The Birth of John the Baptist

 

John had a lusty cry. Mary was concerned. “Do you think his crying will wake up the whole neighborhood?”

“He is born to be a prophet,” Elizabeth remarked dryly. “I’m sure he will be heard.”

 

June, 6 B.C.

The aches and pains of age troubled Zechariah, making it more difficult for him to carry out his duties as a Temple Priest. He and his wife Elizabeth had longed to have children, but she was barren. Never-the-less, they continued to live in the ways of the Lord and were still hopeful they could have at least one child.

One day, while Zechariah was burning incense in the Temple, as was his duty, he was startled and frightened by the sudden appearance of an angel.

 “Be not afraid,” said the angel in a serene voice. “Your prayers have been answered. Elizabeth is with child, a boy, and the Lord asks you name him John. He will be your joy and delight. His birth is important to God. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit before the time of his birth. He will prepare the way for the Lord. He will instruct people to do what is right and bring all who seek salvation to the word of our God. You must therefore be sure he will be righteous, so that he will carry out his mission without blame.”

 “But we are so old!” exclaimed Zechariah. “How can this be?”

The angel was upset with Zechariah’s response.

“My name is Gabriel, and I was sent by the Lord to tell you the good news of your coming child!”

“But we are forty and three years old. Isn’t it too late?”

Gabriel frowned, clearly annoyed by Zechariah’s lack of faith.

“Because you do not believe me,” Gabriel retorted “I will take away your ability to speak until you regain your faith in the Lord!”

Then, with a wave of his hand, Gabriel disappeared. Zechariah soon discovered Gabriel was telling the truth. He could not speak. Try as he might, he could not utter a single word. Not even a sound. Puzzled, he finished his duties at the Temple and went home.

When Zechariah reached his house, Elizabeth threw open the door and greeted him with tears of joy.

“The angel told me the news!” she exclaimed. “I am pregnant! We are going to have a baby boy!”

…………

(In 6 B.C., children who managed to reach the age of 10 had an average life expectancy of 47.5 years. Thus people age 43 were considered “old”.)

…………

Elizabeth had become pregnant six months before Joseph and Mary were married. In December, word went out to the family she was having trouble with her health. Joachim was Zechariah’s cousin. When word of Elizabeth’s illness reached him, he pondered what could he do. After much discussion, Mary volunteered to help Elizabeth until she gave birth. Although they had been married for only two weeks, Joseph reluctantly agreed. Arrangements were made. In mid-January Mary joined a caravan to make the long trip by foot to Hebron in the hills of Judea where Elizabeth and Zechariah lived.

Elizabeth was busy with the afternoon chores when she heard a commotion in the yard. She looked out the window and saw a young woman, a very tired young woman, toiling up the grade to her house. At first, Elizabeth was puzzled. Then inspired by a sudden realization, she exclaimed “Mary!” and walked as quickly as she could on her painfully tired legs to the door.

“Mary!” she called out to the woman. Mary, exhausted by the day’s long journey through the rain, managed a halfhearted smile.

“Elizabeth, I am really glad to see you because it marks the end of my long journey from Nazareth.”

Elizabeth threw open her arms and hugged Mary.

“Welcome to my humble home. Come in, come in and wash up.”

Then a very surprised Elizabeth stumbled back against the wall.

“What’s wrong?” asked Mary, thoroughly alarmed by the older woman’s distress.

“My baby,” Elizabeth responded, patting her swollen belly, “He gave such a kick. I do believe he is glad to see you.”

Mary helped Elizabeth to a chair, made her as comfortable as she could, and took a long look at her cousin. Elizabeth was obviously struggling with her pregnancy. The strain showed on her face and her legs were crisscrossed with ugly enlarged varicose veins.

“When are you due,” Mary asked.

“In three months, maybe sooner, God willing.”

“March,” Mary said absently. “And you said your baby is a boy. How do you know?”

Elizabeth scanned the face of the young woman before her. Even with the grime and stains of her long journey, Mary’s face conveyed a sense of sweet compassion.

“Zechariah and I have been praying to God to let us have a baby for many years. Now he has blessed us with a baby boy. I know this because an angel told me what was going to happen. The angel instructed us to call him John.”

