May 20, 2025

The Reason

The  Reason





Martin Cecil  May 5, 1974 p.m.













After this morning's service I had, as usual, a number of letters of response. I find it interesting to observe the indications of whether the writer was really moving with what had been offered, or was generating a pattern of his own. This becomes rather evident when an analogy is used. There is always a danger to using an analogy, because people can get hold of such things and really make something out of them, something other than what was being conveyed by the analogy when it was first presented; and I noticed that this happened in one or two instances in the letters I received after this morning's service. Those who are right on make the fact clearly evident in what they write. It is always a delight to receive such beautiful and creative letters of response. Presumably those who are not right on do not realize that they are not right on. A certain amount of tone-deafness is apparently involved, so that a person will write something which looks pretty good on the surface, but the note is flat; there is a certain sourness to it. Of course, people have to learn. Part of my continuing responsibility is to keep sounding the Tone over and over and over, so that finally a person begins to hear it. There are a great many people who do not really hear the Tone yet. They know there is something, they interpret it in different ways, but they never yet really heard what the Tone is. Finally it may penetrate and the individual leaves his confusions, his sour notes, and really comes into position to participate in amplifying that True Tone, right on.


So I used the analogy of a seed this morning [greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/the-seed.html], and the way I used it revealed the True Tone. One needs to be very cautious about using the analogy some other way—which is what occurred in some instances, so that the response started to produce a tone of its own. This is what self-centered human egos like to do, but it is the self-centeredness that needs to pass away. I would like to read a little more from this particular passage that we were considering this morning. “If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour. Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name.”


Because these words were spoken shortly before Jesus was arrested and came into judgment, was sentenced and the sentence was carried out, it is thought that they referred merely to that. They did, of course, refer to that, but from the standpoint of our present vision we see that much more was happening than most people recognize. He said, “For this cause came I to this hour.” This was the way it was working out in His movement through the re-creative process, and He wasn't about to break the unfoldment of that cycle. He recognized that this now was the reason He was there. There was no purpose to looking back and saying, “Well, it might have been some other way.” The fact was that it was the way it was and He had to utilize that circumstance for the purpose for which He was present. Of course, that related to something which was very extreme insofar as He was concerned, because He alone was doing something that needed to be done but had never been done. He did not have the support, understanding or agreement of His disciples or others. He stood alone, and He was doing something that He alone could do.


This same situation is not to be faced by anyone else, because it has been faced, it has been done; the seed has been sown, the seed of victory. Nevertheless, if we are to serve Him by allowing this seed to germinate and grow, we necessarily must follow Him. As He put it, “Where I am, there shall my servant be.” We do not follow Him by imitating Him, as though if there were enough imitations we could build a plant out of it. A plant isn't built out of seeds; it is something unique to itself. And the unfoldment in the creative process permits each individual to reveal the truth of his or her own being as a part of the growing plant, or tree, vine, in the sense that Jesus allowed the revelation of His particular specific reality of being on earth. And each one follows Him in the same way, but the reality of being of each one is unique to the individual concerned. Now, we want no imitations—just the genuine revelation of the truth with respect to the individual, with respect to oneself; and in the creative movement of this there are times when it may be said that we are troubled. Very often those who turn to God and to spiritual things imagine that all the so-called problems of life are now going to vanish and they will be henceforth riding freely and easily on the clouds of heaven; but as all of you can testify, I am sure, it doesn't necessarily work that way, because there is something to be done.


Our Master, when He was here in the form of Jesus, was here to do something, something that was specific for Him. By the same token, if we are to follow Him we are to do what is specific for us, and there is something specific in this regard for each one. No doubt in the doing there are times when there is what we have before referred to as dis- comfort, when we might say, “I am troubled.” What are we going to do then, when that is the case? In any situation where a person may be, there are always circumstances to be taken care of, handled. If these circumstances seem to be troublesome, then usually the individual wants to get away from them or somehow manipulate things to cause the trouble to depart. How little recognition there is that “for this cause came I to this hour.” In other words, it's no mistake that we're there. Of course many would acknowledge this as it related to Jesus: “He was the Son of God; He came to do something particular, and therefore every event was important and He was necessarily required to handle it correctly, and so on and so forth. But as for me, now, it's different! When troublesome circumstances arise for me, then I can complain about them, object to them, struggle with them, try to change them, or run away. If I run away, then I may live to fight another day.” What an unstable attitude, exemplified universally by human beings.


If we begin to participate in that plant which is growing from the original seed, we find ourselves moving in the design and according to the principles and under the control that were focalized in essence in that original seed, so we have exactly the same attitude with respect to our circumstances as He had with respect to His. He was moving to a particularly climactic point in His experience and could well have said that He was somewhat troubled; but what He felt in that regard in no sense governed His attitude or His action. Immediately upon acknowledging the fact that He was troubled He stated the truth: “For this cause came I to this hour.” And no matter what it is that arises in anybody's life, anywhere, at any time, exactly the same attitude may be taken: “For this cause came I to this hour,” to handle this circumstance in the right way, to deal with the situation, whatever it may be, on the basis of the truth of being. Here is something that needs to be firmly set in human attitude if anything of meaning is to be achieved, because every circumstance that comes to any person is just exactly the way it should be and provides the basis for the required divine action. The door is always open in this regard.


“Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say?” These could be your words, couldn't they, over and over again. “Now is my soul troubled; what shall I say? I don't like it; please change it; help me to get rid of this trouble.” That is the self-centered approach, isn't it? No, that is not the word; that's the word of weakness, the word of the self-centered human ego. What is the word of the Lord? What is the word of divine being? What is your word as an angel of the Lord? “Father, save me from this hour, poor me; save me from my troubles”? No, but, “For this cause came I to this hour, to handle the situation, to accept what the state is and to be true to the truth of my own being.” How many people there are in the world who like to be martyrs; they like to be martyrs provided that everybody around knows they are martyrs. “I had such a tragic experience, you know, and I am going to make good and sure that you know that I had this tragic experience, by my facial expression, by the way I act, the way I drag around. I am going to make sure that everybody knows what misery I have been condemned to. Poor, poor me!”—the self-centered human ego in full flight. It would be no fun, of course, if nobody knew you were suffering so!



Martyrdom is a very popular game played by human beings everywhere. “Father, save me.” Why? That is a good question to ask. Would there be any point to saving you? When one begins to be honest with oneself one can ask these questions, because there is no point whatsoever to saving a self-centered human martyr. What gain would there be for anyone?—least of all for the person concerned. Let the martyrdom pass away. There is some achievement that's worthwhile! If there is a tendency to feel troubled and therefore to want to be saved from the trouble, then there may be a recognition at the same time that here is self-centeredness poking its head into the picture. And one of the requirements of a servant of the Lord is that he should so behave as to allow the self-centeredness to pass away. This is part of the reason why the individual has come to that hour. The word “reason” could be substituted for the word “cause.”


For this reason came I to this hour, to any self-centered controls to be relinquished, so that in handling whatever is to arise there will be no complaint, no desire to duck out or to get someone to make it better for one's own experience, but to let it unfold the way it will unfold in the presence of an angel. We have the responsibility of letting the angel be present in whatever the situation is, the angel who may say of himself, “I am.” The reason for being faced with any particular situation or circumstance is that the angel may be present in that situation or circumstance. This is the reason why you come to the hour. On the one hand, the self-centered person says, “Father, save me from this hour,” or on the other hand one says, “Father, glorify thy name.” Let what finds expression in momentary living with respect to whatever it is that arises give evidence of the presence of the angel of the Lord.


“Glorify Thy Name.” What is the Name of the Lord? In the larger sense we could say that the Name of the Lord is Man, Man the Living Soul, Man made in the image and likeness of God. Here is the evidence of the Presence of the Father. When Man is a Living Soul, he is the evidence of the Presence of the Father, the evidence of the Presence of God, insofar as this world is concerned. “Glorify Thy Name.” Make the glory of the Lord manifest through me—that is what is being said here. Glory always relates to life. Life is glorious; this is the nature of life. And when the evidence of the life of the angel of the Lord is revealed in the expression of the individual, that is a glorious experience. The glory may not immediately be recognized by others. There was virtually no one present at the time that our Master moved through that troublesome time, to see His glory. It was there but most people weren't seeing the glory. The glory of life, the evidence of the Presence of the Lord, was clearly present there in the behavior of this One, in the character displayed, in the quality of attitude, in the forgiving spirit, in His clear understanding of what was required in that particular situation, His willingness to carry through with it. All this was glory—glory for all those who were not judging by the appearance.


So it is with respect to any of us, any human beings anywhere, who accept their own real responsibilities. “Father, glorify Thy Name.” That's a very different attitude to what is popularly held by human beings in general with respect to their circumstances. It's all quite conspicuous by its complete absence. What an exceptional thing to find a person in the circumstances that are present in the world, in the world as it now is, who will have this attitude: “Father, glorify Thy name, here, in this.” And yet it is the fact that for this cause we come to any hour, to let this be so in our own experience. We all have circumstances, of course, of all kinds. Some of those circumstances may relate immediately to others who are associated with us in the same prayer, “Father, glorify thy name,” and yet, looking at them we may wonder whether this is their prayer and we may consequently enter into a little judgment.


“That person, that Emissary, that server, isn't, in my estimation, glorifying the Name of the Father.” Well, do you suppose that Emissary, that server, has to fulfil your estimates? Is that the cause for which he came into the world, so as to satisfy you? I doubt it. That's not the point at all, is it? The point is that this should be your prayer. “Father, glorify Thy Name, in me,” not in the other fellow. And if that is our prayer, then we recognize that it was for this cause that we came into that particular situation. It matters not at all what the behavior of anyone else is; here is the setting—whatever the situation may be—here is the setting where one may let this prayer be answered: “Father, glorify Thy Name in my expression because I take the responsibility for letting it happen, not because I sit twiddling my thumbs, hopefully waiting for a blinding flash of light that's going to be so tremendous that everybody's going to fall down in a swoon because they're not glorifying His Name and then they'll all see that I am.” What happened when this tremendous glorification of the Name of the Father was occurring in Jesus? How about the behavior of others who were present? It wasn't altogether what it ought to have been, was it? It was despicable, to say the least. And yet the glory was there. Do you have to be sure, in any particular situation, that everyone around recognizes that the glory is there insofar as you are concerned?


