March, 2008 Archives

THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE

Rev. Wilma Wake

March 2, 2008

OPENING SONG

“We Are All One.” [at the end of the service].

READINGS

THE BIBLE

Ephesians 5:8-14

The Message (MSG)

8-10 You groped your way through that murk once, but no longer. You're out in the open now. The bright light of Christ makes your way plain. So no more stumbling around. Get on with it! The good, the right, the true—these are the actions appropriate for daylight hours. Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it.

11-16 Don't waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. It's a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see. Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ.

   Wake up from your sleep,
   Climb out of your coffins;
   Christ will show you the light!
So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!

SWEDENBORG

…the heat from that sun in its essence is love, and the light from it in its essence is wisdom; TCR 661

(a) Our love is our very life itself. ,,,

[2] (b). The focus of our dominant love is what we love above all else. What we love above all else is constantly presenting because it is in our will and ultimately our life.

For example, if we love wealth above everything else, whether that means money or property, we are constantly contemplating how to get more. When we do get more we are profoundly overjoyed. When we lose wealth we are profoundly grief-stricken. Our heart is in it.

[3] (c) Our purpose is what we love above all else. We focus on it in each and everything we do. It exists in our will like a hidden current in a river that moves and carries things along, even when we are doing something else, because it is what motivates us. It is the factor that people look for and identify in others; then they use it either to influence the others or to cooperate with them. …

[5] (e) For each of us, all our pleasure, joy, and happiness comes from our dominant love and depends on it. This is because whatever we love we say is enjoyable, since we feel it that way. What we think about but we do not love we are also capable of calling enjoyable, but it is not the central enjoyment of our life. …

[7] (g) Love for the Lord and love for our neighbor are the two loves that constitute heaven in us, as I said. They are the dominant types of love in heaven. Since they constitute heaven in us, they also constitute the church in us. The two loves that originate all forms of evil and falsity, which as I said are love for ourselves and love for the world, constitute hell in us …

[8] (h) The two types of love that originate all forms of goodness and truth, which are the types of love in heaven, open and form our inner spiritual self, because that is where these loves reside. …

TC, #399, 2006

MUSICAL PRAYER "I'll Lay My Confusion Down" by Rachel Griffin of Portland, ME [with her blessings].It is the 2nd video on her website.

TODAY’S REFLECTION

One day, when I was a senior in college, I was at the library preparing for final exams. I glanced at my classmate next to me; I’ll call her Michelle. I was startled to see that she wasn’t doing any of the assigned reading, but rather had a pile of books next to her on the nature of love. I figured she was doing a special paper for a class.

Later, as we walked to the student union for a break, I said I was intrigued by the subject of her paper: love.

She giggled a bit, and her face turned red. “Well, actually,” she admitted, “this isn’t for a class. It’s for my life.” “You see, there’s this guy who has proposed to me.”

“Congratulations!”

“Well, I’m not sure if it’s congratulations or condolences! I honestly don’t know if I love him. I don’t even know what love is. I’m hoping I’ll find the answer in one of those books.”

As we continued chatting, I learned that Michelle had grown up with a mother who was an active alcoholic. Every time she thought her Mom was drunk, she was told that Mom was just fine. She learned to ignore what she felt, and only trust what people told her she should think.

Now she was in a quandary. “OK, so Ed wants to marry me. Do I look at how I feel inside? Or do I think about the criteria I want in a husband? How do I know there is a “me” inside who loves Ed? Do I decide about Ed’s proposal with my feelings or with the logic of my mind?

I didn’t have any answers that day for Michelle. But she found them herself.

Some years later I ran into her at a reunion party. She seemed happily married, with two young children. I asked her if she had married Ed, who had proposed our senior year.

“Uh, no. Thank goodness! I couldn’t get married because I didn’t know whether I loved him. I didn’t know who I was. I graduated and taught for a few years, and went to therapy and support groups. Then I discovered who I am and what I feel. So then I knew what and who I loved.”

