A Personal Meditation on Seeing and Hearing Jesus

In my last post, I discussed how people of different beliefs can and do work well together on common efforts to attain sobriety and to make peace. I discussed how we can respect each other’s diverse perspectives on our “Higher Power,” and how we can respectfully support each person’s needed spiritual awakening. In response to these thoughts, some Christians questioned my beliefs: Am I Christ-centered enough? Am I a true Christian?

Today, I am sharing a meditation that I wrote to help me on my needed and ongoing spiritual journey. The meditation is based on the Gospel and is based on our common humanity, particularly our gift of love.

The meditation has 10 parts. I like to savor one or two of these parts at a time to help me start my day. I hope you enjoy the meditation, and of course feel free to share with others.

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Today I see and hear
Our Father and our Mother
Our fountain of Mercy and Justice
Gifting Humanity
Through wondrous plants, animals, water, lands, air, and sky
Gifting Humanity
In all places, through all cultures and people, and throughout all times
Gifting Humanity
With wondrous helpers, teachers, humorists, and truthsayers
Gifting Humanity
With wondrous artists, dreamers, thinkers, and story-tellers
Gifting Humanity
With wondrous healers, reconcilers, peacemakers, and prophets
Gifting Humanity
With wondrous children, family, friends, needy ones, and wanderers
Gifting Humanity
With each person

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Let your light shine!
Today I see and hear
Our Mother and Father
Our fountain of Compassion and Strength
Gifting Humanity
With Jesus
A helper, player, and worker
A learner, teacher, and encourager
A healer, forgiver, and peacemaker
Jesus our Brother who lives for us all
Jesus our Revolutionary who dies for us all
Jesus our Savior who has been raised for us all
Jesus the Child of all Humanity

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Today I see and hear Jesus
Come with me serving and caring
I follow Jesus and live with Jesus
Serving and caring

I hear Jesus celebrating people’s goodness
Blessed are you who are poor
Blessed are you who hunger
Blessed are you who mourn
Blessed are you who are merciful
Blessed are you who make peace
Blessed are you who are hated, reviled, and persecuted
You are the salt of the Earth
You are the light of the world
Let your light shine

I see Jesus respecting people
A patient friend
Listening
Playing along
Trusting
Sharing heavy burdens
Accepting people as they are
Welcoming all
Blessing all

I see Jesus turning life around
For the outcasts, the dirty, the disorderly, and the mischief-makers
For the strangers, the lepers, the weird, the addicted ones, and the prostitutes
For the humbled, the abused, the searchers, the conservers, and the broken hearted
For the sick, the hurt, the young, the old, and the dying
For those who have crashed and
For those who have fallen through the cracks
I see Jesus revealing each person’s hope
Supporting and encouraging each person’s joy
I see Jesus
As Child of God
Calling each of us
Even me
As Child of God
Into one Family

Not judging, not condemning, not holding back
I see Jesus showing up and standing up for others
I hear Jesus upholding me
Let your light shine
Rise up and carry our revolution
And wherever you go
Celebrate, respect, and welcome

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Today I see and hear Jesus
Come with me serving and caring
I follow Jesus and live with Jesus
Serving and caring

I see Jesus sharing compassion, wisdom, and encouragement
I hear Jesus building upon humanity’s gifts and
Teaching the Way based on love
As you wish others would do for you
Do so for others
Do not insult or hurt another
If someone strikes you on one cheek
Offer your other cheek as well
Do not return evil for evil
Do not fight or ridicule
Do not even pray
Until you go and seek reconciliation
Be merciful as your Abba is merciful
Love like Abba loves
Generously give to the just and unjust
Love whether people love you in return or not
Love expecting nothing in return
Put away your swords
For those who live by the sword die by the sword
Trust in Abba
Love your enemies

I hear Jesus sharing Abba’s love and
The wonders of nature
Think of the birds
They neither sow nor reap
They have neither storehouses nor barns
Yet Abba feeds them
Think of the lilies
Think of how they grow
They neither toil nor spin
Yet Abba clothes them
More beautifully than royalty
Abba knows your needs
Fear not
Trust
It’s Abba’s joy to give you the Kingdom

