Pearls of Wisdom

Vol. 44 No. 16 - Elizabeth Clare Prophet - April 22, 2001

 

Sunday Sermon
The Imitation of Christ
Part 2

 

When we gain light from our communion with God and we return to the teeming cities, instantly the darkness mounts, for the fiery core of energy desires its overlay of darkness to be consumed. If you remember this, you will never personify evil or the energy veil.

If ten men stand before you pointing a finger of accusation, you will know that this is the impersonal mass consciousness attempting to personify itself through individuals, and attempting to take you out of the center of your Christ-awareness. Jesus said, “Judge not that ye be not judged.” <1> Who of us can then judge the accuser? How do we know when the accuser is sent from God or when he is sent from Satan?-- sent from God as the instrument of our chastisement, from Satan as the point to tear us from our God-awareness.

How can we judge? How can we truly know what is the motivating factor in another? How can we truly judge ourselves? Only if we try to do well and then try to do better and better each day.

To judge another is to take a great risk, for whatever accusation or judgment we mete out, we must bear the energy of that concept. Do we judge someone to be a thief or a liar? Then we have to transmute the burden of the world momentums of the thief and the liar.

Jesus said, “For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged. And with what measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considereth not the beam that is in thine own eye? For how wilt thou say to thy brother, let me pull out the mote out of thine eye and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.” <2>

The reason we cannot judge is because judgment takes place on many planes of consciousness. What here appears to be injustice may be Divine Justice on another plane, if you could but behold the karmic circumstances, the working out of energy coils and energy patterns, the opportunity for souls to learn to reap what they have sown. The seven levels of awareness through the seven major chakras will reveal to us another aspect of the law of justice concerning any matter that occurs between men.

How Dangerous It Is to Judge

Our text says, “To me, therefore, men ought to run in every judgment and ought not to lean on their own opinion.” How dangerous it is to lean on our own opinion! How I learned this as I watched Mark, our beloved Messenger, move through the world among mankind, among his students, among his staff.

I saw how his actions caused consternation. One act of this Messenger could cause some to praise and others to condemn and accuse. I saw this time and time again. And I saw that the judgments rendered upon Mark were always the manifestation of the consciousness of the beholder. Few people had the capacity to enter Mark’s heart and know his motive.

The starting point of all judgment is in the heart. Its purpose is to test the motivation of man, for by our motives we are justified or condemned. Sometimes we do not have perfect vehicles in our four lower bodies or in our five senses to properly express our motives. Because of circumstances or clumsiness, a kindness we would render becomes a blunder.

In our innocence we think we render a good turn, but we find instead that we arouse the ire of a dear friend. But if the friend is truly a friend, he will appreciate the motive and not be concerned with the blunder. So we must have patience in our judgments.

The Mother of Wisdom

We shall read this favorite passage from the Book of Proverbs, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy path.” <3>

Our own understanding forfeits the divine understanding, because by the action of our two-eyed vision in time and space we perceive only angles, never the whole--aspects, but never the totality. The author of Proverbs continues, “Be not wise in thine own eyes. Fear the Lord and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel [to your solar plexus chakra] and marrow to thy bones.” <4>

Proverbs says “health” because you have peace when you lean upon God, and that peace is the absence of turmoil. The marrow of our bones carries a certain essence of Alpha. Certain records of the soul’s evolution are in the marrow of the bones. That is why Francis Bacon said, “The evil that men do lives after them, but the good is interred with their bones.” <5> The good that is interred is a certain action of the law, of akasha, and it is in the very bones. Therefore to say that we only remember the evil is not necessarily a cynical statement.

The fact remains that the energy veil we create goes out into the world to gather more of its kind until we take a stand in the center of the cross to transmute the mass consciousness through the heart chakra. And the first thing to return to us for transmutation is the energy veil that we originally sent forth.

“Honour the Lord with thy substance and with the first-fruits of all thine increase. So shall thy barns be filled with plenty and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.” <6> This is the admonishment of the tithe--“with thy substance and with the firstfruits of all thine increase.” The original form of the tithe was to offer the first fruits of the harvest. The first and the best of the year’s gleanings were placed upon the altar of the high priest.

