Sunday Mass 7th July 2013 'Shalom! Peace be with you!

' Jesus' instruction - that you wish peace to someone or on a household - that if he is a man of peace, he will receive your peace; but if he denies you, that you still retain your peace. This in esoteric terms, refers to the 'kingdom of God' is within us; that like a Masonic handshake or gesture, the greeting 'Shalom' only has effect when a 'spirit' meets a kindred 'spirit', i.e. when both parties are on the same 'spiritual' frequency. The superficial greeting 'Shalom' when made only as a customary gesture of civility, like the ubiquitous 'Good Morning', has no apparent meaning or effect otherwise. Peace spiritually is of the 'soul' or the 'spirit'. Human or worldly beings are by nature 'restless'! Say, Today's Gospel Reading is from Luke 10:1-12, 17-20. This is one of those bland passages from the New Testament. You almost fall asleep when it is read and when the sermon is given, particularly in the cold of winter in a church with no central heating. But if you read the passage with 3D or 4D spiritual glasses, the depth of the landscape changes drastically. It becomes truly revealing and luminous in its spirituality. Let me copy/paste Luke 10:1-12, 17-20: 1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them out ahead of him in pairs, to all the towns and places he himself would be visiting. 2 And he said to them, 'The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to do his harvesting. 3 Start off now, but look, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Take no purse with you, no haversack, no sandals. Salute no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, let your first words be, "Peace to this house!" 6 And if a man of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on him; if not, it will come back to you. 7 Stay in the same house, taking what food and drink they have to offer, for the labourer deserves his wages; do not move from house to house. 8 Whenever you go into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is put before you. 9 Cure those in it who are sick, and say, "The kingdom of God is very near to you." 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not make you welcome, go out into its streets and say, 11 "We wipe off the very dust of your town that clings to our feet, and leave it with you. Yet be sure of this: the kingdom of God is very near." 12 I tell you, on the great Day it will be more bearable for Sodom than for that town.' 17 The seventy-two came back rejoicing. 'Lord,' they said, 'even the devils submit to us when we use your name.' 18 He said to them, 'I watched Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Look, I have given you power to tread down serpents and scorpions and the whole strength of the enemy; nothing shall ever hurt you. 20 Yet do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you; rejoice instead that your names are written in heaven.' I have underlined the key sentences or paragraphs. The two key matters are (1) the meaning of the greeting 'Shalom' or 'peace', and (2) the reason for the affirmation that 'the kingdom of God is very near' to (a) the sick that you heal, as well as (b) those who reject or deny you. Let us first cross-refer to what Jesus said when he appeared after his resurrection to his disciples, the occasion when Doubting Thomas was not present, in John 20:19-23: 19 In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, 'Peace be with you,' 20 and, after saying this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy at seeing the Lord, 21 and he said to them again, 'Peace be with you. 'As the Father sent me, so am I sending you.' 22 After saying this he breathed on them and

said: Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone's sins, they are forgiven; if you retain anyone's sins, they are retained. I want you to take note of what I underlined as it is critical to spiritual understanding. Take special note that in John 20:22-23 that we have a resurrected Jesus - as a Spirit. Firstly, we are not dealing with a 'Shalom' greeting from man to man or Man to man but from Spirit to man. Jesus, as resurrected (in the) Spirit, not therefore as the Son of Man, is giving his peace of the Holy Spirit to his disciples. Secondly, we are dealing with an instruction from him (as resurrected Spirit) about forgiveness amongst men, that relates between man and man; and not in the normal context of the Lord's Prayer - man as a supplicant asking God to forgive him (man), and promising or covenanting that he as a man will promise to forgive other men. John 20:23 deals with the supplicant's latter promise or covenant (in the Lord's Prayer) to forgive his fellow men. Please take time to contemplate and reflect for a moment on the above because we must in each and every context 'momentarily' separate the 'goat' from the 'sheep' in us. The situation is like we must or have to be quick on the draw to know whether the object or figure appearing on the Nintendo game screen is a 'friend' or enemy! For convenience I shall deal with the 2nd matter first of - 'the reason for the affirmation that 'the kingdom of God is very near' to (a) the sick that you heal, as well as (b) those who reject or deny you.'