Reclaiming Eden

In my previous post I wrote that the means for our coming to healing and wholeness is to confront the reservoir of our past pain, and especially our Father Wound; and then choose to forgive those who have wounded us. This releases us to embrace the reality of our True Self. We are enabled to do this only to the extent that we have experienced the unconditional love of our Father for us. We can only love to the degree that we have received the love of our True Father. We freely pass on what we have freely received. In effect the love of God is being recycled- nothing of it should be lost.

 In a previous post it was mentioned that we have naïve access to our True Self in early childhood before we develop consciousness. In a sense it is like being in the garden in a similar way in which Adam and Eve were. However, at this time we find ourselves in a social situation that we did not choose to be born into. We are forced to deal with the reality we find ourselves in. That experience can vary from being good or bad; or a combination of both. Through the course of our life we have to confront the wounds that we experience during this time and those that follow on afterwards. The key point is that at this time we had no real choice, other than our response to the situation we found ourselves in. As has been shown, when we develop consciousness we leave that garden experience and become gradually alienated from our True Self.

Our True Father loves us into being when we are born and wants us to return the love he has for us. We have been created for relationship with God and our Father wants us to freely choose to love him back. Because at that stage in early childhood we do not as yet have consciousness our True Self lacks the ability to consciously choose to return our Father’s love for us. Our ultimate end when we access our True Self in the second half of life is to consciously choose to return our Father’s love in an unconditional way; in the same way that his love for us is unconditional. As we move into this space in a sense we return to the garden reality that we have been created to experience. In this process we reclaim the reality of Eden. We come full circle; and the effects of the fall from grace are reversed. It is a movement into consciously choosing to live in union with both God and our True Self. As we do this we reclaim our mandate and God-given purpose of manifesting the image of God that we are in a tangible way. This is a graced state of being in the world.

As has been mentioned this state of being is characterized by ‘descent’. It necessitates letting go of our previous autonomy, self-determination, power and control. It requires surrendering to the power and control of the indwelling Holy Spirit. There is a movement towards embracing and being comfortable with powerlessness. At the same time there is identification with the Apostle Paul when he said: “When I am weak, then I am strong!” Spiritual reality is always about mystery and paradox. To the degree we surrender our power and control to the Lord, it enables the Holy Spirit to empower and direct us. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is then able to work in and through us in ways that we can never even conceive of.

Our call is to live as a co-worker with Jesus. He told his disciples before he ascended to his Father that they must continue the work that he began; and that he modelled for them. He said that after he left them he would send the Holy Spirit to enable them to do this. He said that they would do the same works that he did and even greater works. I believe that in his incarnated body he was bound by time and space. His many followers would have a multiplying effect of exponentially increasing his ministry. They were to be co-workers with him- and be his hands, feet and heart in the world. We too are called to carry on his ministry today as co-workers with him. This becomes more likely and possible as we let go of our False self and embrace our True Self. As we do this we let go of our own agendas; and stop trying to make ourselves look good. It is ultimately not about us. We need to surrender our small agenda to the ‘Big Agenda’. A significant part of embracing our True Self is moving towards discovering our unique individual purpose, and how it fits in with the ‘Big Purpose’.

I believe that our True Self is the place from where our true giftedness flows. Our enemy knows this and that is why he uses our earthly father to wound us here. He wants to prevent us from exercising our true giftedness. We can never express the fullness of our giftedness as long as we are trapped in the reality of our False Self. The gifts that we hold onto in the first half of life; and believe express who we are; are not our true gifts. They are a pale shadow of that which is hidden deep within us. The death of our False Self is excruciating; but it leads to the resurrection reality of revealing the wonder of our hidden giftedness. This is our true glory. This is an experience of what Jesus came to reveal to us- fullness of life. As we reveal our true glory we reveal the glory of God. One of my all-time favourite quotes came from Irenaeus, writing at the end of the 2^nd C:

“The glory of God is people fully alive!”

Questions for reflection:

*Have you experienced the reality of reclaiming Eden?

* Have you discovered and embraced your true giftedness?

Letting go of our False Self

In my previous post I said that because we are so attached to our False Self and perceive it to be who we are, letting go of it is extremely difficult. Moreover, if we decide to allow our False Self to die we cannot choose to manufacture our own demise; or it will merely be an ‘ego-project’. Something external has to impact upon us and bring this about. If we are in control of what happens then it is not an authentic process. It will still enable us to hold on to our False Self that we are deluded into thinking is our True Self. The question of who is in control is always the crucial one.

This normally happens when we reach mid-life. Richard Rohr conceives of the first half of life being characterized by a process of ‘ascent.’ In this time we find a sense of our identity and become established.  It involves a movement towards greater and greater power and control. There is also accumulation of wealth and possessions. From what I have been writing in these posts, it also entails the development of our False Self. He says that in mid-life we experience a ‘crisis of limitation’ which halts this upward trajectory. Something significant will impact on us externally over which we will not have control. This experience ranges from individual to individual and is unique to their life and reality. How they respond to it is crucial. They can fight against it and try and maintain their upward trajectory; or they can allow this external experience to be transformative. It provides the means for them to let go of their False Self and embrace their True Self. Who they think they are in the first half of their life is not who they actually are.

If an individual allows the crisis of limitation to change them, it moves them into the journey of the second half of life; which is a movement into ‘decent’. This is characterized by letting go of the power and control the individual gained in the journey of the first half of his/her life. At the same time it entails embracing their True Self.

We only really access and live out of the reality of our True Self to the degree that we surrender to the movement and direction of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Ultimately it requires surrendering to mystery, because the False Self is no longer in control. It is something that comes about as we move towards living in union with our Father. Whilst we may have certain ‘peak experiences’, this is not a once- off reality that happens in an instant; but a process. It involves a process of dying to our False Self and being reborn as our True Self.