“My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord, neither be weary of his correction. For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth, even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.” <7> Did you think that only Hebrews said that? “Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son that he reeiveth”? <8> We also find that teaching in Proverbs.

“Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding; for the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies. And all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. Length of days is in her right hand, and in her left hand riches and honour. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.” <9>

He is speaking of wisdom, the Mother of Wisdom and the feminine ray. And he follows it with: “She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her; and happy is everyone that retaineth her.” <10> This means we are able to receive the chastening of God when we rejoice in the wisdom of God, when wisdom is more important to us than worldly gain and the activities of the carnal mind.

All Power Is Given to Me

This last verse returns us to the point from which we began: If we are moved by the world, the things of the world, the praise or the condemnation of the world, we have not entered the Path--the path of our Lord that is the path of the cruci-fixion of the ego.

Only when we are on that path can we be centered in the cross. And only when we are centered in the cross do we have the full effulgence of the flame of Christ. Do you remember the declaration of Christ Jesus when he stood in that cen- ter, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth”? <11> He gained that receipt of power after he went through the travail of overcoming the tests of the fourteen stations of the cross.

Thus we see that when the process of laying down the old man and putting on the new is accomplished, it is rewarded by power, wisdom and love. And that power, wisdom and love is the cause of the effect we call abundance, prosperity, health, holiness and happiness.

Thus, the author of Proverbs says that we should lay hold upon the feminine ray that imparts the teachings, for this is the tree of life. This is the connection to the Causal Body of God himself, of Alpha, for the Mother teaches her children the wisdom of the Father. And that teaching must come not only from the teacher but also through our intercourse with one another in society, in the day-to-day exchanges that invariably bring about these words of injustice.

We must be prepared to understand that these words of injustice are truly nuggets of gold in disguise, for they represent the fiery core of being. If we are willing to undergo the transmutation of the dross, we will have all the gold of heaven and earth at our feet.

Forgiveness Is the Wine of the Spirit

This chapter of The Imitation of Christ concludes with the following lines: “For the just man will not be disturbed whatsoever befalleth him from God. Even if an unjust charge be brought against him, he will not much care. Nor again will he vainly exult if through others he be justly vindicated.

“For he considereth that I am he that searcheth the hearts and reins. [And I will give unto every one of you according to your works <12>], who judge not according to the outward face and human appearance. For oftentimes in My sight is found worthy of blame that which in the judgment of men is thought worthy of praise.

“O Lord God, the just Judge, strong and patient, Thou who knowest the frailty and wickedness of men, be Thou my strength and all my confidence, for mine own conscience sufficeth me not. Thou knowest what I know not. And there-fore, under all blame I ought to humble myself and to bear it meekly.

“Of Thy mercy then forgive me whenever I have acted otherwise, and grant me once more the grace of more thorough endurance. Because better to me is Thine overflowing pity for the obtaining of pardon than my own fancied righ-teousness to warn off the secret misgivings of conscience. Although I know nothing against myself, yet I cannot hereby justify myself; for without Thy mercy, in Thy sight no man living be justified.”

We see the hand of God’s mercy as the corollary to the flame of justice that we must put on as the wedding garment of God. Mercy is the corollary to justice. By the action of mercy’s flame we soften the hardness of men’s hearts and bring them to the place of communion with the Most High.

We are going to meditate once again upon the heart chakra. In preparation for this meditation, let us give decree 70.16, “The Law of Forgiveness.” Remember that forgiveness is the wine of the Spirit. It is the wine we partake of in Holy Communion. Without forgiveness and without communion, we cannot come into the presence of God. That is why Jesus said that we should not come to the altar when we retain hardness of heart over a difference with our neighbor.

Sometimes we have experiences in which we have strong differences, and we leave the scene of the argument still convinced that we are right. This is all right as long as we have mercy and compassion and recognize the right of another to hold his position, however wrong it may seem. However, sometimes we leave the scene of the argument without actually having said in our hearts, “In the name of the Christ, I forgive. I forgive this person, I forgive myself.” Therefore balance has not taken place. We forget about it. We have other duties and responsibilities. We go on.

