From the Bible:
Mt. 5
38"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.'[g] 39But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
 
43"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor[h] and hate your enemy.' 44But I tell you: Love your enemies[i] and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
 


From Swedenborg:

Justice is following the divine design in all that one does, and bringing back into the divine design things that have fallen away from that design. Justice is the divine design itself. TC 97

Offering Plate

Message

 Justice Live

This month we are exploring the concept of justice from a Swedenborgian perspective, and this week we are looking at how justice can be experienced.  The living of justice can be seen through the life of Mahatma Gandhi [1869-1948].

He born and raised in India as a Hindu;  the Jain school of Hinduism which regards ahimsa, the doctrine of non-injury to any form of life as a basic principle.

He went to England to study law, and while there he read Christian scripture for the first time.  He was deeply moved by these words from the Sermon on the Mount:
“You have heard that it was said, Eye for eye and tooth for tooth. But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right check, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you, and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.” [Mt. 5: 38-42].

For young Gandhi, these words filled him with joy, and helped affirm his interpretation of the Bhagavad Gita that God teaches non-violence through all of the world’s religions. Later in life, he was fond of quoting “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,” pointing out that such a philosophy leads to a nation of blind, toothless people!


He was inspired by the words of Tolstoy that “The Kingdom of God is within.” He felt that we all had the divine within us, and therefore violence towards another was never justified.

Satyagraha is a term at the centre of Gandhi's philosophy of non-violence. Gandhi himself explained the term as follows:

“I coined the word Satyagraha in South Africa in order to give a name to the power with which the Indians there fought for a full 8 years (1906 - 1914)."

Ghandi said "satyagraha is as far away from passive resistance as the North Pole is from the South Pole. Passive resistance is the weapon of the weak and, therefore, the application of physical pressure or violence are not ruled out in the efforts to reach its aims. In contrast, Satyagraha is the weapon of the strongest. The use of force of any kind is ruled out. (...) This law of love is nothing other than the love of truth. Without truth there is no love. (...)."

Swedenborgian writer  Wilson Van Dusen has argued that there is a central concept of Swedenborg’s writings that is also the essence of Hinduism and Buddhism: namely that there is a Supreme Doctrine; that we are all One,sharing one life from one God. This one life is the focus, the source of all our inspiration, creativity, guidance, and love.

Van Dusen came to this reality from his own meditational experiences, and says that many come to it through the mystical sense that we all together sharing one life. It is a feeling, he says, that can come to one watching the stars twinkle on a dark night.

Although we have no evidence that Swedenborg ever encountered Hinduism, this is also its central core, according to Van Dusen.

Hinduism developed out of an oral tradition which was written down around 2000 BCE. It’s central focus is our search for God. We are seen to all be climbing the same mountain; just taking different paths. Hinduism came to see many different gods and goddesses, but they are understood to represent the one God, Brahman.

This is especially true in their sacred writings: Advaita Vedanta. Advaita means not two, but only one God exists. Here is a quotation from the Upanishad’s:

There is only one Self in all creatures.
The One appears many, just as the moon
Appears many, reflected in water.

Amritabindo Upanishad 12.

He alone is the inmost Self of everyone;
He alone is worthy of all our love.
Meditate upon him in all. Those who
Meditate upon him are dear to all. [Dena Upanishad 4-6].

These, then are the beliefs that Gandhi grew up with. He came to understand them to mean that the Divine is in all of us; we are all part of the Divine. How can we be violent to each other without also being violent to God? Gandhi would say that is not possible and that we therefore should live the force of love by opposing physical force in the world.

Although Ghandi came to love the Christian religion, he wrote that “it was impossible for me to believe that I could go to heaven or attain salvation only by becoming a Christian.”

Swedenborg, too, considered himself a Christian, but he spoke out against how others interpreted that religion. He saw it in a way that was similar to Gandhi’s Hinduism in believing that there was One Supreme Divine, and that we all share in that identity. Swedenborg and Gandhi both had the courage to speak up about the importance of their own religion being more tolerant and accepting of those who were different. Each saw all the people of the world as their neighbor.

Both Swedenborg and Ghandi believed that justice had to be lived.

Gandhi has  a lot to say to us about speaking out against injustice. He was nonviolent; but not non vocal! He spoke out against parts of his religion that he didn’t feel were right, and he spoke out about injustices all around him.  He countered injustice with a non-violent justice.

If we take this belief into our own lives, and live it out day by day, might that change life for us?  

INSPIRATION AND PRAYER FROM Rev. JUDITH

This week I have been thinking about and focused on Micah 6:8 (Amplified Bible)

 

"He has showed you, O man, what is good.  And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, and, to love kindness and mercy, and to humble yourself yourself and walk humbly with your God?"

 

W hat does this mean to You?  How could you implement this in your own life?  To me to be a servant of the Lord means that you focus on God and Other, not the oneself.   Sometimes this requires removing the  Log from your own eye in order to remove the splinter from your friends eye,  that is a form of social justice.

 

"Lord, through your love and mercy, give me the insight to remove the log from my own eye, so that I may serve you fully in this world. Keep me in communion with you and keep my ear tuned to the voice of your will.  Show me where and with whom you wish me to serve.  Give me the power and humility to carry out your plan and speak your message to others.  Thank you for your Grace. AMEN."

 

With Love and Blessings,

Rev. Judith  

 

Closing song

 Enjoy a Utube video summary of today's message