I hear Jesus trusting us with stories
Stories of mustard seeds, making bread, hidden treasures, and businesspersons
Stories of fishing nets, lost sheep, banquets, and Good Samaritans
Stories of merciful lenders, weeds and crops, wayward children, and persistent widows
Stories of humble and poor folks, sheep and goats, harvests, and weddings

I see Jesus meeting us where we’re at
Inviting us along our path of renewal
Come to me
All you who are weary
And heavily burdened
And I will give you rest
For I am gentle and lowly of heart
And my work and my burdens
are easy and light
Live in me and I in you
Abba, like a Good Samaritan
Loves and cares for you
Go and do likewise

I feel Jesus stirring me up
I hear Jesus
Let your light shine
Rise up and carry our revolution
And wherever you go
Share love, understanding, and joy

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Today I see and hear Jesus
Come with me serving and caring
I follow Jesus and live with Jesus
Serving and caring

I hear Jesus engaging us
Be good and trustworthy servants
Give food to the hungry
Give clothes to those in need
Visit the imprisoned
Welcome and celebrate strangers
Live and work
So that everyone
Neighbors near and far
Can have and share a good life

I hear Jesus engaging us
Be good and trustworthy family members
Give each one the nourishment to grow
Give each one the love they need
Comfort the sorrowful
Welcome and celebrate each new member
Live and work
So that everyone
Sisters and brothers near and far
Can have and share a good life

I see the goodness
Of light, water, land, air, and fire
Of Earth, moon, planets, sun, and stars
Of rain, food, sunshine, and seasons
Of plants, fungi, animals, and all living creatures
I see Jesus engaging us with the goodness of all things
Be good and trustworthy servants
Preserve nature
Restore all that has been despoiled and wasted
Protect the endangered
Welcome and celebrate all creation
Live and work
So that everyone
Creatures near and far
Can have and share a good life

In my life’s efforts
I see Jesus
Inviting me into an out-of-the-way wilderness
Leading me up a mountain
Stilling the storm within me
Opening me to life’s mysteries
Strengthening me for the journey ahead and
In each step accompanying me
Ask and it will be given to you
Seek and you will find
Knock and the door will be opened to you
Consider life’s mysteries deeply in your heart
Pray that Abba’s Yearning will be done
On Earth as it is in Heaven
Give thanks
Give praise
Bless all
Be one

I see Jesus
A stranger, neighbor, spouse, sister, brother, and needy one
Ardently seeking to do Abba’s Yearning
On this Earth as it is done in Heaven
I hear Jesus engaging us
Let your light shine
Rise up and carry our revolution
Love, love, love
Wherever you are
Wherever is home
And wherever you go

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Today I see and hear Jesus
Come with me serving and caring
I follow Jesus and live with Jesus
Serving and caring

Humbled and coming to our senses
For what we have done and not done
We see Jesus
Coming in mercy and compassion
Coming to set us free from all our undoings
We too come to Jesus

I hear Jesus
Rise from your failings
I love you
I know you love me too
Your sins are forgiven
Leave them behind
Forgive yourself
Be happy
Let us put a ring on your finger
And celebrate our togetherness
You are forgiven
Go in peace
Share the joy of your restoration
And live free of sin

Likewise forgive
Whoever has wronged you
Seventy times seventy
Again and again
Forgive, forgive, forgive
Always renewing the Earth with love

I see Jesus our Liberator
I hear Jesus
Peace be with you
As Abba has sent me
I send you
Receive the Holy Spirit
Whenever you forgive anyone
They are forgiven
Let your light shine
Rise up and carry our revolution
As I have forgiven you
Set others completely free of their sins
Forgive and be forgiven
Wherever you go

I wade into the river of forgiveness
Forgiving others
And I find that I am being forgiven too