Before Mary could respond, the door opened with a bang. It was Zechariah. Mary quickly crossed the room to give him a hug. The old man was genuinely glad to see her and returned her hug with some vigor.

“How are you?” she asked. “Have you just come from the Temple?”

Zechariah could only smile. Elizabeth came to his rescue.

“Zechariah cannot speak–he is being punished by the angel Gabriel because he refused to believe I was pregnant. He will not be able to speak until he finds his faith - when John is born.”

***

February, 5 B.C.

Mary was just finishing breakfast when she suddenly jumped up from the table and ran outside. Several minutes later she returned, looking very ill.

Elizabeth watched as Mary nervously crossed the room to take her seat at the table. The young woman’s condition was obvious.

“Mary,” she said with love in her heart “Mary you are pregnant!”

Mary sat down by the table, a slight crimson color on her cheeks. Self-consciously, she looked up.

“Yes, Joseph and I will be parents, sometime in the fall.”

“Mary, you are the lucky one. Your birthing years have started while you are young. Look at me; I suffer my pregnancy because I am old.”

Mary relaxed a little and managed a faint smile. But Elizabeth was not finished.

“I had a revelation last week. Micah came to see me in a dream. He told me all about Jesus.”

Mary sat upright, suddenly frightened by the Elizabeth’s words.

“You must not tell anyone. Please do not tell anyone,” she pleaded.

“Zechariah and I will keep it our little secret. Do not worry.... But there is more.”

Mary was astonished by Elizabeth’s words.

“Your baby Jesus and my baby John will become friends,” Elizabeth said with confidence. “You are going to be the mother of the Messiah, a man who will carry God’s message to everyone who will listen. And my John....  my John will announce his coming.”

Mary relaxed into her chair, her face radiant with a happy peaceful smile. The God she loved had a plan.

Uncertain what to say next, Elizabeth studied her young companion’s serene face. Who am I, she thought, that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?

Then - inspired by a sudden rush of inspiration - she spoke with conviction. “Oh Mary.... Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. Your son will be the son of man and the perfection of God.”

***

Mid-March, 6 B.C.

The shriek of pain coming from the bedroom told Mary that John was coming into the world. She rushed to get hot water from the kitchen and then into the room to help with the birth. By the grace of God, it was an easy delivery. Mary cut and tied the umbilical cord, washed him, and rubbed him with oil. They wrapped the baby with soft fabrics and laid him in a cradle.

John had a lusty cry. Mary was concerned. “Do you think his crying will wake up the whole neighborhood?” she asked.

“He is born to be a prophet,” Elizabeth remarked dryly. “I’m sure he will be heard.”

By the time Zechariah returned from his Temple duties, the baby was asleep. Zechariah was surprised to find so many neighbors had dropped whatever they were doing to visit Elizabeth.

Zechariah was even more surprised by how many people came to John’s circumcision eight days later. When the circumcision was completed, his neighbors asked him what he was going to call his son. Most expected Zechariah would name his son after himself.

But instead, Elizabeth spoke up. “No! He is to be called John.”

There was a murmur in the room. It was unusual for a woman to speak up like she did. One neighbor asked Zechariah:

“And what name do you want?”

 Zechariah took a tablet and to everyone’s astonishment wrote down the name - John.  As soon as he finished showing the tablet to them, Zechariah immediately regained his ability to speak. He had done what the angel instructed him to do. A very relieved Zechariah began to chant: “Give praise to the Lord, the God of Israel. He has come to set his people free....”

………………

From my novel about the life of Jesus Christ   “Am I Your Son”.

Ron

My Spouse

 

My spouse is my best friend.
Love has united two as one.
We comfort and encourage each other.
We share the joys and sorrows of life.

Two are better than one.
Together we are united in purpose.
In moments of distress;
We find strength in a loving hug.

I will be quick to share my love;
And be steadfast in my commitment.
For as we journey through life,
I value the friendship - of my spouse.

Ron

Let us unite our perception of the physical with our experience of the spiritual.

A Proverb from Summa 21

Do I Have A Positive and Constructive Expression of Who I Am?

 

Aside from our parents and siblings, the first person with whom we have a relationship is our personal self. Growing up forces us to confront the person we see in the mirror. Maturity comes when the person we observe is a trusted friend whose values and judgment we admire.

