The Psychology of Advent

Posted on November 30, 2021 by Dr. Ernie Sherretta, D. Min.

The Coming of Jesus into Our Minds and Hearts

Advent is a season observed in most Christian denominations as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the “coming of Christ” from three different perspectives: the physical nativity in Bethlehem, the reception of Christ in the mind and heart of the believer as a result of the Spirit promised at Pentecost, and the eschatological Second Coming and the ultimate destiny of humankind.

The reception of Christ into the mind and heart of the believer as a result of the Spirit promised at Pentecost is more than receiving grace. The effects of grace are internal and external. The external is more obvious since it involves a person’s behavior such as speech, which would include the written word and their actions. The internal effects involve the mind and heart both of which play a part in the person’s emotional state. In the Catholic tradition, there are two types of grace, Actual and Sanctifying.

Actual grace is that special help that the Holy Spirit gives us to enlighten our minds and to inspire our hearts to do good and to avoid evil in particular situations. It consists of temporary gifts of divine light for our minds and divine powers for our hearts. It is the nudges that God uses to get our attention so that we might enter more deeply into a relationship with Him. Actual grace compels us to take action in our lives to put God first.

Sanctifying grace is interior grace, which dwells in the soul the true Self and transforms it, making it closer to the Divine. There are many other “kinds” of grace according to various Christian denominations.

However, the theology of grace is lost on most people. The reason it is lost is that most people expect grace to change them because in many if not most cases they seem to understand grace as a “quid pro quo”. If I am a faith-filled, and willing participant in prayer, worship, and works of charity I receive grace or favor from God. I’m not sure how grace operates or affects a person.

We know that grace is not like fairy dust that magically changes us. The process of change may be explained more by psychology than by theology.

Using the analytical psychology of Carl Jung, one can demonstrate how the healthy human psyche develops and cooperates with “Grace” which is the English translation of the Greek χάρις (charis) meaning “that which brings delight, joy, happiness, or favor”. Free will is not the only necessary criteria or disposition required to “receive Christ” into one’s mind and heart. A person’s disposition and attitude must be open to the power of grace to assist and strengthen one’s ability to unite with divinity or do God’s will.

Faith or confidence in the power of the Spirit is necessary if grace is to affect the mind and heart. How many times did Jesus say, “your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

Faith is belief, firm persuasion, assurance, firm conviction, faithfulness. Faith is confidence in what we hope for and the assurance that the lord is working, even though we cannot see it. Faith knows that no matter what the situation, in our lives or someone else’s that the lord is working in it.

Luke’s gospel claims that Jesus ” increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” Lk 2:52. The obvious question is how did Jesus use “grace” to achieve this wisdom and reputation. Perhaps the answer lies in our understanding of how the human psyche works.

The Mystery of Incarnation

Francis of Assisi believed that the finite world manifests the infinite world or eternity and that the physical, comprised of human consciousness, is the doorway to the spiritual (the foundational principle we call “incarnation”).

From this, we can realize that access to heaven or eternal life begins on earth with human consciousness.

The material is not really separated from the spiritual but only separated by that which separates our consciousness from the sacred or the Divine or what we might know as separation from Good by Evil, from Justice by Injustice, from Love by Hate. There are no sacred and profane things, places, and moments. There are only sacred and desecrated things, places, and moments—and it is we who desecrate them by our ignorance, irreverence, and unwillingness to unite with all that is Divine. The Creation of the universe which of course includes our world or planet is sacred and we humans are all included as the creation story in Genesis indicates.

In that first book of the Sacred Scriptures, we are told that we are created “in the image and likeness of God”.. created .. male and female. As such then, we are a mirror of the Divine, a consciousness of divinity in the universe.

This story goes on to symbolically describe how humans separated themselves from that image and likeness, of the divine Creator. They disobeyed or failed to listen to God. We could say that humans ignore the presence of divinity in the material world. The fruit, the tree of knowledge, the serpent, even paradise are all parts of creation as it unfolds through what we now call evolution. Eventually, humans developed consciousness or sensory awareness of the body, the self, and the world. “inner, qualitative, subjective states, and processes of sentience or awareness.” An example of consciousness was described in Genesis 3: 7, “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.”

This consciousness includes “one’s autobiography and mental time” together with the capacity to introspect and report about one’s mental state by verbal and nonverbal means. According to some who study consciousness, it can be defined as “inner, qualitative, subjective states, and processes of sentience or awareness.

By taking the mystery of the Incarnation absolutely seriously and gradually extending it to its logical conclusions, the seeming limitations of space and time are once and for all overcome. When we stay with our daily experiences and apparitions, we see that everything is a revelation of the Divine—from rocks to rockets that are used to launch space capsules and satellites to the human psyche which may or may not be aware of the presence and power of divine activity in and through the creation of the universe. Humans are the only creatures to possess this self-conscious mind. Only the human can reflect on his or her behavior to determine whether or not it is a product of free will or simply a defense mechanism based on one’s physiological and psychological dispositions. Only humans can make choices based on thought and free will. Of course, the physiology and psychology of the person contribute to their ability or lack thereof to make appropriate choices.

