Support for Christianity
Here the Baby sat up and said: 'Joseph, every man may do good as far as the Sabbath is concerned. The keeping of the Sabbath does not consist in idleness the whole day through, but much rather in the doing of good works. Moses to be sure taught that the keeping of the Sabbath was most necessary and in his Law characterized every unnecessary and menially paid-for labor as a desecration of the Sabbath, which is an abomination before God - but Moses never forbade the doing of God's will on the Sabbath. Nowhere in the Law does it state that one should allow a brother to perish on the Sabbath! 'And I, as the Lord of the Sabbath, say this: Always do good also on the Sabbath, and you will celebrate the Sabbath in the best manner! But if you, Joseph, do not trust yourself to only seemingly transgress the Law of Moses by the easy repair" of that ship, then My servants shall do so right away.' (The Childhood of Jesus, chap. 149) 45. THE TRUE CELEBRATION OF THE SABBATH [1] SO we all rested undisturbed until the morning of a Sabbath, which was however not especially important to these Jews, for they were more inclined to be a gentile than a Jew. Nevertheless, the eldest came already early in the morning asking for Me, to know if I and My disciples were strictly keeping the Sabbath, since it was appointed by Moses as a day of the Lord that had to be strictly hollowed. [2] I said: “To hollow the Sabbath according to the precepts of Moses is right and good for every Jew, but from now on every day is a day of the Lord, and the one who does good deeds for his fellowman according to My teaching hollows truly the Sabbath. So you do not have to behave differently today, now that it is Sabbath, than on any other day. [3] Man has the same needs for his body on a Sabbath than on any other day and has to fulfill them as possible. He only should refrain from heavy servile work in exchange of a salary. However, if he can by that do anything useful for one or more of his fellowmen, the Sabbath will not be desecrated by that, even if he takes on no matter what heavy servile work, and I will bless him for that. But if such opportunity does not come up, it is good to rest on a Sabbath and to occupy ones mind with the things of the spirit. For with the heavy work of a working day, the soul is not well capable to think deeply in himself about spiritual things and to raise himself to God. And for this reason, Moses had ordained the Sabbath. [4] But that it is not allowed to eat or to drink on a Sabbath after sunset and also before sunrise, and that he also may not do good physical deeds for his fellowman, like the Pharisees are teaching in Jerusalem and also in other places in the synagogues, that is nonsense which indicates that the teachers themselves never understood or observed the teaching of Moses. And by teaching such things, they have totally distorted the spirit of the teaching of Moses and the prophets for the Jews. So you can do today as you have done before, then you will not violate the Sabbath for Me. [5] You only should not perform the lowest job for a meager salary for the gentiles, not today, or on any other day. But if they also will accept My teaching and will consider and treat you also as their fellowmen, you can perform for them also, in all love and brotherly friendship, all kinds of good services, so that there will be peace and unity among you. With this, you know now everything what concerns the true sanctification of the Sabbath. [6] Even the wisest gentiles say that it is better to serve a fellowman – when the conditions ask for it – than to go to the temple and serve a god there who does not need the service of men for Himself. And so, the only true God never needs the service of men for Himself. But what He needs is that, out of love for Him, and from that same love, men would perform good deeds among each other. [7] For love is the true fertilizer for the soul for eternal life, and God created humankind for the purpose that they should develop into eternal life. True religion, the only one pleasing to Me, consists thus mainly that people should serve one another mutually in My love. And if this is the religion that is most pleasing to Me, then the Sabbath will never be violated by that. [8] For it was written by a prophet in the time that the Jews were adhering too much to the outer ceremony – like the Pharisees are doing now: ‘Look, this people honors Me with the lips, but their heart is far away from Me.’ [9] Thus, from now on, serve Me only in your heart and abandon the dead ceremony, then you will sanctify the Sabbath every day in a manner that is most pleasing to Me. Did you understand this now?” (GGJ Book 23, chap. 45) [7] But beyond that, this phenomenon also has a spiritual significance, and for your comprehension it is this: 8] Think and imagine yourself also the spiritual sun! The outgoing light from it is adsorb by the continuously waving surface of the created life-sea, and this plays with such light, and thereby all kinds of caricatures occur which still let a matt luster radiate from them, however, destroying every trace of the divine primordial form; thus the whole heathenism and also Judaism is such contortion of everything purely divine. 