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Today I see and hear Jesus
Come with me serving and caring
I follow Jesus and live with Jesus
Serving and caring

Jesus comes to heal
I hear Jesus
What do you want?
Trust In Abba
Let me see your sickness, your infirmity, your possession
Feel my hands upon you
My hands upon your needs
Trust
Love
Rise and be healed
Go your way and live afresh
Your faith has made you well
Your faith has saved you

I see Jesus with the sick, suffering, and healed
I hear Jesus
In the same way
With me
Guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit
Heal sickness, infirmities, and possessions
Let your light shine
Rise up and carry our revolution
Being healed and healing wherever you go

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Today I see and hear Jesus
Come with me serving and caring
I follow Jesus and live with Jesus
Serving and caring

I hear Jesus call us to renew the Earth
With all our talents
And with all our efforts
With love and justice
Without harm to anyone
To fulfill our duties
Doing what is needed
To Sustain and give life
For all creation and for all people
To take charge and transform our world
So that our world will benefit all
I have come to set the world on fire
And how I wish it were already blazing

Let us rid and purify our lives
Of all callousness and injustice
Of all exploitation and corruption
Get these things out of here
Stop turning my Father’s house
Into a marketplace and
Into a den of thieves
As the Scriptures proclaim
My house shall be a house of prayer
For all peoples
Throughout the Earth
Just as it is in Heaven

I see and hear Jesus
Let your light shine
Stir up the people
Carry our revolution
Rise up for all humanity
And wherever you go
Renew the Earth with the fire of your love

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Today I see Jesus
I ask Jesus
When, Jesus, when?
When will we be healed?
When will we be victorious?
Unless the grain of wheat falls to the ground
And dies
It remains just a grain of wheat
But if it dies
It produces much fruit
Here’s the way to find the life that you seek
Deny yourself
Lose your life
Take up your cross
Bear another’s burden
And follow me
Serving and caring

Jesus keeps speaking
And I keep listening
To find life
Pass through the narrow gate
Bring others with you too
Distribute your possessions for the needy
Keep only what you need
Speak simply and truly
Do not judge
Do not compare
Do not focus on the speck in your neighbor’s eye
When you do not see the log in your own eye
Do not parade your alms, deeds, or prayers
But in secret without credit to yourself
Do not let one hand know
The good that your other hand is doing
Seek first the Kingdom
Doing whatever is needed
Washing another’s feet with your tears
Standing by another’s cross
Taking the least important place
Being like this child in my arms

I see the child
The child is held by Jesus
Hugged
I hear Jesus
Be gentle and humble
Be cheerful and grateful
Enter into life’s deep waters
Be born afresh
Everyone who loves is born of God
Be born of the Spirit
Becoming a Child of God
For God is Love
Experience all that Abba, your Father, wants for you
Be led by the Spirit
Let the wind blow where it will

We are becoming the child in Jesus’ arms
I am resting in Jesus’ arms
We hear Jesus
Come with me
I have chosen you
Dear brothers and sisters
I have appointed you
To go forth and bear lasting and life-giving fruit
Ask Abba with me for whatever is serviceable
And receive it in love
Remember always that
Abba sends and gives the Counselor, the Spirit
To all those who ask

I follow Jesus and live with Jesus
Serving and caring
I die
I am born
I am raised
My time has come
I am alive
The Child of all Humanity lives in me
I see Jesus
I hear Jesus
Let your light shine
Rise up and carry our revolution
And wherever you go
Bring childlike grace, good news, and life

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Today I see and hear Jesus
Jesus is preparing us for his journey to Abba
Come with me
Even in this difficult time
Let’s celebrate and give thanks
Let’s wash each other’s feet
Let’s break bread together
Let’s pray together
Let’s stay awake together

I see Jesus deeply troubled
I hear Jesus
Abba loves the world so much
But this world is full of hurt and hate
Do not be of this world
The time is coming
When you will weep
And the world will rejoice
When those who kill you
Believe that they are doing God a service
But do not let sorrow fill your hearts
Forgive them
They do not understand what they are doing