Your feelings are the path to your loves

Michelle had to discover her feelings in order to know what and who she loved.

Many mystical traditions say the same thing:

…”as all those with experience of Zen and other forms of mysticism will agree, logical thought is actually a barrier to mystical attainment. This is so because ultimate truth transcends logical thought. For example, logic demonstrates that the one cannot simultaneously be the many and vice versa, whereas during profound mystical experience it becomes brilliantly apparent that the one is multifold while yet remaining one.

John Blofeld, The Tantric Mysticism of Tibet [21]

Swedenborg says that both feelings and thoughts are important. Yet, he is clear as to which comes first.

“…we do not have any thoughts that do not come from some feelings of our life’s love, and that thought is simply a form of feeling.”

DP 198, 2003

What you love is who you are

Swedenborg goes even deeper in saying that our loves are our life and being

. 1. Our love is our very life itself.

Love is our Life. DLW, #1, 2003

Swedenborg says that we all have a very deep unique, personal love inside of us. It is our deepest passion; that which brings us true joy. This love has been translated in the past as our “ruling love.” The New Century Edition of True Christianity [passages quoted above] translates this as our dominant love – it is “what we love above all else.” Our feelings for it are always present. If we love money more than anything else, then we’re constantly thinking about it. We’re overjoyed to get more, and sad when we lose it. Even when we’re doing other things, our thoughts are really on making money. A passion for material goods and a goal of elevating ourselves above all others can be the creation of hell within.

There are two loves that are the very heaven inside of us: love for the Lord and for our neighbor.

Swedenborg is not critical of money or success. It is our motivation that is important. If we seek wealth in order to make the world a better place, then our money is a path to inner heaven. The way to know which direction our loves are taking us is by how we live.

What you love is what you do

The Ephesians passage above combines our love with what we do. It is a reminder to get out in the sunshine, and not waste time with busywork that is done alone in darkness.

Swedenborg saw the sun’s warmth as Divine Love and its light as Divine Wisdom. When we live by them, then we can give up the “busy work” or “useless work” that does not serve the light. We are called to live in the sunlight expressing that which we love. The basic loves in all of us are for the Divine and for our neighbor

The Upanishads say the same thing:

“You are what your deep driving desire is. As your desire is, so is your will. As your will is, so is your deed. As your deed is, so is your destiny.

Life is never gained by mere thought, but only in intent and consequent deeds.

The Upanishads[26]

Your life’s love is your path to God

Wilson Van Dusen says:

“Your life’s love is your personal, built-in path to enlightenment.” Van Dusen, The Source, p. 89

Take a moment to absorb that astounding statement.

It is hard enough for most of us to accept our feelings, and what we love.

It is a giant step to then honor our loves as our path to enlightenment – to union with the Divine.

Many Buddhist sources also encourage us to find the Divine through what we love.

Everybody Loves Something
Shambhala Sun Magazine | May 1998
Love and compassion are like the weak spots in the walls of ego. If we connect with even one moment of good heart and cherish it, our ability to open will gradually expand. … Enlightenment is not something we're going to achieve after we follow the instructions, and then get it right. In fact when it comes to awakening the heart and mind, you can't get it right. …
We're moving toward a whole new way of thinking and feeling, a flexible and open way of perceiving reality that is not based on certainty and security. This new way of perceiving is based on connecting with the living energetic quality of ourselves and everything else.

Recently in spiritual direction, a young man called Sam said: “If I hate doing something, than it’s probably good for me and is God’s will. If I love doing something, then I figure that’s just my lazy ego, and I shouldn't do it.” Do you ever say things like that to yourself? Do you sometimes think that God is in the things you hate; the things you “should” do, but don't want to?

How does it change your perspective of God to consider that the pathway to the Divine is through what you love?

Because of the reality of our physical world, we might not be able to have a job or occupation that is our dominant love. Sam didn't especially like his work. He most loved to draw, but considered it a frivolous waste of time.

I asked Sam: “When are the times you feel closest to God?”

