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 "Jesus
was all right, but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them
twisting it that ruins it for me."
-
John Lennon, English Rock Musician, Singer, Peace Activist
"Jesus
was the first socialist, the first to seek a better life for
mankind."
-
Mikhail Gorbachev,
Former President of the U.S.S.R.
"Never has any one been
less a priest than Jesus, never a greater enemy of forms, which stifle
religion under the pretext of protecting it. By this we are all his
disciples and his successors; by this he has laid the eternal
foundation-stone of true religion; and if religion is essential to
humanity, he has by this deserved the Divine rank the world has accorded
him." - Ernest Renan, Author
"Life of Jesus"
John Lennon's statement that the Beatles were
more popular than Jesus created an outrage among Christians and
amusement from most others, but in the statement we realize that John,
Lennon that is, understood the tremendous impact that Jesus had made on
the world. Beginning with Palm Sunday through Good Friday and then
Easter, the Christ consciousness that made Jesus the Jesus we know him
to be today, continues to weave Its way through the race mind in
variations of truth and myth. We can't rely on others for our
identification with the Christ in Jesus for even the Gospels were highly
edited writings that took on a different purpose after Jesus' ascension.
We must find the Christ that dwelled in Jesus by finding the Christ that
dwells in us, first.
No one knows
what was going through Jesus' mind as he made his triumphant ride on
what we refer to as Palm Sunday, but we do know that consciousness is
everything and therefore we know that he had embodied this experience
prior to the actual event. Since Jesus had taught that we are to
enter the "closet of our mind" or what we would refer to as
our "inner mind" ... we can know that he had found the secret
power of faith which can only be found within. In this
"closer to us than breathing" feeling of being in the
Presence, Jesus understood that the very Presence of G-d was filling his
spirit. Jesus was being animated with the spirit of the Christ ...
It was lifting him up into a higher realm of possibilities ... it was
the life of him and in this life the power of the Christ is supreme.
And he was ready to prove this.
To degree, this is the same urging of the Christ
within all of us; to do, to be, or to have a greater expression of G-d
move through our consciousness and then materialize in our experiences.
The Christ is that within us that continues to think towards that which
is more soul-satisfying. It is the Christ within that is not moved
by seeming failures but continues to take thought only for the results
that we desire. The Christ within us is not touched by our past
experiences, but is always seeking to express something new, something
that is an expansion of the good that has already been revealed.
It "waits in silent repose" we are told, until we have
developed our consciousness to accept the greater. Our spiritual
development must affect mind, body and spirit; that is, our mind must be
developed, our body of affairs must be developed, and our spirit must be
filled with faith and trust in the infinite good. If our
development affects the soul or consciousness alone, then our mind may
be filled with joyful feelings and positive sentiments, but these alone
do not provide for us the developed consciousness that thrives and
prospers.
Many people are very positive, spiritual and even
mystical, yet continue to live in financial limitation and even poverty.
Many who have found themselves in this condition have chosen a path of
service, but we serve others better when we serve ourselves as well.
Jesus understood this and declared it as an eternal Truth:
"And I, when I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things
unto myself." In other words, when we turn to G-d within us,
the Christ, we can transcend all things unlike the good and realize that
all our needs are met and inspire others to realize this for themselves.
"I can do all things
through Christ which strengthens me,"
we can read in the ancient scriptures and Jesus
was tempted to demonstrate something greater than all others ... and it
was the Christ within him that created this temptation to transcend all
that had been done before him ... and succeed where others had failed.
He was being honored with palm branches laid on the road in front of him
as he entered Jerusalem, which was a Jewish tradition of honor. He
was being hailed by those who thought he was the Jewish Messiah, the
future King of Israel. But he knew that his greatest demonstration
of expressing the Life and Power of G-d was yet to be and far greater
than that of Messiah or King .. or a sacrificial lamb for the sins of
man. He had already surrendered his will to it ... and if he told
anyone they would certainly declare it to be impossible ... but the
Christ within him would strengthen him ... and G-d was right there ...
even on the cross.
How often are we tempted
to do something that contradicts people's expectations of us? How
often are we tempted to do things that may meet with disapproval?
And how often do we dismiss these things from our mind and continue
doing the same old stuff? The Christ within us tempts us with the
ideas, the imaginings, and the images of heaven right here on
earth. This temptation of the Christ is G-d within us seeking to
express Itself in greater and greater experiences of good. It is
up to us to choose it above all else ... that is what the Master Mind
Jesus did.
AND
SO IT IS!
Keep
the faith!
Rev.
Dr. Henry Lee Bates
Visit Rev. Bates BLOG: Living
the Science of Mind
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Rev
Bates on the Radio