We wash feet and break bread together
We hear Jesus pray
Abba may all these your children be one
Just as you and I are one
And through their love for one another
May many others find and experience your love

I see Jesus’ life offered
Placed before me
I hear Jesus
Love one another
As I have loved you
I lay down my life for you
You are my friends
Live in my love
That your joy and your life will be complete

In all this
I am greatly troubled too
I try to stay awake and hopeful
But I find great difficulties in doing this
Still I hear Jesus
I am not leaving you deserted
The Counselor, the Spirit, will come to you
And will always be with you
Rely on our Counselor
Guiding you
And anointing you with all virtue
Keep coming together and I too will be with you
Keep showing up for others and I too will show up for you
Keep standing for all and I too will stand for you
Keep upholding one another and I too will uphold you
Keep awake and I too will be awake at your side
You will fail sometimes
But do not fear
Be bold and courageous
Our present sorrows will turn
To joy
To forgiveness
To healing
And to thanksgiving
My peace I give to you

My hopes are growing stronger
I hear Jesus
Keep letting your light shine
Keep rising up
And keep carrying our revolution
Wherever you go

Yes, Jesus, I am joining your journey
I am dying to myself
I am becoming a friend of all
I am becoming family for all
I am becoming in you a living member
Of the Child of all Humanity
Our renewed Humanity whose members are
Striving always to love as you and Abba love
This Humanity being renewed and coming on the clouds of Heaven
To renew the Earth

Peace be with you
As Abba has sent me
I send you
Serve
Care
Be a friend
Share wisdom
Forgive
Heal
Work
Renew
Be a child
Be a light
Uphold others
Love
And Smile

I see and hear
The Heavens are glad
The Earth rejoices
The deserts blossom
The seas roar
The forests and the hills dance
All that has life shouts with joy
Thank you Abba
Thank you Jesus
Thank you all who love

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Fellow Passengers Approaching a Shared Crash

It’s been two years since I first posted about the crash (this link provides a detailed description my initial experience with this crash). Until now, I have just shared what happened on November 26 and 27, 1974. On that evening and night of November 26, I had been injured and had been in significant pain, but the central experience was solidarity. In those moments, I began to have visions of a disaster on a mountainside. Slowly, I began to understand that I was witnessing a plane crash. I was suffering with the people and our hearts were joined.

The next morning, November 27, 1974, I saw the note I had written to myself during the night (not that I needed reminding): “Is there a plane crash?” The 7:00 A.M. news was about to start and I fully expected to hear news of the plane crash. But there was no news. I continued to check the news each hour throughout the day. It wasn’t until 3:00 P.M. of that day that I heard something like the following on the radio:

There was a plane crash last night in Virginia. The plane had departed from Ohio and was en route to Washington, D.C. The plane was flying in dense fog and the pilot did not see the mountain in front of it. So the plane crashed into the mountain without warning. The reason this was not announced earlier is because the plane crashed into a site of a secret White House used in the event of a nuclear war.

The announcement above is not a quote; it’s just reflective of what I remember. Also I’m not sure the announcement said “last night” but I presumed “last night” because that was when I experienced the crash. Also I’m not sure if the announcement I heard said Virginia or West Virginia. Additionally, the announcement to the best of my recollection did not mention the departing airport location in Ohio but I felt that it was very local to me. At the time, I was in Worthington, Ohio, a town within Columbus, Ohio.

This Egyptian tomb painting is reminiscent of Pharaoh’s dream of seven fat cows followed by seven lean cows.

This Egyptian painting is reminiscent of Pharaoh’s dream of seven fat cows followed by seven lean cows. Joseph interpreted the cows as representing seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine. Much can be saved when we pay attention to such visions. – Painting from the tomb of Nefeteri, wife of Ramesses II, ca. 1250 BC, Thebes. Photo from Associates of Biblical Research.

