Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast [ our ] confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all [ points ] tempted as [ we are, yet ] without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. - Hebrews 4:14-16 ( NKJV )
First off, let's talk about the concept of 'sin'. Biblically speaking, it refers to 'missing the mark'. "What mark is that?" you ask; you be the judge! If you believe that the Hebrew & Greek Scriptures, as contained in the Bible ( "which version?" ) are immutably true & relevant for our day, then "the mark" refers to, first & foremost, the Ten Commandments. Jesus told His listeners, concerning the 'ten words', "For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one [ point, ] he is guilty of all." To those, however, who do not follow these teachings, though they, like I do, see Universal Truths in the same Scriptures; the whole concept of sin & indeed, missing the mark is irrelevant. Without going into an exegesis of Jesus' words to the Hebrews, suffice it to say that, unless one claims to be a Hebrew, Jesus' words here do not imprison us in the least!
The quote above reads, without the bracketed words, "Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all tempted as without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need". A bit clearer, though it still mentions 'sin'. The point, though, is that Jesus, like every single one of us, went through the wringer; He WAS "tempted" for god's sake ( pun intended )! Like every Master in every Scripture around the world, though, He WAS a Healer, for He came to show us that we have the Power to heal OURSELVES! At another place in these same Scriptures, He Himself told His disciples ( this is a Universal Truth ); "he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater [ works ] than these he will do, because I go to My Father". Jesus was able to empathize, just as we are, with those who were in need of healing, because He Himself had 'been there; done that'!
A good friend, a Brother really, recently broached the subject of why I had not been writing on certain subjects lately. My reply, in not so many words, was that I have moved on. Having out-grown Christianity, one might say, much of what I had previously attached much importance to now pales in comparison to what is before me! This is not to say that I dismiss this important step in my Journey ( "I most certainly do not!" ); it simply does not bear the relevance it used to. I told this Brother, in other words, that WE are what we've been looking for, that WE are the ones who must experience 'crucifixion' in order that we may realize Our own Power to heal. both ourselves & others. That's what Jesus, as all the Masters, came for!
Though different cultures all have different Scriptures, the only REAL difference IS the culture ( "Let THAT sink in!" )! "All religion is the same", some have said. This is true. One's religion, as I've said before, is belief in action. If one truly believes something, sooner or later, they will follow their words with deeds. This, one should note, is the proof of any religion. The pendulum, unfortunately, swings both ways with this axiom, because history has proven that there have been those who claim to believe certain things, whether it be theistically or otherwise, that have hypocritically proven the exact opposite, while on the other hand, there are those who have proven their intention to harm rather than heal. In both cases, the culprit is a misinterpretation, a misunderstanding of the text of any given Scripture!
In the midst of His own crucifixion, the Pharisees, significant of many or most 'religionists' today, told Jesus, in other words, "Physician, heal yourself" ( Matthew 27:40 ). What they failed to realize was that Jesus WAS healing Himself. By allowing Himself to be crucified ( "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done" ), Jesus was taking the Path that we all must tread, healing Himself, symbolically dying to His Ego, His humanity, that which fears Death, that He might heal others, by teaching them to heal themselves. In the end, Jesus knew ( "For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God" ) that if we are to be healed, we must heal ourselves. In the same vein, in order to help others heal, we must first crucify ourselves!
Now, Healing may may look different to different people, just as religion, even 'God', or the Source of All, looks different to different cultures. One man's healing, such as Jesus', might look like Death to those who don't understand. Our standing again, our 'resurrection' proves to those paying attention our Power to Heal, just as Jesus' proved that He was Who He said. In our own world, our Healing may look to others, even to to our own wounded Ego, like Death, or at least disintegration, but to those who know, who understand this Truth, it is glorious in its mortification, for We see the Light at the end of the proverbial tunnel & KNOW that it IS a train, the Train to Freedom!
Jesus Mastered His Fear! In the same manner, we must master our own Fears; the Fear that this will be the Death of us, indeed, the Fear that Death is the End! Death, in the sense of our crucifixion, of which Jesus' was symbolic, is simply the metaphorical death of our Ego, our humanity. It is not the End, though it is AN end ( goal ). In the process of dying to our Ego, we learn that we are More, so much More, in fact, than our Ego, our humanity & this part of us, the More that We ARE, can never die. Death is NOT the End; Death is a necessary step on the Pathway to Life!
Whether one follows the Western religions, or takes a more Eastern Path, it should be clear where the balance of Power resides. In the Native American religions, Nature itself holds the key to our healing. Given that we are One with Nature, one would be hard-pressed to disagree. The Eastern religions tend to look to the Heavens for our salvation. "As Above, so Below". though; the Masters of both the Far & Near East taught that 'Heaven' is Within us all. Jesus really taught nothing different from what the Buddha taught; the only difference was Culture! "An ye harm none, do what ye will" is not so different from "love your neighbor as yourself" ( yes, I omitted the first part of that 'verse'! ) The Western religions, like the Eastern, all have their gods & goddesses, all of which are different aspects of the surrounding cultural understanding of the Source of All Life & not the Source alone, but the Sustainer of that Life, for We ALL must realize that no man ( or woman ) is an island; we must rely on each other & Nature Herself for the sustenance of Life, at least, in a purely physical sense.
Being, however, that there is More ( 'SO much More" ) to Life than the merely physical aspects, Wounding, or metaphorical crucifixion is often a very necessary part of our Journey! In reality, the only wounds we receive are a damaged Ego. This may sound like a cliche', but no wound feels pleasant at first, but through hindsight, sooner or later, we come to realize that it was good that it happened the way it did & when it did. As a Christian & I still love this Universal Truth, my favorite, though cherry-picked, verse was Romans 8:28; "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to [ His ] purpose". For those whose 'crucifixion', whose Wounding carries a more physical meaning, as in the loss of a loved one, or some such, I do not mean to down-play your pain & suffering!
"That which does not kill us only makes us stronger!" In some form or another, we are all fairly familiar with this old axiom & while there is much truth to it, we must take great care that we do not allow our Ego to become the stronger! In order to become truly stronger through our Wounding, we must realize that we are More than our Wounding, More than merely physical beings that will inevitably suffer Death: "As Above, so Below"; Death is simply a gateway, a portal, if you will, to Life Itself!
Namaste' & Blessed Be!
Sage Charles
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