He responded immediately: “When I can draw.”

“Perhaps,” I suggested, “drawing is your prayer; your mantra for meditation. If you saw it as your strongest connection with God, wouldn’t you make it a daily prayer?"

Sam began to see drawing as his prayer time; his sacred time with the Divine. Sam had found his dominant love.

SONG
“The Servant Song” [at end of the service]

BENEDICTION

Guide us, Lord, to our dominant love, which we always find in our love for you and for our neighbors. Help us find ways to express this deepest part of ourselves in the world; knowing that we serve you as we do so.

CLOSING SONG [press for a link to a UTube video]

“This Little Light of Mine.”
THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE^{© Live 19 Nov 2006 version}

Charles, bring us home!

I want you all to rise from your seats now please and join us!

Come on now! Here we go!

Well now, this little light of mine, yeah I'm gonna let it shine
Well now, this little light of mine, yeah I'm gonna let it shine
Well now, this little light of mine, yeah I'm gonna let it shine
Every day (every day), every day (every day)
Every day (every day), every day (every day)
Every day (every day), every day (every day)
Gonna let my little light shine

Well jesus gave me light (Jesus gave me light), I'm gonna let it shine (I'm gonna let it shine)
Well now Jesus gave me light (Jesus gave me light), and I'm gonna let it shine (I'm gonna let it shine)
Well now Jesus gave me light (Jesus gave me light), I'm gonna let it shine
Every day (every day), every day (every day)
Every day (every day), every day (every day)
Every day (every day), every day (every day)
I'm gonna let my little light shine

Well this little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine
Well now, this little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine
Well now, this little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine
Every day (every day), every day (every day)
Every day (every day), every day (every day)
Every day (every day), every day (every day)
Gonna let my little light shine

(Monday), Gave me the gift of love
(Tuesday), Peace came from above
(Wednesday), Told me to have more faith
(Thursday), Gave me a little more grace
(Friday), Told me to watch and pray
(Saturday), Told me what to say
(Sunday), Gave me the power divine
This little light of mine

This little light of mine, whoa! I'm gonna let it shine, whoa!
This little light of mine, yeah! I'm gonna let it shine, whoa!
This little light of mine, this light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine
Every day (every day), every day (every day)
Every day (every day), every day (every day)
Every day (every day), every day (every day)
Gonna let my little light shine, whoa!

This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine, whoa!
This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine, whoaaa!
This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine
Every day (every day), every day (every day)
Every day (every day), every day (every day)
Every day (every day), every day (every day)
Every day (every day), every day (every day), can't hold on to it
Every day (every day), every day (every day), gotta save with someone
Every day (every day), every day (every day), don't let go
Every day (every day), shine every day
I'm gonna let my little light shine, let my little light shine
Yeah!

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

What do you most love to do?

When do you feel a sense of “this is who I really am?”

When do you feel closest to the Divine?

How would you describe your dominant love? Are you able to make time for it every day?

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Ani Pema Chodron
Wilson Van Dusen, The Source.
Lectionary Resources

RE-SET YOUR INNER CENTER

Sermon
March 9, 2008

Rev. Wilma Wake

I’m greatly enjoying my opportunity to serve as your Cyber Minister. It is expanding my concept of “worship” to explore the many dimensions to on-line church. I look forward to your feedback, as we explore various aspects of this experience. Today, I am going to be illustrating the sermon with a story from a popular movie. You'll find links and suggestions at the bottom of this page for watching the movie yourself, if you are interested.

READINGS:

From the Bible:

Ezekiel 37:1-14

37The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. 3He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.” 7So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. 9Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” 10I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude. 11Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel.They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’ 12Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13And you shall know that I am theLord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. 14I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act,” says the Lord.