When I heard this news, I felt a deep sense of completion and was very satisfied just knowing that I had been with the people in this crash, in their hour of need, when few others knew of their suffering. Because of this sense of completion, I did not at that time feel the need to follow up and learn more about this event.

Three years later, as a college senior, in the fall of 1977, I was inspired to vigorously research human suffering. The research was not for a class, and at the time I was not thinking about the crash at all. I was just driven to use my spare time to read and take notes on injustice, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Northern Ireland, the Middle East, the Holocaust, prejudice and civil rights, oppression, human divisions everywhere, various wars, the threat of nuclear war and other human-made catastrophes, … I kept this up for weeks and weeks until one night, with pages upon pages of personal notes all around me, I got up from my study table and began to pace around the room. Then, like the evening of November 26, 1974, I felt that God was coming. I stopped walking, stood in front of my notes, and kind of cleared my thoughts in anticipation of what was coming. At that moment, a rush of commanding insights began to flow powerfully through me:

The plane … we’re all in it! The whole world’s in it, everybody, all of us! We’re flying blind. Much of the blinding fog is our fixation on our own security. Despite being in the same plane, we can’t see each other! The plane … shaped like a cross … is our cross! We think things are ok, but we’re heading straight toward our mountain of security! We don’t know it, we think things are basically ok, but we’re going to crash! All of us!

Sobering, mind-numbing insights for a 21 year-old like me at the time or for anyone at any time. Oh my, oh, oh, oh … my heart was beginning to get it, all the suffering of all those people I was researching, far-away people, people removed from me in one way or another, other people too who most of the time simply fell through the cracks of my consciousness … but now a new reality … all people … the “fortunate” and the “unfortunate” … suffering was not so far off … ALL OF US … FELLOW PASSENGERS … approaching a shared crash …

But the powerful insights were still coming, more encouraging, hopeful ones now, just as mind-blowing, just as hard to accept:

God will be with us when we crash! Suffering with us! Comforting and healing us! God’s Heart joining ours! Generous, loving revolutions of the heart! And on the third day, there will be victory for all, a renewed and whole human family, joyously giving thanks!

I was shocked at it all, but, oh wow, I was getting it, we can win together! All this again brought a deep sense of completion, and that experience marked the end of that research effort and I returned to “normal” college work.

As my life progressed over the years, I realized that this future crash is not our predetermined destiny, but it is our current flight path. This sight into our future, like the similar visions of others, akin to the prophesy of Jonah, are warnings of what will be if we do not soon wake up, open our eyes, understand what happening around us, and do what is needed so that we can make a safe landing.

Yes, fellow passengers, the lively efforts of all of us are needed! We don’t have to crash! Practical, generous, all-inclusive love is such a preferable option! Let’s change our course before it’s too late! Time is generous but time is short!


Post notes:

  • The crash is one of the most significant, revelatory events of my life. It is a core message that is part of who I am and what I need to do. It is also deeply remorseful and troubling. I still feel the pain but also the hope of those in that crash of 1974. Another event helps to balance this event in my life: the “key story” which centers on the love of God and the rebirth that is possible when we experience the love of God.
  • Not unlike Jesus’ disciples, I do not understand the meaning of the “third day,” but the third day from November 26, 1974 was Thanksgiving Day, and I am confident that on our third day (whatever that means) of this shared crash, there will be an incredible victory for the whole human family by God’s healing where we will rejoice together. For a small glimpse into this, see this post about a dream I had concerning this great awakening that can occur with or without the crash.
  • Today is the 38th anniversary of my hearing radio announcement concerning the plane crash. Such news reports on November 27, 1974 do not, however, seem to exist. I will discuss this and more in upcoming posts.

I am Nahari

Nahari talks with Gandhi taken from the 1982 movie, Gandhi

Nahari talks with Gandhi (from the 1982 movie, Gandhi)

There is an astonishing scene in the movie Gandhi where a Hindu man named Nahari commands Gandhi to “Eat!” The fasting Gandhi is starving, near death, but he refuses pressing for an end to violence. Nahari, overcome with emotion, cries out, “Eat! I am going to hell, but not with your death on my soul!”

