Outreach no. 185

              OUUTTRREEAACCHH
the newsletter of
7 5ee7lel1uU& idpidif4icdoefaaaoaa T ssafoeiiattaaaaet tincuutctwun
htwntl
MARCUS BACH founder no185
THE LETTER
dear friend of the fellowship
new year comes so close on the heels of christmas that its meaning cannot be misread we
are asked to carry the spirit of the advent season into the workaday world of a brand new
calendar year
that is why this part two of THE QUEST FOR THE historical JESUS seems appropriate
and vital for this OUTREACH issue
As most of you know we have never dated our material because we want it to remain timeless
we have rarely tied it to contemporary world events because we look upon all events as
happening in gods time we have never put a price on our material throughout these fifteen
and more years because we feel it is priceless
in this coming year we are embarking on great goals it is our aim to collate the OUTREACH
material and gradually begin to put it into book form perhaps small books perhaps standard
books but certainly into ccoovveerrppuubblliisshheedd form so that it will go far beyond our current FSU
family and out into a world readership of searching people who along with all of us are on the
path of spiritual understanding in a new age of human relations
dont you think it would be wonderful to have an OUTREACH issue such as this and the
preceding one in book form and havent there been other issues that you felt should be so
adapted we know you have because many of you have told us so
lets hold this in a good consciousness and if some of you want to help us bring this about in
a special way write and ask us what you can do
meantime may 1983 be a most fulfilling year for you in every way it is all very well to say
that every day is the first day of the rest of your life but something about a new years day
is extra special hold good hopes for the months ahead for as shaw once observed going into
a new year is a bit like going to heaven if you go into it without being naturally qualified for it
you will not feel comfortable
a1ee eegtglil
yours for the fellowship
4
no 185
4 4e46
lak
no 185 page 2
THE LESSON
QUEST FOR THE historical JESUS
part two
I1
it may be an undignified pun or a play on words but it seems to me that the drawing power of
the christ creates its own artists
which is to say that when we think of the christ his presence his consciousness we become
creatively involved in a heightened expression of our inner self
A case in point is the immortal painting by one of the greatest of artists leonardo de vinci
THE LAST SUPPER
interpreters of this masterwork remind us that each figure depicted in the scene is having his own
momentary rendezvous with christ is in fact relating to him when he announces that one
of you will betray me
de vincis graphic painting suggests that each of the twelve disciples is challenged with personal
introspection as to the degree of his loyalty to the masters teachings to say nothing of betrayal
in a larger sense that of selling the christ for a price
in a noteworthy book christ and the fine arts author
cynthia maus suggests that each figure in the last supper
is revealing his own individual response to the masters
dramatic statement
oodftthhee
page 3 no 185
on the Mmaasstteerriss right she explains is bbrrookkeennhearted
john
hearted
touching johns shoulder is impulsive peter seeming
to suggest that john should ask jesus whom he has in mind
as the betrayer
in contrast partially in the dark next to peter is judas
clutching the money bag and looking at jesus in alarm
behind peter and judas is andrew with upraised hands
then james the younger with bartholomew leaning forward
to hear the remarks of the others
to the left of christ is thomas the doubter with im-pulsively
raised finger meaning to say lord is it I1 in
front of him james the elder expressing his horror to
such a thought
philip bending over james with deep regret outlined in
his face seems to say thou seest my heart lord iJss it 1I
then follow matthew thaddeus and simeon discussing
the incredibility of betrayal among themselves
notice how much de vinci has expressed of the human and
the divine in the christ figure itself one hand with palm
downward seems to say ilf it is possible let this cup pass
from me the other hand opened receptive suggests the
words not my will but thine be done
the picture was painted on the wall of a convent dining room in milan italy it is said that
during napoleons invasion the convent was used as a military housing base and that soldiers
frequently amused themselves by throwing darts at the figures
but the masterwork has survived these and other indignities has withstood the challenges of
time defamation vandalism and subsequent wars it suggests as I1 have said that the drawing
power of the christ compels us to take a new measure of ourselves in the light of his life and
thought
2
ECCE HOMO BEHOLD THE MAN this was the title conferred on jesus by pilate when he
turned the galilean over to the crowds here he stands pilate said in effect to the multitudes
what will you do with him the question had an eternalness about it and there came a time
when pilate himself had a choice to make and a self to search in his own heart and mind one