 There are layers of meaning and spiritual reality. On one level Jesus died for us; and in our place. Through this he provided the means for our salvation. On another level we also need to move beyond that reality. The fact is that he gave us a model that we have to follow in. When he called his disciples he told them to ‘follow’ him. That meant to follow in the pattern of his life, death and resurrection. In order for the resurrection of the True Self to take place the False Self has to die. There is no experience of resurrection without the pain of suffering.

 In my previous posts I have outlined the fact that our True Self is hidden beneath our wounds. The suffering involves facing and dealing with the pain of our accumulated past pain. Once we have faced our pain the key to healing the pain is the choice to forgive those who have hurt us. Jesus said on the cross: “Father forgive them because they do not know what they are doing.” Healing comes through the act of forgiveness. Only then are we released from our bondage to our pain and wounds. Jesus clearly enunciated this in the “Lord’s Prayer”, in the verse we find in Matthew 6:12: “….and forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us.” There is a condition attached to our healing and release. When we release those who have wounded us, we are released from the power and effect that our wounds have over us. By setting those who have hurt us free, we set ourselves free.

Furthermore, it is through forgiveness that we are set free from the hold that our adversary has over us as well. On a mysterious level, having unforgiveness; and harbouring ill-feeling and grudges against others; gives Satan a hold and power over us. Through this he keeps us in bondage to him. This happens even if we are not consciously aware that we have these poisonous attitudes. These impact on us in ways that we do not realize. There are mental, emotional, physical and spiritual consequences.    

All this is only possible to the degree that we have a personal experience of the deep love of our Father for us. I believe that is why the practice of silence and solitude is vital. Only as we experience the presence of our loving Father are we enabled to know that we are loved. The experience of the love and forgiveness of our Father enables us to forgive others. We can only do it to the degree we have freely received this gift. In turn we give the gift of forgiveness to those who have wounded us. This is the means for our movement into healing and wholeness. This also allows us to access and live out of the reality of our True Self.

Questions for reflection:

*Have you experienced a ‘crisis of limitation’?

*How did you respond?

*If you haven’t experienced it yet, how will you respond when it happens?

Our False Self

In my previous post I wrote about the necessity of fighting for freedom in order to find and live out of the reality of our ‘True Self’. In this post I will consider how our ‘False Self’ emerges. This comes about at the time when we start developing consciousness (around the age of seven).My previous post painted a picture of how when a child is wounded those painful experiences are split off from their conscious awareness and become buried in their unconscious. When as children we develop consciousness a different strategy is used to protect our self from the emotional pain experienced when we are wounded. In order to protect ourselves from our multiple wounds we develop ‘defense mechanisms’ to protect ourselves from further pain. These are meant to protect our True Self. We build a defensive wall of these defense mechanisms. Over time these become thicker and stronger; until they are virtually an impregnable wall. The problem is that instead of protecting us these walls become an effective prison.

In time this defensive wall becomes the only reality we know; because our attention is focused on building it. The problem is that because building the protective wall is our primary focus we come to think that is who we are. It becomes what is known as our ‘False Self’. There is a misperception that our False Self is synonymous with our ego. It is related to our ego, but is not exactly the same thing. Our ego is a functional system that we cannot function without. Our False Self tries to protect our ego by using ‘ego defense mechanisms’. Our False Self is more closely associated with these ‘ego defense mechanisms’: it is probably the sum total of them. It is apparent that our False Self is a distorted perception of who we are.  The thicker and stronger the wall that our False Self becomes; the more removed and alienated we are from our True Self. The reality is that as we get older we forget who we are. 

A useful understanding for me is the conception of contemplative prayer that they had in the Medieval Church. It was understood to be prayer of ‘recollection’. Now recollection has two aspects to it. The first is to:   ‘remember’. We have to remember who we are. It entails getting in touch with our True Self that we have become alienated from and forgotten. The wall that our False Self has built prevents us from accessing the reality of our True Self. The wall has to be dismantled for this to happen. This is achieved in and through contemplative prayer.

The second is to:  ‘re-collect’. Due to the splitting process that has been spoken about there are many ‘splits’ that have taken place within us over time. This has led to inner fragmentation taking place. The movement is towards reconciling these inner splits and bringing the pieces together. It is a process of inner integration. Through this we come to wholeness.

It has taken me a long time to recognize that in order to find and embrace our True Self we have to deal with the pain of our wounds. This is because our True Self is hidden beneath our wounds. I have come to believe that our True Self is in effect the flip side of our primary Father Wound. As we saw in a previous post our Adversary uses our father to wound us at the exact place where our True Self is to be found. Our True Self is the other side of the coin that is our Father Wound. Our wounds are therefore the doorway to our True Self. There is no other way in which we can access it. To use the words of Al Gore, this is an ‘inconvenient truth’.

Richard Rohr says that our wounds are our teachers; and that we must not get rid of our wounds until we have learnt what it is that they are teaching us. Another significant mentor, Sr Deirdre, told me that our wounds are important because it is our wounds that lead us to God (they lead us to our True Self at the same time). It necessarily means dealing with the pain of our buried hurts. This is especially true of our primary Father Wound. I believe that this wound is the key to our healing and deliverance. Yet facing this wound is very difficult and painfull. We have to literally fight for our freedom. There is no other way; or short cut.

[This understanding is at odds with the normal perception of the ‘Good News’ of salvation that the Church puts forward. In this understanding if we come to Jesus there is a perception that you will no longer experience pain or struggle. Jesus has died for us and taken it all away. We are not supposed to struggle.]  

In order to take hold of our True Self we have to let go of our False Self. After living out of the reality that our False Self is who we are for so long, this is very difficult and painfull. In fact when we let go of our False Self it feels as though we are dying. We are in fact dying, but only the False Self dies. And it is not who we actually are.