. Even though it appears more complicated, it is in fact the simpler of the two. No, it has nothing to do with Judgement Day or the end of the world or about Jesus' impending death at the hands of the Jews and the Romans. The affirmation that 'the kingdom of God is very near' to (a) the sick that you heal, as well as (b) those who reject or deny you, means that this 'truth' applies whether the man you say it to, is a good man or a bad man, a sick man or a healthy man; in fact whether he is a Christian or not a Christian, whether he is green, purple or indigo. The truth is that 'the kingdom of God is very near' because the 'sheep', the 'spirit son of God' is in you, in the 'goat' of every worldly false self-ego of son of man, son of Adam! The truth is that 'the kingdom of God is very near' because eternal spirit Adam before the Fall of Adam is temporarily 'lost' in the worldly mortal Adam after the Fall of Adam, going 'up and down' Jacob's Ladder! This truth prevailed in the past, prevails in the present and shall prevail in the future. It does not however relate to anything in the 'spirit' coming or going as such. The 'coming and going' or 'up and down' is in the illusory perceived 'lostness' on Jacob's Ladder! It is all 'imaginary' and in fact unreal as far as Adam the eternal spirit is actually concerned. It is however equally very real nonetheless to the false self-ego that is the worldly mortal Adam after the Fall of Adam, going 'up and down' Jacob's Ladder! It is like what your mood or feeling or countenance or dream is. Whatever it is, the perception of every worldly fear or thrill or any sensual emotion is very real in this worldly existence! The spirit son of God like the kingdom of God is eternal! There is no concept of time in eternity! The kingdom of God is very near because both the 'goat' and the 'sheep' are fused in you. In your 'goat' mortal worldly false self-ego of son of man you will die and be reborn again and again on Jacob's Ladder. When you are cleansed and truly 'baptised by water' by the clearing all the karmic residue of the 'goat' in you; and you are baptised and reborn in the spirit son of God in you, you will return home like the Lost Prodigal Son to the Spirit Father. But it is only a 'temporal spiritual' tussle between the mortal 'worldly' mind and the eternal 'spirit' consciousness! 'Going home' is very easy when you understand this 'stand-off'. Now to the 1st matter. What is the significance of 'Shalom'? This expression 'Shalom' or 'Peace be with you' is the foundation of Christian love. If the translators have used the word 'Shalom' instead of 'love', Christianity would not have gone deviantly romantic. This is particularly so when you add on St Paul's expression about love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 - 4 Love is always patient and kind; love is never jealous; love is not boastful

or conceited, 5 it is never rude and never seeks its own advantage, it does not take offence or store up grievances. 6 Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but finds its joy in the truth. 7 It is always ready to make allowances, to trust, to hope and to endure whatever comes. 8 Love never comes to an end. But if there are prophecies, they will be done away with; if tongues, they will fall silent; and if knowledge, it will be done away with. Love (spiritual, that is) is therefore about 'eternal' peace or bliss that you have and give 'eternally' through all time to all; this is love that is beyond 'worldly' prediction or predilection or hoping or desiring or speaking or attesting or vowing or understanding or analysis, beyond worldly attributes or configurations! Please pause now to contemplate seriously on this summary of thought. 'I' love is not spiritual love! For 'love' has to be 'selfless' so as to never come to an end, to be eternal. Love like charity should not be publicly paraded, sounded like a trumpet, and must be given such that 'the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing' (Matthew 6:1-4). For how else might love be 'unconditional' like God's love? Read St Paul's expression about love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 again, this time put the adjectival prefix 'God's' before the word 'Love' in and throughout the passage. See the difference! 