Since my last communication to you a week ago, much has changed in the world. This is a good time for Reflection and Inflection and striving to be more Christ-like as The Child, Jamil, exemplified. These words from the Twelfth Saying describe his demeanor in some detail.
The Twelfth Saying (Part 4 of 4)
“And then the Third Mariner said: ‘You have stated in the First Sayings that Jamil came to show us the Life of Righteousness, and if we would but imitate The Child in The Path or the Way of The Child, we would begin to understand the spiritual words which he spoke. And possibly it is a misunderstanding on the part of myself, and other members of the Community, when we talk of the Path of The Child or the Way of The Child, because we are so often faced in this world, especially in light of this last Saying, with the difficulty of extricating ourselves from the world. And that seems to involve a decision that requires a great deal of maturity, contemplation and self-analysis. To assume the innocence of a child while trusting in a community that is sophisticated and intellectual is one that appears conflicting. And again, possibly that is a misinterpretation of the phrase ‘the Way or the Path of The Child.’ How can people who are forced to make a spiritual decision to leave the world and enter Community life be certain that they are reaching the right conclusions? Does one assume the innocence of a child or one of maturity? What is the balancing factor that we must use to determine what is proper to do with our lives?’
“And The Man answered the mariner saying: ‘We can analyze the question from two positions. First, was Jamil just a child? The answer is ‘no’ – he was more than a child. Second, was the Child a divine being of Light, the Word of God incarnate within the image of a child – a great illuminated being of Light, Christ come in the form of a child? I would say the second is the case.
“‘The Child symbolizes innocence, goodness, trust, love, and kindness, of great degree. But The Child also represented severity, righteousness and an unbelievable goodness. It might be said that if it had not been for his parents and the house that we provided for him, he could not have endured in the world because he was a little child. That is a logical assumption. On the other hand, if he would have been left entirely alone in the world he could have lived very well – in the fields with the animals. I remember when he was only a few months old he went to the beach for the first time. He was but a baby, but he could lie in the Sun all day without being burned. Turtles came out of the sea to his feet, birds from the air came to him, he communed most innocently but openly with all living things. He ate very little food. He lived off the Light of God from the Sun and from some inner power which we do not understand. In that respect he is a great example to us – for he demonstrated to us how to be Christ-like.
“‘His judgement of people was severe. He did not allow people to touch him who were angry, people who were exploiting other people, the rich people who were mistreating the Indians of Peru on the coasts and in the Andes. The people who were living at the expense of others, he would not allow them to touch him.
“‘If anyone were to abuse a person in his presence, he was very quick to protect that person. He was righteous, and just. He did judge people very much. He could not and would not tolerate injustice. He would not tolerate people who would do harm to children, who would do harm to old people, those who were rude or abusive in their actions to others. He would always defend those people. One time he was communing with God, looking at the Light of the Sun. He was in another world. I asked him a question, He didn’t respond. I asked him again, he didn’t respond. And I insisted that he listen to me. And he turned his gaze upon me, and his eyes were as the Sun. And I was held spellbound by the luminosity and brilliance of the eyes. There was no judgement or pain in the eyes, only a great Light, and I was held suspended by that Light, unable to move for some time. And when he had finished he turned to me, his eyes softened, and he put his arms around me. This was no child.
“‘Jamil taught by example; by the way he walked the fields, by the way he communed with nature, by the way he had a power over animals, by the way animals and insects came to him. His attitude toward people, poor people, Indians, old people, blind people, all kinds of people – was one of benevolence and love. They were all extremely important to him. He knew they were righteous people who were abused by others. They must have been kind, good mothers, or good fathers. And he simply recognized that goodness and blessed them. He would come up and touch them with his hand and sit on their lap, or take their hand and walk with them. In other words, he gave goodness for goodness, and blessing for blessing. But to wicked and unrighteous men he turned his face. He would not tolerate them.
“‘So he did judge the world as a child judges without doing any harm to anyone. He just turned the Light of his face. How can we follow that example? How do we use it to make a decision to leave the world and come into The Community? It is a difficult decision. But then what does the world offer? Very little. Jamil can be likened unto Saint Frances of Assisi in his childlike nature. Saint Francis was a very enlightened person who was teaching the world through example and through humility. He swept churches to keep them clean, he picked up scraps of paper because they might contain the Holy Word of God. He gave example to priests in humility. He demonstrated meekness to his father who was a wealthy man. He gave his cloak to a poor man who would ask him.
“‘There comes a time in every person’s life when they must trust God. Jamil, above all things, was trusting. He believed in God. He believed in the Light. He lived God. He lived the Light as no one I ever saw alive. He was totally trusting. We mortals sometimes lose our trust. We have to have money in the bank, properties to insure our security. It is reasonable in the world of materialism it is to be assumed that we should think that way. If Christ were to ask us to give up all things and follow him, it would be very difficult, as it was difficult for the Hebrews. A few simple fishermen, righteous men, simple men who were trusting, followed him. Jamil teaches us how to trust God. We must have faith in God and in the Sun of Righteousness. And, as Jesus taught, to trust God who takes care of the birds in the air. They do not worry where they are going to get their food from one day to the next. Are we not more important than the birds in the fields? God will take care of the righteous men who trust God as did Jamil. If we believe that the Sun of Righteousness is the Messiah promised by God, that we are living in an age of Light, then all will be well. If we believe that amongst ourselves, and if we emulate that faith and trust that Jamil exemplified, and if we accept him as our patron, the little messenger who showed us the way of faith and hope, then we will, as a Community flourish. But we cannot expect people, as indicated in the Twelfth Saying, to live with one foot in the world and one foot in The Community, living half there and half here. That kind of person cannot instill faith and hope in us. We can teach those people, and give them time to make their decision. But once a person places faith and trust in the Light, then that person must withdraw from the world. We must maintain a communion with God. We must put our faith in the Sun of Righteousness and allow His Word to incarnate within our being and, above all, trust a higher power than the world. Then we will be taken care of individually and collectively.
“‘I believe that above all things Jamil demonstrated the importance of trust and faith. When Jamil was passing out of the world he had total faith and total belief that he was going back to God. He knew exactly what he was doing. And it was shattering to me because I wanted him to remain in the world. I did not want him to leave. I was his father of the flesh, and I needed him with me. But he was going about his Father’s business in a way difficult for a mature man or woman of the world to accept. People are naturally skeptical, cautious, wary of the world. So, for us to live the life of an innocent child is indeed a difficult task. But this is what has been demonstrated and this is how we must live. This is why the unity of The Community is so important – because we draw our faith and our hope and our trust from one another in Christ. Together we make up for our own individual deficiencies or lack of faith or trust or hope. I do believe that if we had a Community during the days of Jamil, as we do now, perhaps he would have remained with us longer. We could have nourished and sustained him with our love and with our Light and with our maturity. But in those days there were too few of us to provide for a Christ being in the world. Therefore, I would answer your question by saying that each person must make his or her decision while placing their faith and trust in God. and believing that what we are doing is right.’
“And when he had finished speaking these words, The Man bestowed gifts of gem stones to each of the mariners to celebrate the giving of the Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Sayings on the Ship of Light.”
You will be hearing from me soon on plans for the next annual Convocation, and next week we will begin our review of the Thirteenth Saying. In the meantime, stay safe, healthy and positive!
