Gentle Jesus

 Dear Friends,

  Today we are continuing our Series on the fruits of the Spirit. There are 9 of them, enumerated in Galatians 5. Can you name them?  Let’s see….

Love  joy. Peace

Patience. Kindness. Goodness

Faithfulness. Gentleness. Self-control 

So what is Gentleness?  Suggestions?

Tied into Meekness, and as we know the meek are not weak!

Moses was the meekest man alive, said God. Teachable, open to reasoning, open to others, accessible. And because of this he was able to lead Israel through 40 tough years in the wilderness. 

  So how can we define gentleness?  The greek word implies “a mild and gentle friendliness, especially referring to the behavior of certain women deities”. Aristotle who defined virtue as the balance between extremes considered it the mid point between a bad tempered indifference and a cloying, pathetic self-abnegation, a false humility, almost a fake meekness.

  I’ll in turn give you my definition. It is a mode of being, a way of relating to the world and others. Gentleness is kindness enacted, manifested, personified. Which leads us to ask, “who is the model or exemplar of such behavior for the Christian?”  Why it is, of course, the Great shepherd, the good shepherd who gives his life for the sheep, The Lord of Glory who came “to serve and not be served”. 

  We read in the Isaiah passage that God is the shepherd of Israel. A shepherd who gathers his lambs in his arms and carries them in his bosom, gently leading the very young to green pastures and slow moving waters for them to drink. Sheep tend to be very skittish around strangers and so to a hireling they will not give their trust. Jesus is a shepherd who calls us by name, he knows us well and his is a voice we can trust and follow his commands.

  When most people think about God they thinks about God’s power, God’s majesty, God’s greatness. But humility and lowliness and gentleness don’t usually top their list. The ancient world was the same. God’s were conquering heroes for the greeks, divine monarchs like the pagan kings of the ancient near east. Molech a war god who demanded child sacrifice to obtain his favor in the battle. But Jahweh, that strange god of the Jews presented Godself as a shepherd, not a god only of power but of divine service, a suffering servant of the people.

-written by my roommate, Michael Helbush

Gentle gentile Jess sez:

    Meek and mild, not harsh, like how you would treat a baby, or an injured puppy.   With care and concern, not trying to “toughen someone up” or punish, insult, anger, or hurt someone, physically or in feelings.  A gentleman is not brute.  A genuinely Gentle Jennifer is not a hard and harsh Marsha (ha).   Getting mental about gentle (Yentl?).  Meek means submissive, but Jesus did not submit to the devil.

    Anyway, gentility does not offend, and often soothes.    Except when folks “like it rough”, like playing football or some rough and tumble in the sack or what have you.  Love is a battlefield and war is hell and and combat is a televised bloodsport, but we all need gentility, too.  A caress, a friendly touch, a kind word, refraining from pointing out faults, driving defensively, putting things diplomatically, not constantly raging against the machine, taking the blue pill, replacing malice with understanding, forgiveness, charitable interpretations, positivity, cheer, joy, love.  

    Most of all, Gentility and gentleness are about making people feel good and not feel bad or worse.  It’s about not stepping on boundaries, or breaking bad news to people gently.  Go gently into the night.   Don’t fight it.   We all die.   OR… Do not go gentle into that good night - Dylan Thomas.   In other words, life is precious and should be fought for at every turn.  Death should be faced with dignity and ferocity, not resignation.  Both concepts are valid (simultaneously, in my view).  Be gentle with yourself.   Don’t condemn yourself to unwarranted guilt or prison or hell or suffering or sadness.  We’re all in the same boat, and everybody goes through the same things.   Nobody’s perfect.  Life gets rough.  Gentleness is a profound virtue.

From A to Z

 Gentle annie, gentle ben, gentle criminal, gentle dental, gentle ease, gentle ferber method, gentle giant, gentle hands moving company, gentle induction (prostaglandin, oxytocin, artificially breaking the waters, and a balloon catheter),  gentleman jim, gentle kiss, gentle leader harness, gentle monster (glasses), gentle nudge, gentle on my mind, gentle push/persuasion, gentle rain sounds, gentle souls/shampoo, gentle touch, gently used, gentle voice (not loud, harsh, or threatening), gentle whisper or word, Gentle (X-men character), gentle yoga, gentle zumba.

