IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 946

ON LOVE; PART DXXXV

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GoodWill IS Love in Action

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“The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31).

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“Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:36-40).

In the last essay we continued our discussion of the Master’s sayings about adultery and marriage and divorce from the more practical side of entering into these type of relationships as men in the world. We should not forget however that the theme of His words on adultery are directed at the heart of man, his consciousness, which IS the precursor at times of the physical action but IS at ALL times an affliction that takes a similar toll on the spiritual Life of a man. While we had to go outside of the Sermon on the Mount for those sayings on marriage itself, the subject IS broached by the Master’s speaking on divorce which, except in the case of adultery which He calls in this instance fornication, IS NOT a thing that a man should do. While we CAN NOT KNOW why the Master changes the word from adultery to fornication as in the reality of the physical act are the same in the marriage setting, we can likely presume that there is an additional idea here that we do not yet see. Perhaps this IS in some way tied to that idea that it IS in the act of copulation that a man and a woman are married and that the rituals and ceremonies are secondary and of no True importance; in this physical joining of the couple there is that intended mental and emotional bond formed and a silent vow if you will. Here in this view the idea of sex with another would not be technically seen as adultery in law and in custom but it DOES appear that this IS the way that marriage was first conducted; mating pairs, mating for Life. In today’s Lifestyles it IS the mind and the emotions that detract from this mating style and it IS in these personality traits of men that ALL of the worldly focus of ever looking for newer, more and better abounds and perhaps where the ideas of many wives comes into play.

We should remember here that throughout history the woman has played the role of being secondary to the man and the taking of multiple wives is likely better seen in the idea of powerful men in whom a woman sees the benefit of relationship but it IS NOT True that women always happily go along. We read of King Solomon that “he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines” (1 Kings 11:3) and that he “exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom” (1 Kings 10:23). Here, in his great power and riches he could attract many wives to his Life of luxury. We can see here the very nature of married Life in those days as even further back as we read of Jacob’s two wives and their handmaids which were given to Jacob as additional wives; we read about Rachel’s in this way: “And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her” (Genesis 30:4). To show the normalcy of these arrangement we need only recognize the fact that Jacob’s twelve sons, whose mothers are a combination of the four wives, become the patriarchs of the twelve tribes of Israel. Now here we find that the idea of multiple wives can be seen as a perceived benefit to the woman; this IS not slavery but there is in theory as definite realty to the presumed supremacy of the male and in the physical world in that day this was likely necessary as the female body is by design generally weaker in nature. The world however evolves and this becomes less and less a matter of living in the world and more and more a choice but we should remember that even in those days many centuries ago, women had a voice in these relationships much as they have today. In the evolution of mind, the reality of the equality of the sexes becomes the better way of Life in this world and those parts of that are still resistant to this are likely those places and societies where emotions yet rule and the Truth of the thinking man and women is still in a growing stage.

ALL of this IS a part of the evolution of mankind and in this evolution these ideas of marriage have faded and the ease of divorce is prevalent and while in those days it may have been the male who divorced the woman, this IS been equalized in much of the world today. However, the Master’s words still stand; that divorce is ONLY for the reason of fornication and that in ALL other cases these couples who consummated their marriages ARE forever married and that their sexual relationships with others constitute adultery and, in the ways of the world today, this is compounded by the relative equality of the parties who both act in the same way. Here, perhaps in the reality that most ALL men and women DO have sexual relations, we can try to see the continuing idea that ALL who move on to other partners are committing adultery and that ALL those who “looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matthew 5:28) which now includes both sexes, ARE adulterers as well. While this may seem to be a sad indictment of humanity, it IS in fact a reality of the Lifestyle of many and while most never see themselves as being married by the action of copulation, this Truly does not detract from the reality of the Master’s message which can be seen more clearly that fornication with any can be seen as adultery for many.

The overriding Truth here however is found again in the reality of the Love that the Master teaches us and in the Golden Rule. In ALL the machinations of sex and partners and marriage, adultery and fornication that we can see in the world, there is ever the reality that someone IS offended, that someone IS harmed, by another and in this Light ALL these things ARE wrong except the taking of a wife or a husband for Life without deviation in body or in mind. This IS the greater Truth of the sayings that the Master offers in a such a way as the man who does not think in spiritual terms can see the error of his ways if he can look honestly at his own Life. The urge to sex was as one time a purely physical one and much as we see in the rest of the animal kingdom; this urge moved to some combination of physical and emotional and there it remains for many in the world today; it IS in the emotional that we find the greater idea of our modern marriage especially as the trend comes more to the emotional side. Into this mix then comes the ability to think about these things which takes precedence over the urges and the feelings and it IS likely in this that the whole idea of sexual relations will find a newer and a better resolution as there are consequences to all of our actions in this world.