 Jesus said that in order to find yourself you have to lose yourself. He also said that unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it cannot come to newness of life and bring forth a bountiful crop. I believe he was speaking about letting go of our False Self and taking hold of our True Self.

The reality is that because we are so attached to our False Self and perceive it to be who we are, letting go of it is extremely difficult. Another factor is that if we decide to allow our False Self to die we cannot choose to manufacture our own demise; or it will merely be an ‘ego-project’. Something external has to impact upon us and bring this about. If we are in control of what happens then it is not an authentic process. It will still enable us to hold on to our False Self that we are deluded into thinking is our True Self. I will discuss this in my next post.

Questions for reflection;

·         Are you in touch with the reality of your False Self?

·         Have you confronted your primary wounds?

·         How have you dealt with the pain?

Confronting Our Inner Dread

In my previous post I wrote about the fact that at the heart of our spiritual journey is the necessity of confronting our ‘inner dread’. In this post I want to look at what this entails.

To begin with we have to first ‘unlearn’ much of what we have been taught by our society in order to do so. This is especially so in our rationalistic society. It requires sailing into the uncharted waters of the mystery of our own being. We will find ourselves in darkness here; and will not be in control. Our society teaches us from young to be in control. Richard Rohr defines suffering as any experience where we are not in control. This cuts across physical, mental, emotional and spiritual reality. Surrendering to our inner mystery is therefore an experience of suffering.

The second thing is that movement into our inner reality inevitably confronts us with our past pain. We all have buried hurts; an accumulated reservoir of pain. We therefore do not want to go there.

A further issue is that part of embracing mystery is to recognize that we are involved in a vast spiritual struggle for control. It requires acknowledging that we have a spiritual adversary who wants to wound us; destroy us; and bring us under his control. He knows that our purpose is to manifest the image of God and live in union with God. He therefore does everything he can to prevent that from happening.

I recently read a book by Mark Stibbe called ‘I Am Your Father’, which was very profound. He holds that Satan’s primary strategy is to destroy fatherhood. He was originally Lucifer, God’s chief angel; but wanted to usurp God’s position and have total control. Here we see a manifestation of what sin is about. Through this rebellion he was cast out and became alienated from God. He became the first orphan; separated from his father. Stibbe contends that Satan (which means our ‘Adversary’) entered into an ‘orphan heart condition’; alienated from his father. His strategy is to bring all of mankind into this same state of being. Stibbe says that an essential role that a father plays is to give his children (male and female) their sense of ‘honour’. If they do not receive this the alternative is to become trapped in shame. At the core of their being they are riddled with guilt and shame; and left feeling useless and worthless.

Added to this John Eldridge says that Satan uses our earthly father to wound us at the exact point where our True Self is found. This is the place from where our true giftedness flows. By doing this he attempts to nullify our True Self and our giftedness. He tries to cripple us and ‘take us out’. In this process he also brings us into spiritual bondage. He gains a spiritual hold over us, without our realizing it.

 By using our father to do this he also achieves something else. We derive our initial image of God from our earthly father. We project our experience at the hands of our father onto our True Father. This effectively gives us a distorted image of God; and drives a wedge between us and our True Father. The flip side of this is also a factor. Our perception of who we are is a mirror image of who we believe God to be. If we have a distorted image of God, we will have a distorted image of who we are. It is a vicious circle.

 I believe that in the first seven years of their life a person has naïve access to their True Self. At that point they have not yet developed consciousness. They are perceived to be in a state of ‘innocence’ (they are ‘unwounded’). During this time however wounds do occur, especially the ‘father wound’ that they receive. They are not at this stage able to deal with these wounds. What happens is that their psyche, in order to protect itself, effectively ‘splits off’ the experience of these wounds. In order to anaesthetize itself from these wounds they become separated from the awareness of the psyche and become buried within the unconscious awareness of the person. The problem is that these wounds and the associated pain become ‘buried alive’ within the unconscious. They still continue to affect the person, but at an unconscious level.    

Eldredge says that we continue to be wounded again and again at the same spot that our father wound occurs. This reinforces the crippling effect of the initial wound. It is like an onion which has layer upon layer of wounds around the central core of the father wound. This cripples and immobilizes us.

These are the things that confront us when we enter into our inner world during contemplative prayer. When we move into silence and solitude these realities will inevitably emerge from the dark recesses of our inner being.  This will be difficult and painful. We can therefore only go there to the extent that we have received an affirmation of the love of our True Father for us. It also requires being led by the indwelling Holy Spirit; and being supported, encouraged and empowered to do so. If we do not have this guidance and support from our God-given Counselor it would normally be too painfull to confront our inner dread. However, doing so is essential if we want to move towards experiencing reconciliation, healing and wholeness. We have to literally fight for our freedom and inner wellbeing. The battle will be fierce; but victory is beyond words to describe.

Question for reflection:

·         Are you engaging in this battle?

·         If not, are you willing to do so?

Our True Self

In this post I am looking at what it means to discover and live into the reality of our True Self. I was recently asked by a friend about what I believed with regard to the reality of sin and us being ‘sinful’. My reply was that I believe in the reality of sin in the sense that we have free choice and can choose to act according to our self-interest at the expense of others and our relationship with God. What I don’t subscribe to is that the deepest reality of who we are is ‘sinful’.

The Genesis account of creation starts with describing mankind in a state of grace in the garden. It speaks of us being created in the ‘image of God’. I believe that reflects the primary reality of who we are at the core of our being- our ‘True Self’. This is also an expression of our purpose. Our primary purpose is to manifest the image of God we are created to be. The passage also indicates that originally mankind was called to rule over creation in union with God.

The problem is that through both the reality of sin and our becoming wounded we move into a state of being separated from both God and our True Self. We can only come to live into the reality of manifesting the image of God by dealing with these two hurdles. The Christian Church has come to focus almost exclusively on our separation from God; and has lost the reality of our separation from our True Self.

