Food for Thought
The coming of the spirit of truth
An article from CentreCOMM, August 1996
Rev Mario Schoenmaker
"What you perceive in the world at present is the Spirit of Truth accomplishing its work like a mighty hurricane. It breaks to pieces and demolishes humanly built structures, and we can certainly observe this at present in certain devastated countries. With the destruction of human structures comes also the eradication of human prejudices, human beliefs, racial discrimination, human narrowness and credal concepts. Feelings of superiority disappear so a new vessel can be created in which the new wine of the spirit can flow."
The word 'spirit' is a captivating word. We use it in our language in a sort of neglectful way. We do not really notice when we use it yet, somehow, this word is part of our culture, language and understanding.
The Gospel of St John is full of references to spirit -- particularly the latter chapters where Jesus is preparing his disciples for his departure to other dimensions. He does this by teaching them about the workings of spirit in evolution, in particular the coming of the Spirit of Truth.
Do you remember the scene before Pilate? Jesus was being questioned about his kingdom, his mission, his purpose.
Pilate said to him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Every one who is of the truth hears my voice. Pilate said to him, "What is truth?"
What is truth?
Truth has always been a great question mark for the human being. We have built whole philosophies around it and tried to make truth a logical extension of our thinking faculties. Truth needs proof, we say; without proof there is no truth as far as our thinking is concerned. But the Spirit of Truth cannot be understood with the intellect alone. It needs to be experienced, observed and realised. What is more, our intellect is often in the way of this process, simply because we have shaped our intellect according to our cultural and social background.
What we do not do is question the reality of our education, our social environment, our Christian heritage and religious beliefs. In order to come to the reality, in order to come to the Spirit of Truth we need to cleanse ourselves from the dross that makes us unable to perceive the purity of truth.
But before we do that, let us try to answer within ourselves the question of what this Spirit of Truth is! With Pilate we may ask the question, and realise that wherever there is a question, there is also an answer somewhere. And many answers are of course possible, for spirit is working through time in the growth of evolution.
The refreshing lake of truth
To me spirit is like a fountain which is springing up in a desert land. It is like a pool in which you can wash and cleanse yourself. Spirit is like the wind that blows its cool and refreshing breath upon your soul. It is like the dew in the morning and like the sun that warms you after a chilly night. Spirit is the ability to perceive the pain and need of another person. Spirit is the subtle growing of awareness which makes you wise and full of compassion.
In my imagination I see spirit as a lake, filled with pure water. Around the lake is the desert, where people live and have their own creeds, their own cultures, their own churches and temples. You can see the dried faces and limbs of these people. They do not often go to that pure lake of water which is waiting for them. Instead they dig the water out of the ground and use this muddy substance to refresh and sustain themselves. As a consequence, they are all dry as a bone.
In my imagination I see that sometimes one or two will go to the lake and drink from it or wash themselves in the waters. They come back with a truth and add this to their culture or creed. Nothing really changes of course, except that now they have progressed to another truth and have a new insight into the mystery of water or spirit. But because nothing really changes, the new-found truth also dries and stultifies and eventually becomes as useless as their former creeds and dogmas.
We do not drink from this truth for we are afraid that we have to change our thinking, our way of life and may even risk losing the affection of our friends and relatives.
Truth, incidentally, is not relative. It is absolute. One cannot play diplomacy with truth. One cannot tinker or bend the truth to one's own concepts. One drinks it or not. One either accepts or rejects the reality of truth in whatever form it may be revealed or expressed.
Truth is revealed through time
Jesus was aware that his disciples could not take the truth and therefore he did not enlarge upon it. Instead he told them that when the Spirit of Truth would come and be revealed, it would guide the human race into truth
For thousands of years, this guidance into truth has been there. Amidst human error, misunderstanding and misapplication, truth has marched forward in no uncertain terms. One has only to observe the progress of history over the last two thousand years in order to see that truth has always prevailed. And even though we are still a long way from the reality of spirit, truth is being accomplished upon this earth.
The first and second comings
The reason why truth is marching forward at present, like a mighty wave, lies in the fact that Christ is with us again in full strength and power. The Spirit of Truth, which is the Spirit of Christ, was seemingly dormant for a while, slowly germinating within the bowels of this earth. Now it has freed itself from its own imposed bondage and indeed we see the mighty workings of the spirit right now upon this earth.
Orthodox Christianity waits for the second coming of Christ just as the Jews wait for the first coming. Neither have seen that both the first and second comings have been accomplished.
