God, the "Great Iconoclast."
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This photograph was taken as I left the Sea of Galilee, heading back to Jerusalem. The small touring van had given us a couple of hours to meander and reflect within view of where the Sermon on the Mount was delivered, where Peter walked on water, and Legion's demons raged.

Sitting with eyes closed on the pier, something dropping behind me, an acorn. I realized that Jesus might easily have heard that same sound two thousand years earlier.  That sound precipitated another shift in my image of the world's most controversial man; he became in that moment an agile naturalist, a native person moving deftly through Canaan's rocks, mountains, deserts, low lands, city streets.  

Tremendous momentum permeates the gospels, especially that of Mark. "Immediately" or "straightaway" 
εὐθέως (eutheós) appear so so many times. Now I think of Jesus as a cat-like, elusive, under-cover savvy, hard-nosed but loving detective.  A far cry from my prior image of a stand-out-in-the-crowd long-haired young man passing forward spirtual truths like a soft-spoken yoga teacher either standing still or gently walking and talking to students during savasana. 

Throughout Jesus' active ministry, the regal and religious authorities hunted him with the intent to short-circuit his Power, negate his influence on the people, and ultimately kill him.  Their terror of him was warranted: he agitated against against injustice and hypocrisy brilliantly and relentlessly. Not a rebel without a cause, he circulated in and among his adversaries, only moving away when called to do so by the Father. 


Poem: The Enormity of Iniquity
  • Alma Turner
    • Alma Turner
    • Site Overview
    • Alma's Blessings
  • 12 Steps
    • Step 1: Humility >
      • Step One Questions
    • Step 2: Hope
    • Step 3: Faith
    • Step 4: Honesty
    • Step 5: Trust
    • Step 6: Willingness
    • Step 7: Surrender
    • Step 8: Forgiveness
    • Step 9: Justice >
      • Amend White to Black
    • Step 10: Perseverance >
      • Fear Watch
    • Step 11: Contact
    • Step 12: Service
  • J
    • Brown or Black
    • Teacher
    • Son of Man
    • Activist
    • High Priest
    • Innocent
    • Lynched
    • Alive
    • Sayings >
      • Sayings 1-3
      • Sayings 4-6
      • Sayings 7-9
      • Sayings 10-12
      • Sayings 13-15
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      • Sayings 28-30
      • Sayings 31-33
      • Sayings 34-36
      • Sayings 37, 38, 39
      • Sayings 40, 41, 42
      • Sayings 43, 44, 45
      • Sayings 46, 47, 48
      • Sayings 49, 50, 51
      • Sayings 52, 53, 54
      • Sayings 55, 56, 57
      • Sayings 58, 59, 60
      • Sayings 61, 62, 63
      • Sayings 64, 65, 66
      • Sayings 73, 74, 75
      • Sayings 76, 77, 78
      • Sayings 100, 101, 102
      • Sayings 103, 104, 105
      • Sayings 106, 107, 108
      • Sayings 109, 110, 111
      • Sayings 112, 113, 114
  • Poems, Prayers, Music
    • I Stand at the Door by Sam Shoemaker
    • The Guest House by Rumi
    • The Invitation by Oriah
    • Poems
    • 2021 Poems 1/1 - 2/6
    • Injustice Poems
    • Parables and Songs
    • clay haiku
    • Big Book Prayers
    • Prayers by Me
    • Music >
      • Roberta Flack
      • Marvin Gaye
  • more
    • The Gospel of Thomas
    • Genesis >
      • High Priest
      • Jacob is Israel.
    • Psalms >
      • Psalms 23, 46, 91, 139
      • Psalms 1 and 32
    • Isaiah >
      • Isaiah 30
      • Isaiah 54
    • Lectio Divina
    • Fasting
    • Reading
    • 12 White Steps
    • The Circle and Triangle >
      • The Symbol
    • Blog
    • God is Love.
    • Frederick Douglas