ON LOVE; PART CCCXXVIII
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•Α
GoodWill IS Love in Action
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•Α
May the Power of the One True God flow through His group of all true servers;
May the Love of the Christ characterize the lives of all who seek to aid in His work;
May I fulfill my part in the one work through self-forgetfulness, harmlessness and right speech
(Evening Reflection)
Having completed our look at the story of Judas as reported in the gospels, we are ever more convinced that our own sympathetic view of Judas is justified and that both he and the Master did KNOW exactly what was happening in those days and, from our work over the last several days, we are also convinced that much of the conversation as well as the actual washing of the apostles feet were orchestrated by the Master for the benefit of Judas who is likely in much anguish through this ALL. We should remember that the Master pre-told the apostles of His impending death and we use this made up word so as to take away the stigma of prophecy and prediction as the Master is stating FACT when He foretells of His death nearly a year before the Supper and the story of Judas. The Master’s words are clear in this time but not understood at all as He tells them that: “And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him” (Mark 8:31-32). Here we see the stated fact and the refusal of Peter to accept the Master’s fate. As we have previously discussed from a different perspective, there are two more occasions where the Master reveals his fate to the apostles; we read, again from Mark’s Gospel:
- “And they departed thence, and passed through Galilee; and he would not that any man should know it. For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed , he shall rise the third day. But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him. And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest” (Mark 9:30-34). According to the available chronologies of the ministry of Jesus, this second foretelling of His death by the Master happens not too long after the first reported discussion that we have above. Here, the language is equally clear and much more pointed from the perspective of how this will happen and here there IS not rebuke but, according to Mark, “they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him” and, to compound this failure to see what they are being told, they quibble among themselves on greatness.
- There is a third occurrence of the Master telling the apostles of the FACT that He must die and rise again; the Apostle Mark reports this as: “And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him, Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles: And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again” (Mark 10:32-34). According to the chronology, this trip to Jerusalem is sometime in the winter before the final Passover Supper and is the third time that we have the Master telling His apostles of what must transpire and here there is not even a hint of response but rather, according to Mark, this is where James and John show their own desire to be greatest and seek privilege from the Master; we read: “And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire. And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you? They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory” (Mark 10:35-37). There is a bit more given us in the Apostle Luke’s version of this final foretelling of His death “Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again. And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken” (Luke 18:31-34). Here is a yet clearer rendition as it calls to mind the prophesies of the Old Testament with which some must have been acquainted by now regarding the Messiah yet Luke reports that they “they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken“. Now some may want to believe here that they were prevented from understanding these things as a supernatural act of God but his cannot be the reality as we read here that this IS the third time that He has told them the same things. Can we see in Luke’s words that they are retrospective and are how he perceives what has happened and, perhaps this is his attempt to put reason to the reality that they DO NOT Truly understand or perhaps even believe what the Son of God is saying…..as surely He can prevent this.
It IS in this same light of disbelief that we should try to see Judas role; the eleven CAN NOT believe that the Master can be subjected to this of His own accord and ascribe much of the blame then to Judas who DOES have an active role in the playing out of this drama and, while they CAN NOT see that the Master is this willing participant, they CAN NOT believe that Judas can be either except as in a carnal sense.. We should remember here that these twelve apostles ARE disciples of the Lord and that they ARE disciples because they have met the criteria that IS established for this High Calling, that the DO keep His words and that they put nothing of the world before their spiritual relationship with God and their individual sense of God as their own God Within. Yet even in this place, this High Calling of the disciple, these men ARE NOT yet free from the ways of the world and this we can see rather clearly in these ideas above where they refuse to see the Truth or just refuse to accept it; this IS a worldly attitude as are the individual actions of Peter for which he is rebuked and which yet continue until after the Master’s death and the resurrection. We can see this as well in the requests of James and John that they be at the Right and Left of the Master and John’s rather self-centered thoughts of himself as he writes his gospel, both occurrences that we did not see in this light until recently. These human frailties are the inability to give up ALL attachment to the world and the things of the world, ALL attachment to the self. We do KNOW that from our perspective the Apostle Peter overcomes whatsoever held him back and we can surmise that this same happens with John as we read the total lack of self in his epistles. This of course the Master tells us of, this difficulty in overcoming ALL, as He says: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:12-14). We purposely leave the Golden Rule attached to this saying on finding that narrow path as do Peter and the Apostle Paul and, from our reading John, as this in this single saying is the abolition of the selfish nature of man in the world.
We had been discussing the mantram at the top of the page when we were drawn into this discussion on Judas that we have been on for several days, we were drawn here by our discussion on service as it relates to the first and second lines of this prayer. In the first we have the reality of the True server, the disciple who KNOWS his role and accomplishes what he must do and this in the Power of the ONE God as it flows through those who Truly serve. In second we have that part of the Prayer that seeks the Love that IS the Christ and the Christ Within to flow freely through those who earnestly seek to serve Him, to aid Him in His work and we devoted many words to these ideas. We noted that the Master tells us clearly that He too is a server and that He is “among you as he that serveth” (Luke 22:27) and that in the washing of the feet of the apostles, the Master gave us an example of service which today we can see in a greater reality; that the distasteful IS service as well and that it IS ONLY distasteful to the man viewing these things as a man focused in the world. We posted several of the Master’s sayings that tell us His purposes in being among us and how by our example along those same lines we can and do serve. And, we should not forget that most important example of service that we find in His words, one that tells us that we serve Him by serving our brothers, even the least of them, and although these words do not refer directly to the word service, this IS what they represent; the Master tells us: “ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:34-40). Many see the eschatological side of this parable, some see it not as a parable at all while yet others see these as specific things that one must do for the future Kingdom. We see this as a reality by example that is embedded in a parabolic saying about a King and that the specific things are but examples that find a True reality in the idea of doing for even “the least of these my brethren” which shows us Love for ALL and IS a prime example of those words that we must follow; “there is no respect of persons with God” (Romans 2:11), and that there should be none for us as well and this as the Apostle James tells us: “if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors” (James 2:9). Can we see the Master’s words regarding “the least of these my brethren” in these other sayings from Paul and James?