The Mystery of Jesus, the Christ

The Christ Mystery refuses to be vague or abstract; it must be concrete and specific. Jesus enters our world as a human, who like us, is created without blemish, without imperfections, a tabula rasa, or the absence of preconceived ideas or predetermined goals, in other words, a clean slate. This appears to be contrary to the concept or belief in “original sin” which some say was an explanation for inhuman or unGodlike behavior which many refer to as evil. I’d rather believe that we are the original blessing of the Creator and need “grace” to affirm that blessing and in doing so, give us the support and power of the Spirit to become more fully conscious of our destiny-oneness with divinity. Isn’t that what heaven is all about?

With all this in mind, let me try to describe the psyche of Jesus using the Analytical Psychology of Carl Jung who once said, “The drama of the archetypal life of Christ describes in symbolic images the events in the conscious life as well as in the life that transcends consciousness of a man who has been transformed by his higher destiny.” Each of us has a higher destiny as well, call it heaven or the Kingdom of God.

Using Jungian psychology, I believe that the soul, created by God, is the Self that is one with the divine. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jer 1:5 and in John’s gospel he refers to Jesus: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Jn 1:1 Both Jeremiah and Jesus are just two examples of this unity between creature and Creator.

Born of two Jewish peasants, Mary and Joseph, Jesus of Nazareth was like every child of God. Innocent, ready to explore the world around him, observing the adults in his life, discovering his identity, and actualizing the person or true self that he was.

But Jung claims that there is a false self that is separated from the divine because the false self is the self that humans use to impress others or to fit into society, to be part of the crowd. The false self rests on the surface, as the self is presented to the world. It stands in contrast to the true self, which resides behind the facade or image. This Jung calls the Persona (or mask) which is the outward face we present to the world. It conceals our real self and Jung describes it as the “conformity” archetype. This is the public face or role a person presents to others as someone different from who we really are (as an actor). Perhaps this was what evolved into a separation from the divine. Christian scholars understand sin to be fundamentally relational—a loss of love for the divine and an elevation of self-love which eventually evolved into an increase in human god-like authority. The existence of royal authority could be considered a desire to be God. Isn’t this what the story in Genesis conveys?

There was nothing about Jesus that was false. It’s quite obvious that he was his own person. Can we say that about ourselves?

The Scriptures report: “When he was twelve years old, he and his parents went up to the festival in Jerusalem, according to the custom. After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

“Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he was saying to them.” Lk 2:41-52

Jesus came to know what he was about, what he wanted to do with his life. Jung calls this the process of Individuation or the process of becoming a complete human being, or how we integrate all the parts of our personality of which we aren’t presently conscious. Jesus’ Self was true and strong, and he was determined to live out his goals and objectives as influenced by his reading and praying the Scriptures.

According to Jung, the ego represents the conscious mind as it comprises the thoughts, memories, and emotions a person is aware of. The ego is largely responsible for feelings of identity and continuity.

Jesus must have spent many hours reading the Scriptures, learning about Abraham, Jacob, and his sons who became jealous of their brother Joseph. He became familiar with the prophets who chastised the Israelites for not listening to Yahweh. Jesus knew much about his people’s history. His identity was one steeped in Judaism with its traumatic history and characters. His Ego was strong, his identity intact.

Jung continues: The personal unconscious contains temporality forgotten information as well as repressed memories. Here resides a complex collection of thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and memories that focus on a single concept. The Shadow is the animal side of our personality (like the id in Freud). It is the source of both our creative and destructive energies. “The shadow is a moral problem that challenges the whole ego-personality, for no one can become conscious of the shadow without considerable moral effort. To become conscious of it involves recognizing the dark aspects of the personality as present and real. This act is the essential condition for any kind of self-knowledge.”— Carl Jung, Aion (1951) Jesus spent much time alone, praying, reflecting, and maybe even confronting his shadow. Do we take the time to retreat from every day affairs to face our Shadow?

The more elements attached to the complex, the greater its influence on the individual. What impact did the stories of the Scriptures have on Jesus? What impact do they have on us?

We can only guess that they did have an impact on Jesus because he set out to share his feelings and attitudes with others. This was evidenced by the way he lived and by the stories he told to compliment or criticize his fellow Jews and the Jewish religion and even those outside the Jewish milieu.

According to Jung, there also exists a collective unconscious or Collective Shadow, which is a universal version of the personal unconscious, holding mental patterns, or memory traces, which are shared with other members of the human species. These ancestral memories, which Jung called archetypes, are represented by universal themes in various cultures, as expressed through literature, art, and dreams. Jesus tapped into the psyche of the Jews. He was steeped in their history, their angst which was caused by various foreign powers which conquered Israel for most of their existence. Jesus confronted the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders as well as the many practices that were the result of the human interpretation of God’s will. Do we confront hypocrisy or deception in our society, in our world of family and friends or do we accept it because we don’t want to upset anybody.

Mark (3:20-22) records a situation when Jesus’ family and others were not too happy about his behavior.”Then Jesus went home, and once again a crowd gathered, so that He and His disciples could not even eat. When His family heard about this, they went out to take custody of Him, saying, “He is out of His mind.” And the scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,”

Another archetype is the anima/animus. The “anima/animus” is the mirror image of our biological sex, that is, the unconscious feminine side in males and the masculine tendencies in women. Each gender manifests certain attitudes and behavior of the other by virtue of centuries of living together. The psyche of a woman contains masculine aspects (the animus archetype), and the psyche of a man contains feminine aspects (the anima archetype). Jesus seemed to have a healthy balance of anima/animus considering his relation with so many women and men mentioned in the gospels. How is the balance of our anima and animus? Does it contribute to or hinder our relations with other people?