From Swedenborg:

594. Man's regeneration is described in Ezekiel by the "dry bones" which were clothed with sinews, then with flesh and skin, and at last had spirit breathed into them, whereby they lived again (37:1-14). That regeneration was represented by those things, is evident from what is there said:
These bones are the whole house of Israel (Ezek.37:11). A comparison is also there made with graves, for it is written, That Jehovah would open their graves, and cause the bones to come up out of their graves, and put spirit in them, and bring them together into the land of Israel (Ezek.37:12-14). "The land of Israel" there and elsewhere means the church. Regeneration was here represented by bones and graves, because the unregenerate man is called dead, and the regenerate alive; for in the latter there is spiritual life, but in the former spiritual death. TCR #594

Other Reading of Interest:

"In a real sense self-discovery is always a part of the experience of God. You need to be changed to have the experience, and the experience will further change you. One simple way of describing this is that the experience of God sets a new center to our being.” Wilson Van Dusen, Return to the Source, 76

OPENING SONG:

Dry Bones sung by The Michael Roy Singers. [Press on Dry Bones to start the UTube song.]

Approximate Words:
Ezekiel cried, Dem dry bones!
Ezekiel cried, Dem dry bones!
Ezekiel cried, Dem dry bones!
Now, hear the word of the Lord

Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones
Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones
Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones
Now hear the word of the Lord.

Ezekiel connected them dry bones, Ezekiel connected them dry bones,

Ezekiel connected them dry bones, Now hear the word of the Lord!

The toe bone's connected to the foot bone.
The foot bone's connected to the ankle bone.
The ankle bone's connected to the leg bone.
The leg bone's connected to the knee bone.

The knee bone's connected to the thigh bone.

The thigh bone's connected to the hip bone.

The hip bone's connected to the back bone.

The back bone's connected to the neck bone.
The neck bone's connected to the head bone.
Now hear the word of the Lord!

Them bones, them bones gonna walk around. Them bones, dem bones gonna walk around.

Them bones, them bones gonna walk around. Now hear the word of the Lord!

Them bones, them bones gonna walk around! Them bones, dem bones gonna walk around!

Them bones, them bones gonna walk around! Now hear the word of the Lord!

Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones
Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones
Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones
Now hear the word of the Lord.

Disconnect them bones, dem dry bones. Disconnect them bones, dem dry bones.

Disconnect them bones, dem dry bones. Now hear the word of the Lord!

The head bone disconnected from the neck bone.

The neck bone disconnected from the back bone.
The back bone disconnected from the hip bone.
The hip bone disconnected from the thigh bone.
Your thigh bone disconnected from the knee bone.
Your knee bone disconnected from the leg bone.
Your leg bone disconnected from the ankle bone.
Your ankle bone disconnected from the foot bone.
Your foot bone disconnected from the toe bone.

Now hear the world of the Lord.

Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones
Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones
Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones
Now hear the word of the Lord.

Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones
Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones
Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones
Now hear the word of the Lord.

REFLECTION

                  Did you remember to set your clocks ahead last night? If you forgot, you will be reminded when you show up for an appointment – an hour late!  There is something else in your life that might be due for re-setting, but probably no one will remind you if you forget.  How long has it been since you invited God to re-set your inner center? Wilson Van Dusen, Swedenborgian psychologist and mystic, says that  the experience of God sets a new center to our being. In other words, when we are open to experiencing the Divine in our lives, then God helps to reshape the very core of who we are.
              I want to give you examples of how God re-sets our inner center by looking at the lives of two people. One is from the Old Testament; the other is from a movie.
             Ezekiel, in the scripture passage, opens himself to a powerful experience of God, and finds that he has been transformed. God shows Ezekiel a valley filled with a bunch of dry bones, and tells him that those bones could live again, if Ezekiel were to prophesy to them about the Word of the Lord. Then God would breathe life into them. Sure enough, Ezekiel preached and God breathed – and those bones got reconnected into skeletons and stood up! The spirit of the story was captured in a Negro spiritual; one version of which you just heard.