Gandhi replies, “Only God decides who goes to hell.”

Nahari continues despairingly, “I . . . I killed a child . . . I smashed his head against a wall.”

“Why?” Gandhi asks.

Deeply distraught, Nahari replies, “They killed my son . . . my boy!” Nahari holds his hand out showing the height of his son. “The Muslims killed my son . . . they killed him.”

After an intense pause, Gandhi replies, “I know a way out of hell . . . Find a child . . . a child whose mother and father have been killed . . . A little boy . . . about this high . . . and raise him . . . as your own . . . Only be sure . . . that he is a Muslim. And that you raise him as one.”

Nahari almost leaves but then goes to his knees and breaks down sobbing. The divine seed within him is coming to life. Astonishingly, there is a way out of hell.

This story is not so much about Nahari, or about the faults of any people of the Indian subcontinent, or about the cruelty of Christian imperialism in India, or even about the violence or injustice or intolerance in today’s world. It is about me. How many times have I sought to get the better of a deal, killed the creativity in a child, scoffed at the wise thoughts of others, watched abhorrent videos, wasted the gifts of nature for my own convenience, discounted the needs of others, lashed out in anger, doubted the divine seed in others, failed to be generous, failed to forgive, placed myself above others, … In all these things, I have built up our insane violence, injustice, and politics.

But hell is not our only option. With God’s Infinite Gracious Mercy, we need add just a few ingredients: understanding, appreciation, justice, forgiveness, and love.

Similar to Nahari, we can raise our children and educate ourselves to understand and appreciate the ways of the Muslims, the ways of the Buddhists, the ways of the Hindus, the ways of the Christians, the ways of the Humanist, …

We can appreciate each person and each culture’s strengths and weaknesses, but we must not focus on the other’s weaknesses. It is by earnestly seeking solutions to own our faults, that we nourish the divine seed in others.

Nahari's Call and ChallengeWe all have needs. Justice for all is required. How we treat one person and how we neglect one person, is how we treat all humanity and how we neglect all humanity. Disrespect and injustice and violence, toward even the most despicable person, toward even the most unwanted person, toward the weak or the strong, toward our neighbor or stranger, … is intolerable.

I am guilty of these intolerable acts, yet I am forgiven and loved. There is hope, a way out of hell for everyone. Let us consider deeply and act today. Let us courageously hear the call to both a broader community and family.

Love Roars

Some of our most vital roots lie on the African savannah. Surviving the day means listening for every noise and watching in every direction. Days and nights are filled with care for our young, mother’s milk, and tender family love. Together we search for food and safety with sweat pouring down our bodies. At times the lions pounce on us, our blood is spilt, and we cry over dear lives lost. At night, stories, new and old, are told invigorating us to live longer and be victorious together. Before resting, we make music, dance, and sing: 

Roaring lion on the African Savannah

Roaring lion on the African savannah, photo credit: Gerald and Buff Corsi, California Academy of Sciences, and the Smithsonian Institution.

“Play and get strong! We need you, we need you, we need you!
Spot the lion and bring us food! Give your life, give your life, give your life!
Run bravely through the grass and rise to the sky! Live in us, live in us, live in us!”

The Lion of Love is no idealist’s dream; it is wild and powerful. Surviving this day means rolling up our sleeves, throwing off our blinders, and abandoning the comfortable life to live with urgency for the benefit of all. Then through experiencing births, milk, sweat, victories, blood, deaths, tears, … we are caught into the organic renewability of the savannah. We embrace the giftedness and irreplaceability of each person.

One way or another, the hungry lion is focused on each of us. Every dominance, dishonesty, conceit, anger, and attachment will be laid waste. The hunt is on. The decisive siege has begun. But the lion is also a tender-hearted shepherd seeking out each needed lost lamb, “I love you, I love you, I love you, even if no one else loves you, I love you!” Love roars and heals!