We Found Him Wherever We Found Life
We gathered the eleven, because one had been lost. They met the Risen Christ. He walked among us for forty days then ascended. Our sweet Lord appeared to many and continued to teach us, just as we continued to teach. The joy of life filled our hearts and our homes. The Fullness of our God blossomed in us, and we learned to live in the peace that passes all understanding. We grew in joy.
On the fiftieth day, the Holy Spirit poured out upon us. We gathered together, body and soul to share in the praise of Life more abundantly, sharing all things in common. Wisdom grew among us.
We saw the face of Christ in all we met, whether they believed or not. He is life. We found him wherever we found life. The land greened as the people turned from the way of the empire that oppressed us to a life built in the kin-dom we were called into.
The community spoke as the Word arose within them. We called people out of the darkness of oppression into the light of right relationship and mutual support. In the joy of sharing and taking care of one another, the Way grew strong.
We shared our testimony and witness. Not just the twelve or the seventy, all of us who overflowed with blessing told our stories and shared the teachings of Jesus. The fellowship grew.
I Was Not Born Broken
One day, many years later, I encountered Brother Sidonius preaching. I sat in the back and listened.
“I was born blind,” he said, and the crowd leaned in. “The apostles asked Jesus, why was I born blind? Was it because of the sins of my parents or because of my sins, Jesus answered: ‘Neither this one sinned nor his parents, but in order that the works of God might be manifested in him (John 9:3).’ What was the work of God? Jesus spat on the ground and made mud. He smeared it on my eyes and told me to wash in the pool of Siloam. I did and I was healed. What are the works of God manifest in my healing?”
The crowd murmured.
One said, “What was broken was fixed.”
Another said, “Faith heals all maladies.”
Sidonius said, “Jesus revealed that I was not born broken. I had not sinned in a former life and bore the wages of sin in my body. I was not born blind to punish my parents for their sins. I was born blind. I was not healed to show that the Spirit has power over the flesh. Jesus, who bore the name of God within him, spat into the dirt from which all things arose, and made mud. He smeared the mud on my eyes and told me to wash out my eyes.”
The crowd murmured.
“I did not understand at first,” he said. “I was questioned and challenged about this, and I did not understand. My eyes were not opened when I washed in the pool of Siloam. They opened when I fell on my knees and worshipped God in Christ.
“We are not born in sin. We are born in blessing. Even when I was born blind, the blessings of life were upon me. I was not broken. The community around me was broken. Jesus did not heal me to fix me but to demonstrate that we all need to wash our eyes clean so we can see the original blessing all around us. He healed me so others could see their own blindness to the glories of life.”
The crowd fell silent and pondered what he said.
“Clear your vision so you might see the blessings of God. Do not judge others. None of us can clear the vision of another when we cannot see clearly ourselves.”
When he finished talking, I saw original blessing shine from him and all around him. My heart gladdened. I approached him, and blessed him for his wisdom, and we traveled together from that day, spreading the green wisdom of the Way.
A Mirage on the Desert Sand
I took Sidonius to Bethany to collect my family. When we arrived, Menahem, who was called Maximin, the steward of the house, greeted us.
“Blessed are you, Maximin,” I said. “I cannot imagine our lives without your support.”
“Blessed are you and all who serve,” Maximin said.
We entered the house and greeted Martha and Lazarus. We discussed the goings on in the church and the desire some have for a more rigid and defined leadership.
Then the Holy Spirit moved in Maximin, and he said, “Standing above others is a mirage on the desert sand. It can be felt like the heat in the air, but the longer one walks toward it, the further away it appears. It is not real. It is a salt water oasis that cannot quench the thirst or keep the people alive. No one is great, and no one deserves obedience. No one can demand service from a friend.
“Jesus taught us the way to true greatness. Those who give their service and attention to all are the greatest, because they have helped the most people. It is not a blessing to break the body to achieve greatness. We love our neighbor as ourselves, so we must take care of our bodies so we can take care of others. Our bodies are the temples of God; it is not holy to tear down what is sacred to appear holier or greater than others.
“When Jesus called us to be servants of all, he taught us how to have right relationship with the world. We ask ourselves if our actions are right for our body and the bodies of others. Our wishes are not greater than the river, the grove, or the person next to us. What is holy and good is what serves all.
“If our community is to be true to the Way we are called to live, it has to serve the whole world. If it only serves our interests, it is false. If it destroys the creation of God, it is not holy. The way of life is to find the balance that sustains the life, peace, and joy of all. Life is lived in the body; if we do not care for our bodies and the bodies of others, we have lost our way.”
I felt rooted in my body in a way I never had before. After a few days we all left for the road together to spread the gospel. Sidonius, Lazarus, Martha, Maximin, Marcella, and I traveled together as companions.
Every Body Is the Shrine of the Godhead
One night, as we made camp by the side of the road, I saw what I thought was the sun rising from the south. Light filled the way, and at its heart was a beautiful black woman riding a lion. Terror struck me. How could any but the holy ones subdue a lion enough to sit upon it, much less to ride it.
