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Keep A True Lent
Chapter 17
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[Keep A True Lent]
[Charles Fillmore's Works] [Unity on the Web Home Page]
All the Way
WHEN WE SING, "I'll go with Him all the way," we do not
always realize the mighty import of our words. Jesus went
all the way from the human to the divine. He went all the
way to immortality. He raised not only His own
consciousness from despair and hopelessness to assurance
and confidence in the presence and continued help of a
loving Father-God, but He opened the way for the whole race
to do likewise. When we determine to follow Him all the way
we undertake the mighty work of the ages, a revolution of
character before which the famous tasks of Hercules pale
into insignificance.
As a matter of fact no one has ever followed Jesus all the
way in the revolution in our race thought that He
initiated. Many devout, sincere men have attempted to do
so, but Jesus is yet to be understood and imitated in His
work of salvation.
In the first place we have not understood the depth of our
bondage to error and evil, nor the enormity of the
consequences if it is allowed to continue. But Jesus knew
how the human mind wraps itself up in its own error thought
and brings darkness and desolation beyond redemption,
unless the light of divine understanding is released in the
consciousness. Jesus knew how to quicken this inner light by
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being Himself the great Light, and He showed us how to
attain the same spiritual brightness. In the face of
ignorance, superstition, and persecution He boldly
proclaimed: "I am the light of the world." "Ye are the
light of the world." "Even so let your light shine before
men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your
Father who is in heaven."
To understand Jesus' experiences in their spiritual
significance and their effect on our human bondage we
should become better acquainted with the real character of
the man and His relation to us, because the many claims of
Jesus' spiritual superiority made by His followers and
Himself must have a basis of Truth.
That Jesus had elements of greatness far beyond those of
any other man that has ever lived on this earth is
universally accepted by both the religious and the secular
world. Some Christians claim that He came direct from
heaven; that He was very God incarnate. Other Christians
see in Him simply the fulfillment of the ideal man designed
by Divine Mind. Neither of these views quite meets the
logic of unbiased reason considered in connection with the
events of Jesus' life.
If Jesus was very God and had all power, why did He suffer
the agony in Gethsemane and cry out to His Father for help?
If He was a mere man, an evolved representative of our
race, why did He lay claim to an existence prior and
superior to the Jesus incarnation, "And now, Father,
glorify thou me with
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thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before
the world was." "Before Abraham was born, I am."
He claimed the whole human race as His "flock" and compared
them to sheep with Himself as the shepherd:
I am the good shepherd; and I know mine own, and mine own
know me, even as the Father knoweth me, and I know the
Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other
sheep have I, which are not of this fold: them also I must
bring, and they shall hear my voice; and they shall become
one flock, one shepherd. Therefore doth the Father love me,
because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. No
one taketh it away from me, but I lay it down of myself. I
have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it
again. This commandment received I from my Father.
But they did not understand. "There arose a division again
among the Jews because of these words. And many of them
said, He hath a demon, and is mad; why hear ye him? Others
said, These are not the sayings of one possessed with a
demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"
Men in Jesus' time could not understand how what appeared
to be an ordinary man could be the beginning of a whole new
race of men as Jesus claimed to be. So they thought He was
crazy when He made the assertion. We in our day do not
fully understand how one man and one woman increase their
species. It is a divine mystery, yet we bear witness to it.
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In the 1st chapter of John's Gospel it is written: "He was
in the world, and the world was made through him, and the
world knew him not. He came unto his own, and they that
were his own received him not."
The fact is that the relationship which Jesus bears to the
human family is quite beyond our present intellectual
comprehension.
In order to understand the status of Jesus we have to
visualize a universe like that in which we live as having
existed during billions of years in the past, as having
fulfilled its mission in the evolution of a superrace of
men, and as then passing away leaving as its fruit God-men
with creative power. Jesus was one of the God-men of that
ancient creation, and it was His destiny to bring forth
from the depths of Being a race of potential gods, place
them in an environment where they could grow as He grew and
become, like Him, a Son of God. As stated by Paul, "we are
also his offspring."
