Acts of Service

297. Anyone who thinks with some enlightenment can see that love has service as its goal, that love tends toward service, and that love brings about service through wisdom. In fact, love cannot accomplish anything useful by itself, only by means of wisdom. After all, what is love unless there is something that is loved? That “something” is service. Service is what is loved; and since it is brought forth by means of wisdom, it follows that service is the vessel of love and wisdom.
~ Emanuel Swedenborg (Dole, trans.), Divine Love and Wisdom, n. 297

Charity

[2] The form which charity takes is so plainly visible in the next life that charity itself is that which produces the form, as well as being that which is portrayed within it. Indeed that form is such that the whole of an angel, especially the face, is so to speak charity – charity which is visible to the eye and perceptible to the mind. When it is beheld that form is one of indescribable beauty which stirs with charity the inmost life itself of the beholder’s mind. Through the beauty of that form truths of faith are displayed in a visual image from which they also are perceived. People who have lived in faith in the Lord, that is, faith that inheres in charity, in the next life become such forms, that is, forms of beauty. All angels are such forms, endlessly varying; and it is these forms that constitute heaven.~~Emanuel Swedenborg, Arcana Coelestia, n. 553 (Elliott, trans.)

Why does God allow evil?

“It is not because of divine providence that wars happen, because wars are inseparable from murder, plunder, violence, cruelty, and other appalling evils that are diametrically opposed to Christian caring. However, it is absolutely necessary that they be permitted, because since the earliest people, the times meant by Adam and his wife … our life’s love has become basically a love of controlling others, ultimately everyone, and of gaining possession of the world’s wealth, ultimately all of it. These two loves cannot be kept in chains as long as it is the intent of divine providence that we act freely and rationally, as already explained in §71-97 [71-99]. There is also the fact that if it were not for this permission, the Lord could not lead us out of our evil, so we could not be reformed and saved. That is, unless evils were allowed to surface, we would not see them and therefore would not admit to them; so we could not be induced to resist them. That is why evils cannot be suppressed by some exercise of divine providence.”—Emanuel Swedenborg, Divine Providence §251-3 (George Dole, trans.)

God is

39. 3. Because God is love itself and wisdom itself, he is life itself, or life in itself. The Gospel of John says, The Word was with God, and the Word was God. In it there was life, and that life was the light for humankind (John 1:1, 4). “God” in this case means divine love, and “the Word” means divine wisdom. Divine wisdom is actually life, and life is actually the light that radiates from the sun in the spiritual world – the sun that surrounds Jehovah God.

Divine love produces life the way fire produces light. Fire has two qualities: burning and shining. Its burning radiates heat and its shining radiates light. Likewise love has two qualities. The burning quality of fire corresponds to one of them; it is something that affects our will at the deepest level. The shining quality of fire corresponds to the other; it is something that affects our intellect at the deepest level. This is where our love and intelligence come from, because, as I have said several times now, the heat that radiates from the sun in the spiritual world is essentially love, and its light is essentially wisdom. That love and that wisdom flow into each and every thing in the universe and affect them at the deepest level. In us, they flow into our will and intellect; both were created as vessels to receive what flows in, the will as a vessel for love and the intellect as a vessel for wisdom.

From all this three points emerge: that our life finds its home in our intellect; that that life is only as good as our wisdom; and that that life is modified by the love in our will.~~True Christian Religion, Emanuel Swedenborg (trans. Jonathan Rose), n. 39

Today’s Service: Church and Community

READINGS:

Genesis 28:3 (NIV):
May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples.

John 15:4-5 (NIV):
⁴ Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. ⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

Heaven and Hell by Emanuel Swedenborg (translated by George Dole) n. 68
Each Community in the Heavens Reflects a Single Individual
Several times I have been allowed to see that each community of heaven reflects a single individual and is in the likeness of a human being as well. There was one community that was infiltrated by a number of spirits who knew how to assume the guise of angels of light. They were hypocrites. As they were being set apart by some angels, I observed that the whole community first looked like something cloudy, then gradually took on a human form, though still a cloudy one, and finally appeared in the light as a person. The individuals who were in that person and made it up were the ones who participated in the benevolence of that community. The others, who were not in the person and did not make it up, were the hypocrites. These latter were cast out, while the former ones were retained. This is how the separation was accomplished.