Swedenborg, of course, has an inner meaning to this story. It is about the spiritual regeneration within each of us. When we ignore God’s invitation to spiritual awakening [enlightenment, union, regeneration], we are as dead as dry bones. When we accept that invitation, God breathes into our dry bones, and they rise up, reconnected and alive.

The next story I’m going to share with you is from a movie. It's not a true story, but it is about universal experiences that are in all of our lives. Have you ever had one of those really bad days when nothing you planned goes right? You are intent on completing the tasks in your day when some unexpected event stops you in your path. You have no "plan B" for the new direction of the day, and you can see no presence of God or spiritual meaning in anything that is happening. We've probably all had a few days like that. This movie, "Changing Lanes" is about two men who each have the worst day of their lives. Gavin is a rising young attorney, making considerable money working for his father-in-law; a very successful lawyer of dubious ethics. Gavin is talking on his cell phone as he drives carelessly, racing to court. A car that is changing lanes hits Gavin's car and Gavin careens into Doyle. Gavin has no time for an accident. He throws a blank check at Doyle f

or damages. Doyle pleads for a ride.With thoughts only of himself, Gavin shouts back "Better luck next time" as he races off, leaving Doyle by the side of t

he road.
The day went downhill from there. Doyle is late for an appearance in Divorce Court, where the judge has already decided to deny him joint custody of his sons, since he didn't care enough to be there on time. Gavin arrives in court only slightly late, and is able to present an impressive array of documents for his firm's case. However, he is stunned to realize that the most important document, with the signature of a man who has since died, is not in his briefcase. He had used it to hold the check he wrote, and had left it with Doyle! Only an hour ago he had had no interest in Doyle's life or problems. Now, his own career may depend on finding that folder and getting it back from Doyle, and he offers to do anything to appease him -- even buying him a new car.
But Doyle does not want a new car. He wants to get back the 20 minutes he lost in his life that allowed his wife to get custody of their children. Gavin seeks for ways to hurt and frighten Doyle into giving him back the folder. As Doyle's life spins out of control, he seeks for increasingly hurtful responses to punish Gavin. The anger and retaliation spirals downwards to ever-deepening violence. Then, Gavin encounters God in 3 ways:
1. Late in the afternoon, he ponders his day, commenting: "Since breakfast, I left the scene of an accident, bankrupt a guy I don't even know, lied to my bosses, pulled a false alarm at work, learned I'm party to defraud a charity, and now sitting here contemplating forging a [replacement court] document." He is gaining insight into who he is. Van Dusen says: ”the expansion and discovery of what you really are and the expansion of your conception of the universe go together, for they are the same process.” As he sees who he is, he starts to see what the world is.

2. He wanders into a Catholic Church, and realizes that it is Good Friday. A service is underway. He goes into a confessional demanding the priest give him some meaning to the world, and to how God works in it. The priest has no answer he accepts, so he is out, again, to his destructive game. He finds an especially devious way of discrediting Doyle with his wife and children.
3. Gavin suddenly notices the pain that Doyle’s ex-wife and sons are experiencing as a result of Gavin’s own actions throughout the day. He knows what he must do to try and make things better for Doyle and Doyle’s family. Van Dusen says: When we open to mystery, we open to whatever is more than ourselves, and our ego, the great impediment to this experience, is no longer the center. … what we seek simply flows in and is given. And upon refection, it appears wiser than anything we ourselves could have created.
            As Gavin focuses his energy on how to give Doyle a better day and a better life, his own life of desperation takes on new meaning. There is no one moment of transformation, but rather we see the scattered catastrophes of his day gradually take on meaning. The pieces of his life had become like dry bones scattered throughout a valley. Then God is present with guidance and breath for the dead bones. Those disparate pieces suddently become connected to each other, and form a complete skeleton. Gavin knows what changes he must make in his life now to match his transformed inner self. Good Friday ends with Gavin as a transformed person, whose inner center has been re-set.
            I felt deep peace at the end of this DVD, that had had me on the edge of my seat for over an hour. I was reminded of the many times I am pre-occupied and don't notice another's need. I thought of the many mistake I've made, actions I've regretted. Yet I was reminded that there is no mess I can make or trauma I can experience that God cannot put back together. God is the one with the breath of life, who can put together the scattered and dead pieces of myself that I have lost. Not only can God put them together, God will do it in such a way that I am transformed through the process. How Spirit enters the center of our being and transforms our ordinary days is beyond comprehension. It is a mystery. When we open to mystery, we open to whatever is more than ourselves, and our ego ... what we seek simply flows in and is given. And upon refection, it appears wiser than anything we ourselves could have created.