The Self provides a sense of unity in life. For Jung, the ultimate aim of every individual is to achieve a state of selfhood or individuation, which Jung said is the therapeutic goal of analytical psychology belonging to the second half of life and is the process by which a person becomes a psychological individual, a separate indivisible unity or whole, recognizing his innermost uniqueness, and he identified this process with becoming one’s own self or self-realization, which he distinguished from “ego-centeredness” and individualism. Are we more concerned about our image than our integrity? Do we let our true Self determine our choices?

Applying Jung’s theory to the life of Jesus

“Jesus came to John the Baptist while he was baptizing people in the River Jordan. … As soon as Jesus was baptized, he came up out of the water. Heaven was opened and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. Then a voice said from heaven, “This is my own dear son with whom I am pleased.” Mt 3:13-17

Like any human, Jesus may have been inclined to think highly of himself and use his new title as his Persona or mask to portray authority and power and the fame that comes with them. Instead, he journeys into the desert to spend time alone, to pray, and try to understand what the title “dear son” really means for him. There he tries to confront his Shadow, his unconscious thoughts and feelings and bring them to the surface so he can address them.

It is then that he is tempted by “satan” to succumb to power, fame, and fortune which usually are the characteristics of those who are recognized as special by earthly standards. Kings and Queens in the ancient world were considered rulers by divine authority and appointment. He must confront such feelings in himself.

In Psalms 89:26–28, David calls God his father. God, in turn, tells David that he will make David his first-born and highest king of the earth. In 2 Samuel 7:13–16, God promises David regarding his offspring, Solomon, that “I will be to him as a father and he will be to me as a son.” The promise is one of eternal kingship.”

Jesus, being a Jew, would have heard these scripture passages in the synagogue and so he needs to grasp the significance of his new title in relation to David and Solomon or even Moses. How did they handle their power, fame, and fortune? How must I handle those attributes?

The process of Individuation is now in play. Jesus realizes that his role as “son”, like others of his heritage, requires a response of faith or confidence. So he sets out on the path to obey Yahweh and journey toward oneness with the divine. He separates himself from the crowd not in an elitist manner but in the way in which he can be loyal to his vocation of sonship as pronounced by Yahweh. Just read the gospels and you begin to grasp what being created in the image and likeness of God is all about for Jesus! Aren’t we all children of God? If so, what must we do to be faithful to that designation? Do we confront the characteristics of power, fame, and fortune in our professional or work life? in recreational activities ? and even in our relationships with family and friends?

This Jesus whom we await during this and every season of Advent is the Jesus who accepts his calling to live as a child of God, whom he called “father” or Abba in Aramaic. He incorporated divine characteristics that enabled him to love God with his heart, mind, and soul. He understood his calling to be a call to lose one’s self in loving others and so gain eternal life united to the divine. A calling to act with mercy, compassion, forgiveness, and inclusivity. His vocation was to be one of healing the lame, the blind, and the deaf, those suffering from diseases such as leprosy and even to heal or exorcise those believed to be possessed by demons. Thus, the core or heart of his and every Christian vocation lies in this statement of his: “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.” Mt 10:34

Jesus would divide those who do the will of God and those who don’t, those who truly love unconditionally and those who don’t, those who forgive and those who do not, and those who have mercy, are compassionate and lose their lives in the process and those who do not.

He will reject the false self or Persona that humans use to impress others or to fit into society and be part of the crowd. As Jung said, “The false self rests on the surface, as the self presented to the world. It stands in contrast to the true self, which resides behind the facade or image.” Therefore he could say, “I and the Father are one.” Jn 10:30 Do we rely on our Persona to be accepted by others? Are we afraid to let our true Self be seen by others? We can’t be hypocritical about our discipleship.

What should we expect?

The questions for us this Advent are to ask whether we are willing or not to prepare a place for Jesus to come into our mind and heart. Paul says to the Romans 13:13 “clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ”. Managing our Shadows-both the personal and collective ones, particularly those that keep us from accepting the grace of Pentecost, is crucial if grace is to affect our life and our vocation to welcome Jesus into our lives. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.” Mt 13:33 Grace in us must be “worked on” “kneaded” if it is to change us.

One way to do this is by using Lectio Divina or Sacred Reading. We go to a place of quiet, read the Word of God, reflect on it, pray or talk to Jesus about any word or phrase that gets our attention or troubles us, then we contemplate by quietly putting ourselves in the presence of the divine. This we can do every day. There are many other devotions or Liturgical settings like the Eucharist or even acts of charity or service that can help us enable grace to grow within us and strengthen our resolve and intention to follow Jesus.

Are we willing to journey toward unity with the divine as Jesus did by allowing our true Self to blossom? Are we able to stop following the crowd and follow our conscience? Integrity and character are the signs of the true Self and require our adherence. Compromising is not a Christian virtue.

This, then, is our expectation for the season of Advent: the coming of Christ into our minds and hearts. Will we be faithful to our Christian vocation and have a change of heart so we can live more like Jesus with love, compassion, forgiveness, and service? Will we allow our true selves to grow closer to the Divine? Will we make room for him in the Inn of our minds and hearts?

“**Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.**“

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Original Blessings

Posted on November 23, 2021 by Dr. Ernie Sherretta, D. Min.