As she approached, my vision cleared, and I saw a young, black woman riding a horse.
I greeted her and offered to share our fire and camp with her.
She introduced herself to us, “My name is Sara, and I come here from Egypt, though my family is from India. I am the gatherer of treasures. Even though I am known as the one who cannot be accessed easily, I wish to travel with you in the days to come.”
I wondered after what she said, and what to ask her. How had she come to us from so far away, and what did she want from us?
“Be not afraid, Mary,” she said with a smile. “I have come to maintain and sustain life and give aid.
“If you want to quake in your flesh, know that it is a shrine where the Divine Life dwells. It is not a barrier keeping you from the Godhead. Your blood moves to the rhythm of God. Your breath takes God in and releases God to the world. Your hunger, pleasure, pain, and touch are all sacred because the living world is sacred.
“No body can hold all of the Divine. Every body is the shrine of the Godhead. The Holy is in the stone, the stranger, the lover, the tree, the river, and in all the plants and animals that live. Recognizing the sacred in all things is the gate to the presence of the Divine.
“If you want to touch the face of God, caress the face of your beloved. When you hold another’s hand, you hold the hand of God. No one can know the Godhead without knowing others. Every relationship is a relationship with God. As you tend, grieve, feed, protect, and are present with others, you do the same to God.
“Not even death can rob the world of the Divine Presence. Bodies arise, grow, and change. They live their lives in the world, then return to the earth from which they rose. Life changes form like a drop in a calm pool. The ripples go out, expand, and eventually fade away, but the water remains and is forever changed by the drop.”
I felt more alive as she spoke. She joined our company and traveled with us.
The Boat with No Rudder
As we journeyed, spreading the gospel, Salome and Mary of Clopas joined our company. It was safer in those days to travel in groups. Many persecuted the Way for their own reasons.
One day, as we preached the Word, a crowd grew angry. They drove us toward the sea. I thought they would drown us, and that I would soon join Christ in Spirit and Light, but this was not their plan.
The crowd tightened around us. When we thought we had nowhere to go, we came upon an old boat on the shore. The mob laughed and jeered, and we got onto the boat, but it was not the refuge we thought it would be.
They pushed us out to sea, and the current carried us away from the shore. Only then did we discover this boat had no sail, oars, or rudder.
All we had was our faith and what little we carried on us. We prayed and meditated, sharing what we had among us. We held each other through the cold of the night, and encouraged one another as we were carried across the sea.
Days turned into weeks, and we wondered if we would ever see land again. We ate nothing after the food that we had run out, and drank only the little rain water we could collect. We never saw as much as another ship as we floated across the great sea.
Our days adopted a set rhythm. We greeted the sun, asked for the mercy of the wind and the sea, did what we could to keep ourselves strong in mind, heart, and spirit. Our bodies weakened, still we sang, prayed, and meditated.
Only Sara seemed little bothered by our circumstances. When I asked her, all she said was, “I joined you for the journey.”
I wondered if she came to us for this time.
Though our bodies weakened, our strength did not fail us.
Little more than a month after we were pushed into the sea, we made landfall in a marshy delta. We were found by some Gaulish people. Maximin was able to speak with them, and they fetched us food and water.
When we regained our strength, the Spirit moved among us, and we felt a call to continue our journey sharing the gospel in this new land.
Lazarus traveled to the east along the coast toward Massalia. Martha and Marcella journeyed north up the Rhodanus toward Arelate. Maximin and Sidonius traveled east and inland toward Aquae Sextiae.
Salome, Mary of Clopas, and Sara stayed with the people who found us.
I was drawn to the east into the high wooded country. There I found a cave, and I took it for my home.
I Am the Watcher and the Watchtower
I made my home in the cave, and the local Salyes helped me. They provided me food and taught me their language so I could communicate with them better. I needed time to learn and collect myself. I did not know what to do so far from my people.
My days were filled with prayer, meditation, and learning from the Salyes. My soul grieved since I believed I would never see my homeland again.
One day, as I left the cave, I beheld an angel of light. I fell to my knees, believing he was sent from the Lord.
“Mary, blessed Watchtower of Christ,” he said, “Come with me.”
I followed the angel deep into the forest, and watched a pack of wolves hunting a deer, taking it down, killing it, and consuming its bloody flesh.
“You have heard it said that the world was made and the Lord declared it good,” the angel said. “Behold the killing and violence of life. How can this world be good when life lives off death? How could a good God create such things? Is it not more likely that a lesser spirit made this world that is filled with such violence and corruption?”
I contemplated the scene, then said, “You show me the flow of life to life and ask me to declare one life as greater than another? The plants devour the light, some animals devour the plants, others devour them, then they are devoured by rot and fed back to the plants. To condemn the predator is to condemn the flower. Life flows in a circle, and to break it only brings death. We all depend on the grace and life of others.”
The angel sneered at me, and said, “Follow me.”
He took me to the village and showed me people who were sick and in pain. He said, “How can it be good that people suffer? Surely a lesser spirit made this world and trapped the luminous soul in flesh so it might suffer.”
