Written and published by
Jean-Louis Mondon
Jesus, talking about the
righteousness of the Pharisees:
"For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the
scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:20.
How can we exceed the
Pharisees´ righteousness? Jesus here I believe is using irony.
The only righteousness the
Pharisees had was self-righteousness. Is that what Jesus meant? That we should
try to surpass their performing to the minute detail their more than three
hundred commands and ordinances. I think not.
What could we do to exceed
their own righteousness? Nothing. It would be futile and useless to even try.
Our first parents Adam and
Eve tried to hide themselves and their shame by covering their nakedness with
fig tree leave that had to be replaced over and over like the works of the
Pharisees. What was the remedy provided by the Father/Creator? A hide from an
animal sacrifice, a type of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross for the
remission of sin would be enough to cover the sin of disobedience, desire for
self-sufficiency, forbidden wisdom and the subsequent shame they felt.
Their webs will not become clothing, Nor
will they cover themselves with their works; Their works are works of
iniquity, And an act of violence is in their hands. Isaiah 59:6
For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous
deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf,
And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. Isaiah 64:6.
The works that the Pharisees covered their nakedness with are like the figs
leaves of the tree of Israel that produced useless leaves and no fruit worthy
of repentance and no faith in Jesus-Christ.
See Matthew 21:19: Seeing
a lone fig tree by the road, He(the Lord Jesus) came to it and found nothing on
it except leaves only; and He said to it, "No longer shall there ever
be any fruit from you." And at once the fig tree withered.
At this point let me
interject something about flowers. The Bible talks about leaves and flowers.
But what about flowers? They are beautiful, colorful, fragrant and some are
even edible. They fill our life and our house with pleasure. To join our
gratitude and humility to their awe-inspiring qualities we have to recognize
the creative hand of our Creator/God that created everything that was good to
add a measure of pleasure to the beautiful earth that he created as our
temporary home.
To me, flowers represent the
fading beauty of the artistic creations of man in all its forms such as
painting, music, poetry reflecting the talents given to us by God. Such
artistic abilities could be perverted and turn into nightmarish representation of
the tormented psyches of man without God or in rebellion against God´s
sovereignty.
One example comes to mind,
Alexander Scriabin, a famous and talented Russian pianist and composer (1872-1915)
was influenced with mysticism, theosophy and became a delusional megalomaniac who
met a tragic end by suicide, drowning in a river. Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22357678
The creation is in constant
flux. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God
stands forever. Isaiah 40:8.
And so it is: the flower
must die in order to leave room for the fruit to appear grow and provide food.
Holding on the fleeting beauty of the ephemeral flowers, the beauty of creation
for one´s own selfish pleasure without recognizing and honoring the source in
the God of love is like keeping a song bird in a cage or retaining flowing
water in a stagnant pool. We cannot selfishly and endlessly hold on to passing
life and beauty.
In I Corinthians 13 Paul
declares: But now faith, hope, loves, abide these three; but the [f]greatest of these is love.
So let us cultivate and
hold on to faith, hope, remembering that love is the ultimate fruit that God
grows in us for his purpose and that as I John 4:19 states: “We love because
He (Jesus) first loved us”.
The leaves could not cover
Adam and Eve, the works the Pharisees perform could not cover them and
following their teachings without faith resulted in the putting aside of Israel
until the end of the time of the Gentiles in which we are living now.
What Jesus wanted from the
Jews is faith in the living Savior that walked among them, not the dead works
that did not please him. What He wants from us when we are seeking salvation is
the same thing: faith in His saving power and abandoning any hope of saving
ourselves by our good deeds.
John 6:28-29:
Therefore they said to Him,
“What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” 29 Jesus
answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him
whom He has sent; and further in verse 40: For this is the
will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will
have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”
How could it be clearer
than that?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Tree of Life
Theophilus woke up, with tears of joy flowing from his eyes. He was watching an
unforgettable scene.
There in front of him,
stood up a Joshua tree, majestic and radiant that bore an uncanny resemblance
with the man from his dream whose blood had saved his life. He fell down,
prostrate on his face against the hot desert sand. He knew without the shadow
of a doubt that he was in the presence of the Master of the Joshua Trees. He
didn’t dare move from his position such was the power emanating from the glorious
appearance. An indescribable ripple of fear coursed through his being.