TALK (written and delivered by Worship Leader Sue Marie):

What is church?

I do not think “church” is a building or a specific denomination. Rather, church is community. Church is relationships. It is small groups meeting for a common purpose. It is our chance to let God be among us as “someone with skin on” through us.

Church is the story of the Good Samaritan. It is the poor young lady from Nepal who was in my community college ESL class who makes sure she gives food to the homeless man at her bus stop each day even though she has barely enough money to feed herself and her family. She is Hindu, and she is the closest I have come to the personification of church in this world.

But the Church is not just one place, group, or gathering. The Church is the tapestry created by the weaving of seemingly separate threads into one. These threads are our daily acts of kindness to our neighbors. They are our thoughts and prayers, our sacrifices for others, and our forgiveness of one another.

The Church is all the cells that comprise what Emmanuel Swedenborg calls “the Universal Human” (or “Grand Man” in some older translations)—the Church on earth as well as in the heavens with God as the head. All the people who choose good and who reflect God’s image in their acts of love to the neighbor are the Church.

“It is worthy of note that just as heaven as a whole presents itself as one entire human being, which is therefore called the Grand Man, .. so each community in a similar way presents an image of a human being. For the image of heaven as a whole imprints itself on communities and makes them similar to itself, and not only on communities but also on the individual persons within a community. This is where the individuals get their human form from, for each person in an angelic community is heaven in the smallest form it takes. Variations in their human form are determined by the kind of good and truth with them, which explains why each spirit and angel is seen in a form exactly matching his thoughts and affections that he communicates to communities round about. This being so, the more that spirits and angels are governed by goodness and truth, the more beautiful is their human form. “~~Emmanuel Swedenborg, Arcana Coelestia, n. 6605 (Elliott, trans.)

What is the Church’s role in the universal Community?

If we are the Church, then the Church’s ministry is our love of God and love of our neighbor as enacted by each of us living our useful purpose on this earth as God calls us and doing good for our neighbor. This is true Christian love—the Golden Rule, which is found in all religions.

The Church, then, is an amalgamation of living, acting communities of humans loving God and other humans where we support and learn from one another regardless of geographical or religious boundaries. It is the interconnected web.

Our society can be so dysfunctional. On one hand, people march in the streets for the rights of the historically disenfranchised, and, on the other hand, they dismiss people they consider “different” as unacceptable and not part of their communities, as not mattering, even as not belonging to society. It is just not right. None of it is: not the violation of rights of the disenfranchised and not the dismissal of humanity from those who have suffered great mental and emotional wounds from others.

But, it is the society in which we live, and it is the very same society that presents to the Church its most important issue of the decade: to be church among society so that society experiences community at its deepest, most effective level where real healing and universal community can occur.

MEDITATION HYMN: They’ll Know We are Christians By Our Love

DISCUSSION:

• What does “church” mean for you?
• What are your expectations of church as community?
• What do you think the Church’s role is in the universal Community?

Church and Community

The Church is all the cells that comprise what Emmanuel Swedenborg calls “the Universal Human” (or “Grand Man” in some older translations)—the Church on earth as well as in the heavens with God as the head. All the people who choose good and who reflect God’s image in their acts of love to the neighbor are the Church.

“It is worthy of note that just as heaven as a whole presents itself as one entire human being, which is therefore called the Grand Man, .. so each community in a similar way presents an image of a human being. For the image of heaven as a whole imprints itself on communities and makes them similar to itself, and not only on communities but also on the individual persons within a community. This is where the individuals get their human form from, for each person in an angelic community is heaven in the smallest form it takes. Variations in their human form are determined by the kind of good and truth with them, which explains why each spirit and angel is seen in a form exactly matching his thoughts and affections that he communicates to communities round about. This being so, the more that spirits and angels are governed by goodness and truth, the more beautiful is their human form. “~~Emmanuel Swedenborg, Arcana Coelestia, n. 6605 (Elliott, trans.)

What is it to be spiritual?

“No one can be regenerated unless he knows the things that compose the new life, that is, spiritual life; for it is that life to which regeneration leads a person. The things that compose the new or spiritual life are the truths he ought to believe and the good deeds he ought to perform. Those truths are matters of faith, the good deeds are aspects of charity.”–Emanuel Swedenborg, Arcana Coelestia, n. 8635 (Elliott, trans.)

