Collosal Olmec Heads and Christmas

Naturally, it being mid December, I have been thinking a lot about Jesus Christ's teachings and about the man himself. A couple of weeks ago when my little Sunday School (called First Day School in Quaker tradition) had reached the Roman Empire in our chronological approach to the history of religion, a youngster asked this most intelligent question: "Is there proof that Jesus actually lived?" and as it happens, there is! First of all I saw an episode of the "Naked Archaeologist" that explored the writings and sites associated with the actual physical presence of a man called Jesus Christ. He was a tiny mention, a footnote, in the writings of contemporaneous historian/philosophers like the Greek Pliny, and the Roman Tacitus, among others.

Archaeology is a great interest of mine and just a night ago I saw a wonderful three episode British program from 2019 called Lost World & Hidden Treasures that looked at three great archaeological discoveries: The Sutton Hoo Anglo Saxon burial in Suffolk, the Lion Man wooden sculpture from German cave, and the Olmec Heads. The narrator, Janina Ramiriz

Something that occurred to me after re-acquainting myself with the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount was that one of the MOST Revolutionary things about the teachings of Jesus Christ was his focus on humility. When Jesus said "blessed are the poor in spirit" he has been variously translated as meaning, by the word 'poor' - humble, not deprived or lacking in spirit.

Considering our world political situation currently, you cannot help but be struck by the HUBRIS/Arrogance and self-centered pridefulness of the worst and largest of the world leaders such as Trump or Putin or Netanyahu, to name just three.

In the episode of Lost Worlds that explores the discovery of the 30 ton Olmec heads in the jungle which had swollowed up the huge Olmec civilization of Southern Mexico and Central America, you see the concrete manifestation of this pridefulness. The giant bounder heads all sport the same sour, angry implacable expressions. An additional sculpture found in further exploration of the buried civilization depicts the ritual sacrifice of babies. The toddlers are depicted crying and clinging with their arms around the high priests carrying them to the blood letting death they will endure.

So much of a certain kind of display of what is taken to be strength has to do with emotionless, pitiless and implacable determination. Empathy and compassion are considered weaknesses. Domination and power are the halmarks of what are considered the GREATS of the ancient world such as Alexander the Great, who was, in fact, Alexander the Destroyer. All that mahy of these later described as great leaders were actually accomplished in was large scale crime. They invaded other people's lands, destroyed their buildings and crops, looted their temples and homes and kidnapped them into human trafficking slavery and prostitution.

So, how did we come (most of us) to view these things as evil rather than laudable? Through the teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ preached lover over hate, kindness over cruelty, and respect and care for the- a smallest and the weakest. These were not qualities valued at all in the empires of the time of Jesus Christ, or indeed, the empires of today. Yet Christianity rose and spread throughout the world, although it can be seen that often what is labeled Christianity is far from anything Jesus would have considered a manifestation of his teachings. What we have in many of the most popular contemporary mega-churches is ostentatious display of wealth and power, exploitation of the weak for the financial profit of the leaders, and, often as displayed in scandal after scandal, sexual exploitation of the weak.

Jesus, the humble, the kind, the one who shared, who saved those who were being judged and persecuted, who washed the feet of his followers wouldn't recognize most of the churches that call themselves Christian today. Jesus rebelled against the manifestation of the Jewish religion of his own time; he turned the tables and ran the money lenders out of the temples! What would he make of the giant tv screens through which loud calls for donations and promises of wealth are shouted by so-called ministers and the lavish mansions and luury automobiles of these leaders of the mega-churches in the mid-western US or the Catholic churches everywhere.

I mentioned to a friend over lunch that the Roman Empire expanded and thrived upon Extortion. They attacked, too over, and taxed the lands of their neighbors in an international pay-for-protection scheme. I just remembered a bit in the crime series, the Sopranos, where one of the characters says, "The Romans are back, we are the Romans." And it was true, their extortion rackets were based on violence, intimidation and cruelty, lack of compassion or empathy or any respect for justice or mercy. That is the contest in the world today.

The Olmec Heads, the Roman Empire - Power, pride, crime for the accumulation of wealth, despising justice or fairness as weak - a will to win at all costs, drive for domination, destruction in a kind of grab-all-you-want-and-all-you-can side versus:

Jesus Christ, Justice, compassion, qualities of character as greater than display of wealth, sharing, protection of the weaker and the dependent, stewardship and respect for the natural world, humility and patience, the traits of the other side, the traits of Jesus Christ's teachings.

these are my Christmas thoughts in December 2024 Merry Christmas Friends! Jo Ann wrightj45@yahoo.com