PRAYER

Please help us to open our hearts to your breath of life; a breath that can heal and transform us in the midst of any of life's catastrophes. Guide our minds in the wisdom of understanding how your mystery unfolds every day in every life. Amen.

PALMS, PASSION, AND PRAYER

March 16, 2008

Rev. Wilma Wake

READINGS:

From the Bible:
Matthew 21:1-11 (New International Version) The Triumphal Entry

1As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away."                                                                                                                                                                                 4This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
5"Say to the Daughter of Zion,
      'See, your king comes to you,
   gentle and riding on a donkey,
      on a colt, the foal of a donkey."
6The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. 8A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
"Hosanna to the Son of David!"
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"                                                                                                                                                                   "Hosanna in the highest"
10When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, "Who is this?"11The crowds answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."

From Swedenborg:
6] By the disciples putting their garments on the ass and her colt, was represented that truths in the whole complex were submitted to the Lord as the Highest Judge and King; for the disciples represented the church of the Lord in respect to its truths and goods (n. 2129, 3488, 3858, 6397), and their garments represented the truths themselves (n. 4545, 4763, 5319, 5954, 6914, 6917, 9093) The like was represented by the multitude strewing their garments in the way, and also branches of trees. The reason why they strewed them in the way was that by "a way" is signified the truth whereby the man of the church is led (n. 627, 2333, 3477). The reason why they strewed branches of trees, was that trees signified the perceptions and also the knowledges of truth and good (n. 2682, 2722, 2972, 4552, 7692), consequently "the branches" denote the truths themselves. This was done also in conformity with a customary rite; for when the highest judges and kings rode in their solemn procession, the princes of the people then put their garments on the asses and mules, and the people themselves strewed their garments on the way, or in their place the branches of trees; for the judicial function in heaven is the Divine truth from the Divine good, and the regal one is the Divine truth (n. 1728, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148). AC 9212

It is a fundamental error on the part of the Christian Church to believe that the passion on the cross was the real act of redemption. That error, together with the erroneous belief in three divine persons existing from eternity, has so corrupted the whole Christian Church that there is not a scrap of spirituality left in it. TC #132

OPENING SONG:

Hosanna, Loud Hosanna. [click on the name of the hymn and it will take you to a web site with words and music. If you scroll to the bottom of the words, you'll see options to hear the song in piano, organ, or bells.]

REFLECTION

Do you – or have you – worshipped in a Christian church on a Palm Sunday? What has been your experience? I remember as a child receiving a palm branch as I walked into the church, followed by a joyous service celebrating the story of Jesus riding on a donkey into Jerusalem. I don’t recall it ever particularly touching my life; except that I had one week left to pick out a pretty dress for Easter Sunday!

However, as I grew older, it felt to me like we lived in denial on Palm Sunday, because the joy of that day was quickly followed by betrayal and crucifixion before we got to the resurrection of Easter.

The Christian Century magazine has a weekly blog on the lectionary readings for preachers: Blogging towards Sunday. Here is a statement from the blog for this week:

Sunday Bloody Sunday by Craig T. Kocher

The church suffers from a bit of schizophrenia about Palm Sunday. Should the focus be on Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and the “Hosannas!” of the shouting crowd? Or should the emphasis be placed on the cross and the “Crucify him! Crucify him!” chants of the people? Is this a service of exultation or a service of passion? Furthering the complexity, the lectionary offers five texts, two of which are lessons from the Gospel of Matthew, the latter being a nearly two-chapter scramble through the most significant moments of Jesus’ final days.