The Christian mystics attest to the fact that our deepest self is a unique reflection of God and is in union with God. The Universal Church has to a large degree lost touch with that reality. This is especially true in Calvinism, with its emphasis on mankind’s sinfulness and the ‘depravity of mankind’. People are constantly told: “You are bad! You are bad!” That is a destructive perception of reality and penetrates to a deep level of a person’s consciousness. It results in a person becoming trapped in guilt and shame. Guilt has to do with what we have done wrong. Shame is at a deeper level of being. It has to do with who we are. Constantly experiencing an awareness of guilt moves the person into a state of shame. It is an awareness (self-perception) of being ‘bad’.

A story is told about what happened when Catherine of Genoa discovered the reality of her ‘True Self’; and that she was created in God’s image; and her deepest self was in union with God. She ran through the streets of Genoa shouting over and over at the top of her voice: “The deepest me is God! The deepest me is God!” Everyone thought she was crazy. When that awareness finally becomes a reality to us, it changes everything. Nothing can ever be the same again.

Contemplative prayer, and the spiritual journey we undertake through it, moves us to face and reverse the two hurdles that confront us. It confronts us with both our sin and our wounds; and enables us to grapple with them. It is a movement towards coming into union with both God and our True Self. The early church had an awareness that next to knowledge of God is self-knowledge. The two realities are interlinked. As we move towards union with God, we discover who we are. The alternative is also true. As we discover in greater measure who we are, we come to a deeper awareness of who God is. I have come to believe that we can only truly discover who we are in and through relationship with God. Outside of this relationship we only have a ‘False Self’. This is an ego-identity; what I find helpful in calling our ‘social identity’. I believe that this is not who we really are. However, most people are trapped in the illusion that their social identity is who they are. In this and following posts I want to move towards dispelling that delusion.

The problem is that to undertake this spiritual journey it necessitates embracing mystery. A necessary precondition is that a person opens themselves up to embrace mystical reality. Without this no spiritual journey is possible. Herein lies the rub. This is drastically at odds with our very rational Western society. Everything we are taught to believe in militates against this. This is a stumbling block both within the wider society and the Christian Church. People have been socialized into adopting a rational, secular worldview. Christians often live with inner disorientation and divided minds because of this. They have spiritual schizophrenia. Dealing with this is difficult. It is easier to live with our False Self.

The harsh reality is that if we live out of our False Self we will never truly be fulfilled or satisfied. At a deep level of being we ‘know’ that something crucial is missing. We are alienated from the most essential reality of who we are. There is a huge void at the core of our being. It is that awareness that spurs us on to pursue the pilgrimage towards discovering who we are. Yet, to undertake this journey requires great courage. Richard Rohr, one of my most significant mentors, contends that it is most probably the most courageous thing we will do in our lives.

Thomas Merton said that the work of a monk is to confront his inner dread. This is a profound expression of what our inner journey entails; and why so many people avoid it. For me this ‘dread’ covers our experience of being wounded as well as our own infidelity. It also includes our inability to love and receive love. Merton says that those who do not do so will be beset by spiritual disorientation and boredom. They will never know true inner peace or experience fulfillment. Unless a person faces their inner dread in order to access and live out of their True Self they will experience an inner void and vacuum that nothing else can fill.

Questions for reflection;

*Do you accept the difference between your False self and True Self?

*Have you confronted your inner dread?

*Are you in touch with the reality of your True Self?

Responses to Jesus

 In this post we are going to consider how different individuals and groups of people responded to Jesus.

In a previous post we saw how the Pharisees and Sadducees denied that Jesus was who he claimed to be and believed that his power came from Satan. They did not want to acknowledge that he was the Messiah that the Jews were waiting for because that would mean giving up the power and authority that they had in their community.

In contrast to this we can first look at the story of Herod Antipas and his response to John the Baptist that we find in Matthew 14:1-12. Herod was king and therefore had power and authority. Now Herod had married Herodias, the former wife of his brother Philip. Despite Herod being the king: “John kept telling Herod, ‘It is illegal for you to marry her.’ Herod would have executed John, but was afraid of a riot, because all the people believed John was a prophet” (Matthew 14:4-5).

 However, Herod’s hand was forced to kill John. At a banquet Herodias’s daughter had performed a dance that greatly pleased him and he made an oath before everyone that he would give her anything she asked for. Herodias persuaded her daughter to ask for the head of John the Baptist on a tray. Herod was reluctant but did not want to lose face by backing down; and so gave the order for this to happen.

At a later stage when Herod heard about Jesus and the miracles he was doing he thought that he was John the Baptist risen from the grave. He believed that only a prophet such as John could do these things. Looking at this scenario it is clear that Herod recognized that both John and Jesus shared an extraordinary power and authority. John had the courage to confront him, the king, face to face and tell him that what he was doing was wrong and contrary to the will of God. John answered to a higher authority than the king. He was under the authority of the True King, who was the ruler of the Kingdom of Heaven. All earthly power and authority was subject to the rule of this King.

Jesus came down to earth as God in human form to usher in the Kingdom of God (Heaven). He too was a man under authority; the same authority that John was under. Jesus and John were cousins; and shared kinship by blood. But the more important kinship they shared was that they were both son’s of God. They both derived their status, power and authority from that reality.

John was a social non-conformist who operated according to a different script than that of the other members of his social group. He did not live by their norms or rules; but danced to the tune he heard played by a flute that the other people could not hear. He was tuned in to a different frequency besides the one that they could hear. He chose to listen to the wonderful music he heard on this frequency rather than to the discordant, harsh sounds that his compatriots responded to. This inevitably led to confrontation and censure.

In any society not obeying the rules of the game led to social sanctions being applied to foster social control. Operating outside of the accepted norms and rules created social upheaval, which needed to be suppressed, at all cost. These sanctions ranged in severity depending on the perceived threat to the status quo. John’s head therefore ended up on a platter. Exactly the same happened to Jesus. He too was a social non-conformist; even more so than John. Therefore it was almost inevitable that he would share the same fate.

