"...what is the breadth and length and height and depth..." Paul has, in one interpretation, described a tesseract. What resonates. Amazes works just as well. In the "real" and "probably real" Pauline letters, what scintillates is the consistent emphasis on "the God within" since this was such a completely alien concept to me until a little over 15 years ago. Prior to that I either ignored the subject, didn't think much about it or went with the dualistic way of thinking when I thought of it at all. Bill

Terry and fellow sojourners... What follows is a restructuring of the reading done before reading Terry's work. Got to thinking about the inference we have made in both TAGS and elsewhere that these are "Paul's letter(s) to the _____" So for the heck of it, restructured the 14 verses into a more modern "memo to" format. As an aside, Ephesians is one of the "maybe yes maybe no" Pauline letters...Biblical scholars haven't really decided whether Paul jotted this one down or if it was done in his name. I wouldn't hazard a guess either... As to anything scintillating for me...not so much at first readings. Couple of glimmers from the adoption and destiny comments...hangovers from the Lutheran upbringing, I suppose... Here is the MEMORANDUM TO THE EPHESIANS--- From: Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To: The saints who are in Ephesus and are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people, to the praise of his glory.

Fellow sojourners-- Terry, as far as doing the paste key...probably some Mac issue 8~) and we ALL understand about Mac issues... Got to nosing around and thinking about the whole rejection thing. Being more of a questioner than a Biblical scholar, wondered if there were any other times Jesus is rejected...or maybe ejected would be the better term...that precede the Mark 6: 1-13 passage. Didn't take much looking... (Mar 5:1) They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. (Mar 5:2) And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man out of the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. (Mar 5:3) He lived among the tombs; and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain; (Mar 5:4) for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him. (Mar 5:5) Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones. (Mar 5:6) When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him; (Mar 5:7) and he shouted at the top of his voice, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me." (Mar 5:8) For he had said to him, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!" (Mar 5:9) Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" He replied, "My name is Legion; for we are many." (Mar 5:10) He begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. (Mar 5:11) Now there on the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding; (Mar 5:12) and the unclean spirits begged him, "Send us into the swine; let us enter them." (Mar 5:13) So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and were drowned in the sea. (Mar 5:14) The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. (Mar 5:15) They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion; and they were afraid. (Mar 5:16) Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. (Mar 5:17) Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood. (Mar 5:18) As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. (Mar 5:19) But Jesus refused, and said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you." (Mar 5:20) And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed. In the casting out of Legion, depending on how you read it, there is a double rejection...one very gentle and one pretty darn nasty. The gentle rejection is Jesus denying the request of the healed schizoid-paranoiac to accompany him; the snarky rejection—the town wanted him GONE. So, within the space of just a couple of (?) days Jesus has been hustled out of one town because: 1. He healed the local crazy guy and 2. Wiped out the local pig population (which could have been a big deal if the town were mostly Gentiles AND they were in the Southern Israel AND it was the NASCR (National Association for Stock Chariot Racing season [pulled pork and jerked pork sandwiches and NASCR just GO together]) and 3. Scared the townsfolk silly. THEN, Jesus and his followers then go to his hometown...and while I don't read the passages as outright rejection, His words and works are diminished. Got to thinking about a could of things in this regard. His kinfolk and fellow Nazarenes completely (or conveniently) forgot what happened twenty some years before at his Bar Mitzvah. Believe the Bible says something to the effect that they were amazed at his knowledge (Luke, maybe) When I attended Shepard of the Hills Methodist Church, the good Rev. Julius Del Pino and I had some wonderful discussions about what happened in the years between the incident of the Kid staying behind and Jesus' three year ministry leading to the Crucifixion. One of the hypotheses—and this could spring from the following verses from Luke—was that Jesus followed in the typical societal mores of the time; became a carpenter like his father Joseph, married, had a family and...well and...joined the Essene Movement Will let you speculate... (Luk 2:50) But they did not understand what he said to them. (Luk 2:51) Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart. (Luk 2:52) And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor. Thus, when He returned after X days, months or years, the townsfolks saw Him not as a...hmmm...Prodigal Son returning; it was more like a derelict father/son who had abandoned hearth and home to wander around doing some sort of weirdness. Perspective, historical perspective...always hits us up. The concepts outlined above are my attempt to bring the issue of rejection to a First Century, dispossessed, economic fringe group point of view. Borg and Crossan) have influenced my analytical bent in these areas. Another area that B&C carve in deep bas-relief is the dominant power structure. In these two scenarios, there are few comments regarding temples, temple officials, and Roman officialdom shy of Jairus. One could speculate that there is some foretelling... Where does all this leave us? Jesus both rebuffs and is rebuffed, which is no different than what any human, First Century or Twenty-First Century feels and does. Oh, yeah...there is the bit in there about Jesus as manager and delegator; will save that for later.... BW 7/5/12

