December 17, 2006

Martin Luther King, Jr., in being asked to publish some of his sermons, wrote in the preface to his book, “. . . a sermon is directed toward the listening ear rather than the reading eye. . . I offer these discourses in the hope that a message may come to life for readers of the printed words.” This is my hope for you, dear reader.——Rev. Linda

December 17, 2006

PEACE ON EARTH:

Peace in the Darkness - Winter Solstice

A while ago in our Core Council meeting we got a very clear message during our visioning process that we needed to make some changes. And after much inner reflection, I’ve finally become clear on what it is we need to change.

The change isn’t about our Sunday services. It’s about our lives, our individual lives, which is our collective life. Our individual lives together make up the life of The Maine Beacon, our spiritual community. And the change we need to make is what has been called the journey from the head to the heart. And if we truly want to see peace on Earth, this journey is one we must all make, and the sooner, the better.

The journey I’m talking about is what the Science of Mind path is, and that is not just reading about it, or studying about it, or taking classes about it, or listening to recordings about it—although all those things are good. But what makes the Science of Mind path unlike all others, what really differentiates it from any other path I’ve ever known, and I’ve been on a number of religious paths, is that we are to demonstrate what we say we believe.

Our founder Dr. Ernest Holmes, in a talk given around 1918, very early in his work, said, “It is not enough to come here and learn that all is Mind. Every living individual has got to take that Mind and do something with it.” And he went on to say, “. . . the practice of metaphysics is . . . a systematic turning of all belief in limitation, in sickness, in death, in hell, in damnation, in evil, in everything that is unsatisfactory out of your thought and turning into your thinking everything that is just the opposite. Turn that which is negative into that which is beautiful, that which is loving, that which is harmonious.” (Love and Law, p. 33-34)

We are never going to bring peace to Earth by reading a book, or debating or discussing or intellectualizing. We must use the Science of Mind principles to produce something in our lives. Otherwise, it’s just a very nice theory—like peace on Earth, wouldn’t that be nice?

The Science of Mind is not for the weak-hearted or the weak-minded. It’s not complicated. You don’t need to be a Philadelphia lawyer to figure it out or use it. It’s very simple. But it takes dedication and commitment, sometimes moment to moment, to be in control of our brain minds and not have them control us.

Every time a negative thought or condition or situation comes into our thinking we have to correct it, then and there—every time. We have to know we’re not dealing with matter. We’re not trying to change matter; we’re handling a false concept. We’re changing a belief. Because what we know is. . . it’s only a belief and I can change it. And we must know that our word is the power to annul that false idea. Our word “. . . annuls that so-called law of matter.” So says Ernest.

And he also made it very clear that we must know what we want and to be specific in speaking our word for it, leaving nothing to chance. In fact the way he said it was like this: “Nothing is left to chance in this universe. Everything is working by the perfect law of cause and effect. . . Know what you want. When Jesus turned the water into wine, they had asked for wine. He did not turn it into buttermilk.” (Love and Law, p. 43)

And then he goes on to say, “. . . we shall each learn what the metaphysical principle is by demonstrating it. It is the only way. Let us be something definite and do something and do it well. We will learn by doing and not by reading, or hearing, but by doing.” (p. 43)

This is the season of darkness. The days are short, the nights long. Winter solstice is almost upon us. In every religion and culture, people have celebrated in their own way the return of the sun and the lengthening of days. And we, too, celebrate this greater light. But what we know is that the light comes from within. It shines in us and through us as we lift up our consciousness and use the great gift we’ve been given—the gift of our good and faithful servant the Law creating from our word, as we shine the light of wisdom into every dark corner of our subconscious, obliterating the darkness with truth. And when we do that by simply speaking our word, we will establish peace on Earth.

When you came in this morning you were given a gift of a daily planner. Is there anyone who didn’t get one? I wanted us to have these planners as a way to remind us to demonstrate this truth every day. It’s a demonstration planner. So the opportunity is to write every morning what we intend to demonstrate that day. And every evening to see where we are in the process of demonstrating. And in this way we have a record of our work. We’ll also be using these in our winter solstice ritual this morning, so keep them handy.

In Love and Law Dr. Holmes says, “. . . right off begin to believe the word which you speak. That word which you speak is going to go forth and do the thing. Know that it has the power, the intelligence, and know it is accomplished when you speak it. So it shall be to each one of us looking to the truth, believing in the absolute reality of the spiritual power of thought over everything else. For that reason, and for that reason alone, let us gather together with the determination to do it. . . . And so in this way, and it is the only way, the world will ever be saved. We may seem to be doing a small thing, but we are doing a thing which reaches throughout the universe. We are unified with that movement which will ultimately save the world.” (p. 29-30)

This morning we’re celebrating the return of the light with a beautiful winter solstice ritual. I want to give credit to Rev. Karyl Huntley for her book Real Life Rituals for much of what we’ll be doing. Rev. Karyl is known in The Movement as the Queen of Ritual.

If we were to picture the year as a wheel, at the very top of the wheel would be winter, representing a time of renewal and rebirth. At this time of the year, the world is dark, cold, and quiet, with short days and long nights. The fields and forests are dormant, with much of the land on the northern half of the planet covered with snow.

