Our  True  Ancestry

What great destiny could this little patch

Of Cariboo earth hold,

These few tumbledown buildings

Gently moldering away on a lonely roadIn a lonely land

Far from the pulse of cities

And the wealth and power of England?

No destiny here,

Common sense would have said

As it surveyed the forlorn scene

Other than the age-old fate

Etched deep in the human heart

—To labor, to dream, and to die.

But he beat the system,

This man I knew as Martin.

He did not allow himself to get away with things.

He did not allow himself to quit.

He kept his integrity.

And as he held fast to that golden cord

The sweet voice of spirit spoke from the stillness

And reminded him of a different ancestry

A different home

Greater than the proud name of England

Or the proud halls of Burghley.

He remembered his place in the serene orderOf the stars,

And in the sunlit courtyards of eternity.

He remembered that he was not just of the earth

Even though he lived here for the moment;

He carried the light of the sun in his eyes.

He was a prince

From the realm of light

And he had come to remind others

— Trapped in bonds of forgetfulness and despair —

That they too were of light

And together their work was to return the planet

To a place of beauty and love.

Chris Foster

The  Magnitude  of  One  Man’s  Life

from

A  Ninth  Anniversary  Tribute  to  Martin Exeter

January 12, 1997   Martin Exeter Hall  100 Mile House BC

Lillian Cecil — The 12th of January, 1997. Where do the years go? I haven’t shared my spoken word much in the last nine years, although those of you in the 100 Mile House unit know I put my two-cents worth in every so often. But today I feel quite honoured to speak before you—speak with you. So much has been said about Martin and his glorious spirit that was offered to everyone; his steadfastness; his love of the truth. There are so many things that could be said, from my standpoint. I did bring the book, his biography, One Heart, One Way, by Chris Foster, The Life and Legacy of Martin Exeter. We all have lives and we all have legacies to leave, every one of us.

I appreciate what’s been said already, because it depends upon me, and you.  Many times I would say to Martin, “I love your spirit.” And he would say, “I love yours.”  We all have spirits, and if they blend and can be worked together, that’s it!  And sometimes I’d say to him, when I’d had a low day, “I am sorry to add to your load.” He would say, “I have no load. It has been lifted up in spirit, to the true spirit.” I thought, isn’t that wonderful. Am I going to get to that moment, where all my burdens, so called, where all the loads of life are not there? They might duck in one door and out the other, but they are dealt with, if you want to use that word—I don’t like that word—they are encompassed, they are enfolded with my spirit of love and understanding, of tolerance, whatever it might be in that moment. Uranda’s and Martin’s lives absolutely inspired me, to the ‘nth degree, in my life. That was all that was important, and that is all that is important! That is why we are on earth—the truth of being on earth—to again let that be expressed on earth.

Some things that were said in this book relate to the fact that the world doesn’t seem very happy; it doesn’t seem very nice to live in any more. And yet there is a way for that to change, and we are here to see that it does, in whatever way we do it through ourselves, individually. When we do it individually we find that we have friends. I count you my friends, and many others. A few days ago I got a phone call (and every so often I get a phone call or a letter like this): “Lillian, how are you? How are you doing? I said, “I am fine. How are you?” And the person said, “Well, do you remember me: I am so-and-so.” “Well, of course I remember you,” I said, “friends don’t forget friends.”

To put it into angelic terms: the angels have descended upon this planet, and they are all over the earth. They aren’t just in one spot. That was part of our purpose, as Martin and Uranda often said; to cover the earth as a mustard seed, with angels; and I thought last Sundays service was lovely (and the one earlier in the year), where spontaneous combustion happened—and where we were all on the line together. I think we all thoroughly enjoyed that, because we suddenly realized that our friends cover the earth. My friends cover the earth, which I deeply appreciate. It is more than that! It is my whole life saying, “Thank you Uranda; thank you Martin; because without you two there would have been nothing! Thank you for what you gave me and for what I could offer back.” I trust I have always offered something back to each individual. It might not have been the greatest dessert in the world but at least it was part of the meal! So angels, thank you very much for this special time with you. Thank you.

Anne Blaney — I want to thank each of the speakers for what you have offered, and note that what you offered was yourself, and your wonderful experience. That is very touching and I am sure it moved the heart of each person who is here. So thank you for doing that. And now, I’d like to inject a little surprise at the end of our time together. From out of Martin’s biography, One Heart, One Way, I am reading:

“Playing an essential part in all this was Ross Marks, a young man with a ready grin and thick swatch of auburn hair, who came out to assist Martin during his summer holidays in 1948—and never did return home. While Ross Marks’ youth sometimes ran into over-exuberance, Martin found his steadiness and sense of fun a most helpful influence in all that was happening.”

Ross, I would ask you to come up and share a devotion to close our commemoration service this morning.

Ross Marks — Perhaps we might share just a few moments together in conclusion, honouring the spirit of the man that we are recognizing this morning.  We could bow our heads.

It is with a sense of profound thanksgiving and love that we have shared this time together, letting the magnification of the particular spirit that is with us this morning rise, providing increased understanding and appreciation. We are thankful for the individual stories that we, each one, know and could tell if given the opportunity, all of which are part of the legacy of our friend. It seems appropriate that we have taken the time this morning to acknowledge him and to express our appreciation in our own way, through our individual spirits that are present on earth as part of the one larger spirit that we know. For this, we are profoundly thankful and we look forward to the continuing opportunity that is ours, as individuals and collectively, to let that reality find appropriate forms of expression. We rejoice in that and lift our hearts together in saying, “Thank you for this.”

I suppose much more could be said, but I feel that we’ve had a remarkably balanced and broad expression this morning {through many speakers], which has come from the heart and hearts of us all. I can’t really think of a quality that Martin exemplified that hasn’t been touched upon, yet there probably are others, because he exemplified so much. And these qualities find particular resting places in our hearts—that is what is so magnificent and beautiful—the diversity of their ongoing individual and collective expression. We are the living legacy of this man, and we continue to be that regardless of what we may do or where we may be.

Apparently someone in town asked the question: “Where are the Emissaries? I am not sure what happened to them.” Well I’m not quite sure what happened either, but in a sense it doesn’t really matter because the spirit of friendship and the reality of divine expression has not been diminished. We are exactly where we need to be, and we cover the earth. That has always been the name of the game, it seems to me. We will continue to cover the earth and, with our friends near and far, known and unknown, the legacy of Martin Cecil works its magic and weaves itself through the heart of mankind. All that continues and I am proud to play my part, as you play yours, in this continuing unfoldment in these exciting days. Thank you all.

© Emissaries of Divine Light