never really washes ones hands of the quest for the historical jesus or for coming to terms
with the universal christ
in
W
ph ilip inr
betrayalamong
pul sively
no185 page 4
ECCE HOMO
antonio ccaisseerrii
ccaisseerrii completed this familiar painting in 1981 shortly before
his death at the age of seventy
interpreters of his masterpiece remind us that the three most
prominent figures in the picture are jesus pilate and the
philosopher scroll in hand prominently shown at the right
pillar the figure of the philosopher is ccaisseerrii himself chosen
for whatever reason he may have had in mind could it have
been that during the period of his work on this painting he
asked himself where do I1 stand or where would I1 have
stood had I1 been in pilates presence on that fateful day
ECCE HOMO the epigram was taken up by western and eastern churches as christianity grew
it was during this early and medieval period that the quest emphasized jesus as a man of sorrows
and acquainted with grief
an italian genius guido reni 1155775511664422 did a pastel under
the ECCE HOMO title and through many years it remained
a prototype of the agonized savior
ECCE HOMO
guido rrenit
no 185
page 5 no 185
3
that we should feel a issneellvffionvlvolevmemeenntt with the ECCE HOMO is understandable life has its
moments of seeming condemnation suffering and mysterious paradoxes with which we identify
ourselves and which makes us recall the life and trials of jesus
we all occasionally feel the brunt of lifes apparent inequities and somehow geniuses and artists
interpret such moments for us in their paintings of the christ truth is many geniuses seemed
to be singled out for special confrontations beethoven stricken with deafness milton destined
for blindness rrReeemmmbbbrrarananndttt experienced the frustrating circumstances of witnessing the death of
his first second and third child each dying within several months after birth rembrandt 1606-
1669 also created an etching under the title ecce homo A pianist friend of mine fell from a
ladder in his apple orchard it was necessary the doctors said that his right hand be amputated
because of injury in the fall
nor is it artists painters etchers alone who persuade us
that the christ has incredible drawing power writers
and philosophers are also cases in point
consider friederich nietzsche 1188444411990000 son of a german
lutheran minister nietzsche developed into one of the most
illustrious critics of traditional christianity he condemned
institutionalized religion as weak irrational and deceptive
yet under the title of ecce homo he wrote his own inter-pretation
of where and why he stood where he did his
quest led him into far different and more distant fields
than that of his father and two grandfathers who were also
ministers but he found the power of jesus inescapable
4
for good or ill however it may be we in modern times no longer emulate the ECCE HOMO
with bleeding heart and tthhoorrnnppiieerrcceedd brow as he was venerated in the middle ages and even
to the threashoolldd of the 20th century statues of the stricken christ are gradually being
removed from places of worship and the paintings are revered more for arts sake than for the
sssaaacccrrriiifffiiiccciaaalll death of the lamb of god
we return as has been said to a wish a need and a hope for the jesus of compassion refer to
the merchant of dreams a man for all seasons adaptive to aill reasons and one with whom
we feel comfortably at home
though at that it is difficult to speak about this in anything
but generalities our culture and our society are much too
complex to refer to him in terms of a stereotype
pretation
fbiiggaayy ly
I1 cherish so many pictures of him and I1 harbor such a
variety of responses to him that my favorite portrait
must strictly remain my own and to such a right you too
should be permitted to lay claim
A large 24 X 40 impressionistic drawing of ECCE HOMO was given to me as a gift from a
rotary club in nelson BC canada it is the work of contemporary artist DO macgregory
it seems patterned after the head of christ by georges renuault of france 1188771111995588 the
original of which is in the walter P chrysler jr collection
I1 put beside it the contrasting study done by howard chandler christy painter of presidents
harding and pretty girls who gave the world his impression of jesus and of his innermost self
ability to relate to each and all may be construed as strength or weakness power or perfidy
depending upon your point of view
no185 page 6
some of our contemporaries have made him a millionaire
some a maverick some insist he was and is god others
created a spiritual aafftteerrsshhoocckk by referring to him as a gay
albert schweitzer painted his image of the christ by the life that he schweitzer lived and
expressed his artistry of jesus in words which to me are some of the greatest ever written to
describe who and what jesus is and what he should represent to you and me this is what it
means to see and know him as the true savior of the world
he comes to us without a name as of old by the lakeside
he came to those who knew him not he speaks to us the
same words follow me and sets us to tasks which he has
to do in our time he commands and to those who obey