Although John and Jesus were similar, there was an important difference. The Pharisees and Sadducees got it wrong when they ascribed the power Jesus had to the work of Satan. Herod also got it wrong by believing that Jesus was a prophet. Jesus was God come in human form. There was a vast difference between Jesus and John, which John clearly recognized. He said that he was not fit to tie the sandals of Jesus.

Although the response of Herod and the Pharisees and Sadducees was different the central issue in both cases was common. This central issue was the exercise of power and authority. The ultimate question is always: “Who is in control?” That is at the heart of the reality of the Kingdom of God. Two thousand years later very much has changed, but that central issue still remains the same. The issue of control cuts across every aspect of our human existence.  

I have to constantly ask myself: “Who is in control of my life?” This is firstly at a personal inner level, but also radiates out in concentric circles to the wider social reality I find myself in. I have chosen to live in the Kingdom of God and that has enormous implications. Am I tuned into and listening to the music of the flute played by Spirit of God; and dancing to it in freedom? Or am I marching to the warlike drum of my society; and operating out of anxiety, fear and hatred?

Unfortunately, given what we have seen, there are inevitable implications if I listen to and dance to the music of the flute. I too am now kin to John and Jesus; and am an adopted son of their Father. To the degree that I choose to listen to and dance to this music I can anticipate and expect a social backlash. It is sobering to reflect on the fact that if this is not the case, am I really hearing and dancing to this celestial music from the heavenly realm?

Questions for reflection:

·         Who is in control of your life?

·         Can you hear the music played by the Spirit of God?

·         What does it feel like when you dance to this tune?

Blaspheming the Holy Spirit

In my previous post I briefly touched on the fact that Jesus said that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is unforgivable. I want to explore this in greater detail. He stated in Matthew 12:31-32:

“Every sin or blasphemy can be forgiven- except blasphemy against the Holy spirit, which can never be forgiven. Anyone who blasphemes against me, the Son of Man, can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come.”

Wow, heavy stuff!!!   I have always found this very intriguing. What does blasphemy mean and why the differentiation between blasphemy against Jesus and the Holy Spirit? Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary gives the meaning of blasphemy as: “the act of showing contempt or lack of reverence for God.”  The question is why is this forgivable in the case of Jesus, but not for the Holy Spirit? I have struggled to understand this. Furthermore, what are the implications of this for us in the here and now?

After wrestling with these questions what came to me was the difference of role that Jesus and the Holy Spirit played in the Godhead. Jesus came to live among us as the image of the invisible God. He became man and took our sin upon himself when he died as a sacrifice for us on the Cross. He freely chose to be mocked, scorned and brutalized on our behalf. He chose to be the sacrificial lamb who redeemed and ransomed us. He was the rejected stone which became the cornerstone. That was his chosen role; and because of this blasphemy was part of the awful package he accepted.

In contrast to this the Holy Spirit was sent as the crucial mediator between men and women and our Father. Jesus told his disciples when he was preparing them for his departure that the Holy Spirit would be sent to them in his place when he left them. The Holy Spirit would be their comforter, counselor and guide. His many roles included leading them into truth; convicting them of sin; and empowering them for ministry. Without the Holy Spirit performing these roles in the lives of people, there would be no ministry at all; and the Kingdom of God would not be present and active on the earth.

Given this reality either ‘grieving’ the Holy Spirit or blaspheming him effectively severs the link between men and women and our Father. When that link is broken then nothing can happen on a spiritual level. It is not possible to experience the indwelling presence of God or be led and empowered by him. There is no guidance, counseling or conviction of wrongdoing. A person without a conscience is a danger, to himself and others.  A person then finds him/herself in a spiritual vacuum or desert. Being cut off from the presence of God is effectively an experience of hell on earth. Whilst Hell might be a place, it is primarily a state of being. Choosing to reject and blaspheme the Holy Spirit is choosing that option. It applies to both this world and the one to come.

The implications of this are just as relevant for us today in the second decade of the 21^st C as it was in the time of Jesus. The person and work of the Holy Spirit is absolutely vital. It is in and through the Holy Spirit that we find the way, truth and life that Jesus came to bring us. It is vitally important to realize that without the Holy Spirit there is no power for change and transformation of any kind.

The problem we face in Western society is that we have drifted into rationalism and secular humanism. It is the ‘Spirit of the Age’ that we live in. In this climate of understanding there is a general disregard for any form of mystical reality. Understanding of the realities of life has been reduced to physical and chemical forces at work. The basic presuppositions of this Spirit of the Age preclude accepting any notion of the person and work of the Holy Spirit. By default this understanding blasphemes the Holy Spirit because it: “shows contempt or lack of reverence for the Holy Spirit.”

This understanding has filtered down into the Christian Church as well. Throughout history the Spirit of the Age has come to be reflected in the understanding of the Church. Christians often live with divided minds and spiritual schizophrenia. What their society has taught them about natural reality is seriously at odds with what they read in Scripture. How do they resolve these conflicts? What or who do they believe? These are very real, serious questions. I have a degree in social science, which I received from a very liberal university. So I know about the struggle. It was extremely difficult for me to resolve this conflict. This is where the person and work of the Holy Spirit comes to the fore. Without the Holy Spirit it is impossible to find truth and resolve these radical discrepancies in understanding.

The problem is that if we choose to block the leading of the Holy Spirit and trust what we are hearing on an inner level of being, we are effectively grieving the Holy Spirit. We have to choose to be open to hearing what the Spirit is saying to us, despite our society’s insistence that this is nonsense.  This is not easy; but if we do, it is life transforming. It enables us to see the reality of our life through very different glasses. It also gives us access to the same power that raised Jesus from death. This is no small matter. This is the power that Jesus used to heal people and cast out demonic spirits. By choosing to be open to the movement of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, we too can be channels of healing and deliverance. This is really mind-blowing.