³⁶ “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40)

“From this one may now see what spiritual life is, namely being in possession of truths rooted in good which come from the Lord.” Emanuel Swedenborg, Arcana Coelestia, n. 6685 (Elliott, trans.)

Candlemas Service

Sunday, February 4, 2018
Worship Leader: Rev. Bob

Opening of God’s Holy Word

Leader: This is the day that the Lord has made
ALL: Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Lighting the Community Candles:
We light the first candle to honor the Good and truth to be found in all spiritual traditions.
We light the second candle to honor the earth and all of life as the creation of the Divine—the one Lord and God of us all. 
We light the third candle to honor and support the variety of individual paths which, together, make our one spiritual community. 
We light the fourth candle to honor and provide an open and safe place for all who seek greater understanding and a life of deepening spirituality.

Opening Hymn: Seek Ye First – The Maranatha Singers (click on song title for link)

Readings: 

Old Testament:          
Genesis 17:10-12 (NIV): ¹⁰This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised.¹¹ You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. ¹² For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring.

Deuteronomy 10:16 (NIV): ¹⁶ Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer.

New Testament:
Luke 2:21-38 (NIV): ²¹ On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived. ²² When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord ²³ (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), ²⁴ and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.” ²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. ²⁶ It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. ²⁷ Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, ²⁸ Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: ²⁹ “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss^[c] your servant in peace. ³⁰ For my eyes have seen your salvation, ³¹ which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: ³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.” ³³ The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him.³⁴ Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, ³⁵ so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” ³⁶ There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, ³⁷ and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.^[d]She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. ³⁸ Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

Swedenborg:
Arcana Coelestia §1986, verses 8, 9: But people must first of all remove their own loves and their foul desires, and so be purified. This is what was represented by and what is meant by circumcision, verses 10, 11. Thus union would be effected, both with those inside the Church and with those outside it, verse 12. Purification must definitely come first, otherwise there is no union, only condemnation; and yet union cannot come about except in people’s impurity, verses 13, 14. The union of the Human Essence with the Divine Essence, that is, of truth with good, is foretold, verses 15-17. Also, the union with those people who are governed by the truths of faith is referred to; that is to say, as it existed with those who belonged to the heavenly Church, so it would exist with those who belonged to the spiritual Church, verses 18, 19. The latter as well were to be endowed with good things from faith, verse 20. A concluding statement that these things would be achieved through the union of the Human Essence with the Divine Essence in the Lord, verse 21. The end of what is foretold, verse 22. This was the way it would take place and did take place. (R. Kern, trans.)

Meditation: On Eagle’s Wings – Michael Joncas  (click on song title for link)

Message: 

Closing Hymn:      Go Now in Peace – Peter Shaw  (click on song title for link)

 

 

Grace

22. Grace to you and peace, signifies the delight of truth and good.

[2] This in particular is what is meant by “grace” in the Word; as in John:
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt in us, and we beheld His glory, a glory as of the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth, of His fullness we all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:14, 16-17).
It is said “grace and truth,” because grace is the affection and the delight of truth. And in Luke, after the Lord had explained in the synagogue the prophesy of Isaiah respecting Himself, that is, the Divine truth, it is said:
All wondered at the words of grace proceeding out of His mouth (Luke 4:22).
the Divine truths that the Lord spoke are called “words of grace proceeding out of His mouth,” because they are acceptable, grateful, and delightful. In general, Divine grace is all that is given from the Lord; and as all that is so given has relation to faith and love, and faith is the affection of truth from good, this is meant in particular by Divine grace: for to be gifted with faith and love, or with the affection of truth from good, is to be gifted with heaven, thus with eternal blessedness.
~Apocalypse Explained, Emmanuel Swedenborg (Whitehead, trans) n. 22.

 

Lord of Lords

“To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. … Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer. For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome …” (Deuteronomy 10:14, 16-17)

“He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. … On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” (Revelation 19:13, 16)

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)

“Since the Father is within the Lord and the Lord and the Father are One, and also since one must believe in the Lord to have eternal life, it is plain that the Lord is God.” (Emanuel Swedenborg, New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine, Kern, R.C., trans., §284)