For many weeks, the days have been shorter than the nights, and the level of activity for humans and animals has decreased with many furry creatures in hibernation and humankind sheltered indoors. For six months prior, the amount of darkness has been increasing each day and the sunlight decreasing.

Then, in the magic of an instant, light is reborn. The winter solstice occurs the moment the amount of daily darkness begins to decrease. For the next six months, the amount of daily light will increase until the moment at the opposite side of the circle when, once again, the darkness begins overtaking the light.

The magic of the winter solstice is the rebirth of life at the time of greatest darkness. It reminds us that new life, whether deep in the soil or deep in a womb, or deep in consciousness, begins in the darkness as a secret. The announcement of new life, whether as a sprout or as the birth of a young one, or as a new idea, is still a ways off. Germination, conception, and the moment of the winter solstice each promise a new life and is, therefore, sacred.

Winter solstice brings the promise of renewal and new beginnings. The light born out of the darkness is both the ancient and contemporary message of this holiday. (p. 51-52)

We are here to consider the mystery of transformation, of death and rebirth, of light emerging from the darkness, of the new emerging from the ashes of the old. We are here to honor this mystery in our world and in ourselves, for as it is in the great whole, so it is in the individual. Let us prepare to do our part in this transformation so that the great mystery of rebirth may prove itself once again in us.

As we come to the end of the great darkness for this cycle of our world as it spins around the sun—our source of light and heat—we leave anything we would like to release or let go of in the darkness. In your program this morning you were given a small piece of white paper which you’ll be writing on. You’ll need something to write with. If you need a pencil, please raise your hand and the usher will bring you one.

Take your paper and your writing instrument in your hands, and let your awareness fall deep within you. Allow your eyes to fall gently closed, as you review this last year with its seeds of possibilities, the work and dedication you have given to your life and activities, all that has been given to you in the way of harvest, and ask yourself, “What are those things that feel complete? What are those things that have withered of their own accord yet continue to take up space in my thoughts or in my heart; those people or relationships that are ready to be finished in the way that they have been; projects, dreams, concerns, wars, disappointments, accomplishments, ways of being that no longer serve me?”

And write down a word or symbol that represents each and every thing that you’re ready to release. (Pause for 2 minutes while they write)

Look over this list. As we move further into this ritual there will come a moment when the darkness takes these things from you, moving them into a state of nothingness, and they will no longer be in your life to use up your energy. Carefully reflect on the things that have given their gifts to you and are now complete, for they will be gone. Prepare now to release those things that no longer serve you. (Pause)

I now invite you, one at a time as you feel ready, to come forward with your paper, to place it in the fire bowl and chant with me.

Purify and heal me.

Heal me and free me.

You are now as empty as a flute with no melody, as clear as a mirror with nothing reflected, completely in the field of pure potentiality. Feel yourself as empty as a furrow in the field before the seed is planted, as empty as a page before a thought is written.

The rebirth is almost at hand; the light in the darkness is ready to be reignited—the transformation of that which was into that which will be is about to happen.

Lighting this candle symbolizes that which is now taking place, physically and spiritually, in hearts and minds the world over. We celebrate it here together, as we witness the light from within the darkness. This light burns in you and through you. There is a place for you to shine your light this coming year.

Allow your eyes to once more fall gently closed, and in this moment let that place where your light is to shine come to you. It may be a project that will change the lives of millions of people, or it may be the healing that comes with one act of compassion; it may be a single piece of what you will do this year, or it may be the entire work. What is it that the light wants to be in you this year? And when you are clear as to what that is, write in your demonstration planner, in words or symbols, what the light wants to be in you this year. (Pause)

And now I invite each one to once again come forward, one at a time, to take a candle, light it, and, if you so choose, you may speak what your light will be this year, and then be seated.

See how brightly the sacred light shines. The light has once again been born from the darkness. The old has left us, and the new is shining from within us. Just as one candle flame could light a candle held by every person on this planet, may the light in this room go forth to heal and bless the whole world. Please join me in saying, “Bless the light.”

Two birds, a coal-mouse and a wild dove, were sitting on a slender branch of a tree in winter.

"Tell me the weight of a snowflake," the coal-mouse asked the wild dove.

"Nothing more than nothing," was the answer.

"In that case, I must tell you a marvelous story," the coal-mouse said. “I sat on the branch of a fir, close to its trunk, when it began to snow—not heavily, not in a raging blizzard—no, just like in a dream, without a wound and without any violence. Since I did not have anything better to do, I counted the snowflakes settling on the twigs and needles of my branch. Their number was exactly 3,741,952. When the 3,741,953rd dropped onto the branch, nothing more than nothing, as you say—the branch broke off."

Having said that, the coal-mouse flew away.

The dove, since Noah's time an authority on the matter, thought about the story for awhile, and finally said to herself, "Perhaps there is only one person's voice lacking for peace to come to the world."

Could that voice be yours? Let us speak our word with power, shining our light into the darkness and demonstrate peace on Earth.