The beginning of our race evolution is given in the
allegory of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Jehovah is
Christ, who formed man out of the dust of the ground and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.
When the Adamic race reached a point in their evolution
where they had personal-will volition, they began to think
and act independently of the Jehovah or Christ Mind. Then
the sense consciousness began to rule and the
materialization of the body resulted.
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Degeneration of the whole man followed. Loss of ability to
draw constantly on the one and only source of life threw
the whole race into an anemic condition. Their bodies began
to disintegrate, and death came into the world. Then Satan,
the mind of sense, began to rule; sin was in the saddle.
The people like sheep had gone astray; they were lost in
the wilderness of sense; they were in the throes of race
extinction. New life had to be imparted; a blood
transfusion was imperative. Christ then began a series of
physical incarnations, beginning prehistorically and ending
with His Jesus incarnation.
Why does the all-powerful God have to resort to the
limitations of law to attain creative ends? We can only
reply that there is no evidence anywhere in nature that any
end has ever been accomplished except through the work of
law. As men make civil laws and enforce them with
penalties, even to death, so the human race has formed laws
of physical birth and death, laws of sickness and physical
inability, laws making food the source of bodily existence,
laws of mind recognizing no other source of existence
except the physical, the material.
The total of these race laws has formed a race
consciousness separate from and independent of creative
Mind, and when that Mind sought to help men spiritually,
the mind of the flesh opposed it and made every effort to
solve its problems in its own way.
The way of the flesh always proved futile and
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disastrous because of human selfishness and greed.
Thus it became absolutely necessary for Christ, the Father
of us all, to make closer contact with our physical or
fleshly consciousness and pour into it a new life current.
So Christ Himself, the Jehovah of the Old Testament,
incarnated in Jesus and brought to our immediate attention
both spiritually and physically the abundant life of primal
being, Elohim God. Hence the proclamation of Christ in
Jesus, "I came that they may have life, and may have it
abundantly."
Modern scientists explain that the atoms that build
molecules, cells, and tissues are composed of electrical
units; that these units seem to contain the elements that
convey life to all creation; that the cells of our body are
energized by these life-giving atoms; and that the ether
filling all space is heavily charged with this life-giving
electricity. Science does not say that this omnipresent
energy is divine life, nor does it admit that it is moved
by mind, either divine or human. But spiritual discernment
reveals that there is but one life and one intelligence
penetrating and permeating man and the universe and that
where there is evidence of life there is evidence of Being.
Consequently the life-giving atom is the life-giving God,
whom we conceive according to our degree of spiritual
unfoldment.
If we have developed the mind of the Spirit, we see and
feel the quickening life of the energy at the center of the
atoms of our body. All spiritual concepts
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begin in the mind and are translated into atomic life in
the body. Here we have the point of contact between the
Christ life and the race life. It also explains why our
life as a people was no longer receiving the energy flow
from the parent stream. Like the prodigal son, we had gone
into a country far from the Father, and there was a famine
in that land. We were starving for the divine substance and
got no satisfaction out of the husks, the food of the swine.
Because of the gulf between the Mind of Being and the sense
mind of the race, no life flow was possible. Then Christ
incarnate in the flesh through Jesus offered His body as a
life or electrical transformer. The atomic units of His
body were sundered and sown as points of life and light in
our mind and body atmosphere, to the end that anyone who
concentrates his thoughts on Christ in faith will attract
as a spiritual magnet one or many of His body atoms. These
Christ atoms, appropriated by the individual, become food
and drink and form the nucleus of a regenerated body for
the person appropriating them.
This casting forth of His life and body for the
regeneration of His people is promised in the use of the
bread and wine as symbols, in the Last Supper, as described
in the 26th chapter of Matthew. "And as they were eating,
Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it; and he gave to
the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he
took a cup, and
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gave thanks, and gave to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out
for many unto remission of sins."