We noted how people want to be recognized as martyrs, for instance? Do you wish to be recognized as glorious? This is not the purpose—merely that the glory should be there, regardless of whether anyone recognizes it or not. In some situations, of course, people will be inclined to say, “Yes, I saw it,” but in others, “Oh, no.” And I am sure that you have judged some at times adversely when the fact of the matter was that the glory was present. You just didn't see it. Well, who was at fault? You were, obviously. There was something blocking your vision, something composing a barrier in this regard. That would be impurity of heart, wouldn't it? Judge not, for the only reason that each one as an individual is present in the circumstance of the moment is to reveal the glory of the angel of the Lord, without expectation of being patted on the back for doing it; in fact quite often just the reverse may occur, and then if it does you may feel justified in being resentful about it. “Look, I was showing the glory and here someone didn't appreciate it.” Well, if anyone could have been resentful our Master could have been resentful on that score, couldn't He? because there wasn't anyone present, in evidence at least, who appreciated what He was doing. So none of us have any excuses that we could attribute as being justified by Him.


No, regardless of how your husband or your wife or your fellow Emissary or your fellow Class member or your server, or whoever, may be behaving, it is of no consequence whatsoever insofar as your expression of life is concerned, because whatever the situation is, that is the situation that is. There isn't any other; it's the only one in which you can permit the glory of the angel of the Lord to be present; and that is the individual's sole responsibility. Whatever works out because the angel of the Lord is present will work out. You don't have to make it work out; it will work out if the angel of the Lord is present. And what works out may convince you, for the moment anyway, that you are being martyred. Then comes the test as to whether you want to display the martyrdom more than you wish to display the glory of the Lord. There's no question insofar as most people are concerned in this regard; the martyrdom comes first. Where are our values? Laid up in heaven or laid up on earth? When they are laid up in heaven, then the glory of the angel of the Lord carries the most weight with us and there is no situation conceivable in which you may not allow it to be expressed and revealed.



Would any of you dare to stand up and say that you know a situation where this would not be possible? I don't think so. And yet, what do we actually do? How much seeming trouble does it take to deny the glory of the Lord and to take the attitude, “Oh, in this situation ... if you only knew what my troubles are you would be most sympathetic to the fact that I cannot possibly display the glory of the angel of the Lord here”? Could you ever take such an attitude, honestly? I don't think so. Whatever arises in the hour, in the moment, we realize that it is for that that we ourselves came to the hour. Could you still say, “Well, it wasn't really for this. I thought, when I began to serve the Lord, that things would work out differently, and now look at this! I didn't come into the world for this, in this hour”? Oh, yes, you did. I don't care what it is. “Honor and glorify Thy Name”—there's an attitude of strength, isn't it? Here is the beginning of the evidence of a true Man or a true Woman. Sometimes unexpected things arise: “Why did this have to happen to me?” For the specific reason that you are present to handle it correctly.


We recognize how useful the attitude of thanksgiving is in this regard. Something comes up when you may say, “I am troubled,” and then you remember: “For this cause came I to this hour. How thankful I am for what has arisen, therefore.” And it is always so. There's nothing whatever to complain about. Would this leave a gap in your life? What would you do, what would you say, if you didn't have something to complain about? I think a lot of conversation would dry up, even in Emissary circles.


“… but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Thy Name.” How beautiful! What a tremendous thing when we begin to see it and understand it and recognize that it relates to us. Certainly Jesus, our Master, led the way in establishing the creative cycle of victory in bringing to focus the essences of all that is right and needful. The door is open, the way is clear. We may follow Him by accepting exactly the same attitude in our personal circumstances, for, as He said, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” All men are drawn but not all men are willing to come in response to that drawing power. But all who are willing are drawn in the cycle of resurrection. “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth”—which He was, in the sense of moving through the completed cycle of resurrection and ascension—“will draw all men unto me, that where I am there may my servant be,” in exactly the same experience. Thereby is Man restored to the state of the Living Soul on earth, and the immediate purposes of God, no longer at all inscrutable, are fulfilled. For this cause, in the overall sense, for this cause came we all to this hour.



How could these things really be? Human beings have no experience of them and therefore are inclined to imagine that such fulfilment is quite fanciful. It is fanciful insofar as someone who has not experienced it is concerned, that's true, but let us let the fancy be transformed into reality in our own experience. Then we know it is so, regardless of what anyone else may imagine. “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”


© emissaries of divine light

 

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