In the end, the idea for the aspirant is found in Paul’s words regarding marriage and in this it IS unfortunate that a man does not reach the reality of being an aspirant before much of his Life is already accomplished and whatsoever he is going to do in this arena of fornication and marriage is already done. This IS a basic reality of Life in most ALL respects and this is the reason for the reality of Repentance; not as a religious rite but as the ability for a man to change, to decide to change the course of his Life and his focus. Here we find the realty of how very personal these things are and the Truth of how alone one Truly IS in this endeavor of Transformation. For the average man in the world these instructions mean quite another thing and for them the words of the apostle regarding marriage are confusing but this confusion is found in the proper understanding of Paul’s intended audience which IS disciples and aspirants who can understand that in that choice of God or mammon there ARE so many smaller and difficult decisions to make. Nonetheless the Master’s words are clear to ALL and while religions and common law allow for a man to marry and divorce at will and while adultery and fornication remain as a way of Life, the reality IS yet True…that adultery and fornication should not be done and the reality of marriage should be forever as this IS the vow that one makes aloud today or silently in the past by one’s actions in sexual relations. 

And this IS the next topic that the Master teaches us on, oaths which are very much the same as vows. We read His words again saying:

“Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil” (Matthew 5:33-37).

We ended the last post with the idea that the Master’s following up His words on adultery, fornication and divorce, all components of the discussion on marriage, with these ideas on oaths forms a rather direct relationship between the marriage vows and at least some part of His words on oaths. We listed in the last post some religious an secular marriage vows which none can deny ARE oaths and as such are promises from one person to another. The Master’s greater point here IS not only that one should not perform oaths to other men in violation of  the law of Moses in favor of directing these oaths to the Lord, but that the entire idea of oaths IS counter to the Truth as a man has little control at the moment of the oath over whatsoever will happen tomorrow that can prevent him from fulfilling his promise. In the marriage vow this has to do with the emotions and feelings of both parties as well as the way that each may react in times of adversity and as a general rule the same ideas prevail as a man DOES NOT KNOW what can befall him, be it earthquake or pestilence or whatsoever else that can prevent a man from his fulfillment of his oath. In Moses time is was thought that the oaths that one takes are better to the Lord but the Master’s reality is that this IS of no avail either and here we have one of those ideas that IS NOT cancelled but rather that the responsibility is placed where it belongs….on the Truthfulness of the parties and their willingness to endure. In common worldly events the Master makes this yet clearer as He proceeds with His message in regard to giving and lending and DOING under the greater Law of Love and forgiveness and in marriage we should see that He lets His words speak regarding those vows that one may not be able to fulfill.

The greater reality for ALL however IS in His words that we “let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay” and that each man stand by his own words. The idea here IS NOT in repetitions of yeas and nays as some believe; but that in these words of agreement or disagreement is a mans word and an implied oath and the rest is left to each man. This can be seen as the same implied affirmation of marriage that is found in that first sexual relation for the man who understands these Truths. These ideas on the oaths of men should be seen as telling us that the use of oaths is generally going to exasperate the feelings of animosity when a vow is broken and that the man has NO power to fulfill his promises in this regard; he KNOWS NOT what tomorrow will bring.

The original commandment from the Old Testament IS NOT worded in the same way as the Master cites in His statement that “ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths” and in this we would get the idea that the traditions and the actual words of the law ARE NOT the same. The original meaning here IS vague and in our ideas above we take the view that a man should NOT take an oath of himself but should rather involve the Lord in his vow and swear by Him but this IS NOT how this IS seen by most. Many see this as that one should not take a false oath to the Lord but should perform what it IS that he says. The Old Testament commandments are rather clear insofar as the idea of swearing unto the Lord; we read:

• “If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth” (Numbers 30:2).
• “And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:12).

These ARE rather clear and the saying from Numbers goes on to discuss the nature of an oath for the woman who swears; the entry from Leviticus stands alone but IS preceded by this saying: “Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another” (Leviticus 19:11). Here there is a combination of dealing man to man and then, in the saying above, swearing by the Name of God. In these ideas from Leviticus we can see the idea that we present; that the saying of old is telling a man that he should not lie nor deal falsely with his brother but should make oaths in the Name of God. And we can see this in the Master’s saying as well; in the choices of what NOT to swear by one’s own self IS included in a list of things that could be sworn upon. In the end the meaning however IS clear and that IS that the yea or the nay should suffice to carry one’s True intent without going into the idea of oaths and vows which a man CAN NOT guarantee.

We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.

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.

We repeat here a Quote of the Day that we spent much time with over the course of our essays. In this affirmation we find the Truth of discipleship as we have been ever been expressing and here we can relate our themes of the last few days; “take no thought” for the things of the world and that we approach the Kingdom and discipleship in the nature of the little child, in humbleness, meekness, unashamed in any way and unassuming. The message that this imparts for us today IS that it IS the Soul that is at work in the world of men as it expresses to some degree the purpose, power and the will through Life in this world. These words are from a meditation offered to his students by our Tibetan brother and in which we find greater understanding of the message of the Master. This IS Truly the way of the disciple.

My Soul has purpose, power and will; these three are needed on the Way of Liberation.
My Soul must foster love among the sons of men; this is its major purpose.
I, therefore, will to love and tread the Way of Love. All that hinders and obstructs the showing of the Light must disappear before the purposes of the Soul.
My will is one with the great Will of God;. that Holy Will requires that all men serve. And unto the purposes of the Plan I lend my little will.

Let the peace of God rule in your hearts!