The Lord's Prayer
Martin Cecil November 7, 1982
As we abide in that
place of heavenly stillness, we enfold and protect all that draws near. And we
speak the creative word, “Let there be life,” and there is life. If we all
abide in the place of heavenly stillness we all abide together forever. The
voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping
upon the hills. I think we might hear the echoing and resounding of that voice
in the mountains and in the hills. The voice speaks the Word and there is creative
movement. But the Word springs forth from the place of stillness where we
abide. Until there are those who do abide in this place of stillness while
living in form on earth there is no place of stillness present at the level
from which the Word must be spoken. All things were made by the Word, and
without the Word was not anything made that is made. How then would human
beings expect to make or achieve anything while ignoring the Word?
Because man was created
to give expression to the Word on earth there is a residual power of creation
present in man, even though he has ceased to be man as he was originally
created. There is a form of radiation that proceeds from human beings to be reflected
back to them by their worlds. I spoke of the earthly self reflecting the
heavenly self this morning—that could be one way of putting it—but the earthly
self is not really a mirror. It is better described as a window through which
the pure expression of the heavenly self shines. The world which is thereby
created could be said to be the mirror; it reflects back what was present in
the radiation. If the radiation is pure and heavenly then the world is pure and
heavenly. If the radiation is unholy, evil, as it has been, then the world is
seen to be unholy and evil. That is what is reflected back by the mirror.
The window rightly
replaces the mirror, as the earthly self has been. The earthly self has been a
mirror of the world which the earthly self made in the first place. Now the
window appears because there are those earthly selves which are no longer so
interested in reflecting the world. How about our own experience? We do a
certain amount of reflecting of the world still and we are uncomfortable
because of that. But when the mirror is transformed into a window because there
is a greater interest in the heavenly self than in the world of reflection, the
pure release and expression of heavenly radiation may begin to shine forth, and
this is then reflected by the world.
That shining forth
necessarily embodies the creative cycle, the creative cycle that is essential
to the dissolution of the human fantasy, and so all that fantasy is
incorporated into the proper administration of the creative cycle. The world
gives evidence of the changes which consequently occur. Those who administer
the creative cycle, those who abide in the stillness of heaven, recognize the
meaning of the reflection. It is the reflection, after all, of the heavenly
radiation which one is personally emitting.
The process of
salvation is in effect. All things in the realm of reflection are in the
process of change to reveal the pure essences of the radiation. There is, as we
are aware, a creative cycle involved and we are content to let it work. The
change can only take place to the extent that there is a pure radiation being
released through the window. We are aware of our position and responsibility in
this regard. We are not at all, as Michael indicated, in the business of
manipulation; nothing would be achieved by it; this has been the mode of operation
of the evil self heretofore. So we bring something new, something new certainly
in the experience of mankind, which has lost the memory of the truth. We see this
as the essential element for what we have called the restoration. The restoration
cannot occur without this core of pure radiation.
Remember that radiation
results from the union of the positive and the negative. Looking forth at the
windows, rather than gazing into the mirror, we see something occurring in the
world. It is reflected back to us and we may observe it. We see it, rightly, as
the result of the creative radiation occurring by reason of the union of heaven
and earth in us. In our observation of what is reflected back we see people at
various levels and in various ways being drawn to come near. By the same token
we also see others who, by reason of the working of the Law, are repelled. The
fact of either integration or disintegration does not rightly cause us to leave
the heavenly place of stillness. We stay where we belong. The radiation goes forth.
The world reflects to us the effects of our radiation.
We might, for a moment,
pause to consider something which has occupied the attention of the Christian
world for nineteen centuries: namely, what has come to be called the Lord’s
Prayer. When the Master was on earth He was dealing with certain levels of consciousness,
a certain quality of people in the mixed-up state. He was aware that,
spiritually, all were children. He suggested that those who were willing should
acknowledge the fact that they were children: Except ye become as little
children, ye shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. So He was dealing with a
childish situation when He provided the words of what has come to be called the
Lord’s prayer. It wasn’t His prayer; it was a prayer for the children.
Evidently the state of
childishness has persisted. The same words are being mouthed today as were
given to the children in the first place. What would the prayer be for mature
men and women? The prayer for mature men and women would be deemed blasphemy by
the children, who take the attitude that what they have learned by rote is the
Lord’s prayer, unchanging eternally. It was given to the children as a starting
point for their movement in the cycles toward maturity. I suppose most of us as
children learned some nursery rhymes, some stories, but when we became what we assumed
was men and women we put away childish things, in that sense. Probably we invented
some other myths, of a more mature nature supposedly. But somewhere along the
way this childish prayer, which certainly contains some basic elements of
truth, would need to be put away in favor of the mature expression. But no, in
the Christian world, everybody, generation after generation, has repeated and
repeated the fairy tale, the nursery rhyme. Mind you, there is some meaning in
most nursery rhymes somewhere, in this particular one a great deal of course,
but provided for children, who would only be capable of understanding at a
childish level. If they really understood at a childish level this should lead
them into a more mature experience of meaning. It is clearly evident that most
of the stories which Jesus told, the various parables, were stories which were
comprehended only at a rather elementary level. Mind you again, there were deeper
understandings available, but even insofar as the disciples were concerned, to
whom He opened a window of understanding greater than was received by most,
this was still quite elementary.