The holy hurricane
And because of this blindness and hardness of heart and mind, truth can no longer operate in a gentle quiet way. The purpose of the Christ has to be accomplished, the evolution of this earth has to be hastened. What you perceive in the world at present is the Spirit of Truth accomplishing its work like a mighty hurricane. It breaks to pieces and demolishes humanly built structures, and we can certainly observe this at present in certain devastated countries. With the destruction of human structures comes also the eradication of human prejudices, human beliefs, racial discrimination, human narrowness and credal concepts. Feelings of superiority disappear so a new vessel can be created in which the new wine of the spirit can flow.
This spirit will tear the tribes away from their homelands. It will create new borders, new countries, new places, and will break the blood bond that has held us in bondage for so long. "Race" and all that belongs to it must eventually disappear. We may put laws into effect about discrimination, racial prejudice, religious superiority and so on but these laws will not produce the unity that the Spirit of Truth alone can accomplish.
Archangel Michael and his angels with their fiery swords are at work with Christ, and even though it seems that the results are terrible and cause physical, mental and emotional sufferings, the earth must be cleansed and purified for it to be recreated according to the laws and love of Christ.
There is an old hymn that we sing with gusto and enthusiasm, but I wonder if we realise the reality and the terrifying truth of these words:
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He has loosed the fatal lightning of his terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.
We speak so often of the love of God, but rarely have we touched upon the wrath of God, the anger of God, the fear of God, or the judgment of our God. We should speak of this for if we do not give love to God, if we have not fed the heavens with the very manna of our love and charity toward each other, and I mean this in a cosmic sense, then let us not be surprised that the love of God shows itself like a bolt of lightning which destroys the very fabric of our false society.
Listening to God's plan
When the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
From this passage from John 14 it seems as if this Spirit of Truth has human attributes. This is because the spirit works in human evolution and for humanity. His guidance, his speaking, his hearing is the very work of evolution on the grandest scale. And you, the human being, may hear it, you may feel it, you may become aware of it, and blessed are you if you do.
This spirit has not only heard our own cries of pain, it has also perceived our barrenness, our dryness, our stubbornness, and refusal to drink from the living waters of truth which are always available. For we would rather stick to our own culture and think it supreme. We would rather adhere to our own Christian religion and believe it is supreme above all others. We would rather cling to our particular race, for in our eyes it is supreme and inviolate. All this the spirit hears, but he also hears what the heavens demand. The spirit listens to you and me, to the world at large, but in the finality it listens to God in the heavens.
What does God want for this earth, for this globe of ours? A unity of spirit, a unity of race, a unity of purpose, a unity of love, where we can all be one, as the Christ is one with the spirit and with the Father.
The Religion of the Father
The most essential product of this unity is unity of worship. For as time marches on, he, the Spirit of Truth and of Christ, will lead us to a new awareness wherein we shall all worship the Father. Religions as we know them will and must disappear. There will be no more exclusive Christians or Muslims, Hindus or Buddhists, but we shall all be one in love for God, the Father of us all.
For this unity to come about, three things are essential. And if we want to hear and know the declaration of the spirit in terms of the future, and our text tells us that he will reveal the future for us, then we better fulfil three essential requirements:
1. Create new vessels
Do not try to put new wine into old worn out structures or vessels. This new wine of the spirit wants a total renewal, within the world at large but also within our own hearts, minds and souls. And if we do not do this voluntarily, which means seeing the will of the spirit in evolution, then the truth will pass us by and we shall become subject to the will of the Spirit of Truth in a manner which may not always be pleasant.
People often ask who was the founder of The Centre. My answer is and always shall be the same: the Spirit of Truth. A quarter of a century ago we listened to what the will of the spirit was for the people of God and, because we listened and were guided, a totally new concept of worship and expression came about, which is a new vessel of the spirit for this period of time.
2. Devotion and love for Christ, the Son of the Father
It is through devotion and deep unity with Christ that we can come nearer to the Father, knowing that in time to come this devotion and love for Christ will be transferred and completed in him who is the Father of all human beings. For that reason Jesus taught his disciples and us:
I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.
The world is full of sorrow and pain, and even though we may see this as a result of the workings of the Spirit of Christ, we must nevertheless not forget those who are suffering because of the changes which are happening in this world. Light a candle at times for those in Bosnia, Rwanda and other places. For we are connected with them. Our souls belong to the soul of this world and consequently to every human being. Our prayers and compassion for them will purify and enable us. We will be strengthened as a result and a change will come about within the contours of our own souls as well as in the soul of this world.
3. Be open to the guidance of the spirit within your own soul and community
Listen to each other. Be open to new ideas, new insights and understandings. Do not always push your own idea forward as the only one worth listening to. In your meeting together, be it in small or larger groups, allow time to listen to the spirit first and then listen with respect to all those who are bonded with you with the bond of Christ and of love. Then, together, we will create again something new, something which has the approval of the spirit and which will be for the blessing and healing of the many people whom we shall touch in days and years to come.
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