The Metaphysical Interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount, Part 2

In "The Metaphysical Look at the Sermon on the Mount Part 1" we looked closely at what Jesus did and did not teach. The bottom line was Jesus taught that we all have an intimate relationship with spirit....available for us to tap into at anytime. Lisa Salemme, the Sufi teacher, who spoke here a while back, lead us in a meditation process showing many of us how to do just that. She explained that by repeating in a prayerful, meditative state the sacred name of God over and over (for example, Elohim in Aramaic or Allah in Arabic etc.) we could change how we looked at and felt about a troubling subject. Lisa's teacher, Dr. Robert Jaffe, has a phrase that he uses repeatedly, when he is asked for help on a given problem. Watching him, he closes his eyes, takes an obvious deep cleansing breath, tilts his head way back or leans back in his chair, and says one of two phrases...."Let's see if we can bring God's love into this situation" or "Let's see if we can bring God's presence into this. For some Christians he said they may wish to use the phrase "Dear God, dear God, over and over in this meditative state with the conscious intent to bring God's Love into their heart and into the problem. The phraseology is not so important as long as it represents for the person using it, the Divine Name of God. Jesus taught as well the true power of our own thoughts and words. He taught that prayer was a science and an art. And, it was the teaching of this science and this art that Jesus devoted the greatest part of his ministry. He taught we pray or meditate not for God or Spirit to hear our words, but for us to hear and to say them with conviction. Just as a point of reference, remember that "the Sermon on the Mount" was not a sermon as we might think of a sermon or talk today; but rather, it was a series of informal talks given over probably a period of days as people collected and followed this remarkable, peaceful, charismatic man around the countryside.

Once again the text for this lesson has been taken primarily from Emmett Fox's book "The Sermon on the Mount", notes from my advisor Rev. Robert Eagan, the internet, and as always my own meditation, incites, and thoughts. In part I we looked at the first two Beatitudes, today we will continue with a few more.

In the 1st Beatitude we concluded it would more appropriately be understood, if stated, "Blessed are those who are empty, teachable, and open to Spirit for they shall have true eternal peace." The second reads: "Blessed are they who mourn for they shall experience a feeling of eternal peace." Mourning and sorrow are the result of misusing the Law of God, the Law of Love. Jesus said, "as a man thinks, so he is..."

We continue on this week with the third Beatitude. It states "Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth." Now, at first glance this Beatitude seems to have very little meaning for us in a Western Culture. Most of us didn't buy it, so we glossed over it, if we looked at it at all. It doesn't make much sense, especially if taken literally and in the English language as it is written. Remember, we talked about how Aramaic and English do not translate directly; hence, lots of confusion. If we took the statement simply from a Western point of view, we'd be lost. We all know from personal experience that some wimpy, fear ridden, spineless jellyfish doesn't inherit anything. The strong take it away from them. So what was Jesus saying? Is there a difference between what he said and what we are hearing? To begin with this Beatitude, this third Beatitude, is often referred to as one of the 6 most important verses in the entire bible. It is literally the key to life. That fact got my attention! In order to get its true meaning we must take a closer look at the translation of two of its major words. One is "meek" and the other is "earth", or in metaphysical terms, manifestation. I'll take the latter word first. Webster's Dictionary defines "manifest" as easily understood or recognized by the mind, readily perceived by the senses. Thus, "Earth" in bible symbology means everything you perceive with your senses and everything you understand or recognize with your mind. Earth or manifestation is for me the world as I know it. For you, it is the world as you know it. For a Massai Warrior in East Africa, it is the world as he knows it. Rest assured these points of view will all be different; for we all perceive the world based on our own individual mental states and experiences, which will be different at different times. And many of these are thoughts based in our subconscious mind of which we have little or no awareness mudding the situation even more. Since "your Earth" means the whole of your outer experience, then to "inherit the earth" means to have dominion or power over that outer experience. Therefore, we, with our thoughts, have the power to bring the conditions of our individual lives into harmony at least in our own thinking, regardless of what it may look like outwardly to others. Saying it another way, your personal experience of Earth is the result of your thoughts, attitudes, thinking, feeling, and emotions. Undisciplined thinking causes undisciplined lives. And remember, many of these thoughts, feelings, and emotions, are subconscious. Still we are told by Jesus, change your thoughts and you ultimately change your life… Control your thoughts and you control your outer experiences. However, if some of these thoughts are subconscious, then control may or may not be the proper phrase. Perhaps, influence is a better suited word. In any case, refocusing or reprogramming the subconscious mind is a subject or another talk. Emmett Fox in his book "Sermon on the Mount" says, "your earth means the whole of your outer experience and to inherit the earth means to have dominion or control over that outer experience". Can we prove this? Well, look around you at our world today. Many of us, our young people especially, have been taught to think in terms of violence by many of our movies, television programs, video games, and wars. Have you watched any cartoons lately? What is the result or manifestation of that type of thinking in our world today? "We are one of the most violent nations in the world today." In 1998 Karl and I were working and living in the peaceful village of Moshi in Eastern Africa. We were never afraid... there virtually was no crime to speak of. We returned there three years later. And, there was crime. What was different? ...the advent of television throughout the village.