9] However, if you look at a completely quiet water surface, and the sun shines thereupon, it will be reflected from the surface in the same majesty and truth as you can see it at the firmament. In the same manner it requires a quiet, desire-free heart, which can only be obtained by total abnegation, humility, patience and purest love, so that the likeness of God in the spirit of man reflects equally pure and true like the earth’s sun from a most quiet water surface. 10] If this is the case in a person, everything in him has matured to truth and his soul is then able to direct its views into the depths of the creations of God and to view everything in all fullness of the purest truth. However, as soon as it begins to wave in her, the primordial pictures are getting distorted, and the soul necessarily finds herself on the road of deception and half truths of all kinds and sorts and cannot reach a clear view until regaining the complete rest in God again. 11] And this is the true Sabbath rest in God, and therefore God has ordered the celebration of the Sabbath. During the Sabbath man should abstain from every heavy, strenuous work, for every heavy work requires the soul to lend its strength to the flesh and thereby becomes excited with it, which stirs the mirror of her life-water into strong movement, so that she cannot recognize the pure divine truth in herself anymore. 12] The true Sabbath rest therefore constitutes in a reasonable celebration from all heavy work; without an emergency one should not lay hand on it, however, in need every person is obliged to help his brother. 13] Even more so then to withhold oneself from all heavy work, every soul should put aside all desires! Since desires are storms of the soul; they disturb the life-water and the likeness of God is torn in the soul, like the image of the sun is torn upon the waves of the sea. Indeed, the image of the sun flashes from the waves, however, in what distortion! And if the storm lasts for long, soon heavy fumes rise from the moving sea and fill the heavenly air of the soul with heavy clouds; they then obstruct the light of the spiritual sun to reach the life-waters of the soul – and the soul becomes dark, cannot anymore distinguish true from false and regards the deceptions of hell as the light of heaven. 14] Such a soul is then as good as lost! There must come strong winds, this means strong trials from above, so to tear apart the evil clouds of the soul, who should then immediately retire to the true Sabbath rest and thereby bringing to rest her life-sea – otherwise there is no rescue for her! 15] Behold, this is for everyone the useful spiritual meaning, which this beautiful sunrise shows us in its quite natural appearance! Who shall take note of it in himself, shall remain in truth and all light and the everlasting life shall become his inheritance; who, however, shall disregard this teaching and ignore it, shall die forever!” (GGJ Book 4, chap. 89-90) I Myself as the Creator instituted the day of rest on the seventh day, according to Moses' Genesis. This was, as it were, a correspondence to My planting the spirit in the so far lifeless hull on the seventh day after I had been occupied with matter. And this day, on which I raised matter to something spiritual, was the day of celebration or consecration. Therefore, it is to be observed also by man after he has - like Me - worked and been active for six days. On the seventh day, man is to contemplate his work to perceive in it the spiritual idea that guided him to accomplish such work. This day is to become a day of celebration in a spiritual sense, when he shall recognize that his work during the week and his own existence do not have a material but a spiritual basis which he should remember on this day more than on others. On this day, where no duty, no working hours force him into a material trade, he shall remember My creation, My teaching, My love and My sacrifice for him individually as well as for all mankind. Therefore, this day shall become for him a day of consecration, for then, freeing himself of the material, he can draw closer to the spiritual, sublime goal, which he and all creation are destined to attain. Thus everyone shall celebrate the Sunday as a day of remembrance of My love and of all that I have done for him. Then this day will leave behind for all the days of work a gentle, religious feeling through which also the material work is consecrated. Thus man can put the stamp of his own divinity on everything that he does and achieves. This is how the Sunday and rest day should be understood and observed by you. You shall always remember that once there had been such a day for Me and that everyone will