Musings of Gratitude

My Thanksgiving is perpetual. It is surprising how contented one can be with nothing definite — only a sense of existence. Henry David Thoreau

“Where the Divine and the Human Meet” shows how important it is to meet the world with the creativity of an artist, particularly in these uncertain times:

“What do we do with chaos?

Creativity has an answer. We are told by those who have studied the processes of nature that creativity happens at the border between chaos and order. Chaos is a prelude to creativity. We need to learn, as every artist needs to learn, to live with chaos and indeed to dance with it as we listen to it and attempt some ordering. Artists wrestle with chaos, take it apart, deconstruct and reconstruct from it. Accept the challenge to convert chaos into some kind of order, respecting the timing of it all, not pushing beyond what is possible—combining holy patience with holy impatience–that is the role of the artist. It is each of our roles as we launch the twenty-first century because we are all called to be artists in our own way. We were all artists as children. We need to study the chaos around us in order to turn it into something beautiful. Something sustainable. Something that remains”.”
― Matthew Fox, Creativity

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. Melody Beattie

The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving. H. U. Westermayer

Thanksgiving comes to us out of the prehistoric dimness, universal to all ages and all faiths. At whatever straws we must grasp, there is always a time for gratitude and new beginnings. J. Robert Moskin

Appreciation can change a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary. Margaret Cousins

Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips and shows itself in deeds. Theodore Roosevelt

If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough. Meister Eckhart

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them. John F. Kennedy

Pride slays thanksgiving, but a humble mind is the soil out of which thanks naturally grow. A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves . Henry Ward Beecher

Matthew Fox quotes a Biblical theologian who wrote that “there are two basic ways by which the God of the Bible deals with humankind: by deliverance and by blessing… Blessing – much less original blessing—has not been preached or taught in Christian spirituality for centuries” (Original Blessing, M. Fox).

We enter a broken and torn and sinful world—that is for sure. But we do not enter as blotches on existence, as sinful creatures, we burst into the world as ‘original blessings.’ (Original Blessing, M. Fox)

“At times, our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” Albert Schweitzer

“In ordinary life, we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer

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Jesus: King or Servant

Posted on November 21, 2021 by Dr. Ernie Sherretta, D. Min.

“The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed,..because the kingdom of God is in your midst.” Lk 17:20-21

But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Luke 11:20

This implies that Jesus was a living example of God’s Kingdom. His compassion, mercy, forgiveness, healing, exorcisms, and other miracles were evidence of the behavior of one who lives in the Kingdom of God.

How does one get to be a citizen of this Kingdom? Jesus gives us the answer in the following passages.

As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.”

“Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”

Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this, the man’s face fell. He went away sad because he had great wealth. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” Mk 10:17-23

At another time, Jesus said, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mk10: 43-45

Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mt 20:25-28

“My kingdom is not of this world; if it were, My servants (subordinates) would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews. But now My kingdom is not of this realm.” Jn 18: 36

Not of this realm, not of this world, not a material kingdom made of brick and mortar nor a kingdom of money and possessions but a realm or kingdom of love, agape, the selfless love that gives not expecting any response or recognition. “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Mt 16:25

Most Christians are waiting for the return of the Messiah, but Jesus said to his disciples that “the Kingdom of God is in your midst.” Jesus is the Incarnation of the Kingdom! He is the blueprint of that Kingdom. He is the model of what we are to be. To enter the Kingdom here and now we must “sell everything you have and give to the poor.” Jesus is very realistic! “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” Entering the Kingdom requires total dependence on God, on Abba, the God of Love. It’s not about laws, creeds, rituals, tithing, but about the abandonment of power, fame, and fortune!

The “kingdom of God” is referenced all throughout Scripture. Luke 17:21 tells us the kingdom is in our midst, Matthew 3:2 tells us the kingdom of heaven is near, Matthew 13:41 tell of a “weeding out” of those who cannot enter the kingdom, and Mark 1:14-15 encourages us to repent as God’s kingdom is near. These are just a few of the many scriptures that point to God’s kingdom. The kingdom of God can be described as God’s reign and his rule over all things. God is in charge of our universe. Jesus’ purpose for our world was that we would be a part of his kingdom.

Immediately after his baptism, when God announced that Jesus was his beloved son, Jesus went into the desert to be alone, to pray, and discern what it meant to be a son of God. He did not consider that he was now God rather that he was about to live according to God’s will, or God’s rule, as an embodiment of the Kingdom.

Yet he was challenged by Satan or what some might say his Ego or a new sense of Self. According to biblical scholarship, Satan was the personification of evil or a rebellious attitude or behavior toward God. Luke 4:1-13 describes the threefold temptation of power, fame, and fortune. These have always be considered signs of authority, lordship, and kingdoms.

Confusion about the Kingdom of God and the role of the Messiah existed since the beginning of Israel. The coming of the Kingdom was to be the Last Judgement, or in the Christian era, a belief that the coming of the Kingdom of God would put an end to evil. Both these beliefs were widespread and indeed expected.

The people of Israel and the early Christians believed that the history of the world would come to a screeching halt, that God would intervene in the affairs of this planet, overthrow the forces of evil in a cosmic act of judgment and establish his utopian Kingdom on Earth. The concept of a King was what the title Messiah or Savior meant for the Jews.