My first experience of understanding the integration of joy and agony during Holy Week was when I heard the rock opera, Jesus Christ Superstar. The album came out in 1971, and I listened over and over to the musical account of the the week between Palm Sunday and Easter. The music wove together the ups and downs of the week. J.C. was a human Jesus that my fellow baby boomers and I could relate to, and Judas was treated with sympathy; no longer the scapegoat of the story.

I have used this music every Easter since then to help me get into the depth of the human –Divine drama being played out in this week.

Since reading Swedenborg, I have come to see a deeper story in the events of this week; as an account of the spiritual journey of Jesus – and all of us.

Using clips from Jesus Christ Superstar, and a few ideas from Swedenborg, I want to approach the entire week together, as a process. The clips are from the 1973 movie version.

I’d like to to look at 2 themes of this week:

Speaking truth: Palm Sunday and

Emptying-out: Gethseme and the cross

Speaking Truth: Palm Sunday
The following musical selection is a Utube video from the 1973 movie version of Jesus Christ Super Star.

Hosanna, from Jesus Christ Superstar. Utube video.
Lyrics for Hosanna.[scroll down aways before they start.]

[you may want to open each of these in a new window or tab so you can see them both together.]

In the video, we are transported to the scene of the triumphal ride into Jerusalem. We see the joy of the crowd, singing and waving palms. There is a lot of denial and illusion in how the crowd views Jesus and why he is there. The 4th line of each chorus repetition says something a little different:

Hey, JC, JC, won’t you smile at me
you're alright by me

won’t you fight for me

won’t you die for me

We see the startled look on the face of JC as the crowd shouts that last line. Jesus himself seems to be facing the truth of that week.

Earlier, Judas had sung about some of his insights on what is happening:

Listen, Jesus I don't like what I see.
All I ask is that you listen to me.
And remember I've been your right-hand man all along.
You have set them all on fire.
They think they've found the new Messiah.
And they'll hurt you when they find they're wrong.

Judas has almost hit a chord of truth. Had he grasped the deeper truth, he would have sung: "And they'll hurt you when they find you don't fit their expectation of a Messiah." [Of course, if he sang that, it wouldn't rhyme or fit the beat!]

Even though superficial, Judas is glimpsing a piece of the truth. Swedenborg said that the garments of the crowd represented the truths themselves. This was certainly a journey about truth, and misunderstandings of it. It was also for JC probably part of the 6^th stage of regeneration: Swedenborg wrote: In the sixth stage, we act with conviction and therefore with love in speaking truth and doing good.

                So Jesus has some awareness of the truth which lies ahead, and has tried to tell his disciples. But they haven’t understood. The crowds are hoping that Jesus has come to fight their oppressors and bring liberation. He has come for that, but with a non-violent approach to “liberation” that starts from within.

Emptying Out: Gethsemane and the cross
             Jesus praying in Garden of Gethsemane is, for me, one of the most powerful stories in the Bible. The rendition of it in this video moves me deeply.

Gethsemane: Utube video
Lyrics   [Again, you might want to open each of these in a new window or tab to view both at once.]

Following God’s will was easy the previous Sunday; riding a donkey into a cheering crowd! It’s like when God guides you to produce a project that is valued by others, and you are invited to an awards dinner to honor your work. You may glow with love for God and the experience of following God’s will.

Yet, what if you feel called to confront racist rental practices in your neighborhood? What if many people become angry at you, and say nasty things about you? Then following God's will can be much more difficult. In both cases, you are following God’s will. But how others react to you is different; and how you react to the One who called you may be different.

