by Rev. Cory Bradford-Watts

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Readings

John 20:19-31

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."

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Blessings in life abound, but it can be difficult to perceive them when we’re too caught up in self-awareness instead of selfless awareness. Selfless awareness is less “humbling one’s self” than it is realizing that our identifications with our perceived intelligence, our bodies, and our circumstances are a lie we’ve been telling ourselves. Instead, as some Buddhists, Hindus, and Christians believe, we should identify more with the eternally peaceful awareness that shines light into our minds as it observes our thoughts, pervades all sentient life, and underlies the energy within all matter. As we find that we are not our rambling minds, selfish ideas, and worries, we can start to truly see the blessing of every moment and settle into the blessedness of Goddess-given awareness.

In our Biblical scripture for today, we hear Christ highlighting the blessings of not having seen God and yet believing, indicating that perhaps there are less blessings if you have to have Divinity’s eternal presence and power over death proved to you. I think this has its root in the difference between finding Divinity at the core of our soul, life, and consciousness, thus needing no other “proof,” and still having missed that intrinsic connection to Goddess in our minds.

In a way, it’s similar to having met the Buddha, but still not reaching the Buddha-state yourself. You might believe in the miraculous power of peace-filled awareness thanks to the Buddha’s words and deeds, but you’re still seeking it for your life.

I might believe that Christ is risen from the dead after he appears to me in my bedroom, but that doesn’t necessarily mean my heart and mind are in a state of blessedness and transcendent belief. Christ defines what it means to believe in him, but all too often we are like Thomas – identifying with a shallower historical belief as we say “I am Christian,” while reducing Christ’s call to social justice, open and compassionate care, and peace-filled awareness to the backburner. As Christ enjoins, “Why say Lord, Lord, and not do what I’ve told you to do? …the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”

As our ancient traditions tell us, finding that root of light within brings us into a state of blessedness and the present-moment clarity of our intrinsic awareness. It’s intrinsic because it is always with us, but often it is so close that we miss it for the weeds. Christ said in our readings that as the Father sent him, he sends us – so in the mode of Christ we too should take time for contemplation, meditative prayer, and compassionate care, to start to uncover our broader awareness that is intrinsically peaceful, all-pervasive, and caring.

When we start to identify more with the broader, mysterious awareness within, the one that watches and uses our minds, we gain some much-needed distance from our over-identification with our minds, bodies, and circumstances. We realize that all these things are passing and transient, but transcendent awareness is eternal and conquers death. Indeed, this awareness shines light onto our minds and onto our perceptions of the world – and so in a way, all that we perceive is within it – and as a quantum physicist would say, this consciousness helps to form everything, to create everything. If the Buddhist, Christian, and Hindu sages are correct, this great I AM is actually the transcendent space that gives rise to everything, and from a Swedenborgian-Christian perspective this compassionate knowing at the root of our soul is the source of all goodness, usefulness, form, and function.

Further, as we come to realize we are more this observational knowing that gives rise to everything, we come to look at all the universe, all we experience and perceive, as being a part of us, within our truer selves: awareness. Christ often encouraged us to love others as part of ourselves with deep compassionate care, just as the good neighbor. This applied to enemies and friends alike. Indeed, he also said that we should abide within him and he in us, and that he is the vein, and we are the branches – thus all one from God’s divine life, love, and wisdom. Coming to know this oneness as we let go of self-centrality is what allows us to let go of fear, worry, anxiety, and hurtful habits, and find the blessedness of life whatever our circumstances.

We can easily miss the blessings around us, and particularly, the blessing at the root of our minds and all we perceive. Our misidentification with a limited self traps us and seems to bury our intrinsic awareness under our rubble, unable to perceive the beauty and peace of life. Despite its seeming demise, however, it stands at the door watching and waiting, empowering and enlightening, ready to wipe our tears away and wake us up to who we truly are.

Peace and care to you,

Cory

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