experience such a holiday when, free from his material hull, he will arrive in the other, eternal world as a spiritualized soul, bringing with him as a memory the conviction to have impressed on all his material activities the seal of his own divinity. Because of this you, too, should observe this day of rest in a higher spiritual sense. Notice the spiritual shining through the hard crust of the letter. This is what makes true happiness. Spiritualize everything, your surroundings, yourselves, your actions and your words. Not only the seventh day, but every day on which you make spiritual progress will then be a Sunday and holiday for you - a day like the sun after which this day is called by you - and it will pour light, warmth and life over you and all around you. Every day will become a day of celebration or delight when you - worthy of your Creator and with a clear knowledge of your goal - progress from stage to stage, until you attain the eternal, never ending holiday, the holy day of eternal bliss in those regions where every day is a day of consecration and peace, prepared by a loving Father for His children from time immemorial. Amen. (The Lord’s Sermons, Sermon 42) [11] Thou shalt hallow the Sabbath. "- But what does that mean, especially here, when no more night alternates with day, and only perpetual, eternal day exists? When is the Sabbath? Since the commandment is of Divine origin, it must be an eternal and not a merely temporal rule, and must have a fully valid meaning in the realm of the spirits as on earth. [12] With you it is said that one should, on a sabbath, being a compulsory day of rest, do no servile work, by which is meant all gainful occupation. But it is permissible to perform a show, to play, even to dance like the gentiles. It is necessary to fast one day before the Sabbath in order to be able to eat better and more on the Sabbath. So even the hosts are allowed to sell their food and cheat their guests on a holiday more than any other. That is, according to law, to hallow the Sabbath; the more blessed work in the field and in the acre may not be done, but everything else is fit for the Sabbath. [13] But the Lord has shown in the world that even on the Sabbath one can work fitly and do good. But if the Lord Himself worked on the Sabbath, then I believe that every person should have enough proof that the 'hallowing of the Sabbath' should be understood as something quite different from not working, or taking something in the hands which is useful and beneficial. [14] But what is meant by the sanctification of the Sabbath? What is the Sabbath? I want to tell you very briefly: [15] The Sabbath is neither Saturday, nor Sunday, nor Easter or Pentecost, nor any other day of the week or year, but it is nothing but the day of the spirit in man, the Divine light in the human spirit, the rising sun of life in the human soul. That is the Living Day of the Lord in man, which he is continually to recognize and sanctify through all his actions, which he is to do out of love for God and out of love for his neighbor. [16] But since man cannot and will never find this holy day of rest of the Lord in the chaos of the world, therefore, let him withdraw from the world and seek that Day of the Life of the sacred rest of God. [17] Therefore the people of the Israelites were commanded to appoint at least one day of the week, when they should withdraw from worldly affairs, and seek in themselves that day of life. But the law was observed only externally and materially, and in the end it was brought to such an extent that even the Lord of the Sabbath was not recognized, the Holy Father, when driven by infinite love, came to earth on his children! [18] I think that you would fully understand from these words what was meant by the sanctification of the Sabbath and how it should be kept. [19] You should as well be able to understand the question of whether your Sunday keeping is a true sabbatical sanctification, whether one can, through an hour of worship, followed by worldly entertainment, reach the innermost, eternal Living Day of rest of the Lord? [20] If I were with you on earth, I would like to set a very high price on the proof, whether by attending church, then by hard eating, and finally by going for a walk, driving or riding, sometimes even by dancing, playing and drinking, not infrequently through lies and deceit, through ordinary personal visitations, and more enterprises of the like, one would find the true Sabbath in spirit and sanctify it. Who knows if there are not philosophers who could provide such proof? Of course he would be exposed to be like a false coin with us. [21] It is barely necessary to mention that here, only the living Sabbath-sanctification is taught to and practiced by the children. You can form for yourself a thorough concept of how these commandments of the Lord are actually to be understood. (The Lord’s Sermons vol. 2, chap. 76)
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