Apocalyptic or “unveiling” expectations about the judgement and conquering evil began to take root in Judaism when the first temple of Jerusalem was destroyed in 515 BCE and the second in 70 CE. It really begins in the year 586 B.C when the Babylonians, under the famous King Nebuchadnezzar, conquers the city of Jerusalem itself and in the process destroy Solomon’s Temple. It continued and became stronger when the Persian, Alexander the Great, conquered Israel.

“The document known as First Enoch is a series of pseudepigraphal books, most of which are apocalyptic, written in a period when the Jews were ruled by the Greeks. It is narrated by the character Enoch, the seventh patriarch in the book of Genesis, who is believed to be have received visions of secret knowledge from God. First Enoch introduces imagery of angels, heaven, and hell that evolve into common apocalyptic themes in later literature, such as the Book of Revelation. In this excerpt, Enoch describes the fall of the angels who turn away from God, and the judgment of the souls of the dead.” writes Michael White, Professor of Classics and Christian Origins at the University of Texas at Austin. Only now in First Enoch is the rebellion of the angels under their leader, Azazel, whom we’ll later call Satan….So First Enoch gives us some of the most important components of what we think of as later Jewish and Christian apocalyptic traditions. We have God and Satan, good and evil in a battle.” For more details go to: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/apocalypse/explanation/jews.html

What happened since the time of Jesus then is a positive or negative reaction to events that are drastic interruptions in the normal affairs of a society. Each generation since that time has been subject to individuals or groups predicting the immediate coming of the end of this world and the coming of the Kingdom of God which will conquer evil for all time. Sometimes there is a split in society with some believing that an event is Apocalyptic and some who refuse to believe such. Both believers and unbelievers react with their own solutions for fighting evil. The concept of a king and his army was paramount to the ability to conquer evil. Thus Jesus is not only the son of God but the King of his followers who become his army. Since Jesus had risen and gone to heaven then another “anointed” person would assume his role.

“For example, in Isaiah, chapters 44 and 45–a portion of the book of Isaiah actually written during the exile itself–we hear of Cyrus the great Persian king referred to as God’s anointed one. The Lord’s Messiah. And it even goes on to say he will be a shepherd for my people. Now, this is God speaking. He, Cyrus, will be a shepherd for my people and he will be the one to rebuild Jerusalem.” …writes Professor White. Today, some evangelicals believe that Donald Trump is the Lord’s Messiah because he is a Republican and claims he is anti-abortion.

In 313 CE, the emperor Constantine was seen by some to be a Messiah because he issued the Edict of Milan, which granted Christianity—as well as most other religions—legal status. … In 380 CE, the emperor Theodosius issued the Edict of Thessalonica, which made Christianity, specifically Nicene Christianity, the official religion of the Roman Empire. These seemed like a victory for good but were they?

This may have been the end of the persecutions against Christianity but it also was the abandonment of the teachings and message of Jesus. Constantine used the sign of the cross as a weapon to defeat the enemies of Rome thus introducing violence as a means of overcoming evil.

This was totally against the teachings of Jesus who taught non-violence. When Jesus was about to be arrested, his “companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.” “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.” Mt 26:51-52

Constantine was a pagan monotheist, a devotee of the sun god Sol Invictus, the unconquered sun. However, before the Milvian Bridge battle, he and his army saw a cross of light in the sky above the sun with words in Greek that are generally translated into Latin as In hoc Signo vinces (‘In this sign conquer). That night Constantine had a dream in which Christ told him he should use the sign of the cross against his enemies. Constantine was seen by many as a possible instrument of God and he was afforded the power to lead the fledgling Christian community so much so that he called the council of Nicea to solve some of the early theological controversies about the nature of Jesus as a human and as God.

At another time Jesus said: “You have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to he hell of fire.” Mt 5:21-22

Throughout the early history of Christianity, the Roman Catholic Church used Constantine’s “In hoc Signo vinces” as a rallying cry to overcome infidels and heretics, especially those who did not accept Christianity or those of another religion, like Jews and Muslims. The threat of these numerous unbelievers was seen as another sign of evil that had to be eliminated.

“The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were intended to recover Jerusalem and its surrounding area from Islamic rule. Concurrent military activities in the Iberian Peninsula against the Moors (the Reconquista) and in northern Europe against pagan Slavic tribes (the Northern Crusades) also became known as crusades. Through the 15th century, other church-sanctioned crusades were fought against heretical Christian sects, against the Byzantine and Ottoman empires, to combat paganism and heresy, and for political reasons. Unsanctioned by the church, Popular Crusades of ordinary citizens were also frequent. Beginning with the First Crusade which resulted in the recovery of Jerusalem in 1099, dozens of Crusades were fought, providing a focal point of European history for centuries.”

“In 1095, Pope Urban II proclaimed the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont. He encouraged military support for Byzantine emperor Alexios I against the Seljuk Turks and called for an armed pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Across all social strata in western Europe, there was an enthusiastic popular response. The first Crusaders had a variety of motivations, including religious salvation, satisfying feudal obligations, opportunities for renown, and economic or political advantage.”

It’s no wonder then that Jesus is seen as the King of God’s kingdom. For many, this implies conquering the evil in this world by violent force if necessary. Thus the Church on earth is named the “Church Militant”. Such a notion, as we have mentioned, gives people the wrong impression and has done much harm.