Self-confidence permits us to maintain a temperate disposition. Healthy relationships, be they a brief encounter with another person or the lasting bond of a friend, are framed by a positive, constructive and compassionate expression of self.

Take a long look in the mirror. Is the person you see trustworthy? Does the image project indifference or compassion? Do you see arrogance or self-aware humility? Would you like to be friends with the individual that looks back at you?

Self-confidence permits us to maintain a temperate disposition.

The Biblical phrase: “Love your neighbor as yourself” assumes we are comfortable with who we are.....

Ron

Let us unite our perception of the physical with our experience of the spiritual

.

 

Where is Happiness?

 

Those who hate, endure a desolate death.

Depression follows them everywhere.

The ravages of distrust drain their senses.

They condemn themselves to mortal despair.

 

Happiness eludes the cynic.

Love avoids the arrogant.

Anger creates hostility.

Indifference invites isolation.

 

Murderers are condemned to Oblivion.

Torture is the handmaiden of death.

Suicide desecrates the energy of Life.

Abortion violates natural law.

 

Let us therefore resolve to be virtuous.

Adopt the values of righteous behavior.

Embrace what is positive and constructive.

Find spiritual peace by connecting with Him.

 

Seek expressions of understanding .

Love thy neighbor as thyself.

Experience the wonders of the Physical.

Sense the loving energy of the Spiritual.

 

Genuine compassion projects love.

Love connect us with the spiritual.

The joy of connection nourishes our soul.

We are in harmony with the universe.

 

Only love will bring us peace.

 

Ron

                                        

Proverb from Summa 21 – The Natural Theology of a 21^st Century Christian
Let us unite our perception of the physical with our experience of the spiritual.

About Our Bipolar Reality and Infinite Possibilities

 

Opposite singularities

express the same reality.

The one would not have meaning

without the other.

Astronomers tell us the Cosmos is in constant change, and our continuing observations appear to confirm this conclusion. Yet, it is also important to understand there is order underlying this transformation. There are laws of interaction and existence that guide the change we observe. In the following paragraphs, we examine three of these important principles.

Reality is a Unity in a Bipolar Cosmos

There are two realities, in a unity of opposites. Each one produces the possibility of the other. Bipolar phenomena is the compliment of its opposite. If there is up, there must be down. If there is right, there must be left. If there is forward, then there is also backward. Poverty is the opposite of wealth. The light of the sun alternates with the darkness of night. We may be healthy while having the potential of illness. Evil is judged versus good. Death follows life.

Destruction often precedes creation. Each fall the leaves of a deciduous tree cease to live. Yet even as they fall to the ground, one may find the buds of new leaves on the bare branch. Next spring, they will burst with new life. Each ice age destroyed much of life on earth; however each period of warming that followed included the creation of new life (including new species).

Our planet has two poles with opposite magnetic properties. Many planetary nebulae exhibit a bipolar structure. Bipolar outflows of molecular material are often found where young stars are being formed. A polar molecule has a positive electrical charge at one end and a negative charge at the other end. The bipolar characteristic of a water molecule gives water its cohesive nature. A bipolar transistor has two poles which are joined by a semiconductor layer.

If there is matter, then there must be anti-matter. Both are forms of the same quantum reality.  If there is a physical universe, then there must be a not-physical (or alternative opposite) Universe. Each is a demonstration of the bipolar unity that exists in our Cosmos.

There are many examples of bipolar existence. Each of these opposite singularities is an expression of the same reality. There is unity because each bipolar state of being is related to its opposite. There is an interconnection between the one and the other.

The Principle of Infinite Possibilities

If two poles express a unity of reality, and each pole is the compliment of the other, the resulting unity can be infinitely divided into a continuum of being between the two poles.

Some examples:

•       If we wish to characterize a data set as all the fractions between one and ten, there are an infinite number of possible fractions between these two poles in a continuum of values. However, since none of the fraction values may fall outside the bipolar reality of one to ten, the poles establish a boundary for the expression of reality.

•       We can be really happy or we can be very sad. Most likely, however, our actual state of mind will generally exist somewhere between these two extremes of possible bipolar emotions.

•       Cold is recognized as the opposite of hot. But there are many gradations of temperature between that which we my sense is cold, and that which we would call hot.

