EASTER THOUGHTS

2004

By

John Roberts.

“Father, forgive them….”

Luke Ch 23,v 34.

Today is “Good Friday” when Christians celebrate the Crucifixion, Death and the Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. When he was hanging upon the Cross, he is reported to have prayed aloud, using the familiar words, “…..they know not what they do!” As a child I was given to understand that this prayer had a special significance, in that Jesus was asking his (personal) Heavenly Father to forgive the specific offence of killing the “Son of God and Saviour of the World”: (owing, no doubt, to the fact that they were ignorant of his true identity.) This may well be correct. However, my own feeling about this is that Jesus was merely referring to the fact that people, generally, do not know what they are about, when they engage, as they undoubtedly do, in horrific acts of murder and destruction. If he, indeed, made such a supplication, whilst he himself was suffering the agonizing pains of crucifixion, then he did reveal an almost Divine capacity for forgiveness. However, it is not my intention to embark upon a discussion of the veracity of the New Testament record, but to dwell upon the question of our personal responsibility for our actions.

Well, two-thousand years after the Death of Jesus on the Cross, his words quite clearly apply to the present world situation, whatever the position was in the year 30-odd AD. “They know not what they do!” After witnessing a sustained and continuous blood-bath during most of the last Century, we certainly can be said to be ignorant of the consequences of our actions. Otherwise, we would not, collectively, be behaving as we are, at the present moment in time.

It is not merely the fact that we are unaware of the consequences of particular conduct, but that we do not wish to know. I am convinced that there was no greater “evil” to use a common term in killing Jesus of Nazareth, than in killing any other member of the human race. Practising Christians will be horrified at such a statement, believing that the murder of Jesus, in such a nasty manner, would call forth a justly severe condemnation upon the perpetrators of that “crime against God and humanity”. Since then, we have been busy butchering one another, often in God’s name, with very great freedom and little trouble in the way of conscience.

At the present time (April 2004), we are witnessing, via the electronic media, a veritable blood bath in Iraq. Fighting has broken out upon a large scale and “Christians” are fighting “Muslims” and slaughtering each other with peculiar savagery. The death rate on the side of the Muslims is much larger than that of the Christian victims, owing to the much greater fire-power of the well-armed American soldiers. However, those who are killed are “victims” of murder, whether or not, and the perpetrators of the crimes can truly be said to: “know not what they do!”

Both Christians and Muslims accept, in principle, the obligation to respect life: not to “kill”. Unfortunately, they have chosen to disregard the Commandment, preferring, rather, to qualify the rule, according to inclination. As a result, we are witness to a never-ending cycle of slaughter. Shia and Sunni have now “united” in opposition to the presence of foreign invaders and are making life decidedly unpleasant for them, in addition to the political leaders of the Western Nations who were involved in the assault upon Iraq. Here in Australia, and also in the other nations represented by the occupying troops, we are being told by our “leaders”, that to withdraw our soldiers from Iraq at this time, would be tantamount to surrendering to “Terrorism”. Here again that nasty word is used to associate Iraq with those anti-social elements, which sought to embarrass the United States by making her Security people, (a very numerous breed, it might be noted,) look foolish on 11 Sept 01.

As at the time of writing (10 April 2004), the fighting is escalating and a considerable number of US boys and girls have died during the last few days. Things do not look well for G.W.Bush and Co., who might well find themselves ejected from the corridors of power in Washington, following this year’s Presidential Election. All men and women of goodwill, will, undoubtedly, pray for such a result. We will also pray that the new President will adopt a policy of forbearance and tolerance towards the people of the Islamic World. One could be excused, if pessimistic as to the likelihood of such a change in policy on the part of the leaders of the USA.

What people, the world over, seem to misunderstand, is the fact that we are all, ultimately responsible for our own actions. We are, ourselves, the product of our own activity and will be able to blame nobody but ourselves, if things go wrong, in the aggregate. I have said, previously, somewhere or other, that it is not for “God” or the “Divine Mind” (or whatever our idea of the Creator) to perform a specific act of cognition, in order that we might be “justified”, or “condemned”. The religious have got it all wrong. Questions of blame and punishment are entirely matters within our own cognisance. We actually “create” our own psychic environment here and now. Not that we are at all aware of the fact, until we find ourselves in one “hell of a mes, in the world of Spirit. Those of us who get to a ripe old age have, generally, and this must be true, a great deal more to regret than those young people who have been violently dislodged from the physical body, as a result of warfare. If my proposition is true (and it is not original) then we really do need to “think” about questions of social obligation: our responsibilities towards our fellow creatures. It is important to consider these things, as it enables us to understand that our behaviour towards other people directly affects ourselves. If we have revealed a tendency to disregard the right of other folk to live their lives in peace and happiness, then, it may be safely averred, our spiritual outlook is bleak and may be very dark indeed.