'Love', as worldly expressed by humans, somehow generates connotations of sensual emotions and romantic feelings. To be Christian at 'heart' you should seek peace, harmony and eternal bliss, and that is all. To be a Christian at 'heart' you have to be stoic, because you have to bear your own cross of life's sufferings and frailties, in the Image of Christ. To be a Christian at 'heart' you have to be 'compassionate' otherwise you make nonsense of what Jesus said in Matthew 25:35-36 - "35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you made me welcome, 36 lacking clothes and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me." To be 'compassionate' you have to 'give' or 'let go' as the circumstances dictate. To 'give' as in charity or almsgiving and to 'let go' as in not hating or to forgive. In the context of 'Shalom' you gain peace by giving away peace. So technically 'Peace be with you' is not quite technically correct in spiritual terms. It should be 'My peace I give you' as what Jesus said in John 14:27 - "27 Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a peace which the world cannot give, this is my gift to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid." Giving peace begets peace. Good begets good. Bad begets bad. You reap what you sow. That is the Immutable Law of the Parable of the Sower. If you 'sow' peace, you 'reap' peace. By extrapolation, once you understand all the Parables of Jesus, you gain 'eternal life' when you give away your 'worldly life'; when you give away your 'goat' in you, you automatically gain your 'sheep' in you! 'Going home' is very easy when you understand the 'stand-off' between the mortal 'worldly' mind and the eternal 'spirit' consciousness! It is in the same way that you ask God to forgive you for your trespasses against God, on your promise or covenant that you would forgive other men for their trespasses against you. But as I had indicated earlier the resurrected Jesus said in John 20:22-23 - "If you forgive anyone's sins, they are forgiven; if you retain anyone's sins, they are retained." What is between the Spirit Father and you is between God and you and your trespasses against the Spirit Father. What is between you and other men is between you and other men. It is not the Spirit Father's business to get embroiled in your worldly affairs. God does not have to. Good begets good and bad begets bad! But do note and be warned! If you retain the trespasses that other men have against you, if you hate them for their wrongdoings against you, if you seek revenge; all will be retained in the continuing cycle of karmic consequences on Jacob's Ladder.The resurrected Jesus is reminding us of our free-will in dealing with our worldly affairs, about men dealing with men; and also the Parable of the Sower. It is in this manner that you will appreciate the true content of Matthew 6:14-15 - "14 'Yes, if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will forgive your

trespasses; 15 but if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive your trespasses either." This is a simple contractual interpretation of your covenant or promise in your supplication to God - that he forgives you because you will forgive others. Otherwise, and obviously, your breach of your own covenant to God is a trespass against Him. Today's gospel is about peace. The simple fact is that when you do not forgive another's trespass, and you still bear a grudge, your heart and mind are, as a matter of course, not at peace! So therefore we will never know the mystery of the Art of Forgiveness if we do not understand the spiritual meaning of the Doctrine of 'Shalom' and how it has behind it the Immutable Law of the Parable of the Sower and the covenant to act truthfully if you seek the Truth. The greatest act of forgiveness is the forgiveness of 'karma' - ours and others; that is, let bygones be bygones, do not bear a grudge! Remember what Jesus said in Matthew :23-24 - "23 So then, if you are bringing your offering to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your offering there before the altar, go and be reconciled with your brother first, and then come back and present your offering." This amounts to the forgiveness of the 'goat' in man. This is the epitome of giving, of forgiving, of the ultimate 'letting go' - the letting go of the your worldly false self-ego of the 'goat' son of man; the letting go of the clinging, grasping and attachment of worldly desires. To sum up, this discourse is about the 'letting go' of the worldly human mortal life for an eternal life - "For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it, but anyone who loses his life for my sake will save it." (Luke 9:24). In seeking the 'kingdom of God' you cannot do so with your worldly self or personam or mind or knowledge or in this world. You seek it within your heart, which is where your spirit consciousness is. Love is a matter of the heart whether it is the Spirit Father's or the spirit son's. Because of God's 'unconditional' love for his children our heart is at peace no matter what our fate, trials or tribulations in our worldly existence. God Bless! Chuan 7/7/13