I’m not a fan of Thom Hartmann per se but I met him when he came to Seattle last year on a book signing tour. I think he’s a cool guy. Most everything I know about Thom, from the magical stories of Master Stanley and Herr Muller and of the mountain dwellers in South America warning the developed world to change the course of impending doom they are on in The Prophet's Way, to what I know of his radio talk shows on Air America, I learned from my significant other.
I woke up yesterday with a desire to skim, yes, skim Servers of the Divine Plan, a book I bought about a month ago. I had no idea why I had that feeling, but I followed it anyway. I flipped through the pages and what caught my attention was the story of “The Sheep and the Goats” from The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ.
As I read it, I wondered how it would fit into my reflection of yesterday on "What Matters Most." I finished the blog without adding it because it didn’t seem to fit.
My significant other comes back from dropping our son at school. She’s excited and tells me about what she’s just heard on Thom Hartmann’s radio talk show.
Thom had a man on who was talking about growing up a Southern Baptist Christian. He said although Matthew Chapter 25 is a pivotal message of Jesus , his church downplayed that message while growing up. Thom Hartmann and his guest were talking about politics and Christianity and they used the parable of “The Sheep and Goats” to show that ultimately the Christian life is about serving others.
Needless to say I was shocked. I had just finished reading the same passage. I felt as if God was speaking directly to me. What was God telling me? I asked myself.
This passage comes after Jesus and his disciples “were lost in prayer for seven hours” on Mount Olivet. It was a special day because “the curtain had parted” and they stepped “beyond the veil into the secret courts of God.” Because his message of the day was particularly important he whispered and called the hidden name of God. The parable of the “Sheep and Goats” was one of the teachings of that unique moment.
“The curtain had parted” and “the secret courts of God” may mean that Jesus and his disciples entered what is often described as the liminal zone, or the non-local universe, that space where time ceases and distance collapses. They were together in the void, in a state of pure consciousness, in the Kingdom of God.
Throughout that chapter, Jesus repeated more than thrice the need to be prepared: “be ready every moment of the day and night” he told his disciples. When they least expected the coming of the Lord, he would appear.
For me, the “coming of the Lord” means the day I’m called back to God. Jesus said that when that time comes my actions and thoughts will come to scrutiny. What will matter most, then, will be service to the race.
In The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ, The parable says that there will be a judge who will separate the sheep from the goats. The judge will tell the goats: those found unprepared and wanting:
“Your life was full of self; you served the self and not your fellow man, and when you slighted one of these, you slighted and neglected me.”
And those who qualified to be in sheep camp the judge will say, “You served the sons of men, and whatsoever you have done for these, that you have done for me”
This, of course, is a parable. Since I’ve been wrestling with what matters most, it seems to me that here’s another layer, another answer to my struggle. What matters most, then, is service to others. That service must be selfless. It must be with the attitude that I am serving the Creator through them.
I hope that this blog I’m posting here, the work that I do, and my life will be of service to others. Because I desire to be ready and to hear the judge tell me on that day: “You served the sons of men, and whatsoever you have done for these, that you have done for me.”
If you need more information follow these links:
Two Versions of the Parable of the Sheep and Goats
From The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ. Section XVI Chapter 158 verses 33-48
From The Message Matthew 25, 31-46
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2025;&version=31;
Servers of the Divine Plan http://www.thenewcall.org/book_sdp.htm
Rebecca Dawn
I woke up yesterday with a desire to skim, yes, skim Servers of the Divine Plan, a book I bought about a month ago. I had no idea why I had that feeling, but I followed it anyway. I flipped through the pages and what caught my attention was the story of “The Sheep and the Goats” from The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ.
As I read it, I wondered how it would fit into my reflection of yesterday on "What Matters Most." I finished the blog without adding it because it didn’t seem to fit.
My significant other comes back from dropping our son at school. She’s excited and tells me about what she’s just heard on Thom Hartmann’s radio talk show.
Thom had a man on who was talking about growing up a Southern Baptist Christian. He said although Matthew Chapter 25 is a pivotal message of Jesus , his church downplayed that message while growing up. Thom Hartmann and his guest were talking about politics and Christianity and they used the parable of “The Sheep and Goats” to show that ultimately the Christian life is about serving others.
Needless to say I was shocked. I had just finished reading the same passage. I felt as if God was speaking directly to me. What was God telling me? I asked myself.
This passage comes after Jesus and his disciples “were lost in prayer for seven hours” on Mount Olivet. It was a special day because “the curtain had parted” and they stepped “beyond the veil into the secret courts of God.” Because his message of the day was particularly important he whispered and called the hidden name of God. The parable of the “Sheep and Goats” was one of the teachings of that unique moment.
“The curtain had parted” and “the secret courts of God” may mean that Jesus and his disciples entered what is often described as the liminal zone, or the non-local universe, that space where time ceases and distance collapses. They were together in the void, in a state of pure consciousness, in the Kingdom of God.
Throughout that chapter, Jesus repeated more than thrice the need to be prepared: “be ready every moment of the day and night” he told his disciples. When they least expected the coming of the Lord, he would appear.
For me, the “coming of the Lord” means the day I’m called back to God. Jesus said that when that time comes my actions and thoughts will come to scrutiny. What will matter most, then, will be service to the race.
In The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ, The parable says that there will be a judge who will separate the sheep from the goats. The judge will tell the goats: those found unprepared and wanting:
“Your life was full of self; you served the self and not your fellow man, and when you slighted one of these, you slighted and neglected me.”
And those who qualified to be in sheep camp the judge will say, “You served the sons of men, and whatsoever you have done for these, that you have done for me”
This, of course, is a parable. Since I’ve been wrestling with what matters most, it seems to me that here’s another layer, another answer to my struggle. What matters most, then, is service to others. That service must be selfless. It must be with the attitude that I am serving the Creator through them.
I hope that this blog I’m posting here, the work that I do, and my life will be of service to others. Because I desire to be ready and to hear the judge tell me on that day: “You served the sons of men, and whatsoever you have done for these, that you have done for me.”
If you need more information follow these links:
Two Versions of the Parable of the Sheep and Goats
From The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ. Section XVI Chapter 158 verses 33-48
From The Message Matthew 25, 31-46
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2025;&version=31;
Servers of the Divine Plan http://www.thenewcall.org/book_sdp.htm
Rebecca Dawn