So when we come to the termination of the physical life (and this is a certainty for us all), it will be of no use to ask God to “Forgive us our Trespasses”, because the matter is entirely outside His/Her ambit. Rather, we should ask ourselves whether or not we can forgive ourselves? For a person who was brought up, in early life, in a distinctly Calvinistic environment, I myself am often troubled by a sense of “Guilt”, although I am well aware that I should not be unduly conscience stricken. I am also aware that for “Mr inoffensive average” to entertain such thoughts is retrogressive and unhelpful. So what can one do? Learn from past mistakes, thank God that they are of a minor nature and try to do what is right in the future. “Do as you would be done by!” is a sure and certain precept. I am also very much aware of the fact that there is a great deal of spiritual help available directly, to each person, via the medium of “prayer”. Nothing complicated: merely the recognition of the fact of “Divine Guidance” and an occasional acknowledgement and offering of thought in gratitude for the gift of life. For after all, we are not entirely self-dependent. It helps to know that assistance and a great deal of love are close at hand and for 24 hours of every day.

Given such a belief, it becomes imperative that one should think about the direction one takes in life. Those who enjoy the privileges of wealth and personal power, must one day relinquish all, every stick and tittle of worldly possessions and influence. Yet, they appear to go blithely through each day, oblivious and utterly regardless of the inevitable “Day of Reckoning!” No! it is not going to be a specific “Judgement Day!” I don’t for one moment believe that, but I do know that we will, probably, suffer a severe shock, on finding ourselves in a totally new environment: in which the rules are very, very different from those we recognise here. Nobody wants to die and people only commit suicide because they are suffering from severe depression, for one reason or another. It is a pity that these folk do not understand that they cannot “kill” themselves: that they too share the immortality that is the Creator’s gift to all life forms. But the nature and quality of that future life is something that may vary for us all.

I am not a determinist, even though I may affirm that the Deity will not directly intervene in human affairs: but I do not deny that there is such a thing as spiritual help and counsel, available to all God’s Creatures, via the medium of prayer. But, it becomes increasingly evident, that the majority of people are utterly ignorant of these basic truths: even many who would regard themselves as “religious people”. I have previously stated my belief in the absolute freedom of the human ego. We are free to advance or to regress, to move forward on the path to perfection, or to destroy ourselves, utterly.

It is small wonder that the Christian Community is in crisis. At this time of Easter, we observe the usual reverence for the traditional Easter story. How Jesus died on the Cross: how he, subsequently, “rose from the dead” and communicated his resurrection to his followers. Wonderful! Yet, how many Christians actually understand the principle of the resurrection, as an universal fact: how nothing dies in this world that is not renewed in some manner. The fact being, that the resurrection is the Divine Gift to all men and women and that it is immediate upon the discarding of the physical body. We have traversed two-thousand years of human history, since that momentous event in Palestine, without establishing universal acceptance of the doctrine of the resurrection. It has been left to one or two individual Sects to understand its truth. In the meantime, the Christian Pantomime has continued to entertain and mislead people. Indeed, the Churches cannot really be blamed for lying to us, when they do not comprehend, or do not wish to know, the real situation, so far as our “immortality:” is concerned. They present the familiar rituals to us, parroting the old misconceptions, with the result that people are deserting the Churches in droves. At a time in human history when they need good counsel more, perhaps, than at any other, ordinary men and women are left destitute of sound spiritual teachings.

We can rejoice, in celebration of the doctrine of the resurrection. However, we should not overlook the responsibility that goes with the realization that we do, indeed, live-on after Death. It is the quality of that life that will be important to us; more important, indeed, than the quality of the life we have left behind. That life will depend, absolutely, not upon the whim of a temperamental deity, but upon the nature of the life we have led, here on the physical plane. It is in relation to these matters that the teachings of the Nazarene are of such great value to us, for, in the “Sermon on the Mount”, the spiritual principles are clearly elucidated. Sad it is, indeed, that we have paid “lip-service” only, to the teachings: ignoring their essence. It is quite probable that we may not be aware of these doctrines, even though we live in a “nominally” Christian community. In that event, one would suggest that the reader take a look at the 5th to 7th Chapters of the Gospel of Matthew, in the New Testament. The “Resurrection” embodies the principle of “life beyond death” for us all. Easter is a joyful time and I myself enjoy singing that wonderful hymn, ‘This joyful Easter tide…”, which is truly inspiring, with a beautiful melody, even though the words, themselves, embody flawed doctrines. Should our political leaders come to understand that we are expected to subscribe-to, and apply, the principles of service and self-denial, then our world would be a better place for us all.

Finis

John Roberts

Sydney, Australia

11th April 2004.

mailto:robertsjno@cybercentral.com.au

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