God Calls to those who Live in Love, Peace, and Humility
“The prophet Samuel mourned for King Saul, though he knew well that God had rejected him and his issue from being kings in Israel: this was because of his pride, and because he did not obey God and the prophet who spoke in His name. We may also read in the Gospel, that the disciples of our Lord pleaded with Him for the Gentile woman of Canaan, to send her away, that is, to do unto her that which she desired; for she cried after Him. So likewise I might say that we must mourn for all such deceived persons who think themselves to be kings or queens in Israel; for they believe themselves to be lifted up above other good people, into a lofty and God-seeing life. And yet they are proud and wittingly and willingly disobedient to God and the law. Like as Saul rents the mantle of the prophet Samuel, they endeavor to rend asunder the unity of the Christian faith, and all true doctrine and virtuous life. Whoever persists herein, they are separated and shut out from the Kingdom of Eternal Contemplation, just as Saul was shut out from the Kingdom of Israel. But that humble woman of Canaan, though she was Gentile and a stranger, had faith and hope in God, and so she received grace and health. For God exalts the humble, and fills them with grace and all virtues, while the proud remain empty of all good.”
Mourned for Saul
I think Ruysbroeck is trying to teach us here that we should treat all people the same: the Godly and the ungodly, the honest ones and the crooks, the rich and the poor, etc. He specifically talks about this with mourning, but I believe he means for us to take it in a broader sense. In other words, we should mourn the passing of anyone we love, and we should love everyone. We may not like how some people behave, but we still have to love the person because it is the only hope for them to change and become worthy people. When you hate people, you send negative energy toward them and that energy helps block them from changing.
Because of Pride
Pride is something we need to generally avoid if we are trying to develop our spiritual faculties. There are occasions where we should be proud of our real accomplishments, but many people are proud when they have not accomplished anything, or have accomplished things that are meaningless, or even bad, in the eyes of God. We have people who are proud that they have thousands of times more money than the average person, and they continue to seek more. Greed is, and always will be, wrong. There are people who are proud that they have been promoted to a high position in a corporation that sells tobacco, weapons, or other things that harm people. God does not see such activities as reasons to be proud.
Kingdom of Eternal Contemplation
I don’t think that title needs explaining. It is an obvious reference to Heaven. It should be noted, however, that even in Heaven those who have reached that level of consciousness do not sit around contemplating all day. They work on helping others in the fallen realm of matter to rise up to higher and higher levels until they too reach Heaven. As I have said before, we should not wish for the departed souls to rest in peace, because resting is not what Heaven is all about. It might be better if we wished them to live on in peace, or to do God’s work in peace.
The Humble Woman
Ruysbroeck did not randomly choose to refer to the woman of Canaan as “Humble”. He knew that having humility, the opposite of false pride, is important for those of us seeking to rise to higher states of being. If we don’t have humility, it is likely that we won’t see any need to change what we are already. Also, without humility, we are prone to take credit for all of our spiritual success, when the credit should go to God, who sends us the Grace, Light, and Wisdom needed for such growth. We do have to seek it out and work for it, but it still comes from God.