Thus Jesus gave His life and body substance as a kind of
blood transfusion to a dying race, and the agony in
Gethsemane was the contemplation of the wrenching of the
central ego of the trillions of living electrons, protons,
atoms, molecules, and cells composing His organism. Thus
the body and life elements of the Christ body were sown as
seed in the soil of our race mind, and it is our privilege
to appropriate and incorporate these precious elements into
our mind and body.
The body of Christ Jesus is not to be subject to permanent
disintegration and death; in the creative processes of God
it must be made part of our redeemed body and restored to
its parent source, the Christ. As He said, "Therefore doth
the Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I may
take it again."
Here also we have made clear the mystery of salvation
through the blood of Christ. It is not a miracle nor a
personal sacrifice, but a meeting of a crisis in the race
evolution by the transfusion of life from a Father to His
perishing children. Understanding this in the sense of its
scientific reality should make us every one more energetic
in taking advantage of our only means of escape from the
ills of the flesh and insuring our ultimate salvation.
"Pray that ye enter not into temptation" is translated by
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Fenton, "Pray, for fear trial should overtake you." The
same idea is brought out in the Lord's Prayer, which in the
King James Version reads, "Lead us not into temptation,"
but which, according to good authorities should be, "You
would not lead us into temptation, nor forsake us in
trial." The petition is for strength to overcome trial.
As Paul so tellingly wrote to the Philippians: "Finally,
brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are
honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things
are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things
are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be
any praise, think on these things."
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The Lenten Lessons
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Lent
THE WORD LENT comes from the Anglo-Saxon word for spring,
which is derived from a verb meaning to lengthen. Lent
comes in the spring when the days become noticeably longer.
This annual season of fasting, prayer, and penitence has
been observed by the Western Church since the first century
after Christ, although it has not always been forty days
long. In more recent times it has been kept forty days,
after the example of Moses and Elijah, and to commemorate
the forty days of fasting and prayer that Jesus spent in
the wilderness.
The first day of Lent is called Ash Wednesday from the
custom that prevailed in the early Church of sprinkling
ashes on the heads of penitents on the first day of Lent,
in token of repentance for sin.
Ash Wednesday comes forty-six days before Easter. There are
six Sundays in Lent, and they are not considered part of
Lent, because in the Western Church Sunday is always a
feast day. The forty weekdays beginning with Ash Wednesday
constitute Lent.
The fifth Sunday in Lent is known as Passion Sunday,
because it marks the beginning of Passion-tide, the last
two weeks of Lent. These two weeks specifically commemorate
the Passion of Jesus, or His experiences following the Last
Supper.
The last week of Lent is called Holy Week. It includes Palm
Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday.
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Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter, commemorates Jesus'
entrance into Jerusalem when the people strewed palms in
His way.
Maundy Thursday, the Thursday before Easter, is a
corruption of the Latin word mandati meaning "of the
commandment," and refers to the command "This do in
remembrance of me" spoken by Jesus in regard to His
breaking of the bread and drinking of the wine at the Last
Supper. Maundy Thursday commemorates the event of the Last
Supper.
Good Friday, the Friday before Easter, probably known
originally as God's Friday, commemorates the crucifixion of
Jesus.
Easter Day, of course, commemorates the Resurrection. The
word Easter comes from the Anglo-Saxon word Eastre, the
name of the Goddess of spring, in whose honor a festival
was celebrated each April. Easter Day always comes on the
first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or after
March 21. If the full moon falls on a Sunday, Easter is the
next Sunday. Easter can never fall earlier than March 22
nor later than April 25.
Lent is a season of spiritual growth, a time for
progressive unfoldment. When we can blend and merge our
mind with God-Mind, the way is open for the Lord to glorify
us and to lift us into a higher, purer, more spiritual
state.