•       Very few of us are absolutely female or absolutely male. Most of us are genetically and socially somewhere in between these two poles of sexual taxonomy. We are most likely male, with some degree of the feminine, or female, with some degree of the masculine. The further we are from our sexual pole, the more we exhibit the characteristics of the opposite sex. This is all a very natural manifestation of the complex mechanisms that make us male or female.

Equilibrium is a balance of what is positive, what is neutral, and what is negative. But each one of these three of these components can become unstable. That which is positive can become unstable. That which is neutral can become unstable. That which is negative can become unstable. Perhaps only one component will become unstable, or perhaps two, or perhaps all three. Further, each component may become unstable at a different time, and for a different length of time.

It is also possible (perhaps inevitable) that the positive, the neutral and the negative will assume a fuzzy instability; one that is hard to detect and may include both finite and infinite elements. What we think we observe may be a temporary reality, a partial reality, or not reality.  And one more point:

Although anything is possible,

far less is probable.

Our bipolar Cosmos is actually characterized by a complex set of tensions, which are also correlations. These tensions and correlations, in which each component is interdependent with the other two, characterize our spiritual expressions. We see them in our music, art, literature, philosophy, and theological concepts. We also see or sense them in our exploration of the fundamental elements (truths) of science.

The Spiritual Universe

We live in a bipolar Cosmos. But we really don’t know much about the majority of our astrophysical reality. Our known physical universe consists of matter (both visible and not visible), and energy (both detectable and inferred). As we have potentially discovered, the familiar stuff we can see (or directly detect) is only a small percentage of what actually exists in our physical universe.

We know even less about the not-physical universe. But it would appear reasonable to characterize it as a universe that is primarily composed of energy (in various forms). Since energy can become matter and have mass, we can expect the not-physical universe to also include matter, although perhaps in unfamiliar forms. In other words, both universes have multiple forms of energy and matter. However, in contrast to our physical universe - where our perception of physical reality dominates awareness and consciousness – in the not-physical universe it is likely conscious energy dominates awareness and consciousness.

These two complimentary realities co-exist in the Cosmos. One is physical. One is spiritual (energy). There is a boundary between them where the physical dimension of our universe intersects with the spiritual (or conscious) dimension of the Cosmos. We have been given clues about the nature of this intersection by the scientific observations (and theories) of quantum mechanics. Einstein’s famous equation E=MC2 suggests a mechanism exists for transformation (or transcendence) from one universe to the other.

In order to distinguish our physical universe

from the not physical universe,

we can refer to the not-physical universe

as the Spiritual Universe.

Both universes are all around us. We have trained ourselves to identify the evidence of the physical universe through our five physical senses: hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting and touching. As demonstrated by deep meditation, earnest prayer, and the experience of being near death, we are able to encounter the presence of spiritual energy with our sixth sense (the neuron activity of core consciousness). We become one with the consciousness that flows throughout the Spiritual Universe and the Cosmos.

The Spiritual Universe exists in a dimension that is parallel with our physical universe. The spiritual dimension is an integral component of the Spiritual Universe. Think of it this way: we are familiar with the three dimensions of space found in our physical universe. They provide the reference points for how we view and move in our physical environment. In a like manner, the spiritual dimension provides one of the reference points for the Spiritual Universe. It is the source of existential conscious thought, and the location of spiritual intelligence. When we communicate with God (The Holy Spirit), those who have deceased, or another life form, we connect with them in the spiritual dimension.

Death, meditation, and sudden mental stress may give us an opportunity to experience the consciousness, existence and reality of the Spiritual Universe. We drift into another space and time. People who are very ill may have the sensation of floating back and forth between physical and spiritual reality. For them, the boundary that separates our physical universe from the Spiritual Universe becomes transparent. Physically, they are in this universe. Their spiritual energy is somewhere else.

Our pursuit of the spiritual will lead us to the Spiritual Universe. Never underestimate the passion and joy this discovery can release within us. We all benefit from having a sense of contact and interaction with the spiritual force that exists all around us. Our understanding of honor, integrity, compassion, justice, and love all flow from the influence of Spiritual energy. It encourages moral behavior, personal responsibility, and loving procreation.

Faith in the spiritual can be a source of great personal strength, and it exists – in the Spiritual Universe.

 

Ron