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Inner mysteries revealed
Those whose intuitive powers are awakened discover a wealth of
symbolic meanings in Jesus' parables and other teachings. These secrets constitute spiritual riches not even
surmised by those who see only the literal words. In one of these intriguing word pictures we find Jesus
explaining why these deep treasures are available to His accepted disciples ---- while they remain hidden from
the curious crowds of people who come seeking phenomena or miracles.
He explains to these chosen disciples that He is not showing favoritism, as a surface reading might
suggest. He tells them it is because they have seeing eyes and hearing ears, while others, with their
infatuation with phenomena ---- with things ---- really have closed their eyes and ears. That is, their deeper
understanding is blocked out. A key statement on this is found in Matthew 13:16: ''Blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear.''
It might be well to ask ourselves: can Maitreya, the Christ, truly say that of us today? Doesn't the answer
depend on how deeply committed we are to Him? And how fully we give ourselves to His way of love and sharing?
The disciples of old, to whom He revealed these secret truths, were people who had left everything else to
follow Him and serve His cause. Is that the only way you and I can really have the seeing eye and hearing ear
for understanding the mysteries? The teaching under consideration is usually called 'the parable of the sower and the seeds' (found in
Matthew 13). In it Christ shows how realistic He is, for He reveals that some of the good seed He sows falls
on the hard path, by the wayside, where the birds come and gobble it up and other seed falls on rocky soil,
where it has not much root and soon withers away. Still other seed falls among thorns, which choke off its
growth. Let us consider: do we get discouraged when we see this happening in the work we do? If so, let us listen
to His further words: As we consider these widely differing results when the good seed is sown, it would be easy to put the
burden on all those other folks, those who do not follow the route that we take, sometimes with such pride! It
is so easy to see others as hardened, shallow, or choked with material attachments. But perhaps it is more
fruitful to ask ourselves: is there still some hardened or crystallized place in our consciousness, where we
may not be letting His truth penetrate? Second, is there still some shallowness in us, where the divine growth
gets withered away for lack of rootage? Or third, do the thorns, which He described as ''the worries of this
world and the lure of riches,'' threaten to choke His word of love and sharing in us, ''so it produces
nothing?'' If we find any such problems blocking our way, let us inquire: how ready are we to yield fully the
direction of our thoughts, words and actions to this great one, Maitreya? Surely we know that when He really
has full sway in us, He removes the barriers so that our lives come to represent the good soil, bringing forth
a harvest of a hundredfold, or at least sixty or thirty. (My farm background suggests that even that lowest
level would represent a pretty good return on our investment with Him). But when we invest life fully with Him we are not so much concerned with the level of the harvest.
Nonetheless, we can indeed rejoice when our eyes and ears become truly open. For then, amazingly, the inner
mysteries become revealed. And we rejoice as Souls to serve His cause of love, sharing, justice and
brotherhood. Thus do we become junior partners with Him in meeting our brother's needs (along with our own).
And thus do we help to usher in the mysteries of the dawning Aquarian Age. This article is a chapter from The Joy of Christ's Coming. This book by the late Rev. Howard Ray Carey was published by Share International Foundation in 1988. It is not currently available in hard copy form. Copyright © Share International Foundation. Biblical quotations are taken from the Revised Standard version unless otherwise indicated. Download a copy of this book:
Copyright © Share International Foundation
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