What a great day as we celebrated the resurrection of Christ.

More on the Rajneesh:

Since the salad bar poisoning didn’t seem to be enough to keep voters from the polls the Rajneesh looked at poisoning The Dalles water system. 

One of the things they considered was to ‘place a beaver in a commercial blender, grind it up and then deposit the remains into The Dalles water system.’  The Beavers can carry a germ called Giardiasis and it acts on the intestines much as salmonella does.

But the water system was well protected and they would not be able to get enough poison into the system to be dangerous – so they gave up on that idea.

Just when they decided on the next measure to sway the election and who the main engineer of the idea was I am not sure.  

They put together a plan to bring several men and a few women that were homeless onto the ranch – allegedly as a humanitarian measure, but in truth they thought they could control them and convince them to vote as the Rajneesh directed in the upcoming election.

You HAVE to wonder what these people were thinking.  They were not stupid people – as I write and re-write my stories I find I must enlarge my comments on them and will do so shortly – in all of that they were not stupid.

However, they didn’t have much common sense; and they obviously didn’t have much experience in working with people that they considered beneath their social status. 

They were very naïve in many ways – thinking they could bring in busloads of homeless and give them direction was absolute idiocy.  They had no clue what they were about to get into.

Most of the people they gathered – from many big cities in America – were street people because they refused to conform to society.  There may have been a few that truly welcomed an opportunity to ‘better’ themselves and get off the street, but they were few, if any.

Many were mentally ill, some addicted to alcohol or other drugs while others were very independent.  These people would no more be controlled by the Rajneesh then they were by the rest of society.  All were either outcasts from society or chose to rebel against society.

As an example of the mentality and values of many street people back then (not all) I will relate a contact I had with some of the hobos that lived around the railroad tracks here in The Dalles:

This man was living in the Rail Road trailer park.  It was a small trailer about 10 feet long from the late 40’s or early 50’s.  The wheels had been taken off and the trailer was on blocks. It was basically his bed and shelter from the weather.  He lived his life outside in the small fenced in yard – about 50 to 60 square feet. 

This is where this man fixed his meals, ate and entertained his guests – other hobos.   No running water, he got it from a faucet down the road and no indoor plumbing, we will not discuss that.

His was one of four or five that were still around at that time.  There had been others as well that had been set up by the Railroad to allow workers to sleep in between assignments for a day or two.  They were not meant to be permanent housing only a sleeping quarter.

Those remaining became houses for hobos, they paid about $20 a month to stay there.

One day I stopped by and he and another hobo were talking.  He said that some ‘social’ worker was trying to get him to move into the Commodore Apts.  This was an apartment complex located in the middle of town and built in the early 1920’s.  It was pretty run down.  It was one of the few places where those on a limited income could afford to live.

Many of the residents of the Commodore were also outcasts and there was also a lot of criminal activity connected with those that resided there. 

He looked at me and his guest and he said, “Why would I want to move into town and give up all this?” as he gestured around him.

He had some kind of income, limited – not sure how much or from what – and he lived, in that trailer, quite comfortably.

Had the Rajneesh approached him he would probably have let them know in no uncertain terms he was not interested. 

However, his friend that day might have been if it promised three meals and a warm bed.  (Three hots and a cot in colloquial terms.)

His friend was almost always intoxicated and could be a ‘mean’ drunk if confronted by what he considered any hostility.

These were the kind of people that were scooped up and promised a better life at the ranch.

When they arrived at the ranch they were required to register to vote.  The Rajneesh thought that they could later control how they voted – or probably vote for them without their knowledge.  They were not above doing just that.

The new comers underwent physical tests, including tests for diseases.  They were given plastic wrist bracelets to designate what they would be allowed to do, one color allowed them to stay at the ranch in a more confined area, another mingle freely and yet another showing they were disease free and could have sex with the other people at the ranch. 

It became quite obvious that the street people were going to present problems for the ranch and it wasn’t long before the doctors were ordering large amounts of Haldol, a tranquilizer, in an effort to control their behavior. 

