in search of lost christ memories, continued…

now there was something uniquely mysterious about how the “spirit of christ” was magnified, or intensified (quantified?) when in the presence of other people. meet with another person that shares a common interest with you, no matter what it is, and you feel strengthened, right? stand as an individual with your “beliefs”, “understandings”, “misunderstandings”, “concepts” and you are not much more than a force of one unless you have some lifeline to connect you to a larger body of instigators. a song, an anthem, a souvenir from an event, a memory…

i had experiences of being with other people that professed a “belief in christ” that caused an amplification of my states of mind, my states of spirit, but was it because i was with these other people that this intensification occurred or was it something internal/external that triggered heightened sensations. christians will cite scripture that says “when two or more of you are gathered in my name, i am there with you”… but this is true about ANYONE, isn’t it. or is it? you can get together with fans of Elvis and talk about him, listen to his music together, walk through his old house… and feel like his spirit is there with you. but is it? is his spirit there? is HIS SPIRIT, the spirit of the dead and gone Elvis activated because two or more people think about him? we’d like to think so, wouldn’t we? we certainly can convince ourselves that spirits come back to life when we want them to. but do they really? in the most concrete terms, i’d say this is hogwash. it is nothing more than the power of the mind to become excitable in a moment ABOUT ANYTHING. get two people together and get them talking about HOPSCOTCH and childhood memories will flood the room.

if it were true that the spirit of christ became present when believers gathered, miracles would happen. life transformations. and they can. they do. i’ve been in rooms of people where the spirit of jesus was conjured and dramatic experiences occurred. in Pentecostal assemblies.

it’s just that it was soo long ago when i had these experiences and i’ve had so many other experiences that have been like those experiences that their uniqueness is difficult to discern now. there was a unique flavor though, to the “spirit of christ” in a room, or on a beach… yes, i remember an experience on a beach. i must have only been 15 years old and our family was on vacation in Santa Barbara. we were camping at a campground near the beach. i saw a group of young people sitting in a circle around a bonfire and i could hear them singing familiar church songs. songs that i had learned at the youth group i attended back in Danville. and i felt an urge to get closer. i didn’t know these people. no idea who they were or where they were from or what church they belonged to. what i did know was that i shared a common bond. i shared a love of the spirit, of the energy, the personality that singing these songs invoked in the air and in my heart. and that was enough.

it was close to dusk. the light was dim but the energy of love in the air was bright and i felt an open invitation to “belong”. weird, but i didn’t feel afraid. i didn’t feel like i had to ask permission to or get an acknowledgement from anyone to be able to come sit with them and sing with them. i just slipped up to the outer edge of the circle. close enough so that one of the girls noticed me, saw the light in my eyes, and knew that “i knew”… and she smiled. i sat and sang with them for a few songs, then felt like i had been fed. got up and walked away. i didn’t need to talk to anyone. didn’t need to explain.

that, was a good memory of this spirit. one of the simplest, purest… hallmark of what the 70’s were like. the Jesus Freak era was so intense with a raw love for the memory of the life of this man of love. if i could have that fresh love again i’d rejoin the movement in a second.

ok, more later…