Oct 16 2007
It Will Be Given
It is difficult when the outside is hard pressed by the trouble in the world to keep the inside serene, but it is only difficult when you think that you can make it serene. The serenity will be given you; that is the benediction and the reward for those who sought and knocked and found.
If you could for one hour be with your divine self – that is, your outer you and your inner you together in the presence of God – you would change the whole mood of our generation, so powerful is this light.
{Excerpts from: Letters of the Scattered Brotherhood, Anonymous. Edited by Mary Strong, 1948.}
In our Bible Study group, we are studying the book of Matthew…and we recently did a kind of “comparison” of the temptation of Christ, with the temptation of Adam & Eve. Jesus was wholly human, but was also His “Divine Self”….and He encountered Satan’s attacks with the use of the Word, as His shield and defense…as well as His offensive weapons. His victory over Satan, at that time of testing & temptation flew in the face of Adam & Eve’s sad failure, giving in to the deceit, the lies, the flattery & the empty promises of God’s enemy. It was such an interesting study. When I read the words, “to be with your divine self”, I thought of that, and wanted to try to share a portion of it w/you.
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1st Corinthians 2: 9 However, as it is written:
“No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him”[b]— 10but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
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There have been many times that I have been grateful for the “revelations” I received, thru the spiritual insights you have shared on your blog site. This is one of those times…
Many people say that the Gospel of John is their favourite, but mine is actually Matthew.
The two quotes in my post are referring to the effects of contemplative prayer, of our union with the Lord in infused contemplation. Yes, the Spirit reveals much. In contemplative prayer, it is the Holy Spirit who prays inside of us. The second quote in particular broaches the subject, which is explained more fully in other parts of the book, of how being in union with the Divine in contemplative prayer actually benefits all of humanity, not just the individual who is in prayer. I’m happy the quotes touched something within you.
JustMe, we will live most of our lives being hailed as Supper-maker, chauffeur, bathroom-cleaner, bed-maker, and grocery-buyer, when interiorly we are literally dying for someone, or Someone, to know us (like we were talking about at kt’s). I know the dread of winter sets in early for you, and of course we are Easter-bound, but first, Advent-bound. Maybe some of the physical dreadfulness of the colder seasons could be lessened for you if you were to place yourself mentally/spiritually inside a sacred womb instead of an autumnal tomb, as we await the birth of Christ?
Yet if we abandon all that is us, surrender all we have to God, he then can work through us and bring about very powerful changes in the world around us but by entirely peaceful means.
If the world was given over to God, over to prayer, what peace would there not be! But right now, it’s where two or three or gathered together…that’s as much as we can do, which I suppose is the kernel of the first quotation. Thanks, Gabrielle, for this food for thought.
I’d say that apart from deathbeds (quite literally), my faith has been honed here like nowhere else. (Nowhere else are we challenged to within an inch of our faith’s–and/or our healthy psyches’–continued existence.) But along with that sometimes strangely-wielded scalpel comes a most soothing gift in the other hand: the re-invitation and opportunity to contemplate Him with others, which is not doable elsewhere in my world –or at least not to the degree my heart dies for more each day. And that pain, since I am still very short-sighted, is not yet in my peripheral vision only; but I believe with all my aching heart that giving over to Him, trading my heart in for His, will do just as has been said above by G and by A. It’ll help change the suffering lot of some in this world.
At first blush, I must say, I could only think as Groucho Marx might, with great indignation: Well! I’m not sure I want to be part of anywhere that would have someone like me!
But it isn’t about me, is it.
We’re thankful for all your finds, G, and I’m thankful for all the comments I read.
Just Me, winter is coming early here, too. We had a beautiful, warm week, brilliant sunshine, but the situation is changing at this very moment. Siberian winds are going to replace the African scirocco winds. BRRR!
Pia, I know exactly what you mean, although it never occurred to me to think of synchronicity in that context – it might not be what people normally think of when they say synchronicity, but when we look at some of the actual definitions of synchronize and synchronous, it applies very well: to cause to agree in time; working, moving or occurring together at the same rate and at the proper time. So when you say you are marking time, waiting it out, I really understand what you’re saying. The spiritual journey, all wrapped up in our daily, hectic lives…