Sunday, January 7, 2024

VII. A Quest for Peace: Christian

(Continued)
A Quest for Peace:Christian


During the filming of Jesus Christ Superstar, I had a revelatory experience. Jesus appeared to me in a dream. He said: “I am the divine son of God.” Immediately after, his face turned into a demon-like appearance. While that happened, I had the intuition that an evil force (Satan) had just tried to erase the experience of Jesus appearing to me from my mind. I refused to let that happen.

When Jesus appeared to me, I was not a Christian and tended to doubt the notion that Jesus could be the son of God. At the time, I was a Hindu in the Vedanta type and comfortable with Buddhism. While working as a park attendant in the Olympic National Park one summer during my study at the University of Washington, I had had an experience of Nirvana. We had a wonderful Vedanta temple nearby the university which I attended regularly. Vedanta teaches that all religions have value and commemorates the major holidays of every religion.

While living on Kibbutz Sasa, I had become comfortable with Judaism, feeling that I have Jewish ancestry.  But Christianity did not sit well with me. Maybe that came from my upbringing by my mother who had been an atheist of French Catholic upbringing and my father who had been a Deist of Methodist upbringing.

In any case, in addition to my Hindu and Buddhist leanings, I was an Existentialist, meaning I take my experiences seriously. I had an undeniable experience with Jesus in a dream and had to take seriously the possibility that maybe he is the divine son of God. I decided to explore that possibility whole-heartedly.

After finishing Jesus Christ Superstar, I returned to the city, Eliat on the Gulf of Akaba. I determined to try to make money by spear fishing. I met some kind people who invited me to stay in their apartment with them. My adventure with spear fishing when poorly; I cut the bottoms of both my feet on coral and could barely walk. In the midst of that ordeal, I ran into a little Jewish woman who would change my life. She lived in the same apartment complex and had been noticing me, especially my suffering demeanor.

She asked me: “Do you know what brings salvation?”  
 I answered: “No!”
She asked: “Is it money?”
“No,” I replied.
 “Power?”
“No.”
She asked: “Knowledge?”
I thought; “Hmmm . . . Maybe! But, no.”
She said: “Jesus is the key to salvation.”

Maybe it was the oddity of having a little Jewish woman in Israel come up to me out of the blue and witness to Jesus that took me by surprise. Or maybe it was my depths of despair that gave cause for pause. Whatever the case, I found myself struck by her words. Curiously, I felt a slight opening of my heart, a “bing”, and a warm feeling of love appear. After I said good bye to her, that feeling of love in my heart steadily grew. Over the next couple days it became a powerful feeling of joy and love. My Jewish friend had witnessed to me a few days before Christmas. Early Christmas eve morning, I decided to travel to Jerusalem and Bethlehem for Christmas eve and Christmas day.

Thus began an amazing experience. I made my way to Jerusalem and there met with two friends by chance. We went to an Arab Falafel restaurant. I shared with them the amazing experiences I had been having the past few days, beginning with my Jewish friend witnessing to me. As I explained my “rebirth” experience, the Holy Spirit fell upon all three of us! We all became aglow with the Holy Spirit, feeling the ecstasy and joy of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. The restaurant owner looked at us aghast.  He ordered us to leave. Taking us by surprise, we took it in stride and left. Outside we parted ways, all rejoicing and promising to spread the joy to everyone we met.

I began walking the road to Bethlehem, a 6.5 kilometer hike, while the sun still shone. I felt the love of God growing more powerfully in my heart and embracing me. Along the road I noticed a house with the sign “Jesus Saves” and felt compelled to knock on the door. A kindly elderly American missionary greeted me and invited me in. He asked me where I was going.
“To Bethlehem for Christmas eve and Christmas day,” I replied.
“Well, on your way back you must stop and stay with us.”

Saying good bye, I had a sense that this man would be important in my new life with Jesus. I carried on, walking a few more kilometers to the gates of Bethlehem. Throngs of people streamed through the main gate. I felt completely taken up by the Holy Spirit, full of love and joy for everyone. I thought: “This is why Jesus came into the world! To bring love and joy to the earth and everything living thing in it!” 

I went through the town with thousands of other pilgrims, visiting the church deemed to have been the spot where many thought Jesus had been born. In the night, the lights of the town created a kind of holy glow. I made my way at night back down the road to Jerusalem, stopping once again at the good missionaries home. Although late, he and his family of brothers and sisters still celebrated Christmas eve in prayer and song. They invited me to spend the night with them, which I gladly accepted.

Continued
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