Now, what about the word "meek"? This Beatitude states to have dominion over the condition of our lives is obtained by nothing less than "meekness". In truth, the word "meek" as used in the Bible in Aramaic has nothing in common with its English counterpart. "English," states Emmett Fox, "is not a feeling language. It is more technical and scientific; thus, the feeling words have mostly been ignored." The feeling word used in the bible at that time meant a mental attitude that we didn't have a word for in English. Thus, the early translators came up with this substitute word "meek" that doesn't really fit. What was meant in Aramaic, states Emmett Fox is the following: "meek is a combination of openness, faith in spirit, and the realization that spirit's will for us is always something joyous, interesting, vital, and something much better than we would ever think of for ourselves". Thus, the third Beatitude could be stated: "Blessed are those who have an open mind, faith in God, know that God's will for us is joy peace and love; for, they shall have total conscious and subconscious control of their lives."

The fourth Beatitude and the last one that we will discuss today is "Blessed are they which hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled. Now “ Righteousness” does not mean "If Barbara is a good girl, she gets the candy store." Righteousness in the Aramaic Bible means right conduct and right thinking on all subjects in every area of our lives. This same theme about "thinking" keeps emerging in the "Sermon on the Mount" over and over again. Perhaps, it is because one of the great laws of the universe states Emmett Fox is simply this: "that what you think in your mind you will produce in your experience." It is written in a myriad of ways in the bible. Just a few are: "as within, so without"..."mind is the root of all conduct"..."as a man thinketh, so he is" and, the all time great " on earth as it is in heaven"...(a clue there "earth is manifestation and "heaven" is our highest state of consciousness.) Now, many people believe that if they change someone or something, all will be right with the world. If only he would stop yelling at me, if only she would be more considerate and so on. We don't realize at first in our anger, worry, or irritation that it is our thinking about the situation and not the situation itself or person involved that is the problem. It is our thinking that has to change first in order for any change to occur at all. Jesus said this, when he said, "turn the other cheek". He didn't mean it literally. He meant it symbolically. He meant "Look at the problem from a different angle, from a different perspective. We humans, when caught in a frustrating situation often change towns, jobs, spouses, girlfriends, boyfriends, etc. In A.A. it is often said, "we pulled a geographic." Problem: we take ourselves and hence our “stinking thinking" with us. I know many of you are already familiar with Jon Kaba-Zinn's book "Wherever you go, there you are". The book's message captures this phenomenon perfectly. Bottom line: “nothing in our life will change until we do!” And, our thinking is the key to unlock the door for that change to occur. "Righteousness" is then right thinking. It is seeking inner change to bring forth peace in the outer world. Hunger and thirst are strong motivators. Just ask someone who is hungry. That is exactly what we must do for real change to occur, we must hunger and thirst for right thinking. The problem is "habits of thinking," states Emmett Fox, "are the most subtle in character and the most difficult to break". Our thoughts flow so fast in an unbroken stream in our mind that often we are unaware of them. That is why so many yogis and spiritual leaders encourage us to meditate. This practice will give each person the chance to stop what we often call the monkey mind chatter and let the thoughts of our highest consciousness filter through us. In reading this Beatitude we must not get discouraged by what we see as slow progress... our mind still chatters, we still worry at times. We need ask in meditation and prayer for spirit to strengthen our powers of wisdom, understanding, strength, faith, and renunciation. What I mean by the last word is letting go of the past, not always easy but a very necessary thing to do. Then do as we always do in Unity say to ourselves: "and so it is", meaning, let it go. Remember life doesn't happen to us, it happens through us. Thus, we restate this Beatitude as: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for right thinking, for they shall be filled with inner peace."

Namaste,

Barbara