Reflections

This month's theme: Relationships
As presented in the October 5th Sunday service by Rev. Freeman Schrock

What is a Healthy Relationship, and How Can I Have One?

Reading from the Holy Words Old Testament
Jeremiah 1:5-8

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations."

Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth." But the LORD said to me,

"Do not say, 'I am only a youth'; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD."

Reading from the Holy Words New Testament
Matthew 5:13-16
Salt and Light

"You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under peoples feet."

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

Insight from Emanuel Swedenborgs ,Arcana Coelestia 9207.7

One reason why 'salt' means the desire truth possesses is that salt renders land fertile and makes food tasteful, and another reason is that salt contains a fiery property and at the same time a conjunctive power, even as truth contains a burning desire for good and at the same time a conjunctive power. 'A pillar of salt' is a separation from truth, for 'salt' in the contrary sense means truth that has been destroyed and laid waste, as in Zephaniah 2:9; Ezekiel 47:11; Jeremiah 17:6; Psalm 107:33, 34; Deuteronomy 29:23; Judges 9:45; 2 Kings 2:19-22.

These matters have been introduced so that people may know what truth's desire for good is, and what good's desire for truth is.

Reflection...
Our lessons tell us this morning that we are "salt and light." Sometimes I wonder what we think of that. We are the New Church, so what does it mean for us to say we are "salt and light"? Which do you identify with? Would you rather be salt, or light?

Light is something spiritual! We cannot hold light in our hands; we cannot even see light with our eyes. We can only see what light illuminates before our eyes. We can see the people and the various objects in this room, and it is light that makes that possible. But we cannot see light itself. Light is something spiritual and beyond our knowing except for the descriptive aspects of light of which the scientist speaks, such as, the speed with which light travels.

I like to re-read parts of Swedenborg's Heaven and Hell just to appreciate what it says about light and how the light in heaven is so much more pure and warm and in no way hurts our eyes or our vision. The light that we know comes from the sun, and we know how often and how easily it can burn our eyes or our skin. When compared to the light of heaven, our light seems coarse, even harsh. Yet the Lord says that we are the light of the whole world. We are also told that in heaven the Lord is the source of light rather than the earthly sun. In this image we begin to see the human element of light. As we think of ourselves as "beings of light," let us remember that we are light because the Lord is light, and it is His conjunction with us that creates us into light-beings!

Salt, on the other hand, is a substance with physical properties. We can hold salt in our hands. We can weigh it and measure a definite amount. We can get 10 pounds of salt but we cannot get 10 pounds of light. Maybe salt is easier for us to identify with because it is material in the same way that our bodies are material.

But we are more than just our bodies; we are also spiritual and deathless! Salt may lose its value and become worthless, as the gospel says, but light never ceases to be light and always illuminates anything and everything around it when it is present to us.

In the Arcana Coelestia (also referred to as Secrets of Heaven), we read that "salt signifies the longing for truth" that is in us and renders the earth -- that would be us fertile, and makes food palatable.(AC 9207.7) So, in this earthly venture, we are made fertile and palatable, and this is true because salt is both "fiery" and at the same time contains a "conjunctive power." Did you know that you are fiery and full of conjunctive power?!

This brings us to the meaning of "conjunctive." The word conjunction is unique to our theology and is seldom heard outside of Swedenborgian circles. The word was chosen by Emanuel Swedenborg himself for some explicit reasons and is frequently used by him to define various aspects of becoming closely related to someone or something. Here is his definition of it We enter into "conjunction through love and understanding in the actual processes of affections (feelings) and thoughts. A common love and a common thought and purpose are what bring people together. By conjunction with God is meant a state in which people receive God's divine love and goodness into their wills and God's wisdom into their understandings. Thus conjunction is a sharing of life, a reciprocal action," that is ongoing and exists between two or more persons. (Swedenborgian Terms, Spring 2005, p. 2)

Healthy relationships are always reciprocal and contain conjunctive power. When we share a common love with another, or with others, as we do here in the church, that kind of sharing has the power to fill us with divine love and awaken us to the truth and the goodness of God, which in turn supplies us with the power to bless! Our very presence can be a blessing to others. We can bless with our presence, our face, and voice more than with our words! Perhaps you have had such an experience when facing a life-situation when you were suddenly filled with a calming realization that everything would be alright because someone was there whom you trusted? Just their presence made the difference. That is the power of relationship, and all sincere relationships have conjunction in them. We are blessed by relationships, and in them we receive the power to bless others -- often by simply being present to them.

Our reading today from Secrets of Heaven awakens us to the awareness of the longing in us for truth. Longing is always spiritual in nature -- we are spiritual in nature but also living here in the material world. No wonder we are longing! Remember the movie E.T.? E.T. was always longing to go home, and the whole story was woven around that one basic theme. We are like E.T.! We are longing from the depth of our being for heaven, our home!

Did you know that heaven is right here?! But before we can know heaven on earth, we must free ourselves from the hells that hold us back. We call freeing ourselves from hell 'regeneration.' Jesus called it being born of water and Spirit. Water and Spirit is sort of like salt and light. Both connect us to the spiritual while we are acknowledging the material.

In our class, Building Healthy Relationships, at Manna House, we are asked to look at ourselves by creating awareness of things like "sincerity, willingness to reconcile, the purity of our intentions, commitments, honesty, and compassion." While these are the gateways to blessings, it is also the conjunction which opens us up to the influx of heaven. In other words, things like honesty, sincerity, and compassion are what release us from hell and, at the same time, open the doors so that heaven can flow into us. We long for heaven in the same way E.T. longs to go home!

Relationships are the doorways into heaven! We cannot experience heaven without relationships with each other and thus with the Lord. Hence, healthy relationships are spiritual relationships. The highest form of spiritual love is "married love" because it creates the greatest opportunities and possibilities for union and conjunction. The scriptures tell us that in married love the "two shall become one." That is a profound sense of union and conjunction. Such deep relationships are always spiritual! And such spiritual experiences give us the power to bless and to be blessed!
Amen.

Let us pray:
We come, Lord, aware that in your presence our relationships are blessed and, in them, we find the power to bless. We are like E.T. longing for heaven. Light the path before us with the golden light of your spirit. Teach us your way, show us your path! Make clear the path before us so that we may walk and not stumble, so that we may run and not be weary, so that we may know the blessing way, ... and bless and be blessed.
Amen.