Episode:Jesus Culminates His Ministry—Last Free Day on Earth (Part 5)
Jesus’ new sacrament of the supper of remembrance, when it is partaken of by those who are Son-believing and God-knowing, does not need to have associated with its symbolism any of man’s puerile misinterpretations regarding the meaning of the divine presence, for upon all such occasions the Master is really present. The remembrance supper is the believer’s symbolic rendezvous with Michael.
Keywords: Urantia, Jesus, The Remembrance Supper, Judas the Betrayer, Psalm 118
Opening thought: Writes a Mighty Messenger: "To the Adjuster-fused mortal, the career of universal service is wide open. What dignity of destiny and glory of attainment await every one of you!"
Summary by Andrea
Discussion after the review
In discussing the seven adjutant mind-spirits we learned that the downwelling of spiritual power from above does not happen automatically. We must reach up and take hold of it. It can knock, but we must open the door. The more we take possession of that energy using differential means, the more we can begin to reality-ize it. That goal gives our mind survival quality—it’s a binding back to eternity. Only a mind that is purposed from eternity can survive. This is the way to stand on the rock of eternity. We talk about this often here.
If our goal is to just transcend ourselves a bit, well, that could improve our effectiveness in life, but that doesn’t have any survival value. The only part that can survive is that which has been reality-ized. That’s because it has a purposing that is based on the fact of eternity and not on the facts of time. Even attempting to base our purposing on transcendent facts of time is unavailing. It must be purposed based on eternity. And that is such a tall order! Let’s not put any ceiling on these sorts of goals. We must always reach higher. It’s that type of consecration that will actually get us somewhere. And that reaching must be continuous. Keep reaching. Otherwise, material gravity will just bring us back down.
Do we believe God is the First Source and Center of all things and beings? Or is that just a platitude? It’s easy for us to get caught up in some human construct that we think is important and even proper to serve. But that is humanism. And it is devoid of survival value. That will only serve the evolution of mankind, and what we then become is a drop of water in the ocean. When all is said and done we must serve God and God alone if we want to survive.
From [195:10.1] we recall that: “Jesus' disciples should be more than conquerors, even overflowing sources of inspiration and enhanced living to all men. Religion is only an exalted humanism until it is made divine by the discovery of the reality of the presence of God in personal experience.”
And that’s why this revelation is here. We are living at a time when the last traces of something that isn’t exalted humanism are almost gone from this world. When those are gone there will be no uplifting influence in the world. That truly uplifting influence comes only from God and those inspired by God.
We take the uplifting influence, provided by God-knowing men and women for granted. Once gone, then material gravity takes over. After that, we fall back to mankind’s natural estate.
We simply must take the time and energy to seek first the kingdom of heaven. If you’re a serious student of The Urantia Book you must make this time. Yes, people will mock us, saying we are delusional, but they are the fools for not taking their own time to discover truth within. We must carry on saying, “Come hear the good news, come see what I have found!”
In considering the fragmentary Bible accounts, we see that our minds can relax and engage with the truth better when the facts are clearly lined out for us. There is chaos and a lack of harmony when the facts are disrupted; truth becomes less accessible. Peace and presence of mind are needed to strike step with the truth.
179:4. Last Words to the Betrayer
Jesus and the Apostles are eating the last supper, which serves as the celebration of the Passover a day early. Jesus recognized that his hour was at hand and provided this place in the home of John Mark to have one last meal with his chosen associates. He casually mentions that it was not necessary that one should betray him. The gospels of Mathew and Mark begin the story with this and miss the washing of the feet and the first course.
The apostles wonder who the Master is referring to when he mentions a betrayer. He says that the traitor failed to love the truth with his whole soul. The apostles all ask, “Is it I?” We should all ask ourselves that when it comes to every aspect of our lives. Are we in error? A truth-seeker will ask this question of themself.
Jesus mourns over the loss of his associate Judas and is very delicate in his approach. However, he wants to ensure the rest of the apostles know that he has been aware all along of all these doings.
Jesus tells the apostles, regarding the traitor, "This is the coming fruit of the concealed evil in the heart of one who failed to love the truth with his whole soul.” It doesn’t say Judas failed to embody truth with his whole soul. We have a long way to go before that would happen. But with our faith, sincerity, and real love of the truth we can stay on the correct path.
The love of truth is the key. It’s not purity or perfectness that is required. But perfectingness is. The wholehearted love of truth is required. In [16:6] we read that “love is the personal realization of divine fellowship.” But Judas failed to have this realization and because of that, he could not have a wholehearted consecration. Entrance to the kingdom is one thing, remaining therein, again, requires wearing the robe of righteousness, which is the consecration we learn about here. That living faith only exists in a mind hungry for truth and thirsting for righteousness. Mere faith will get you into the kingdom, but only living faith will keep you in.
Jesus gives Judas every opportunity to change his mind. God’s mercy is endless, but we are doomed to perish if we cannot receive it. We reflected on how many believe that Judas did not survive death but we also remembered the struggles he went through after he recognized what he had done.[186:1.3-7] Can we reflect on the salvation that God is offering to each of us? When we accept salvation, it transforms our minds. There is no peace without the foundation of a saved mind.
179:5. Establishing the Remembrance Supper
With the 3rd cup of wine, the cup of blessing, Jesus establishes the remembrance supper. The apostles all sensed that something out of the ordinary was transpiring as they drank of this cup of blessing in profound reverence and perfect silence. Jesus is instituting this remembrance supper as a symbol of the new dispensation wherein the enslaved individual emerges from the bondage of ceremonialism and selfishness into the spiritual joy of the brotherhood and fellowship of the liberated faith sons of the living God. This is the teaching of the preeminence of the individual.
In the establishment of the only ceremony or sacrament associated with his whole life mission, Jesus took great pains to suggest his meanings rather than to commit himself to precise definitions. He did not wish to destroy the individual's concept of divine communion by establishing a precise form; neither did he desire to limit the believer's spiritual imagination by formally cramping it. He rather sought to set man's reborn soul free upon the joyous wings of a new and living spiritual liberty.
If only he could have fostered this group up to God-knowingness. But material gravity dragged them down just like it can do to all of us. We end up with crude and immature interpretations. Are we challenging ourselves to be unnatural? Again, hungering and thirsting are the only things that will pull us out.
The simple spiritual symbolism that Jesus gave has been reduced to precise interpretations and subjected to precise formulas. Throughout history, many people could not even abstract the idea of this being a symbolic event.
The remembrance supper was established without ecclesiastical sanction.
It was suggested that, when we are in a group setting or church and partaking of this remembrance supper, we could keep it really simple. Just capture the essence the way Jesus meant it. Something like:
- With the wine being served, simply say “The Spirit of Truth, poured out upon all flesh.”
- With the bread, “The bread of life, the word made flesh.”
The book says, regarding the meaning of the divine presence, that for “upon all such occasions the Master is really present. The remembrance supper is the believer's symbolic rendezvous with Michael. When you become thus spirit-conscious, the Son is actually present, and his spirit fraternizes with the indwelling fragment of his Father.” But notice how this is for Adults of God, those who are Son-believing and God-knowing.
One of us was rejected from taking the Catholic Eucharist because they were not Catholic. We observed that, by refusing communion, this church maintained their religious exclusivity. They are not a psychology that welcomes everyone. There are consecrations and sacrifices of self that must be given up for a institutionalized religion which then allow you to participate fully.
We ended our reading by reciting the one hundred and eighteenth Psalm.
