HESUS JOY CHRIST / Matthew's Three Fold Discussion -- Verse 15

Continuing on a day early this week since I will be attending the CMHA Annual General Meeting tomorrow night. This week is verse 15 of the third chapter of the Gospel of Matthew and the animation HESUS JOY CHRIST / Matthew's Three Fold .

Verse 15 - New International Version

¹⁵Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

Verse 15 - text of the animation by R David Foster

¹⁵One replied: “Let it be so now, it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then Joan consented.

Verse 15 Discussion

Now – why is it good enough for now ? How does one break out of a closed system and bring about an infinite system. There is no way out of a closed system, and that is why it is a closed system. Consider a building – if it is constantly in use every day how does one expand such a building ? Our cities have not been abandoned to become new – they have become new and modern while people have inhabited them. Modern economics demands growth but where does this come from in a closed system. First of all, many economies annex neighboring economies, but this practice has limits. The exploration of space may have begun but this world will be all we have for many more generations. Our world, Earth, is finite, as ecologists keep reminding us. The universe may be infinite, but we are limited in our ability to access anything beyond this planet.

So we are all in a closed system, and the system somehow has to be changed to a new system for there to be growth. There was the Stone Age, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. There was the colonial age and the industrial revolution. Each of these periods found opportunities to expand from within, which was followed by an outward expansion that was equipped with the technologies that were found within the original closed system. Jesus, the man, found new opportunities in the Hebrew religion and had to adjust and expand the awareness of the Hebrew religion to draw attention to these new opportunities. This was his ministry to the Hebrews. He was not to minister to any other people, although “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master's table”. Jesus took advantage of the opportunity that John had built and began there, with a more intense look at the Hebrew law and where such a thorough understanding could lead. Joan is doing the same thing with christianity – taking a more intense look at where a society of people who have taken on the character of christ could lead, and proclaiming that marriage is the obvious direction in which to head. Both are beginning with what they have and wherever they find themselves – NOW !

Jesus was within the law, and could easily accept the baptism of repentance that John was offering, especially if Jesus was committing himself to a new extremely thorough following of the law. This is why he says “Let it be so for now” - this is where he was beginning. It was proper for him to do so to fulfill all righteousness, before he continued on into even more intense righteousness. The One of the couple, will take the world farther than the single person of Joan ever could, but before they become more intensely involved in their relationship, Joan's acknowledgment becomes a milestone and a cornerstone on the road of their One accomplishments. They need Joan to acknowledge that this is the One and this is what it is doing. Sure there will be other relationships worthy of the title One, but all these relationships are One.

It is very often forgotten that we are to dwell in peace with God with us. Few people believe this is possible in light of all the suffering they have witnessed in their lives alone. They have abandoned even the idea of an infinite purpose such as God, let alone a loving infinite person. When a child learns to ride a bike it is miraculous that they find that they can continue on if they respect the limitations of balancing left and right. They are full of joy at the realization. This is the nature of the infinite One. It seems impossible in the present reality but nevertheless it comes into our reality almost by accident and calls us toward it from then on.

An infinite awareness of an infinite balance of whole and part will lead to infinite possibilities within a finite world. The door to growth and expansion lies within this One balance of marriage. Infinity will sit with us and be an everlasting opportunity. This infinity will be an always available recourse in the event of a tragedy. It will be found that good is infinite and bad is finite within this infinity. This can become our world NOW !

Friday, June 10^th, 2011

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