"Where two or three are gathered together in
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my name, there am I in the midst of them," said Jesus.
Unity students everywhere are invited to participate yearly
in our Lenten program. Christ is in our midst, as the God
of our planet, as the one great Teacher. Place all burdens
on the Lord and enter the Lenten season expecting definite
results.
Fasting means abstaining from; it is abstinence. The place
of overcoming is in the consciousness of man. The forty-day
fast is an all-round denial of sense demands. In fasting,
we as metaphysicians abstain from error thinking and
meditate on spiritual Truth until we incorporate it into
the consciousness of oneness with the Father.
The desire to excel is in all men. It is the inspiration of
the Holy Spirit, which ever urges us on through earth
toward heaven. It should be encouraged and cultivated in
the right direction.
As day after day we steadily adhere to our firm resolve to
follow the steps outlined for the Lenten season, we
discover that we are building on a firm foundation, and are
mounting into a higher consciousness. We come to know that
Christ is indeed with us and is resurrecting in us His
realizations of light, life, and substance.
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Denial
1st Day, Ash Wednesday. Read Matthew 5:1-16.
Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, is so-called from the
ceremonial of ashes. Ashes symbolize repentance.
John the Baptist came, saying, "Repent ye; for the kingdom
of heaven is at hand." Repentance means denial; it is a
relinquishment and should be made without too much
vehemence. Therefore, I deny out of consciousness old error
thoughts, as if I were gently sweeping away cobwebs, and I
affirm positively and fearlessly that I am a child of God,
and that my inheritance is from Him.
As I follow this rule I find that I am letting go of old
mortal beliefs and the Divine within is flaming higher and
higher. Its pure white light is infusing all my
surroundings with a delightful spirit of wisdom, dignity,
and peace. I realize more and more the law of righteous
thinking that is bringing me into a consciousness of my
perfect dominion.
In Christ it is not difficult to eliminate belief in strife
and contention. If petty quarrels, jealousy, uncharitable
thoughts come into my life, I overcome them by a quiet but
positive denial made in the realization that no error has
any power or reality in itself. I turn away from the belief
in negation, and my thinking changes. I rid my
consciousness of limited thoughts that have encumbered and
darkened my understanding. I break down mortal
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thought and ascend into a spiritual realm, the kingdom of
the heavens.
In the spirit of divine love I affirm: "Forgetting the
things that are behind, I realize I am strong, positive,
powerful, wise, loving, fearless, free spirit. I am God's
perfect child."
Affirmation
2d Day, Thursday. Read Luke 7:1-17.
The science of Spirit is the orderly study of truths
formulated in Divine Mind according to the operation of
universal law. An affirmation is a positive and orderly
statement of Truth. By affirmation we claim and appropriate
that which is ours.
The Word is the working power of Divine Mind. One will
never go down to defeat if in his hour of need he
positively affirms the almightiness of God-Mind through
Christ, and invokes its help in his behalf.
I declare that as a child of God I am now entering the
Christ consciousness of perfection. This is in itself an
affirmation, the highest I can make. Jesus helped Himself
into this high state of being by His use of the spoken
word. He continually made the very highest affirmations
such as, "I and the Father are one," "All authority hath
been given unto me in heaven and on earth." I am joint heir
with Jesus to the infinite good of the kingdom, and by the
faithful use of my spoken word I claim my heavenly good.
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Faith is the result of many affirmations. Each affirmation
helps to build up a substantial, firm, unwavering state of
mind, because it establishes Truth in consciousness.
As day by day I repeat and courageously live affirmations
of Truth, I come to know that I am opening a channel of
intelligent communication with the silent forces at the
depths of being; thoughts and words therefrom flow forth,
and I realize an entirely new source of power developing
within me.
I affirm: "Through Jesus Christ I realize my divine
sonship, and I am transformed into His image and likeness."
God
3d Day, Friday. Read John 15:1-16.