Unless we invoke forgiveness, a record remains in the etheric body, in our subconscious, and that record is a manifestation of hardness of heart. So we see that through the centuries we may have had unresolved experiences in which we touched lives. And then, because of our lack of mercy with regard to these experiences, we have built up hardness of heart.

This hardness actually manifests as a core of energy around the heart on the etheric plane that is as hard as rock. It prevents the flow and interchange of light from heart to heart, from God to man and from man to man. This is what limits our ability to expand light and to have the power of the flame of Jesus.

I ask you, then, as we pray, to recall experiences in this life in which you failed to forgive. And if you cannot remember these experiences, I ask the Christ Mind within you to draw up the records of those experiences, not for you to review but so that they can be placed in the flame. It is not necessary for you to remember all the many circumstances of the past in order for them to be consumed. They can be consumed by our prayers, because we give to God the authority to enter our lives, take hold of our free will and mold it after the Divine Will.

I will offer an invocation, and then we will give the call to “The Law of Forgiveness.”

The Messenger’s Invocation:

In the name of the Christ, we come before the altar of Almighty God. We come for one purpose, O Lord, to ask for the law of forgiveness, that that law might be active within our hearts, that we might forgive by the power of the Christ all who have ever wronged us, that we might forgive ourselves for all wrongs we have ever committed against anyone, at any time or in any place.

We also ask that the law of forgiveness continue to act, as thy mercy endureth forever, on behalf of all mankind, that this law might act to set aside a certain portion of weight so that mankind may be given a final opportunity to embrace the light of truth and of the Christ.

We call in the name of the Father and of the Mother and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. In the name of Jesus, who said, “Thy sins be forgiven thee,” <13> so we say this on behalf of all mankind. And we invoke that flame to the end that we might become one with thee.

 - [All give decree 70:16.]

The Law of Forgiveness

Beloved mighty victorious Presence of God, I AM in me, beloved Holy Christ Self, beloved Heavenly Father, beloved great Karmic Board, beloved Kuan Yin, Goddess of Mercy, beloved Lanello, the entire Spirit of the Great White Brotherhood and the World Mother, elemental life--fire, air, water, and earth!

In the name and by the power of the Presence of God which I AM and by the magnetic power of the sacred fire vested in me, I call upon the Law of Forgiveness and the Violet Transmuting Flame for each transgression of thy Law, each departure from thy sacred covenants.

Restore in me the Christ Mind, forgive my wrongs and unjust ways, make me obedient to thy code, let me walk humbly with thee all my days.

In the name of the Father, the Mother, the Son and the Holy Spirit, I decree for all whom I have ever wronged and for all who have ever wronged me:

 

Violet Fire,<*> enfold us! (3x)
Violet Fire, hold us! (3x)
Violet Fire, set us free! (3x)

 

I AM, I AM, I AM surrounded by
    a pillar of Violet Flame,*
I AM, I AM, I AM abounding in
    pure Love for God’s great name,
I AM, I AM, I AM complete
    by thy pattern of Perfection so fair,
I AM, I AM, I AM God’s radiant flame
    of Love gently falling through the air.

 

Fall on us! (3x)
Blaze through us! (3x)
- Saturate us! (3x)

And in full Faith...

*. “Mercy’s flame” or “purple flame” may be used for “violet fire” and “violet flame.”

 


This sermon was delivered on Sunday, January 20, 1974,by the Messenger of the Great White Brotherhood Elizabeth Clare Prophet at the Motherhouse in Santa Barbara, California.

1. Matt. 7:1.

2. Matt. 7:2-5.

3. Prov. 3:5-6.

4. Prov. 3:7-8.

5. Francis Bacon (William Shakespeare), Julius Caesar, act 3, scene 2, lines 81-2.

6. Prov. 3:9-10.

7. Prov. 3:11-12.

8. Heb. 12:6.

9. Prov. 3:13-17.

10. Prov. 3:18.

11. Matt. 28:18.

12. Rev. 2:23.

13. Matt. 9:2, 5; Mark 2:5, 9; Luke 5:23.