It is in the last line of this mantram that we can get a vision of what the reality of Service entails for the aspirant and the disciple insofar as his actions in the world are concerned. In the first line we find the Power of God and the God Within for the True servers and while he may seemingly be beyond the failure that can be noted in the last line, none Truly are until they can say with the Master “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). In the second we find the Love of God which we see as the Love of the Christ and the Christ Within and this for ALL who seek to serve and to aid in the work of the Christ in the world. Finally we have our part, our service as Souls working through men in form, and some basic understanding that whatsoever one’s service may be; no matter what one’s service may entail, it requires our action in self-forgetfulness which IS that we do not consider the self in the world and that there is no motivation to benefit the self through service…else it IS NOT Truly service. We note then that our part includes that sense of harmlessness which comes to us as a part of that meekness that does NO harm to others, that turns the other cheek if you will, and which should be seen as an aspect of that Love that we offer to ALL. As He sends them out to carry His message, Jesus tells His disciples that: “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16) and this is our message as well if we expect to be counted among His disciples. And if we may believe that these words are directed at the twelve only, we are sadly mistaken as this attitude fits well into the totality of the Master’s sayings that surround His admonition that we turn the other cheek. These are difficult things to accomplish and hence we pray, we remind ourselves daily of their importance in the Life of the disciple and the aspirant. Lastly we have the idea of right speech which IS a part of harmlessness but is in and of itself a distinct human problem. Perhaps it is this understanding, that right speech IS included in harmlessness but yet requires separate action, that causes James to write for us these words with which we close for today:
“My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things . Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed , and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh. Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom” (James 3:1-13).
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
| Aspect of God |
Potency |
Aspect of Man |
In Relation to the Great Invocation |
In relation to the Christ |
|
GOD, The Father |
Will or Power |
Spirit or Life |
Center where the Will of God IS KNOWN |
Life |
|
Son, The Christ |
Love and Wisdom |
Soul or Christ Within |
Heart of God |
Truth |
|
Holy Spirit |
Light or Activity |
Life Within |
Mind of God |
Way
|
Note on the Quote of the Day
This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.
Wakefulness is the way to life. The fool sleeps As if he were already dead, But the master is awake And he lives forever. He watches. He is clear. How happy he is! For he sees that wakefulness is life. How happy he is, Following the path of the awakened. With great perseverance He meditates, seeking Freedom and happiness. So awake, reflect, watch. Work with care and attention. Live in the way And the light will grow in you. By watching and working The master makes for himself an island Which the flood cannot overwhelm. The fool is careless. But the master guards his watching. It is his most precious treasure. He never gives in to desire. He meditates. And in the strength of his resolve He discovers true happiness. He overcomes desire – And from the tower of his wisdom He looks down with dispassion Upon the sorrowing crowd. From the mountain top He looks down at those Who live close to the ground. Mindful among the mindless, Awake while others dream, Swift as the race horse He outstrips the field. By watching Indra became king of the gods. How wonderful it is to watch. How foolish to sleep. The beggar who guards his mind And fears the waywardness of his thoughts Burns through every bond With the fire of his vigilance. The beggar who guards his mind And fears his own confusion Cannot fall. He has found his way to peace. (Dhammapada; on Wakefulness) 5.
This selection from the Dhammapada, the sayings of the Buddha, is from the chapter called Wakefulness. The ideas here are simple for the awakened but for the unawakened they can be very difficult. This is much like the sayings of the Christ and His apostles, especially these last ones that we discussed regarding the mysteries. Wakefulness here can be likened to our idea of focus on the Christ Within, the Soul, and the spiritual Life. Sleep is just the opposite and can be likened to focus upon the things of the world. To be awake is to see things as they Truly are and to be asleep is to see things in the illusion and the glamour of the world. Wakefulness makes a man the master of his own Life while sleep makes one the fool. Wakefulness is striving to enter at the strait gate while being asleep is to float aimlessly on the waves of the ways of the world where one may think that he is getting somewhere only to realize in the end that he has gone nowhere, accomplished nothing.
In the above we should see the idea of master as we understand the disciple in our writing, as the awakened one, the man in whom the Light of the Soul is being expressed through form, the disciple and the high aspirant and we should see the idea of the beggar as the seeker, the one who is seeking awakening.
This idea then of being awake can be seen running through the teachings of the Master and of the Buddha although the Master does not use the specific word but rather alludes to it in His teachings calling the asleep those whose “heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed” and the awakened those who “see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart” and this is a point that Jesus makes several times and it is to those who can realize their awakening that these words ARE directed: “blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear“.