"God is Spirit: and they that worship him must worship in
spirit and truth." We do not see God with our physical eyes
excepting as He manifests Himself through His works. His
attributes are therefore brought into expression by man who
is His son and who is like Him in essence. Jesus was a true
expression of God because He was like Him. If we would
manifest the divine attributes, we must seek to attain the
consciousness and the understanding that characterized
Jesus. We must endeavor to raise our thoughts and feelings
to God's level if we would make ourselves channels through
which
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He can come forth into expression and manifestation.
God transcendent suggests God as above and beyond His
creation. This idea of God as remote from the practical
affairs of man or from man's own experience is false. God
(perfection) is not out of reach of His offspring nor
something beyond or above them. Tennyson tells us that
"closer is He than breathing, and nearer than hands and
feet."
I am centered in God because I focus my attention on His
ideas and ideals. The Holy Spirit, which is the Word of God
in action, leads me into a consciousness of my divine
sonship and inheritance. My inheritance from Him is
executive ability, abundant supply, faithfulness, joy, all
good. "I am thy portion and thine inheritance."
In the name of Jesus Christ I declare: "God's perfect plan
of bodily perfection is bearing fruit, and I am made whole."
I AM
4th Day, Saturday. Read John 10:1-18.
I am a child of the Father, and my inheritance is from Him.
I AM is the Christ within me, the true spiritual being,
whom God made in His image and likeness. Through the I AM
(the Christ), I link myself with the Father, with Spirit,
with life, wisdom, love, peace, strength, power, and Truth.
I AM is the gate through which my thoughts
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come forth from the invisible, and it is through this gate
that I go to get into the presence of Spirit.
The I AM has its being in heaven; its home is in the realm
of God ideals. I hitch my I AM to the star of God, and
infinite joy follows as night the day.
The I AM always assures me that the preponderance of power
is in spiritual things. Fear throws dust in one's eyes and
hides the mighty spiritual forces that are always with one.
I deny ignorance and fear, and affirm the presence and
power of the I AM. "I AM THAT I AM . . . I AM hath sent me
unto you."
I realize that spiritual character is the rock foundation
of being. As I build my consciousness in God-Mind, I find
that I am in heaven right here on earth. I let go of the
little self and take hold of the big self. "Not my will,
but thine, be done." The I AM is the will in its highest
aspect. The will may be said to be the man, because it is
the directive power that decides the character formation
which makes what is called individuality.
I boldly affirm: "I am a child of God, and I am joint heir
with Jesus to abiding life, wisdom, love, peace, substance,
strength, and power."
The Altar
1st Sunday. Read Matthew 5:21-26.
The altar represents a fixed, definite center in the
consciousness of man. It is a place within where
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we meet the Lord face to face and are willing to give up
our sins, give up the lower for the higher, the personal
for the impersonal, the animal for the divine.
The altar, mentioned in Revelation 11:1 symbolizes the
consciousness of full consecration that takes place in the
temple of worship, the body. "Present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual
service."
The altar to the unknown God is a yearning to know the
unrevealed Spirit, and a reaching out of the mind for a
fuller realization of its source.
Prayer does not change God--it changes us. Sincere desire
is a form of prayer. Deep desire is essential for spiritual
growth. It is desire--earnest, intense desire--that draws
the whole being up out of mortality and its transient joys
into the power to appreciate and receive real spiritual
blessings. This is a demonstration, the proving of a Truth
principle in one's body and affairs. It is the
manifestation of an ideal when its accomplishment has been
brought about by one's conformity in thought, word, and
act, to the creative principle of God.
Kneeling at the altar I take my statement of Truth and hold
it steadily in mind until I get my realization, the logic
of my mind is satisfied, and there is the lifting up and
expanding of soul consciousness.
To this end I affirm: "It is not I, 'but the Father abiding
in me doeth his works.'"
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[Keep A True Lent]
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