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The Reappearance of the Christ - Chapter V - The Teachings of the Christ
I. The Establishing of Right Human Relations The phrase "right human relations" is one that is today being much discussed; it is being increasingly realized that it is a major human need, and the only hope of a peaceful and secure future. Wrong human relations have reached such a stage of difficulty that every phase of human life is in a state of chaotic turmoil; every aspect [109] of daily living is involved - family life, communal living, business relations, religious and political contacts, governmental action and the habitual life of all peoples, including the entire field of international relations. Everywhere there is hate, competition, maladjustment, strife between parties, the vilest kind of muck raking and scandal making, deep distrust between men and nations, between capital and labor and among the many sects, churches and religions. The difference between a sect and a church is, after all, only one of degree and historical inception; it is one of interpretation, of fanatical adherence to some pet truth and always - exclusiveness, which is contrary to Christian teaching. Nowhere is there peace today or understanding; only a small minority in relation to the Earth's population are struggling for those conditions which will lead to peaceful and happy relationships. The strength of this fighting minority, struggling for peace and right relations, consists in the fact that the work they are attempting to do is in line with divine intention and purpose. Into this chaos of conflicting, competitive and fighting interests, Christ plans to reappear. I would ask you to contemplate the very real horror of what He has to face, and the necessity for some measure of order to be brought about in the world, for certain basic principles to be enunciated and partially, at least, accepted, before He can usefully work amongst men. If He were to come immediately, His voice would not be heard, for the noise of men's quarrelling is too great; if He sought to attract human attention, even through the prophesied sound of the trumpet (Matt., XXIV, 31.), He would be classed simply as one who advertised himself; if He preached and taught, He would attract primarily those who think naturally in unison with His message, or the gullible and the credulous would flock to Him, as they [110] do to all new teachers - no matter what they teach. The bulk of human beings are still too hungry, too devastated psychically, too bewildered and distressed, and too unsure of their future, their freedom and their security to be in any condition to listen to Him. He will not come, we may be sure, as a conquering hero, as the interpretations of the theological teachers have led man to believe, for that would certainly fail to identify Him and He would be simply classed as another military figure; of them we have had a plethora; He will not come as the Messiah of the Jews to save the so-called Holy Land and the city of Jerusalem for the Jews, because He belongs to the whole world and no Jews nor any other people have special rights or unique privileges or may claim Him as their own; He will not come to convert the "heathen" world for, in the eyes of the Christ and of His true disciples, no such world exists and the so-called heathen have demonstrated historically less of the evil of vicious conflict than has the militant Christian world. The history of the Christian nations and of the Christian church has been one of an aggressive militancy - the last thing desired by the Christ when He sought to establish the church on earth. When He came before He said (and the words have been sadly misread): "I come not to bring peace but a sword" (Matt., X, 34.) This will be true especially during the early days of His advent. The sword which He wields is the sword of the Spirit; it is that sword which produces cleavage between a true spirituality and an habitual materialism. The major effect of His appearance will surely be to demonstrate in every land the effects of a spirit of inclusiveness - an inclusiveness which will be channeled or expressed through Him. All who seek right human relations will be gathered automatically to Him, [111] whether they are in one of the great world religions or not; all who see no true or basic difference between religion and religion or between man and man or nation and nation will rally around Him; those who embody the spirit of exclusiveness and separativeness will stand automatically and equally revealed and all men will know them for what they are. The cleaving sword of the spirit will - without wounding - bring revelation and indicate the first needed step towards human regeneration. Standing as the focal point of the inner Triangle - of the Buddha, of the Spirit of Peace and of the Avatar of Synthesis - the consequent outpouring potency of the Christ will be so great that the distinction between love and hate, between aggression and freedom, and between greed and sharing will be made lucidly clear to the eyes and minds of all men and, therefore, the distinction between good and evil will be made equally clear. The invocative prayer, "From the point of love within the heart of God, let love stream forth into the hearts of men" will meet with fulfilment. Christ will let loose into the world of men the potency and the distinctive energy of intuitive love. The results of the distribution of this energy of love will be twofold: Countless men and women in every land will form themselves into groups for the promotion of goodwill and for the production of right human relations. So great will be their numbers that from being a small and relatively unimportant minority, they will be the largest and the most influential force in the world. Through them, the New Group of World Servers will be able to work successfully. This active energy of loving understanding will mobilize a tremendous reaction against the potency [112] of hate. To hate, to be separate, and to be exclusive will come to be regarded as the only sin, for it will be recognized that all the sins - as listed