Questions for reflection:

·         What do you believe about the Holy Spirit?

·         Are you being open to listen to and follow the direction of the Holy Spirit?

·         How has the Holy Spirit been at work within you?

 

 

By What Power?

We find in Matthew 12:38 Jesus being asked by some teachers of religious law and Pharisees to give them a miraculous sign that he was from God. His reply was that only an evil, faithless generation would ask for such a sign. To properly understand this one has to see it in the context we find it in Scripture. The stage for this was set after Jesus had set free and healed a demon-possessed man who could neither see nor talk (Matthew 12:22). The crowd who witnessed this was amazed and people began to ask whether Jesus was the Messiah that they had all been waiting for. Responding to this the Pharisees said that Jesus was able to cast out demons because he received his power from Beelzeboul, the prince of demons (by implication from Satan).

[John Todd, the ex-wizard I mentioned in my last post affirmed that in the present day occult structure the ruler is Satan/Lucifer; and he has a prince who he called ‘Beelzebaal’. He said that when he was a practicing wizard Satan had appeared to him in the guise of Lucifer (the angel of light). After being saved out of the occult he was opposed by Satan in his true guise. Jesus acknowledged that he is the ruler of the world. When Jesus was tempted by him after his baptism he was offered “the nations of the world and all their glory” if he knelt down to worship him (Matthew 4: 8-9).]

Jesus countered by pointing out that any kingdom, city or home divided against itself would fall. If Satan is casting out Satan, he is fighting against himself. His own kingdom would not survive. He also said that their own members cast out demons, so these members would judge them for what they were saying. He proceeded to say that if on the other hand he was casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God had arrived among them.

He illustrated this by saying that you can’t enter a strong man’s house and rob him without first tying him up. Only then could he be robbed. Likewise, Satan needed to be bound before anyone could be delivered from his power; to be set free and healed. In the story we began with in which the man was healed from being unable to see or talk we see a clear connection between demonic influence and being physically incapacitated. Being released from this influence resulted in healing.

After being involved in the healing ministry of our Church and wrestling with issues of healing and deliverance, seeing things in terms of a direct causal link is problematic. In a general sense all sickness is a result of the fall from grace of humanity. As such sickness and death has been released into the world. All people are prone to it. There are many different causes, which I am not going to enumerate here. For instance, some sickness has viral causality and is randomly spread from person to person.

 In certain cases however direct causal links can be found between a person’s belief and behaviour and the sickness or demonic oppression that besets them. Careful spiritual discernment needs to be undertaken in each case to establish the root cause. It entails prayerful listening to the Holy Spirit and waiting for specific guidance. Under the direction of the Holy Spirit, and in the power inherent in the name of Jesus, people can be both healed and set free from demonic influence. This power is available to the children of God and is indicative of the fact that the Kingdom of God is in their midst.

In the passage we have been looking at Jesus also declared that anyone who was not helping Jesus was opposing him; and anyone who wasn’t working with him was actually working against him. He added that anyone who blasphemed against the Holy Spirit would not be forgiven. This is heavy stuff that needs to be taken seriously.

People (myself included) often wonder why we do not see the kind of healing and deliverance ministry being exercised today as was evident in the time that Jesus exercised this ministry. Jesus gave the answer to this in what he said here. To put it in a nutshell, it comes down to two words- apathy and unbelief. I have to actively choose to both believe what I read in the Scriptures about healing and deliverance; and then act according to it. This is made very difficult today because our society is so rationalistic and everything I have been taught to accept as being true militates against this. To accept what the scripture is telling me I have to disregard and ‘unlearn’ a great deal of what I have been taught since my childhood. I have to see reality in a totally different way. It ultimately involves a massive paradigm shift. The question is: “Can I do this?”

The problem is that if I don’t do this I am also not “working with Jesus” and am effectively working against him, even though I don’t mean to. In some sense I am aligning myself with the Pharisees and ‘grieving the Holy Spirit’ by not believing that he can, and wants to, heal and set people free. I am therefore not making myself available for this to happen. The Lord has set the created order in place in such a way that he usually only works through human instruments. I have to ask myself whether I am willing to put my hand up and say: “Here I am, use me!” For this to happen I need to fully and wholeheartedly dispose myself to exercise the power of God; under the direction of the Holy Spirit; so that the Kingdom of God will be revealed. Before Jesus gave himself up to be crucified for us he told his disciples that he expected them to carry on doing what he did. I have to ask myself whether I am prepared to do what he did; by his power?

 

Questions for reflection:

·         Do you believe in the power of God at work today?

·         Do you believe that the Lord heals and sets people free from demonic influence today?

·         Do you want to believe this, but have inner resistance?

 

Hidden Knowledge

In my previous post we saw that Jesus always taught using parables. These were short stories which had a hidden meaning. Jesus told his disciples that they had been permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven but others had not. To those who were open to his teaching more understanding would be given, and they would have an abundance of knowledge. But to those who did not listen, even what they had would be taken away from them. In this post I want to explore this further.

In Proverbs 1:7 it says,

 “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Only fools despise wisdom and discipline.”

This was written by King Solomon, who is acknowledged as being one of the wisest people who have ever lived. Great people came from all over the world to listen to his wisdom. In the verse quoted he links two things with knowledge and wisdom- ‘fear of the Lord’ and ‘discipline’. The ‘fear’ he is speaking of should be seen as being awe and reverence, rather than dread and foreboding. It has to do with an appropriate attitude of reverence and respect for the Lord who has created all and is over all. It also relates to being in right relationship with the Lord in terms of submitting to being disciplined by him. It entails being obedient to his commands and requirements. It was because Solomon had these necessary attitudes that the Lord chose to give him this great wisdom and knowledge. They were gifts in response to them.