Now, in America, we see the Catholic Church and the evangelical Churches waging political anti-abortion wars on those who don’t believe as they do or on those who challenge traditional morality and patriarchy. Truth, integrity, and love are being replaced by weapons of misinformation, propaganda, lies, corruption, and hatred. All this is occurring in the name of Jesus who warned his disciples: “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” Matthew 24:3-5

Also, Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 11:12-13 “ I will keep on doing what I am doing, in order to undercut those who want an opportunity to be regarded as our equals in the things of which they boast. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.”

In Matthew 7:20 Jesus says, “Wherefore by their fruits, you shall know them.” What are these fruits? Paul describes them in Galatians 5:22-24 as being the fruit of the Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.”

Could it be then that what is happening in this age is a battle between Kingdoms? A battle between the ways of this world and the ways of Jesus? Even the Catholic Church and the many evangelical Churches are complicit in succumbing to the ways of the world by engaging in politics, finances, and propaganda. Certain Catholic media are under scrutiny by Pope Francis. EWTN, the Napa Institute, and other such media outlets and groups are known to be actively involved in politics.

Perhaps this is another of those times about which Jesus warns us. Just consider the current amount of hatred and threats of violence and the silence of religious leaders amid the bigotry, lies, and accusations that have become the norm.

All of this is causing division and mistrust which is hardly the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

We must heed the words of Jesus and oppose the evil that encircles us. Truth and Integrity must prevail. The “weapons in this war must be TRUTH and INTEGRITY not violence of any kind. “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Jn8:31-32

Posted in Christology | Tagged Jesus King or servant, Jesus the prophet, who was Jesus | Leave a comment

Spirituality and Addiction

Posted on November 20, 2021 by Dr. Ernie Sherretta, D. Min.

Enjoy a Tech Sabbath

Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation

From the Center for Action and Contemplation

Author Tiffany Shlain offers a practice she calls a “Technology Sabbath” as a way of reducing our addiction to technology and our personal devices. She writes:

How often have you looked up from your screen, eyes dazed, and realized you’ve just wasted thirty minutes or an hour or more? You look around and see everyone else with their heads down staring at their screens, too. You worry about how this is affecting you as an individual and society at large. You think you should do something about it, then your phone buzzes, you respond to the text, and you’re pulled back to the screen again. We’ve become ostriches, burying our heads in silicon sand.

Researchers have compared the sense of technological dependency—the feeling that we must be accessible and responsive at any time—to that of drugs and alcohol. It’s all because of the hormone dopamine, which is related to mood, attention, and desire. When you find something that feels good, dopamine makes you want more of it.

Shlain has creatively adapted the Jewish practice of Sabbath to reduce our dependence on technology. She makes several suggestions for individuals and families to prepare for a day with no devices:

For the complete meditation go here:

https://email.cac.org/t/ViewEmail/d/E276C29A4A002AC52540EF23F30FEDED/C0212D17E6C213F41A21C02EB51F5606

**Technology Addiction is rampant and harmful to human relationships**

Posted in Spirituality | Leave a comment

Fellowship or “Followship”

Posted on November 12, 2021 by Dr. Ernie Sherretta, D. Min.

Cults, Tribes, and True Communities

Humans have a proclivity to ban together for many reasons. Being part of a family, tribe, group, or community is a very natural part of being human. The reason for belonging to such groups can be both good for us as well as detrimental. As a member of a family, one can feel secure, cared for, and even loved. This also can apply to almost any kind of group, organization, club, or team. These groups usually have a specific purpose, task, or function. Family and community membership is usually the result of birth or habitat however the former can be the result of adoption and fostering a child or the result of a marriage or remarriage of two adults. The latter group is certainly more versatile and transitory but nevertheless a means of belonging.

Tribes, groups, and communities can be formal or informal, intentional or casual, born into, or a matter of choice. Fellowship is a friendly association, especially with people who share one’s interests. Such associations are freely chosen and freely abandoned without any sense of betrayal yet possibly causing disappointment or sadness. Also, the dynamics of a group can change drastically and frequently. An existing group or team can grow to be intimate, reaffirming, and supportive. But as members leave, the flow or pattern of the group interaction can change from acceptance to avoidance as personalities, trust, and affirmation make all the difference in the growth and development of each member and the bonds of the group or community. Along, with these variables are the relationships that may begin or dissolve due to the absence or presence of certain individuals.

Other groups and communities can be the result of proselytizing, assimilation, or a matter of simply joining for support or protection. Political, religious, and social or cultural groups can result in a variety of cults based on membership and indoctrination or as the result of a powerful and influential personality of the leader who invites individuals to join making that person feel wanted and special.

“In modern English, a cult is a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs, or by its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal.” In many cases “cult” is another name for Religion.

An older sense of the word cult involves can be related to a particular figure and can be associated with a particular place. References to the “cult” of a particular Catholic saint, or the imperial cult of ancient Rome, for example, use this sense of the word.

Groups labeled as “cults” range in size from local groups with a few followers to international organizations with millions of adherents. Certainly, the Catholic Church, like most religions, may be referred to as a cult. The word “religion” is based on the Latin “religare” ‘to bind’, which for my purpose, implies the use of “indoctrination” or the process of teaching a person or group to accept a set of beliefs uncritically.

Most older Catholics remember the Baltimore Catechism from grade school religion class. There were questions and answers that every student was required to memorize. For example, a question may be, “Who made the world?” The prescribed answer is “God made the world.” or another question may be, Who is God?” And the answer is, “God is the Creator of heaven and earth, and of all things.”