There was more Haldol used in Rajneeshpuram while the street people were there, than all of the rest of Oregon put together.  Not much doubt around the state what was being used for, but since it was administered by medical personnel it wasn’t against the law.

As a publicity stunt the Rajneesh decided to bring a couple busloads of the street people into town to hand deliver registration forms to the county courthouse.  They announced their intent and made sure the news media knew when they would be there.

The courthouse was a beehive of activity as the Rajneesh and the street people walked in.  You could hardly move in the court house so many news people and others were trying to take it in.

I had the day off, but I wanted to see what would happen.  We did have officers and deputies in the building and outside to handle disturbances if necessary.

I don’t remember if Sheela was part of the group or not – it would have been unusual if she was not.  However, the Rajneesh escorted the street people into the Courthouse.  Prancing before the cameras with big smiles on their faces, the attitude was obvious “we will show the locals that you can’t mess with the Rajneesh.”  They were thoroughly enjoying their charade.

They had.....n-o......i-d-e-a!

Luke 10:38-42  Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.

³⁹ And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.

⁴⁰ But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.

⁴¹ And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:

⁴² But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

I still have trouble with these verses.  I have heard them preached on many times.  I have yet to really hear one preach in defense of Martha – and perhaps for good reason, Jesus chastised her.

I have seen Christians so expound on Mary’s role that they will often times neglect to serve at all. 

I know that priorities are important.  Frankly I feel sorry for Martha.  Here she has an important guest come to her house and she needs to prepare a dinner for Him.  And instead of helping Mary seems to just sit, socializing.

And when Martha goes to Jesus to ask Him to tell Mary to help, she is chastised by Him – it appears in a loving manner, but still she is chastised.

When Christ visited in the homes of people most of the time all of His disciples were included.  At the very least there would be 13 additional people to prepare a meal for and to serve them as well as the rest of the household.  Doing this is not a simple thing, it takes time and effort.

There is no indication that Jesus let them know beforehand that He would be visiting in their home, so a lot of extra work had to be done in preparation for the meal at a moment’s notice.

Jesus visited this household often.  While it doesn’t say that there were servants I have heard it speculated that they were servants.

As Jesus arrives Martha is thinking that she must oversee the servants and be active in the preparation of a meal.  But it isn’t just ‘a meal’ “Martha was cumbered about much serving” she wanted it to be special.

Her whole focus was to provide a feast for Jesus, in honor to Him, I am sure.  When we have a special guest we like to have a special dinner.

She was upset with Mary because she didn’t feel the same way and was leaving the work to her – she didn’t go to Mary, she went to Jesus which is interesting.  It is like one sibling to a parent, ‘Dad, Mary’s not helping, make her help!’  To me this shows familiarity with Jesus, He was someone she knew.

Martha was so focused on preparing the meal that she forgot who she was preparing it for; here He was teaching and rather than listening, she busied herself in preparation.

We don’t know what time of day this was, or when the meal was to be served.  Jesus didn’t ask for elaborate feasts from his subjects, but I could see where Martha wanted to prepare the very best.  However, Jesus has visited with this family many times – when we have an old friend over we usually prepare a good meal but we don’t worry about the fancy dishes.

Of course the meal had to be prepared and the addition of thirteen mouths makes it all the more important to get things ready.  She may have had to send some of her servants to get additional items for the meal, she had to make sure there was sufficient food and space for all to eat.  This is not a small thing, even for someone who is well organized.

Jesus understood that His presence would demand extra work for the household.  Yet, He chastised Martha for not sitting at His feet as Mary had.  To me, this seems to say there was plenty of time for the work AFTER He had completed his discourse.

Did Martha realize this and then sat down at His feet, or did she stomp off and continue with her work with some resentment towards both Mary and Jesus? 

It doesn’t say, but I have to now pick it up for how it applies to me.

In churches, as well as other volunteer organizations, we have members who volunteer and those who do not.  The ratio is often about 10% that do and about 90% who do little or nothing.