Even though Solomon lived a very long time ago nothing has changed in this regard. If someone chooses to adopt similar attitudes of reverence and respect and submit to the discipline of the Lord; and live in humble obedience to him, then they too can expect to be given wisdom and knowledge. Jesus intimated as much to his disciples. Before he gave himself up to be crucified on our behalf he told his disciples that he would send the indwelling Holy Spirit to lead them into truth. The Holy Spirit would be their teacher and guide. This applies to us in the 21^st C as well. As we saw last week, Jesus said that the ‘secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven’ would be revealed to his followers. If we earnestly seek this knowledge in humble obedience, we will receive it; because it has been promised to us.

We have to now consider what happened to King Solomon. Because Solomon had chosen to seek wisdom God gave him gifts of wealth and a long life as well. The problem was that Solomon became greedy. He is famous for building the Temple to honour the Lord, but he outdid the Temple with the palace he built for himself. It took seven years to build the Temple and thirteen years to build his palace.

Solomon was also disobedient. The requirement of the Lord was that the Hebrews should not take foreign wives because they would influence the men to worship foreign gods. Solomon first made an alliance with the Egyptian Pharaoh and married his daughter. He then went on to marry very many foreign wives that he lusted after. In fact he had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. It must have been exhausting trying to keep them all happy. Sure enough, he started to worship their gods, as the Lord warned would happen. He therefore crossed over into spiritual darkness.

In the 1970’s John Todd was a high-up practicing wizard in the USA. He was on the Grand Druid Council, which oversaw the occult activity in that country. It comprised the thirteen top occult practitioners. He was saved out of witchcraft and became a practicing Christian; and was very influential in providing the Church with inside information as to how the occult system operated. He attested to the fact that King Solomon had been one of the most important wizards in history. As much as he had written significant portions of Scripture, after he crossed over to the dark side he also made important contributions to occult literature. He wrote many of the black magic rites and instructions on occult practice.

There is clearly a fine line between pursuing hidden wisdom and knowledge and moving into the dark realm. Solomon wanted to gain wisdom and knowledge which was beyond the scope of what is available to us as children of God. He was ultimately seeking power and control and to be like God. He followed in the footsteps of the dark lord that he came to serve. The problem was that he had to literally sell his soul in order to get it.

 We too have to make this choice. Jesus clearly spelt out that we cannot serve two masters. If we choose to not live with attitudes of reverence and respect, fearing the Lord; and living in disobedience, we will not be given access to the ‘secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven’. We will by default be excluded from receiving the blessing of God. If we choose to pursue the hidden knowledge of the dark realm we are putting our lives at risk and are committing spiritual suicide. The short-term gain that we may receive is far outweighed by the reality that we literally have to sell our soul to get it. My own experience has shown me this is no idle threat.

Questions for reflection:

·         Are you living with attitudes of fearing God and being open to his discipline?

·         Have you been given access to the ‘secret knowledge of the kingdom of God’?

·         Have you crossed over to the other side and want out?

 

The Yeast of the Kingdom of God

My last post focused on the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees. In it I said that this gave us an image of bread dough being puffed up by the yeast that was mixed into it. This was a picture of pride and arrogance; and the desire to be in control. In this post I want to contrast this with another image of yeast that Jesus gave in the Gospel stories.

 We find this in Matthew 13: 33:                                                                                                                 “Jesus also used this illustration: ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast used by a woman making bread. Even though she used a large amount of flour, the yeast permeated every part of the dough.’”

We have to understand this image in the context in which it is given. This 13^th chapter of Matthew starts off with Jesus telling a story about a farmer sowing seeds across his field. The seeds fell into different types of soil. The type of soil, together with the surrounding conditions (hard and resistant; shallow with underlying rock; full of thorns which choked the plants; or fertile soil), determined whether or not the seed produced a good harvest.

After hearing this story his disciples asked Jesus why he always taught using stories. Jesus replied by saying that they had been permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven but others had not. To those who were open to his teaching more understanding would be given, and they would have an abundance of knowledge. But to those who did not listen, even what they had would be taken away from them. That was why he taught in stories because people saw what he saw, but they did not really see. They heard what he said, but they did not really hear or understand. Jesus said however that his disciples were blessed because they could see, hear and understand what he was saying.

We are told in Mt 13:35 that this fulfilled the prophecy that said,                                                                 “I will speak to you in parables.  I will explain mysteries hidden since the creation of the world” (From Psalm 78:2)

 

Jesus then went on to explain what the story of the farmer planting his seeds meant. You can read his explanation in Mt 13:18-23. He also told two other planting parables: the first about weeds and wheat growing together; the second about the kingdom of God being like a mustard seed which is planted. He said that it was the smallest of seeds, yet grew into a large tree. The story of the weeds and wheat is explained in Mt 13: 37-43.

 A third story was also given, which is the one that we started this post off with, concerning yeast being mixed into bread dough. An explanation of this story is not given. So what does it mean?

The meaning of the story is unlocked by the overall context we have been looking at. The Kingdom of God is not immediately obvious. It is a ‘hidden’ reality. Only its effects become evident. A small amount of yeast is kneaded into a large amount of dough, and becomes invisible to the eye. Yet, despite being invisible, that yeast is very active. But its effects take a while to be noticed. After the yeast is kneaded into the dough it is usually left to ‘prove’. Only after a time does the dough slowly begin to rise to a degree. However, the full effect of the yeast only becomes apparent when the dough is put into an oven. Heat is needed to allow the catalytic effect of the yeast to become obvious to the eye. The bread begins to rise in the heat of the oven. Then something full and rounded emerges; which smells great, is wonderful to look at, and is nutritious and tasty. That’s the effect of the yeast; and the effect of the Kingdom of God. Looking at the lump of dough before it goes into the oven, it is nothing like what emerges afterwards. That is what the Kingdom of God is like. It brings about personal transformation.