This is certainly true in the case of Jesus. For Jesus, as with most of us, that process of following God’s will can involve a lot of questioning and arguing with God. Jesus makes his desire clear: If there is a way, take this cup away from me. He has signficant questions: Surely I've exceeded expectations? But if I die ... let them hate me ... I want to know to know what would be my reward? Why I should die? Would I be more noticed? Can you show me I didn't die in vain? Show me the reason ... you're keen on where and what but not so hot on why. Have you ever had such questions of God? If you'e sending me to fight racial injustice in my neighborhood, then show me I will have some success that makes the risk worthwhile.
Then Jesus' anger is spent. He is tired of fighting God. He will bend to God's will. Then I was inspired. Now, sad and tired. What YOU started. You hold all the cards. Take me now before I change my mind.

When the Lord was being emptied out he was in a state of progress toward union; when he was being glorified he was in a state of union itself. The church recognizes that the Lord had two states while he was in the world; one called being emptied out; the other called glorification….TC 104

…The reason why the Lord experienced these two states, the state of being emptied out and the state of being glorified is that no other method of achieving union could possibly exist. Only this method follows the divine design, and the divine design cannot be changed.

            The divine design is that we arrange ourselves for receiving God and prepare ourselves as a vessel and a dwelling place where God can enter and live as if we were his own temple. … This is the divine design we follow, and have to follow, to go from being earthly to being spiritual. The Lord had to go through the same process to make his earthly human manifestation divine. This is why he prayed to the Father. This is why he did the Father’s will. This is why he attributed everything he did and said to the Father. This is why he said on the cross “My God, my God, why have abandoned me?” …In this state God appears to be absent. TC 105
               Swedenborg is using his own words to describe a spiritual process that is found in many world traditions.  Our path is leading us to recognize our union with the Divine. To get to this partnership, we must be tempted and challenged to the point where our old ego dies; making room for God's complete oneness with us.
               Swedenborg tells us that in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was letting go of his old ego needs and desires. On the cross, Jesus completed the emptying of the ego, and came into union with God. Swedenborg calls this the glorification of Jesus. This is a process each of us must undergo on our soul's journey to God.
               Listen now to the music that plays while Jesus is on the cross.

The Crucifixion: UTube video. The words spoken are brief:

Father forgive them.
They don't know what they're doing.
My God, my God, why have you forgotten me?
Father, into your hands, I commend my spirit.

               Jesus on the cross can be overwhelmingly sad. Swedenborg's words put it into context for us: Jesus was walking a spiritual path to complete union with God. We, too, are walking such a path; it is the divine plan. To reach this point, we may feel abandoned by God; like Jesus did on the cross. When we reach this state of partnership, however, our inner battles cease. No longer are we fighting with "my" will vs."God's" will. Now God's will is my will.
               Next week, on Easter, we'll move more deeply into looking at how God guides each of us through a spiritual rebirth; into a partnership with the Divine. This is one of the most compelling differences between Swedenborg and many mainline Christians:  why Jesus died on the cross, and what it means in each of our lives.
            During this week, be open to any of the feelings that are present for you. It is a week of celebration, of fellowship, of betrayal, and of painful ego death. Our Thursday chat will be an opportunity to share the experience of Maundy Thursday, and our Friday noon chat will offer time to share feelings about Good Friday.
             Let yourself have all of those feelings during the week. But don't forget to come back next Sunday, when we will celebrate the glorious union with God that awaits us all.

PRAYER
           Guide us this week as we walk with Jesus through this Holy Week. Help us each to understand how You are at work in our own lives, guiding us to partnership with You.

CLOSING SONG
John 19:41       This is the final musical selection in Jesus Christ Superstar. It is based on this passage from John:
The place of crucifixion was near a garden, where there was a new tomb, never used before.

BENEDICTION
May God's love walk with you into ever-closer partnership with the Divine.

REFLECTION QUESTION:
What are your feelings and thoughts about the events of Holy Week, and how they apply to your own life?

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Notice the artwork in the column on the right. You might have to scroll to the right to see it.
Additional information on Jesus Christ Superstar.
Purchase DVD of Jesus Christ Superstar, 1973 movie.

MARCH 23, 2008

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The Love of Your Life	03/02/2008

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