Explanations for such questions and answers were usually given in Sunday homilies or special meetings for adult education provided by some but not all Catholic parishes.

Like any cult, there was no room for opposing the designated answer and those that did were reprimanded and even ostracised or considered “outside” the Church which, in the history of the Church through the ages, was considered heresy and may have resulted in drastic punishment even death.

Allegiance and complete loyalty to the teachings of the Catholic Church were required at all times and not to be ignored or abandoned. Sure, there were theological and moral disputes throughout the history of the Church as there are today but in the end, they were resolved by dogmatic pronouncements that indicated which definition or theology was correct and which are not. Creeds, Papal Encyclicals, and even Councils spelled out the dogmatic beliefs and ethics and how to apply them. These were not negotiable.

Obviously, cults do not allow any room for dissent or controversy both of which weaken the cohesive bonds of the group and contribute to the identity of the cult’s existance and the validity of its purpose and message. Catholicism, like all serious religions or organizations, have bylaws and statements of goals and purposes. For the Catholic Church, Canon Law and the Catechism of the Catholic Church are two of the many sources of Church laws and teachings in that order. Creeds, doctrines, and dogmas were added as needed to further explain and interpret the Sacred Scriptures. Religion like a cult requires a certain permanent adherence which is usually not easily undone without permission, scorn, or being ostracized.

Tribes are considered to be a political unit formed from an organization of families (including clans and lineages) based on social or ideological solidarity. Membership of a tribe may be understood simplistically as being an identity based on factors such as kinship (“clan”), ethnicity (“race”), language, dwelling place, political group, religious beliefs, oral tradition, and/or cultural practices.“Sometimes, though, the belonging aspect can translate to a sense of “us versus them”. It can create a situation where you view someone who is not of your tribe, team or group as the enemy and the person to be feared.” writes Beverly D. Flaxington https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/understand-other-people/201809/the-danger-in-belonging

One way to avoid simply following the crowd or community is to use your conscience and then decide whether or not to do as you see fit.

“Conscience is an inner feeling or voice viewed as acting as a guide to the rightness or wrongness of one’s behavior, beliefs, values, or choices. The Catholic Church defines conscience as “a judgment of reason whereby the human person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act that he is going to perform, is in the process of performing, or has already completed. In all he says and does, man is obliged to follow faithfully what he knows to be just and right. It is by the judgment of his conscience that man perceives and recognizes the prescriptions of the divine law.” #1778 CCC

Therefore, if you are a member of a family, tribe, community, or religious cult, fellowship does not require your allegiance to someone, to some teaching or belief. You are required to listen to and follow your conscience.

“Conscience is a law of the mind; yet [Christians] would not grant that it is nothing more; I mean that it was not a dictate, nor conveyed the notion of responsibility, of duty, of a threat and a promise. . . . [Conscience] is a messenger of him, who, both in nature and in grace, speaks to us behind a veil, and teaches and rules us by his representatives. Conscience is the aboriginal Vicar of Christ” claims John Henry Cardinal Newman, in Letter to the Duke of Norfolk. “It is important for every person to be sufficiently present to himself in order to hear and follow the voice of his conscience. This requirement of interiority is all the more necessary as life often distracts us from any reflection, self-examination or introspection.” #1779 CCC

However, one must consider the role of virtue, education, and experience in the formation of one’s conscience. Conscience is not to be confused with desire, habit, or any other predisposition that may influence one’s decision to take or not take a particular action.

“The education of the conscience is a lifelong task. From the earliest years, it awakens the child to the knowledge and practice of the interior law recognized by conscience. Prudent education teaches virtue; it prevents or cures fear, selfishness and pride, resentment arising from guilt, and feelings of complacency, born of human weakness and faults. The education of the conscience guarantees freedom and engenders peace of heart.” #1784 CCC

For the Christian, Koinonia refers to concepts such as fellowship, joint participation, the share which one has in anything, a gift jointly contributed, a collection, a contribution. It identifies the idealized state of fellowship and unity that should exist within the Christian church, the Body of Christ. The term may have been borrowed from the early Epicureans—as it is used by Epicurus’ Principal Doctrines.

The word appears 19 times in most editions of the Greek New Testament. In the New American Standard Bible, it is translated “fellowship” twelve times, “sharing” three times, and “participation” and “contribution” twice each.Koinonia appears nowhere in the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint.

The Eucharist is the sacrament of communion with one another in the one body of Christ. This was the full meaning of eucharistic koinonia in the early Catholic Church. St. Thomas Aquinas wrote, “the Eucharist is the sacrament of the unity of the Church, which results from the fact that many are one in Christ.” Yet other denominations of Christianity consider the New Testament description of fellowship as described in the book of Acts: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. … All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people” (Acts 2:42-47)

According to the International Journal for Pastors “Christian fellowship is vertical as well as horizontal. The horizontal plane presupposes the vertical for its very existence. John described the vertical dimension this way: “Our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3). This fellowship is what makes a Christian, Christian. Indeed, John’s words provide a definition of what it is to be Christian. Those not in fellowship with the Father and the Son, however upright they may be, are not actually Christian in this Johanine sense. The horizontal dimension of fellowship is the habitual sharing, the constant giving to and receiving from each other, which is the true, authentic pattern of life for God’s people. Fellowship with God, then, is the source from which fellowship among Christians springs; and again, fellowship with God is the end to which Christian fellowship leads.”

https://www.ministrymagazine.org/archive/2003/06/fellowship-its-meaning-and-its-demand.html

True Christian fellowship, like a true Christian conscience, must be open to the Grace of God, to pure goodness, and in keeping with Christian virtue all of which comes to us in and by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Certainly, the basic foundation upon which fellowship and conscience exist is the Word of God and prayer. “Discernment has steps that can be taken in order to achieve a level of discernment. The following actions can be made when making decisions of discernment; taking time in making decisions, using both the head and heart, and assessing important values involved in the situation. Time has been considered necessary in the process of making a smart choice and decisions made in a hurry can be altered by lack of contemplation.”

