The Capacity of Saints Messiahs and Avatars

I once saw an interesting argument put forward by Jews attempting to defend themselves from the members of the “Jews For Jesus” Organization. They pointed out that Jesus could not have been the Messiah because he was not a successful Messiah, that is, a Messiah can only be defined in the context of some rather convincing Messianic results. But in the case of Jesus we find that he was executed as a subversive troublemaker on his very first official visit to the Jewish Capital. This was thought to represent a clear and convincing rebuke to any of his Messianic pretensions. If God had sent him then he would not have failed so dismally.

At first this Argument seems logical enough, but it troubles me for two reasons.

First, the argument rests on an implied premise that God is All-Powerful and All-Knowing, even to the extent of knowing the Future in all of its details. Of course, this is not surprising to any Westerner versed in the Philosophies and Theologies after the Greek Hellenistic model, where all things Divine are defined in terms of Quasi-Mathematical Absolutes – Omni-This and All-of-That. But the Argument is being used by Jews. Jewish Theology as well as the Zoroastrianism upon which it was based never imagined that God was ALL powerful. Indeed, the Moral Innovation of Zoroastrianism was to posit the existence of Evil and to deduce from that the possibility that Heaven Itself was contested between Divine and Demonic Principalities. There was a Fair and Square Universal Battle between Good and Evil. And nowhere was there any guarantee that Good would triumph… at least not in the short term. Failure and Defeat are always a possibility. Just ask Joan of Arc – ‘Smokin Joan’, who had a wonderfully blessed career up to the point where she was burned at the stake… by the English of course.

Now, our Jewish Logicians must have already known this, that is, their own Theological Backgrounds. Besides, in their perspective how else could the rather bumpy History of the Jewish Diaspora be explained otherwise than by supposing that the Forces that favor the Chosen People are countered by opposing Forces that almost at times seem to be the superior of the Two? Up until very recently the Jews had not been so well known for their invincibility.

The Second reason why the Argument for Messianic Effect troubles me is that it equates Success in Worldly Conquest with Divinity and Divine Blessing. It alls sounds so much more like John Calvin than Maimonides. God chooses Winners because they Win, and he doesn’t care about the details. So we would have Messiahs confirmed entirely on the basis of their Military Power or their ability to extort or demand obedience or compliance. Such an Argument would make a perfectly good Messiah out of Attila the Hun or Genghis Khan or Bill Gates.

Most of us would have a hard time wrapping our heads around the idea of an Evil but Effective “Messiah”. But most of us, at least tacitly, support our Winner Take All Society. Really, what choice do we have?

But we as Spiritualists take upon ourselves certain Moral and Ethical boundaries. Triumph BY Evil is the same as the triumph OF Evil. Any Real Messiah should come to save us FROM such events – to put the whirlwind of Evil into a jar and bury it forever – not just to wield Evil better than all the other Competition for whatever Ethnic or Territorial Agenda the Messiah sees as worthy of his attention.

But unfortunately we are left wondering why God seems to do so next to nothing for the sake of the Good. Even after acknowledging that God has no Absolute Powers to completely and instantly conquer Evil, we would still expect some kind of a Token Gesture of Moral Support. We can legitimately be puzzled that God did so little to support the Messianic Candidacy of Jesus. There were some Miracles and some Protections early in his Career, but it was all just suddenly withdrawn before he was even 40 year old… not even really an adult yet. It was “Jesus meet Joan of Arc. Thank you so much for your dedicated Service, and now here is your Reward.”

So what is missing?

In the Bhagavad Gita it is said “by Sacrifice you will nourish the Gods, and then the Gods will nourish you”. Then, in our Modern Era we have nearly all of the Divine Marian Apparitions over the last 500 years, seeming to be speaking characteristically in one Voice, saying that Divine Grace can only be delivered down to Humanity in some determined proportion as the Prayers, and Penances that come up from Humanity. No Prayers, No Fasting, No Messiah… or at least no very effective Messiah.

There is one very amazing instance in History of the conjunction of Prayer and Penance to Divine Potency. Saint Vincent Ferrer traveled about Latin Europe with what was estimated to be “10,000” Flagellants – people who traveled from town to town, city to city, with Vincent Ferrer, bare foot, flogging themselves the entire way, fasting, and going without sleep. And in the History of the World there has never been recorded a greater Saint. One feel uncomfortable saying it, but objectively speaking, Jesus was almost nothing compared to Vincent Ferrer. It was said of him that any day without 10,000 Miracles would have had to have been a miracle, that is, miracles became the common place thing and everybody began to forget what Reality had been like. Vincent Ferrer emptied entire urban hospitals, curing everybody… and those were the Plague Years.

Vincent Ferrer would speak with pride of his 10,000 Flagellants. He would observe that even with the extreme fasting, the daily marches, and the constant flogging, not a single man or woman among the 10,000 ever became ill. Nobody slowed down. Nobody dropped out.

These People were the Power Battery behind this greatest Campaign of Miracles in History. Nowadays people wonder what it was all good for. Well, it is true that when the Protestant Rebellion fired up in the next Century, the districts where Vincent Ferrer had gone on Tour were to remain Catholic, that is the Barons and Aristocrats in the Vincent Zone foreswore murdering every Priest, Monk and Nun in their district in order to confiscate their Monastic Estates and Church Properties. In Germany and England we simply had Blood Baths and Land Grabs. Where Vincent Ferrer and his Righteous 10,000 had trod, even 3 or 4 generations prior, Morality and Ethical Self Restraint was able to hold sway over Predatory Self Interest.

It’s a shame that Vincent Ferrer had not been better traveled. A few more miles might have saved our Civilization.