http://www.gocomics.com/frogapplause/2012/07/04 Interesting viewpoint...both rejecting and rejected... More to come... Bill

Matryoshka— A reflection on the first FRPC Café Church The night sky and beyond, depths unknown Create the first bowl Space and space Next is our galaxy, spiral arms Flung out to the infinite, and yet encompassing Then, moving inward, Earth's own solar system Orderly and chaotic, fractals and flares Holding together planets and belts Pondering this, I see the pattern Each component nested within The preceding Contained, to be sure And the question begs Constrained? Earth, gravity works Western Hemisphere, Northern Hemisphere Geographic-sociopolitical; contained? Another question begs, Self or self? Which is at the core? One or both? Capped? Or free? And in meditation the answer is clear As the crystal raindrop and as shocking As the lightening bolt Like the titular doll, we empower The lifting of the cover When we open our Hearts Each Cap, as it lifts Opens a new Container Light flows in, evoking new clarity Learning as Insight Insight as Knowing Knowing as Understanding At the core is me, Self and self With the caps removed, I willing become open With the open comes the Vulnerable And with the Vulnerable Learning, Insight, Knowing, Understanding become Wisdom With Wisdom, I know within my Open Heart What little I do know and that out there The Infinite is what I seek Bill Wright 7/2/2012

Thoughts on the Inaugural FRPC Café Church-- Getting ready/Closing down Things were—and do not use this term lightly—synergistic. Each element was covered, execution seemed flawless and if there WERE any glitches, I didn't notice and for SURE the congregants wouldn't have noticed. We moved in unison and, to borrow a phrase from Terry, our dance was inspired and inspirational. The Service One word, borrowed from Marshall McLuhan, is the best descriptor...ALLATONCENESS...the total incorporation of everything in to the flow of the worship. Again, each element, while discreet, blended from the prior through itself to its successor. Setting...there is only one thing to say about the setting. We all know the Fellowship Hall in many guises. What really hit me was the power I felt in the room on Sunday. Not just from the people present. Nancy...this is a special nod to you. If allowed to use but one word, I would chose LOVE to describe what I felt when I was near your centerpiece creation. It was truly transformed what we had into a deeply sacred place. Music...Accolades to Ruby and Barbara for their guitar and harp work—and their blended voicings. and to Barb for the music selection. Using the mathematics definition...elegant. Simple and effective. Communion. WOW. That's it...WOW. Break-out From all indications and from a personal viewpoint, this was highly effective, generating substantive, thoughtful discussions; in the setting, I sorta wonder if there is such a thing as on or off point...a wide spectrum of topics could be seen as being inspired by the Scripture used. At the end of each ACA meeting I attended some years back, the throng (like 150 people) in unison would say “KEEP COMING BACK, IT WORKS!!. Sorta wanted to do that as we ended yesterday. Bill

Couple of quick notes... Relative to rejection...gonna hafta think a bit about that subject...especially from the "-er" perspective. Ironically, one question I use when interviewing a candidate for a position is something along these lines..."tell me something, are you viewing this position for which you are interviewing as something you are moving towards...or are you just using it a a place to go because you are moving away from where you are... Relative to Barb's suggestion...Yep, sounds good--as we move along our experiential curve, the focusing will allow us to pool and then exude our energy as our fellow sojourners apparate... Bill