My heart broke at the sight of the suffering of the people, and I said, “Pain is a very real part of life. It is our duty to bring the graces of relief and healing to all we have the power to heal. I grieve that we cannot cure all. Each generation owes it to themselves and the one that comes after to learn to prevent disease and pain, and then learn to heal more.
“A suffering body is not diminished by its capacity to suffer. Would it be better to be numb so we feel nothing at all? God forbid. The same skin refreshed by the cool water and invigorated by the rush of the wind also feels the cut of the blade, and the bruise from falling.”
He returned me to the cave, and said, “Blessed Watchtower, I offer you great wisdom. I will teach you how to enter the supernal rapture of the Divine, and how to cleave spirit from flesh so you can arise from the trap of your body and escape the corruptions of the flesh. Once you learn this wisdom, you can teach this wisdom to others.”
I recognized him and said, “O ruler of this world, archon of the age, Jesus taught us about you.
“Escaping from this world will never save it. Why would I try to cut the silver cord and leave this body before the Potter calls me home? I will pray, meditate, and perform ritual in and with my body for the healing and salvation of the world, not to flee from it.
“I see you. You are the archon of this world. You are not offering me or anyone else a way out, but a path of servitude to you and the three lords under your sway. Begone from the green land. Stop trying to dry out this land. I am the watcher and the watchtower.”
Then the archon departed from me, and I wondered how many would heed his call.
The Root of the Tree of Life
One day, I awoke, and my thoughts turned to the Blessed Mother. I said a special prayer for her in my morning ritual, and went about my day.
As I left the cave, an angel greeted me, “Blessed Mary, Watchtower of Christ, font of Green Wisdom, come with me.”
I took the angel’s hand and we flew over the sea, and we landed on Mount Zion. Jerusalem had changed since last I was there. An anxious spirit hung over the city.
The angel guided me to a house, and we entered. The mother of Jesus sat inside. Weariness covered her like a shawl, but her eyes were bright and her smile illuminated the room. She greeted me, and I sat with her.
One by one, the other apostles arrived with their angels. When they all filled the small house, Mary, the mother of Jesus, greeted us all.
“Sweet children,” she said, “you have served God well, and taught so many to follow the way my son showed you. The love of God is strong within you and the love of the neighbor like yourselves. I see the face of my son in all of yours.
“I have one last thing to ask of you. Listen to the voice of Christ in all things. The Spirit has come to guide you to all truth, but there is much you cannot bear to hear now. Over time, my son will continue to teach you through the Light and Word the Spirit fills you with, but never believe your wisdom is complete.
“Wisdom, like love, is a never-ending fountain that cannot be contained. Do not allow yourselves or your disciples to believe they have the fullness of wisdom within them. You will have the wisdom sufficient to your days, but you will never have it all. Seek wisdom as you seek love.”
When she finished speaking, she made her way to her bed.
We kept vigil at her bedside until we knew she had passed. We prepared her body and carried her on a bier to her tomb in Gethsemane. The walk was solemn and we wept.
After we laid her in her tomb, we prayed outside it and shared stories from her life. We gathered at her tomb for three days, praying, sharing, and grieving together.
On the third day, the heavens opened, then Christ and his angels descended. He entered the tomb and walked out with his mother, body and soul.
As she ascended with her son and the company of angels, she said, “If you need me, I will ever be at the root of the tree of life. Go, and teach the Way.”
We wondered as she, like her son, was taken bodily into the heavens.
Our angels came again to us, and carried us back to the places we were. I pondered this mystery in my heart.
Do Not Despise Your Body
Blessed children of the Way, do not despise your body, even in its pain and strife. It is not always easy to do, but it is the vessel through which we interact with the world. We savor in our bodies, we grieve, create, and celebrate justice. In good times and bad, it is how we know life.
The world is repaired through embodied actions. Our prayers are carried in our actions. Our faith is lived through our hands, feet, and voice. Collectively, our strength is when we rise together and act as one body to bring about change.
Learn the wisdom of the Spirit in your body, for it is her temple. Everything your eyes see is a temple and shrine of the Divine and should be seen as holy. Even when it is defiled and defamed, the sacredness is buried under the grime. No one is lost, they can only run from the Way and deny the love that holds us together.
Have compassion for those who run from love, wisdom, and justice. They harm themselves and others. While they yet live, there is hope they will turn from their way and return, even though there will always be those who will never return. Mourn their loss, and do not fear them. They want your fear, but they need your compassion.
Take care of one another, for when the body is weak, the soul is also. You can feel when you are worn thin, but remember, you are not alone. You are never alone. You have the community in this world to stand with you and a great cloud of witnesses in the other world to support you and carry you forward. Strengthen one another, and help everyone to see their true face, which shines with glory, compassion, wisdom, and justice.
You were not born broken. Fifteen billion years of the universe’s grace says otherwise, and this book shows you how to live from that. Creation’s Paths: A Creation Spirituality Primer, foreword by Matthew Fox.
