Episode:Jesus—Teacher of Living Truth (Part 2)
The ordination sermon is not the gospel of Jesus, but it does contain much helpful instruction, being his charge of personal consecration and sacred duty to the twelve apostles. Jesus’ discourse on this occasion constitutes a master philosophy of life. The Master exhorted his followers to exercise experiential faith, and he admonished them not to depend on mere intellectual assent, credulity, and established authority.
Keywords: Urantia, Jesus, Beatitudes, Moral Character, True Happiness
Summary by Kermit
4. You Are the Salt of the Earth
Technically, the “Sermon on the Mount” is not the gospel of Jesus. But these teachings are to be taken as part and parcel of the gospel of the 5th ER. They represent the acme of religious living to which sincere students of the 5th ER are to aspire. We have brought together a number of themes and concepts cited in previous broadcasts in unpacking this dense and in some ways enigmatic material. We made use of the hourglass analogy to the inner and outer life, with its upper and lower domains, and the three cosmic intuitions. The six levels of meaning introduced by Jesus in his teaching of the golden rule are woven in integrated with the Beatitudes, to describe the mechanics and “physics” of the levels of meaning and in the context of the Beatitudes, the portrayal of the top down development of cosmic character. The intricacies of these relationships are beyond the scope of this summary, and as in similar past instances, I strongly recommend the serious student to go back and listen to the archive of this broadcast.
“You are the salt of the earth”
We had discussion of the qualities of salt that make it a suitable symbol for Jesus to convey the characteristics he is calling forth from the Apostles as they prepare to go out to proclaim the Kingdom of God. Salt was precious (salary), a preservative (saving), serves by being spent and enhances flavor. We also paused to consider the idea of salt loosing its savor. Savor having been “created” by God can’t really be lost. Yet with us, our God created “savor” our spirit nature CAN be lost through wholehearted personal choice, in which case the “savor” is truly lost, and good for nothing.
“You are the light of the world”
In calling his chosen ones to be beacons of light to the world, he is careful to condition his command by asking them to let their light SO shine. Do not hide it neither use it to blind others. The light is not to attract attention to self, but to glorify God. We are reminded that the negativism of “thou shalt not” only leads to fear of wrong doing. Happiness comes from choosing to do the righteous thing. We are reminded that “happiness” in on the 6th level of meaning—a personality grasp of spirit, by choice.
“By their fruits you shall know them”
Here the distinction is made between personality (changeless) and moral character (can be grown).
These teachings represent the full flower of top down revelation as evinced in the statement. “Religion is valid only when it reveals the fatherhood of God (TRUTH) and enhances the brotherhood of Man.”(FACT)
With happiness playing such a large role in the Beatitudes, we discussed the difference between “happiness” and “joy”. Current common usage and understanding of these two words and states continue to engender considerable confusion and distortion of meaning when attempting to grasp the true meaning of Jesus’ teaching. As we have said before, happiness is found on the 6th level of meaning, and is the product of personal choice. Joy, is experienced by recognition and proximity to grace and circumstances. It is not a product of choice, but often serendipity.
This discourse represents a master philosophy of life. The authors describe the process of forming an effective philosophy of life as a top down flow, beginning with cosmic insight in the upper domain of the hourglass with the cosmic intuitions, down to reform the adjutant mind in the lower domain of the hourglass, thence to the outer life.
5. Fatherly and Brotherly Love
Jesus’ entire teaching to his followers throughout his public ministry was aimed at their manifesting a fatherly love rather than brotherly love. Jesus’ earth life was a manifestation of both brotherly love (human) and fatherly love (divine), inasmuch as he was both Son of God and Son of Man.
In our discussion of the fatherly and brotherly love, the point was made that while fatherly love is universalizable, brotherly love is not. Brotherly love must grow, through evolution (long time, Mother Deity), to eventually encompass the world.
In the unpacking of the unpacking of the eight Beatitudes, we see how each one in dynamic personal relationship with the six levels of meaning leads to the development of the six facets of cosmic character:
Facets of Cosmic Character (from Chris’ study aids on the Perfecting Horizons Institute Library)
- FORGIVENESS [patient love] (3 and 6)
- ALTRUISM [self-neutral mercy] (3 and 5)
- FORBEARANCE [patient restraint] (3 and 4)
- PATIENCE [self-neutrality and temperance] (3)
- TOLERANCE [tempered zeal] (3 and 2)
- FORTITUDE [patient courage] (3 and 1)