The Lord’s prayer, if it is genuine, would be words spoken by the Lord. What would His
words be in the mature expression of spirit? They could be words which begin along the lines that we have been sharing:
I Am in Heaven
I am in heaven.
The revelation of
myself is holy.
My kingdom comes
because I am here.
My will is done in
earth because my will is done in heaven.
I give the bread of
life in each moment of my living on earth.
I forgive, and that
forgiveness is received by those who share the spirit of forgiveness.
I lead no one into
tribulation, but deliver all evil into the creative cycle.
For mine is the kingdom
present on earth because I am present on earth.
Mine is the creative
power of the Word.
And mine is the glory
which results, shining round about, to be reflected by the world which I
create.
Would this not be the
Lord’s prayer?
Would this not be ours?
I have been emphasizing
those two words, three letters total: “I am.” It is rather evident that quite a
few of you, and others, have not really comprehended what was being said. For
instance, someone may say or write, “I am is here.” That really doesn’t make much
sense to me. Would it not be better said, “I am here”? “I am” is so often used
as though it were the name of somebody else, as one might say, “The Lord is
here.” But why is the Lord here? Because I am here! There are those who
sometimes excuse themselves for false statements by saying it is just a matter
of semantics. But semantics are very revealing of what is actually happening in
the person—the words come out accordingly—and if you were to say, “I am is
here,” you certainly would have missed the point. Where is he? Who is he? No, we
can each say, “I am here,” assuming the responsibility for speaking the Word.
The Word is truth, and
we don’t speak it secondhand; at least that would be a very childish condition.
We speak the Word, “Let there be life,” and there is life. Why? Because I am
here and I speak the Word. As there are those who acknowledge the truth in their
own living expression there is a core of heavenly expression on earth, and it
is this that brings to pass the salvation for which we are in the world. We
came not into the world to condemn the world but to save it.
We look around, you may
even travel around, becoming acquainted with this person and that person, this
group or that group, whether they are New Age or otherwise—I am not sure what
New Age means; it doesn’t mean “new age;” it is still old age—and we may be
thankful for the fact that there is movement, there is change occurring, that
there are those who are beginning to awaken; but we certainly are not unduly
impressed, because we know that this is what happens when we provide the
essential radiation. Those who find themselves moving, in one way or another,
do not initially understand what is happening or why it is happening, but we know.
It is well that we should know, because it is our responsibility in every
moment of our living.
As heavenly selves, we
are concerned that the fact of our trust- worthiness should be proven on earth.
It is this sustained radiation that saves the world. It doesn’t originate in human
minds and hearts. These are simply windows, the windows of heaven, opened so
that the creative radiation may pour forth into the earth. And when it does the
world reflects it. There are those of course who, by reason of response in mind
and heart, draw near. They are welcome, they are protected, and they may
participate with us as they come to the point of union in unified radiation.
But this is the one thing that is necessary. Nothing else that is happening on
earth could have any meaning whatsoever but for this one thing. We need to know
this. We don’t need to try to tell anybody else about it. It is a matter of our
own being.
We know how to take
care of the reponsibilities present in our circumstances when we abide where we
belong, the place of being where I am—not “where I am is” but where I am. So
here we have a sensing of the creative power that is at work. This world of
creative power becomes increasingly more real to us than the fading reflection
of inhuman radiation, the world as we thought it was. People everywhere are all
involved in that; it seems so real to them; they are trying to get it back into
the way it used to be, even though they didn’t like it the way it used to be;
but all to no avail. And it will be to no avail as long as the creative
radiation is in place.
The reflection of that
creative radiation comes with absolute inevitability and we share in an
increasing awareness of the kingdom and the power and the glory. This is real.
This is the radiant reality which is reflected by certain levels of the
electromagnetic field around us. Let the reflection be pure and right because
the radiation is pure and right.
Grace Van Duzen — Martin, what fulfilment in the expression of the Lord’s
prayer: radiant reality. What fulfilment surely, and rejoicing in heaven, that
that which was given two thousand years ago for the children is given in this
hour surely to mature men and women and all who will come and share this
because I accept responsibility in the name of the Lord.
Martin Cecil — Mature men and women? I
trust, maturing men and women, but sufficiently mature to hear and understand
and speak.
© Emissaries of Divine Light