"Rise, Theophilus and look at me." The commanding tone of voice was
enough to make him obey. He was reluctant at first to lift his gaze directly
into the eyes of the Master. Lifting his head up slowly, he saw the pierced
feet, then, the pierced wrists. He gathered enough courage to focus on the
chest where a scarlet wound in the shape of the tip of a lance or the
eye of a needle remained from a cruel wound.
"Don’t be afraid, look
at me. I am Yeshua, the Master of the Joshua Trees. What is your quest? Why do
you want to meet me?"
While the Master was asking
these questions, his eyes whispered softly words Theophilus never heard before,
words of love that penetrated deep in his heart.
"Master, I am looking for the desert exit door. Your trees told me that
you possess the keys and that a word from you can set the captives free, can
give sight to the blind, make a poor man rich, and heal the afflicted. You can
also give knowledge to the ignorant who think they are wise, and you can clothe
with your pardon and righteousness the nakedness which I try to cover with my
religion and good deeds."
'It’s true. But you have
too big a notion of yourself to be able to go through this door. First, you
must answer a few questions."
"Yes, master, as you wish."
"What is your name?
Who are you?"
"Well, before, they
called me Theophilus, but I will accept whatever name you wish to call me.
"
"Where do you come
from?"
"From the land of
deadly illusions and appearances, a world filled with violence and
deception."
"Well said! Are you
rich, or do you intend to be?"
"Well, before now, I
had credit cards, bank accounts, a good and profitable business, cars, a
beautiful house, but all that didn’t help me very much. To tell you the truth,
I will accept whatever you want to give me."
After these answers, Theophilus was feeling his body shrink little by little.
What a strange sensation!
The Master continued:
"What about your
reputation?"
"Alas, people looked
at the appearances. But I can see that you know me and I desire to become what
you want me to be."
"What do you hope to
gain from me?"
"Freedom from the
chains that keep me tied up and hinders my walk, understanding truth and
knowing which way to go."
"Good, I can do that
for you. But what will do once you are free if I give you the key to the
door?"
"Master, I want to
belong to you and serve you, for you are the one who saved and healed me."
Each of Theophilus’ responses was followed by a change in his size until at
last, the Master's stature appeared gigantic in comparison without overwhelming
him. Then, the Master bent forward and catching him tenderly in the palm of his
right hand, he lifted Theophilus up to his chest and hugged him close against
the wound shaped like the tip of a lance or the eye of a big needle.
On his way up, Theophilus was helplessly watching on the screen of his memory
the video from his first meeting with the touchstone at the crossroad of
his destiny, the first step of a stairway which led to the royal capital of the
heavenly kingdom, illumined by the eternal light of the Master. He
possessed a law of gravity defying lightness, with no desire to resist the
attraction propelling him towards a universe of unconditional freedom. Being
transported on this celestial stairway, this bridge between two worlds without
any effort on his part, he was about to enter a territory invisible to the
human eye and yet so real.
Instantly, going through the open door at a breathtaking speed, Theophilus
found himself standing on the desert floor that he had just left.
"Welcome to the
kingdom, announced the Master in a warm tone of voice. Open your eyes and look
at yourself."
His eyes opened by the voice of his Master, Theophilus looked at his legs, his
trunk, his arms and discovered that he had turned into a Joshua tree with soft
scars in the place of the usual armor of thorns. Yeshua spoke to
him solemnly:
"From now on your name
will be Joshua Theophilus O’Call because I called you to my service and you
responded with good will."
Tears of joy mixed with gratitude flowing from his eyes, Theophilus answered:
"Master, where do you
want me to serve you?"
"Right here in the
desert to guide those who have lost their way or those who have wandered from
the way of truth and need help in finding me."
"Yes, Master. But I
have a question. How do your trees find food and drink? There is nothing but
sand in the desert."
Yeshua touched his eyes and now he could very clearly watch a fantastic scene
through the desert floor as if it was made of transparent crystal. From the
feet of the Master, roots full of a sap that resembled light amber
honey extended all the way under the feet of the Joshua trees and fed them
constantly night and day.
"Please, Master, what
do you want me to call you?"
"Call me Lord Jesus,
for I am both Savior and King."
"Lord, I can see the
trees, the roots, the leaves and the cactus flowers, but where are the
fruits?"
"Every time one of my servants extended to you love, kindness, goodness,
patience, they shared their fruits with you. When you enjoyed their light,
their protective and refreshing shade, their peace, their wise words of
counsel, comfort or encouragement, those are the fruits that grow from the
source of life that I give each one of them."