“The focus on God and Jesus when making decisions is what separates Christian discernment from secular discernment. Ignatius of Loyola is often regarded as the master of the discernment of spirits.Ignatian discernment comes from Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) when he created his own unique way of Catholic discernment. Ignatian discernment uses a series of Spiritual Exercises for discerning life choices and focuses on noticing God in all aspects of life. The Spiritual Exercises are designed to help people who are facing a major life decision. There are seven steps of discernment to be followed that include identifying the issue, taking time to pray about the choice, making a wholehearted decision, discussing the choice with a mentor and then finally trusting the decision made.^”

“Lectio Divina is another means of informing oneself about decisions pertaining to conscience and fellowship. It has been likened to “feasting on the Word”: first, the taking of a bite (lectio); then chewing on it (meditatio); savoring its essence (oratio) and, finally, “digesting” it and making it a part of the body (contemplatio).In Christian teachings, this form of meditative prayer leads to an increased knowledge of Christ.”

Therefore, just because one belongs to a family, tribe, cult, community, or religious group, one shouldn’t merely “follow” the crowd but genuinely discern whether one should or not accept the teachings, ideas, rituals, traditions, or requirements of any of the above. Instead, for the Christian, true membership or fellowship is built upon the Way, the Truth, and the Life of Jesus.

Thus a few caveats are in order: Genuine fellowship has enemies: the self and the shadow or dark side of the self. James asks: “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from the desires that battle within you?” (James 4:1).

We must also remind ourselves that each person must follow their own conscience which means that we are not in the position to condemn or judge another. For Paul writes: “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning your self, because you who pass judgment do the same things” (Rom. 2:1).

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Posted in Ecclesiology | Leave a comment

All Saints

Posted on November 1, 2021 by Dr. Ernie Sherretta, D. Min.

**In its most basic sense, a saint is a “holy one,” someone who is set apart for God’s special purposes. As a result, every follower of Jesus Christ is a saint.** **From the collection of** **World Menagerie**

The English word saint comes from the Latin sanctus, with the Greek equivalent being ἅγιος (hagios) ‘holy’.^[6] The word ἅγιος appears 229 times in the Greek New Testament. The word sanctus was originally a technical one in ancient Roman religion, but due to its globalized use in Christianity the modern word saint is now also used as a translation of comparable terms for persons “worthy of veneration for their holiness or sanctity” in other religions.

According to the Catholic Church, a saint is anyone in Heaven, whether recognized on Earth or not, who form the “great cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1).^[10][11] These “may include our own mothers, grandmothers or other loved ones (cf. 2 Tim 1:5)” who may have not always lived perfect lives, but “amid their faults and failings they kept moving forward and proved pleasing to the Lord”.^[10] The title Saint denotes a person who has been formally canonized—that is, officially and authoritatively declared a saint, by the Church as holder of the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and is therefore believed to be in Heaven by the grace of God. There are many persons that the Church believes to be in Heaven who have not been formally canonized and who are otherwise titled saints because of the fame of their holiness.^[12]

**From the collection of** **World Menagerie**

Posted in Liturgical | Leave a comment

Sacred Physicians, Healers of Humanity

Posted on October 15, 2021 by Dr. Ernie Sherretta, D. Min.

Jesus and Buddha

were and are inspirations to millions.

Both taught a religion of the heart, everlasting virtue, the way to generosity and the value of faith, serenity, and compassion.

Jesus and Buddha would recognize themselves in each other.

Both underwent life altering experiences that enlightened them and inspired them to share their insights, and wisdom with everyone they met.

Jesus found his true Self in the desert and Buddha was enlightened under the Bo tree.

Both discovered a new way of understanding themselves and the way they saw life. Jesus offered himself as THE WAY and Buddha found THE PATH.

Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths that comprise the essence of Buddha’s teachings, though they leave much left unexplained. They are the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering, and the truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering which the Buddha taught as the EIGHT-FOLD PATH.

Jesus taught the eight Beatitudes, the three fold commandment of LOVE called Agape, the essence of humility as the means to fulfillment, and the confidence needed for well-being.

Jesus said: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

Buddha said: “Consider others as yourself.”

Jesus said: “Your father in heaven makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.”

Buddha said: “The grace cloud rains down on all whether theri nature is superior or inferior. The light of the sun and the moon illuminates the whole world, both him who does well and him who does ill, both him who stands high and him who stands low.”

Jesus said: “Out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”

Buddha said: “One does not become pure by washing, as do the multitude of mortals in this world; he who casts away every sin, great and small, he is a brahim who has cast off sin.”

For more sayings go to:

https://www.johnworldpeace.com/budjesus.asp