “Well, my dreamy world traveler, now you have two companions of my son. So, ask if Luke agrees with what John has told us. about my son and his mission.” I responded, “It is always you, I come back to see. Your radiance is so comforting that I would be comfortable just being with you and not saying a word.” She gave me a wonderfully beautiful smile.
“So, enough, you two.” John interrupted, feigning irritation, “So, Luke, for Don’s benefit, tell him about Jesus, the miracle worker, and what you think his mission was and is and how we are to follow him.”
“Wow, you have condensed what many call Salvation History into very plain words. The largest bunch of these Christians, called Catholics, and most other groups of Christians also believe that we must be baptized with water as a believer pours water over our heads – usually when we are babies. Most believe this must happen, or we can never be with God the Father.”
John looked startled, “Don, you never mentioned this before. That sounds, oh, ah, maybe a bit harsh or even insane. Jesus never, ever mentioned any ritual, wet or dry, that was an absolute necessity to be with the Father when we die. He did let John, the Baptizer, perform his ritual on him. He did this to give John credence, but he never ever said this was a requirement for everyone who followed him. The only requirement is that we become loving people – which is the one big challenge we all have. And we have this power at the moment we are born. Love, as Jesus tells us, it the spirit or energy of Yahweh and it must be nurtured by those who have discovered it and radiate it. It is more than just being kind.”
Luke looked at John and then at me and asked, “Who, may I ask, added restrictions, and are there many other requirements like it among your twentieth-century ‘Christians’”?
“I would sincerely like to say ‘no,’ but that would not be true. A person must also be in the ‘state of grace’ or believe they are ‘saved’ or ‘called by the Lord.' As John and Mary know, I was once a Catholic priest, and I was supposed to have the God-given power to forgive sins – if they were confessed to me and promised me, as God’s representative on earth, not to commit those sins again.”
Luke, or John, I can’t remember which, asked, “And who made you God’s representative?”
“Supposedly, the traditional leaders of the Catholic church. Other groups of Christians also had similar requirements that they believe came down through their traditions and ‘callings.’” I didn’t want to get into theological debates, so I mentioned that most believers wanted to do the right thing and to be ‘saved’ so they would ‘go to heaven.’
Both guys and Mary shook their heads in disbelief. Luke said, “I was near him the last three years of his life, and I never heard Jesus ever suggesting any absolute beliefs or special things other than loving one another, did you, John?” John shook his head, as did Mary.
I asked Luke and John to tell me what Love meant to them and Jesus... and before they could answer, ... I left the dream. Please . . .
Keep opening and nurturing your heart and joining others in studying the menus and then enjoying the banquet with them.
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