So often I have seen where that 10% is taking on multiple tasks, in addition to their work and family.  They do the work because it has to be done and no one else will do it – or will do it half-heartedly and it doesn’t get done correctly.

I remember one time where I was seriously short of teachers.  I had to combine a few grades in order to serve these age groups it made it more difficult on the teachers to relate with the children because they had to address the lessons more broadly so all would get something out of it.  It was watered down for the younger kids to the detriment of the older.

There was a young couple in the church who I felt could be good teachers.  I had approached them more than once and had even suggested team teaching.  They were polite, but they would teach.  Now, if they had been volunteering in other areas of the church I could understand their reluctance to be further burdened – but they were not active.  They came, they sat through the services, they talked with and were well liked by the congregation, but they didn’t help out.

I remember complaining to the Pastor that I couldn’t get them interested in helping.  They would have been perfect teachers for a certain age group and they refused to serve.  I was frustrated because most of my teachers were active in other areas also – and this couple wasn’t active at all AND I needed teachers.

Too me, these people were an example of the Mary’s of the world who would sit and listen, but not actually do anything.  They weren’t the only ones, but I have to admit they stood out to me as being takers and not willing to give.  In honesty, I resented them and as I write this I still fill some of those pangs of anger – not good, I know, but still....

He said, among other things, he understood my frustration, but we needed to give them time – the fact that they had been members for several years, doing nothing, seemed to escape him, I thought.

So, when I read these verses and hear the preacher or teacher extoll the virtues of Mary over Martha it troubles me.

However, I also know that there is a time for both.  We must work to feed our families, to house and clothe them, to pay our bills – and to actively work for the Lord.

But there also must be a time where we sit at Jesus feet and listen and worship Him.  It is too easy for us to be like Martha and get so focused on doing – even if it is working for Jesus - that we forget to spend that time.

How much time do we actually spend with Him?  How many times have we told ourselves and HIM that we would make more time for Him?  How many times have we tried, but within days we find ourselves saying, ‘Later God, I am so busy today, I will spend more time tomorrow with you” and tomorrow turns into days and then weeks?

I remember the testimony of a man of God.  He had been very active in service to Him.  He had two morning services each Sunday, evening service, he was a guest lecture for many Christian organizations, he had a radio program which became a television program.  His ministry was growing.  He was one busy man.

Another minister asked him when he had time to pray – he admitted that he had cut back on his private time with God.  It wasn’t long after that his world started falling apart and he realized in all he was doing he was neglecting God. 

Service TO God, no matter how great, means nothing if He isn’t involved and if we aren’t spending private time with Him then He isn’t involved in our ministry. 

For every hour a minister stands before his congregation to preach he must spent many times that in private prayer to God.  Without that time, no matter how gifted or eloquent a speaker he may be, his preaching will be for naught.

We may say, well, he is a preacher it is expected for him to pray – yet it is no different for any of us.  God requires private time with us.  And without that we will soon find ourselves far removed from Him and going down paths we would better have passed.  Does it have to be as much as a minister is expected to pray?  That is between us, as individuals, and God.

Both Martha and Mary were serving God.  Both women loved Him and were happy He was in their home.  But there was a time for active service and a time for worship service and Martha was too busy to realize that fact; she was made aware of it by Jesus.

To be chastised by God, especially in front of others can be a very humbling thing.  The tragedy is that often times He has to do it over and over again – being firmer each additional time before we realize we have gone astray.

If we make sure we have time for Him and His Word each day, the time spent will not only NOT detract from our time to do what we must do in the world, but it will make it more efficiently done.

I don’t appreciate feeling resentful and it really surprised me today that I found I still harbored some of those feeling – not as much but still – towards that couple.  One more thing for me to work on.

Which leads me to my final thought on the subject, at least for today:  We should worry less about what others are doing, and focus on our own relationship with God, understanding that if we are too busy serving to sit down with Him, we are too busy!

Later, Art :-)

From the ColumbiaRiverGorgeous
May Our Good Lord Bless and Keep YOU....’til we meet again