Adult Spirituality Group notes, 11/6/11

TODAY - We completed questions of interest in the rich Chapter 2, in Questions of Jesus:

Jesus asked, "Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?" (Luke 12:14, see p. 30)
"Jesus does not want to get involved in our family feuds or divide up land and possessions. Rather, he is trying to get us to see beyond ourselves, our material goods, our brief lives. He wants to save our souls, to change the world, and to inspire us to lay down our lives on behalf of the human race as nonviolent martyrs for justice and peace." (see p. 31)
Day - Jesus is a heart/soul/identity doctor. Us humans are so easily distracted by our egoic notion of "I am the body", and forget to raise our consciousness to realize how God is our true living self and identity "I". With this higher perception, "Jesus rarely loses his patience. he is like Buddha, like Gandhi, an icon of peace and serenity, even as all hell breaks loose around him." (p. 33)
Bob - Jesus' whole goal was to empower people to do what he did, to lift people's eyes to a new level.

Jesus inquired, "Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me?" (John 14:9, on p. 39) "I am the way and the truth and the life," Jesus explains. "If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him." (p. 39)
Day - At a certain level, it's fairly easy to revere and honor God. It seems that Jesus wants us to go deeper, to learn from him and do the work requisite to achieve his miracles ourselves. In the following quote, I'm curious about Mother Theresa's center of awareness -
"As Mother Theresa washed the vomit and vermin off the face, chest, and legs of a dying man, the reporter watched in horror, appalled that she would go near such filth. "I wouldn't do that for a million dollars," he said.
"Neither would I," Mother Theresa answered." (p. 36)

Rose Bailey asked - Would we still be interested in what Jesus said, without him showing his miraculous powers? This led into a discussion about how humans clamor for material possessions:
"Our context today is characterized by a glaring disparity between the rich and the poor." (p. 37)
Tom Ward - In the U.S., the gap between the rich and poor is widening. The U.S. has the most radical extremes among almost all countries on Earth."
Gudrun - "I just came from China and was positively impressed. Democracy isn't efficient. In the U.S., we're too focused on capitalism for the creation of material wealth, without using our government to direct it for the people's benefit. We need to use the counter-balancing powers of our representative democracy to provide justice and righteousness."
Pastor Dan - Most of the wealth nowadays is gotten from usery, or making money off other people's money. (See http://www.occupytogether.org/)
Gudrun - "It is important to set up a good will to protect children's inheritance and future relationship with each other."

NEXT WEEK - We'll discuss:
- Chapter 3, Purity of Heart (p. 410->)
- Chapter 4, Conversion (p. 49->) Giselle thinks this chapter is superb!