DONT (dictionary of the New Testament)

powers and principalities, thrones and dominions, 

God and gods and lord and angels and saints and heavenly host

The higest form of God in Heaven (and the lowest deity on earth)

Earth IS Heaven (or SHOULD be), for humans, anyway (evolutionary adaptation)

power and position and authority ("boss")

reptilians, sky-falling space marines, galactic warriors, war angels, 

   and murderous adulterous witch-whores

super-powers and highly attuned senses and heightened perception

enlightened, clear, honorable, with virtue and integrity, 

  love kindness compassion mercy forgiveness grace joy

devotion and delight, health wealth and happiness, pleasure/treasure

equanimity, goodwill, positivity, humor, cheer, fun, play, laughter, bliss

a PhD in pleasure happiness delight

positive psychology, sexology, relationships, and food, vacation, thrills

sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touch (and the "ineffable")

going mental, the sixth sense, and six cents and sick scents

machines that clean the oceans

self-impregnating (Mother of Gawd!)

ghost-state through witchcraft (w/c)

ppa of papa

Father-God in Heaven, in the spirit-realm

king, deliverer, anointed, leader of hope/cause

pure, blessed, sacred, holy, sanctified, consecrated

Depeche Mode song (if you're looking for a reason...), 'Happiness' (movie), Joy dish soap and Cheer detergent and Harmony snacks

delight-   what is light, de-light:  in the dark, darkness, the dark side

pure hell devil. (satanic delight in San Diego, some days)

maoist mice in Los Gatos

Czechs making a mint from sand dollars

Betty the sweaty yeti down by the jetty

Jesse Lawrence Teshara, JLT, jilted, jolted, jailtime

Elon Musk in Iran at dusk

drones, clones, crones, and groans

Joan on the phone honing the tone of her moans

Donner party dinner, and launching lunch

articulate, open, clear, focused

Clarity at Valero about Larry's lair

hamburger in a hammock with Hamas

at pools with pals after the pollls

semolina with salmonella

jail or Sheol?  said Gail or Dale

contentedly contentious

the antitrust antichrist

barnstorming and brainstorming

eclectically electric

trafficking and exploitation and slavery

buy Tony's Chocolonely: to fight

   "1.56 million cases of child labor on cocoa farms in West Africa"

Kamala is always so goddamn giddy

Trump is always shitting on the American people

    lies, nonsense, and meanness

miffed or chuffed

war on Warren?  come on, command...

suicidal ideation, plan, means, intent

homicidal ideation in HI

follow up?  FU!

Munny

I just signed up for an app on my phone (cashwalk) that pays me to walk.   Granted, it's maxed at $5 every 50 days (100 steps is 1 coin, and 5 thousand coins is $5, and 10,000 steps a day is the limit).   So, if I walk enough, I'll earn like $35 in a year, lol.  It's funded by the health department, to save healthcare costs (and get people motivated to get off their asses).

I signed up for a focus group product testing with user interviews (Project Pismo, with Meta) and earned $125.    I had to travel to Burlingame, though.   Which was okay, because I used to work at the Hyatt Regency SFO 30 years ago, and wanted to see how it changed (a lot).  Plus, I finished early, so it was only an hour of my time.

wurd to your müther

wordplay and world pay, world peace and whirled peas

I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy

respect my existence or expect my resistance

erotic rockets and sexy exes and horny jazz players

the cannibal can nibble on chewy Chuy (taste E? tasty!) (yummy me)

muy yummy, scrumptious rump, delightfully delicious delicatessen

satisfying flying, rewarding psych ward, and pleasant lesbians 

problems with collecting evidence against criminals, yourself:

1. not collected by peace/police officer/deputy/agent of law/people

2. hair/fiber evidence like "hearsay" (not matched to dna? source fabric, etc.)

3. could be "planted"

        e.g. false evidence (by criminal), or even by collector

short exercise list:

plank, run, burpies, lunge, squat, jumprope, 

shakes (like "shake-weight" but without weight), pushups, pike pushups, 

   yoga, stretches (touch toes, legs apart, hurdler, groin, thigh-opener, shoulder)

depression meds can make a world of difference

   biochemical or situational/contextual?

PeACE quote:

"There is no easy or quick or infallible approach to a secure peace.  It is only by a patient, persistent, undismayed effort, by trial and error, that peace can be won." -Ralph Bunche