and now regarded as wrong - only stem from hate or from its product, the anti-social consciousness. Hate and its dependent consequences are the true sin against the Holy Ghost, about which commentators have so long debated, overlooking (in their silliness) the simplicity and the appropriateness of the true definition. The power of the hierarchical spiritual impact, focused through Christ and His working disciples, will be so great that the usefulness, the practicality and the naturalness of right human relations will become so evident that world affairs will rapidly be adjusted and the new era of goodwill and of peace on earth will be inaugurated. The new culture and the new civilization will then be possible. This is the picture of no optimistic, mystical and impossible event. It is not based upon wishful thinking or upon a blind hope. Already today, the disciples of the Christ are preaching the doctrine of right human relations; men and women of goodwill are endeavoring to show that only through goodwill can true peace be brought about in the arena of international life. In the presentation of true "livingness" which the Christ will demonstrate to the world of thinking men, there is necessarily no room for exclusiveness or for separativeness, because that "life more abundantly" (which He seeks to channel to us) is a free and flowing current, sweeping away obstructions and barriers, and establishing an unimpeded circulation of truth and life itself - the essential quality of both being love. [113] All the world religions have posited the fact that God is Love essentially and that God is life essentially as well as intelligence. That life carries within itself the essential quality of the will of God, as well as the love of God. Both are equally important because that will is qualified by love. Hitherto, men have known nothing of the factual nature of the quality of livingness, energized by love and will, except through a vague theoretical conception. The reappearance of Christ will establish the fact of this divine livingness; the work which He will accomplish - with the aid of His disciples - will demonstrate the love and the divine purpose which lie behind all phenomenal experience. The establishing of right human relations is an aspect of the divine will for humanity and the next facet of the divine expression to manifest itself in human affairs - individual, communal, national, and international. Nothing has ever finally impeded this divine expression, except the time factor, and that time factor is determined by humanity and is an expression of divine free will. The intended, divine expression can move rapidly or slowly into manifestation, according as man decides; hitherto, man has decided upon a slow - a very slow - manifestation. It is here that the freedom of the human will shows itself. Because divinity is immanent or present in all forms and, therefore, in all human beings, that will must eventually be fulfiled; because of the tremendously material intention (esoterically speaking) of all forms at present, that Will has hitherto been retarded in its expression; it has not been the will of man to establish right human relations. Hence the discipline of war, the torture of the forms, and the misery in human living today. These factors are bringing about a great and general transformation; the indications of this are easily to be [114] seen by spiritually minded people. Such people are constantly saying (as Christ did in the Garden of Gethsemane), "Let the will of God be done." (Matt., XXVI, 39.) They say it ignorantly and often hopelessly; nevertheless, it indicates a general process of spiritual reorientation, of submission and of acquiescence. Christ demonstrated this submission when He said, "I came not to do my own will but the will of Him Who sent me." (John VI, 38.) He proved His acquiescence when He cried, "Father, not my will but Thine be done." Submission has in it the elements of conquest by circumstances and of a recognition which may not understand but which submits to that which is imposed. Acquiescence has in it the element of an understanding intelligence, and this marks a great step forward. - Both admit the fact of a divine over-shadowing will in the life of mankind today; both are preparatory to a recognition of Christ's work in bringing about right human relations. At present, the submission of mankind to the divine will is a negative submission; the true submission is a positive attitude of spiritual expectancy, leading eventually to a positive acquiescence. A spiritual expectancy is also to be seen; it is part of the work of the New Group of World Servers to intensify this. They have also to foster spiritual submission and intelligent acquiescence in the masses, who normally divide themselves into the two classes, expressing these two attitudes; these factors of submission, acquiescence and expectancy are latent in every man. It is these three divine potentialities which will enable men to respond to the message of the Christ and, therefore, the selfless sacrifice, the understanding compromise and the comprehension of the many and diverse points of view (necessary [115] to the establishing of right human relations) will be far easier to bring about. We would all find it helpful to reflect upon what are the factors recognized in submission and acquiescence. In establishing right human relations, relinquishment, renunciation, submission to existent facts, and obedient acquiescence to divine law are all involved. These are the things which Christ earlier demonstrated on Earth, and they are the things which He will help humanity to accept with enthusiasm and understanding. This will produce happiness. Happiness is a difficult lesson to learn; it is for mankind a totally new experience and Christ will have to teach men how to handle happiness correctly, to overcome the ancient habits of misery, and thus to know the meaning of true joy. Christ, however, is not coming simply to teach men the need for right human relations; He is coming to teach them how to establish it successfully themselves.
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