him whether they be wise or simple he will reveal himself
and we shall all know in our way who and what he is
no 185
page no 185
THE LEARNING
what was it in jesus preaching that so attracted the crowds during the early part of his
ministry in the first place he brought an urgent message that was in itself exciting it had
to do with the imminence of gods total rule further he had a great deal to say about getting
ready for the new age by doing gods will now while there was yet time finally he spoke in
simple language about the central issues in religion always with the use of homely illustrations
drawn from nature and human life he was a plain man speaking to plain people many of his
most profound lessons were given through parables brief stories that set the human situation
in its true perspective but it would not have been enough if the manner of his teaching had
been its only attraction what he really achieved was a new synthesis of the religious insight of
his people
the sum of the matter is that jesus had found a master principle for his life and that he was
completely possessed by it the central reality in his environment the ultimate fact giving
religious value and character to his world was god and in an act of surrender he gave himself
up to the consciousness of the presence and will of this god thenceforth completely unified
in person and attitude he went among men possessed of absolute certitude never hesitant
never doubting clothed with power and authority his whole unified life testifying aloud
nothing is so important to you as that you should hear me everyone of you by me god
speaks
john B noss
mans regilons
john B noss monumental book MANS RELIGIONS published by mmMaaacccmmmiililllaaannn has been a
favorite of mine ever since its appearance in 1974 it represents a scholarly insight into the
living religions of the world my favorite field of study and it looks at jesus from a world
perspective
in selecting a LEARNING for our tantalizing search for jesus through the eyes and talent of
renowned artists we could have selected written passages from hundreds of books on the life
of christ but somehow my remembrance of noss inspired me to come back time and again to
his pages in his chapter on christianity
in simple straightforward lines noss paints his word portrait of the galilean with sensitivity
and candid orientation even in the brief profile quoted above which was all our OUTREACH
space allowed we find in noss jleessuuss a hidden sense of what we might become in our new
age if we chose jesus as our model and wwwaaayyrsshhoowweerr we would in fact find not only what we
might become but what we already are
surely in the very beginning of the christian faith christianity was nothing more or less than
the spiritual demonstration in and through the life of the jesus figure in this sense it cannot
be commercialized secularized mmeerrcchhaannddiizseedd or even institutionalized for to
7
rellglons
nossjesus
ttrruullyyddisisccoovveerr
him is after all not only an art but a challenge to each and every one of us to portray him as
he exists in us and to discover ourselves as we exist in him
marcus bach
ccoaoq sao& et
no 185 page8d
PAGING LISA
while reading last months OUTREACH and going over this issue part two of the search for
the historical jesus I1 stopped to think about how I1 pictured jesus most often I1 see him as he
was portrayed in my sunday school classroom where we came to accept him and his teachings
as naturally as we did any teacher this idea of a gentle caring bbrroowwnneeyyeedd man remains in the
back of my mind and the front of my heart but I1 realized that somewhere along the way I1 lost
the capacity to picture jesus as easily or talk to him as naturally as I1 did as a child
all of this brought to mind a contemporary christmas song some children see him words and
music by W hudson and A burt the inclusion of which will be a wonderful close to our search
for the historical jesus
some children see him lily white
the baby jesus born this night
some children see him lily white
with tresses soft and fair
some children see him bronzed and brown
the lord of heaven to earth come down
some children see him bronzed and brown
with dark and heavy hair
some children see him almond eyed
this saviour whom we kneel beside
some children see him almond eyed
with skin of yellow hue
some children see him dark as they
and oh they love him too
the children in each different place
will see the baby jleessuuss face
like theirs but bright with heavenly grace
and filled with holy light
oh lay aside each earthly thing
and with thy heart as offering
come worship now the infant king
tis love thats born tonight
As this song and these issues of OUTREACH suggest people of all lands cultures and religions
see jesus in their own image and so it is
in the spirit of FSU
coo tjul
all rights reserved
no part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher
while copies of OUTREACH will be sent to anyone upon request your tax deductible
contributions are invited additional copies for use by organizations study groups etc
are available write to fellowship FOR SPIRITUAL understanding PO box
816 palos verdes estates california 90274 phone 213 33773322666699
page 8
wi I1 I1 j esus
gjul