We saw in my last blog that the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees puffed people up with pride and arrogance; and led them to want to be in control. The yeast of the Kingdom of Heaven operates very differently. We find this verse in James 4:10,

 “When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honour.”

This is the opposite of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees. If I allow the Lord to be in control then I can have an expectation of being upheld. I can be confident in any situation I find myself in; because I am not alone. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is alive within me. The Holy Spirit lives within me to guide me, direct me, and to lead me into truth; besides giving me peace. Isn’t that awesome?

In order to experience this however, I need to constantly choose to surrender control to the Lord. He never forces his control on me. The choice I make has implications though. I can choose the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees and operate according to my ego identity; but then I am on my own and in spiritual darkness; cut off from the presence of the Lord. The better option is to live in humble dependence on the grace of the Lord; and derive all the amazing benefits of living in the light of his presence. It is both so simple and yet so difficult at the same time. Constantly choosing the better option is not something I always do; and so I often have to suffer the consequences of my choice. Yet as I grow older my blackened, burnt fingers are starting to teach me not to reach out for forbidden fruit.

Questions for reflection:

*Have you experienced the yeast of the Kingdom of Heaven?

 

*Do you, like me, struggle to choose which yeast to avail yourself of?

  

 

 

 

Yeast

A primary reason why I started this blog revolved around exploring the fact that when Jesus was asked by people to give them a miraculous sign that he was who he said he was, he replied that the only sign he would give them was the ‘Sign of Jonah’. We have looked at the story of Jonah in the Old Testament and seen aspects of what it reveals. I turn now to focus on the Gospel accounts of this and look at them in context.

There are two references to the sign of Jonah in the Gospel of Matthew. The second one is found in Mt 16: 1-4.  To paraphrase this, the Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven. He replied that they knew how to interpret the weather from the appearance of the sky but were unable to interpret the sign of the times. He continued by saying that it was a wicked and adulterous generation which looked for a miraculous sign, but none would be given it except the sign of Jonah.

A short time later Jesus told his disciples to be careful and be on their guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.  At first they thought he was referring to the fact they had not taken any bread with them. He reminded them about two previous incidents. In the first he had miraculously fed five thousand people from five loaves of bread after breaking them into pieces and then handing them out. There were basketfuls of scraps left over. Likewise, in the second incident four thousand people were fed from seven loaves, with basketfuls of scraps. He chided them for not having faith that he could repeat this; but also for failing to recognizing that he was not talking about bread. They then understood that he was instead referring to the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

My previous blog post was about having our eyes open and being spiritually awake. This is exactly what Jesus is talking about. The Pharisees and Sadducees knew the religious Law by heart and could quote any passage you wanted, yet they could not recognize the spiritual reality that was in their midst. They were asking Jesus for a definitive miraculous sign but as can be seen from what has been said above, many miraculous signs had already been given. What more proof did they need?

They had a legalistic interpretation of the Law but could not grasp the ‘spirit’ of the Law. Their eyes were blinded so that they could not perceive the true meaning of the Law and its ultimate intention. It was not giving them true understanding or bringing ‘life’ to them. They were instead trapped in a legalistic perception which kept them in bondage and spiritual darkness.

 It’s not that the Law in itself was bad. Jesus had said that he did not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it. What mattered was how the Law was interpreted and acted upon. This was something which needed to be learnt. It also needed the guidance of the Holy Spirit. In order to take on a new understanding the old understanding needed to be discarded. Old patterns of thinking and acting are not easily let go of. They become very entrenched within our consciousness.

It is clear from what we have seen above that the disciples of Jesus also had to be taught to see in a new way. The difference between them and the Pharisees and Sadducees was that they were willing and open to both learn and change their perception of reality.

We need to consider the image of ‘yeast’ that is given by Jesus. It was spoken about in the context of bread. What does yeast do when it is put into bread dough? It makes the rise i.e. it puffs the dough up. If we consider my last post where we looked at the character and attributes of Satan, is that not an apt description of him? He was beautiful, wise and powerful, so he became puffed up with pride. He was rich; and so became violent in order to both protect what he thought was his; as well as to try and get more. Ultimately it is about having power and control.

 That provides a good picture of what yeast does. This was the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees. They wanted to have power and control. If they acknowledged Jesus for who he clearly was then they would have to surrender their power and control to him. It was the last thing they wanted to do. No matter how many ‘signs’ he gave them, it would have no effect on them. As Jesus declared, the only sign that mattered was the sign of Jonah. What happened to Jonah? He was swallowed by the great fish and through that experienced transformation. The only way the Pharisees and Sadducees would accept Jesus as Lord was if they too were swallowed by a figurative great fish (in whatever guise it came). This would bring them to a place where they lost their power and control and were forced to recognize their dependence on the Lord. They would no longer be puffed up, but flattened and deflated.

The concept of ‘ego’ has only recently emerged in Western thinking, and was not around in the time of Jesus. Today we would more likely talk about the Pharisees and Sadducees needing to have their egos deflated. Whatever language we use, the reality is the same. That is what the sign of Jonah is all about.

It is the reality that I face in my own life. I have to constantly ask myself whether I am being puffed up; and am seeing myself in terms of my ego identity. This is to see myself in terms of what I have in a material sense; and what I have achieved; and my social status in my community. The healthier alternative is to see myself in terms of my relationship with my True Father. To recognize that I am an adopted son of the Living God. My place in his family gives me my position and true identity. It is unconditional and has nothing to do with how hard I work or what I achieve. All is gift and grace. I just have to accept it by faith and receive it with grace; acknowledging the generosity with which it is given.  

Questions for reflection:

·         Do you recognize Jesus for who he is, or are you waiting for a miraculous sign?

·         Are you able to accept that miracles do take place today?

·         Are you living in the reality of your true identity in relation to your true Father?