Power of Oneness Spiritual Center

December 2007 Theme: “LIGHT OF THE WORLD”

December 23, 2007 Topic: “In Celebration of the One”

Do you hear what I hear?

Last week, we talked about what Mary heard, what Joseph heard, what the wise men heard, what the Muslims heard that prompted them on their journey!

The journey may feel lonely at times, but just as the words of that famous “Footsteps” poem indicate, God is carrying us even in those difficult moments. We may even be deluded into thinking that God has forsaken us. But God can never forsake us because we are each made of God-Substance. God not only made us in Its image, but out of Itself. Through God’s Self-knowingness, you were created.

There are many difficult journeys. But each journey has a destination. Even in the darkest hour – in the midnight hour that the Blues singers sing about, that the songwriters write about. In that moment that some of us call the dark night of the soul, we are primed to see the Light in Its greatest magnificence.

Some may be grieving a loss.

This time of the year, it is common to associate holidays with the death of a loved one.

If the Science of Mind teaches us nothing else, it teaches us that we are always at a point of choice. There are two choices we might make when we are in our grief. One is to reach out in love. Those of us who know the benefits of reaching out in Love, as love, with love to Love, know that we will only receive Love because Love is all we want. For others of us who may find it difficult to reach out in times of sorrow or are carrying what feels like a heavy heart, a choice might be to reach inward to find the faith that fills us.

When we reach inward, we are always filled because God is the Source of all Good. When we turn to God, God turns to us. Because, after all, we are the thing Itself! God is forever calling us to be in our loving, to be in our faith. But sometimes we don’t listen. But, in that instant, in that very instant, we know that we should. But we let our human, worldly nature get in the way. Last Saturday, I went to pick up a take-out order at a neighborhood restaurant. On my way in, I saw some gentlemen who looked to be in their late 70's. Something inside me said "Ask them if they knew your father." I said, "No. That's crazy." I then went in to pick up my order to the cashier and commented on how crowded it was there. She said. "Oh yeah, the retired Chicago Police Officers are meeting here today in the back room." My father used to be a leader in that organization. I went in and asked the question, "I was wondering if anyone here knew my father." The whole room yelled out, "Yes." They wanted to take pictures of me and tell me what a great guy my Dad was. It truly filled my heart.

According to Renaissance Unity: “Whatever the outer world is reporting to our senses, our hearts know the truth.”

Mary and Joseph were on the way to the census, not merely to be counted but to count for something. You see, “Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light.”

Herod was losing his mind. He was obsessed with crazy thinking. You see, ‘crazy thinking’ is the real meaning of the word, "Satan." This is the direct Aramaic translation into English. Aramaic is the language that Jesus the Christ spoke while he lived on this plane in an earthly body. Herod was told that the King of the Jews was being born. The wise men were on their way to meet him and honor him. This was too much for Herod’s ego. He was, after all, the king of the Jews. None had to go anywhere but to him, as far as he was concerned.

Herod was having all of the baby boys killed. He wasn’t having it. He was totally out of touch with his true Essence. We get that way sometimes, don’t we? Amen. When we think that someone is not respecting us in the way that we feel we should be respected, we get an attitude. We want to hurt somebody. An eye for an eye – right? Then we’re all blind if we keep going at that rate. Did you see the story on the news? An executioner talked about his life in the death chamber and said his experience has made him oppose capital punishment. Jerry Givens, who has killed 62 prisoners over 17 years, was chief executioner for Virginia from 1982 to 1999. The former prison officer said in a TV interview, "Taking a life is not pleasant. He said that if the judges knew what the process was, they would not sentence anyone to that.

The outer world was reporting to Mary and Joseph the dangerous information. But their hearts knew the truth. As we talked about last week, the terrain was rough that these people crossed - 90 miles for Mary and Joseph to travel on foot and a donkey. Some say one of the wise men came from China to Bethlehem.

It wasn’t easy. But they could hear something. They could hear the voice of God. Mary heard God’s messenger, Gabriel. Joseph heard. You see, they have the same software within them that you have within you. It’s a GPS. This Global Positioning System is ours. All we have to do is follow it.

All the power is in the word of God. And by the word of God, I don’t mean merely a book. I mean it, as John said it:

In the Gospel of John (1:13) it says, “In the beginning was the word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. Simply put, there is a self-existent cause behind every thing which is not only the creative impulse but also the creator. Everything issued from that One. And that includes you and me.

To hear the voice of God is to be enlightened. That’s why Buddha meditated so much – so that he could listen to the voice of God. Jesus used to go to the mountaintop to pray. To be enlightened is to be in the light. When we are in the light, we are aware of the Presence.

The star of Bethlehem represents that Light. The Star of Bethlehem is a symbol for the brilliance and magnificence of God that we embody when we look to our Higher Self. When we come out from among them, when we are willing to take a journey to higher ground, when we are willing to follow the Light – we are embracing our Christ consciousness.

When we are seeking to claim our power (sometimes in prayer, sometimes just in frustration), we call on the name of Jesus. To say the words “in the name of Jesus” is to say in the nature of the Christ. For example, “Celeste” means heaven. A celestial body is a heavenly body. A celestial body then has the nature of the heavens. A star, a cloud, the moon, the sun, may be perceived to be exalted or lofty. To say anything in the name of Jesus is to intend it as the nature of Christ. Christ was not Jesus’ last name. Christ was Jesus’ nature. Christ is your nature. Christ is my nature.

So if you want to feel like a natural woman or a natural man, you don’t have to rely on anyone else, per se. God’s nature is in all of us. We need to be like the wise men and seek it. It is natural to do so. When I am in my natural state, I am realizing my oneness in God.

The first affirmation you said was I rise up in my Wholeness this Season. Some of us appear to have greater giving, greater loving and greater joy during this time of the year. And we seem to give ourselves permission to be kinder and gentler at this time. I want to invite us to stay in this resurrected state after the holidays are over (which will be quite soon). Let’s not turn back to that crucifixion mode of worldly concerns once the season is ended. Because every time one of us reaches a consciousness of oneness, we are all lifted.

We are all rooted in the same unity, the same reality, and characterized by the same attributes of that One. Yet, each of us is a unique expression of it. I call this One, God. But by whatever name It is called, the One chose to incarnate as each of us, and is doing something different in each of us.

The simple but seemingly difficult task we all have is to surrender to the divine impulse within; to trust it and allow ourselves to be led according to the divine doingness of our nature. That divine impulse is what we are to hear, to listen to and to heed. When we turn inward and acknowledge the Presence, we become the wicks of the flame. We are plugged into our Source and we shine brightly.

Then, everyone will feel your Presence. Everyone will seek you out, from near and far. Your child-like nature is the magnet that attracts your good to you. Animals may come – just to be near your energy. Shepherds may come – just to learn from you and therefore know how to guide and care for their flock. You don’t even have to say a word. And it won’t be based on your sensory experiences or what the world is reporting. It is your vibration that they hear. It is your consciousness that they feel. This Christ consciousness is that which makes you shine. Do you hear what I hear? I hear that You are the Light of the world!

I invite you to lift up into the heights of your true self.

I invite you to embrace your wholeness.

I invite you to recognize yourself as a pure expression of the One.

And celebrate It!

Celebrate God as you!

Peace and blessings!!