The Message of the Herald
“Behold! Behold! Tidings of great Joy to you I bring.”
That is the declaration of the Angel of the Lord.What
was the Herald’s Message? It was the Coming of
Christ. But the Coming of Christ was not the coming
of a man. It was not even the coming of a Messenger
in the form of a man. The Angel of the Lord heralded
that which was to result from the Messenger’s
coming. He Who was to be born in Bethlehem was
no man, not even a Divine Messenger; though the
latter had to reveal Him. Christ was coming in the
restored vision of the glorious Christhood Estate.
“Behold! Behold! Tidings of great Joy to you I bring. And
to all peoples of the land shall it be told.” The Angel of
the Lord proclaimed this Message to the Shepherds.
The very heart of the Message was in Bethlehem.
And even unto this day you shall there find Him Who
shall be to you a Saviour. He is the salving power
of God finding your potencies, bringing you to rediscover your attributes, and to heal them all of their
impoverishment and their woundings. It is unto such
an end that Christ comes. I repeat, He is no man. But
He is Life. He is not even a Messenger, though the
Messenger must know Him, realize Him, and embody
Him. He Himself is the Radiant Presence within who
revealeth all things.
“Behold! Behold! Tidings of great Joy to you I bring
And unto all the people of the land shall it be told.
This day there is born to you in David’s city
He who shall become unto you Christ and Lord;
In Bethlehem shall ye find this One, a Saviour,
And He shall be to you the Light of Life.”
The Message of Christ is a Message of joy. It is full of
the Light that reveals. Find ye your true preparation
for this great Festival, the vision of Truth, and follow
it even unto Bethlehem.
The Christ Festival pages 9, 10, 11 and 12
The
Order of
the Cross
Spiritual
Reflections
December 2014 January 2015
Thoughts on the Teachings John
The familiar refrains of the Christmas story always seem to Pignéguy
arrive with a freshness and a sparkle that belie the unavoidable
fact that, for many people, there is a real sense of relief when all
the festivities are over. The commercialism of Christmas, which
is something that is bemoaned every year, causes pressures of
every sort, and the accompanying anxieties can easily create
an invisible but nonetheless very real barrier to any sort of
understanding of what the Christmas festival actually represents.
The outer aspects of the story have a real charm, regardless
of whether any further meaning is looked for in it or not. And
it is grasping this charm which is surely one of the keys to any
further exploration of what may lie behind it. We may feel that
we have a pretty good idea of what the Christmas story is
all about and our relationship to it, but things may not always
be what they seem. Giving ourselves some quiet moments of
reflection will enable us to discover, or rather to re-discover,
aspects of ourselves which relate very much to the story.
Finding these inner resonances and relationships is a rewarding
process.The allegorical aspects of the outer story are what really
matter in spiritual terms, a point that can be easily overlooked
due to the familiar drama of the narrative itself. Taken as fact,
the story poses one or two questions (notwithstanding a certain
sense of delight), but taken as a representation of inner realities,
we start to get somewhere.
The proclamation of ‘the Angel of the Lord’ leads us to a greater
understanding of ‘the Radiant Presence within who revealeth
all things.’ Thus we are quietly directed onto the path that our
spiritual journey must take and will take, according to our own
individual response. Our joyful preparations for this journey
will guide us ever onwards and upwards in the full and blessed
knowledge that ‘the vision of Truth’ will indeed lead each of us
‘even unto Bethlehem.’
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From The A Meditation for the Christ-Mass
Teachings
n the December 2013 and January 2014 Spiritual Reflections a
of readings and pictures was included as A Meditation
Iforsequence
the Christ-Mass. A number of readers commented on how
helpful they found the Meditation.
Although some of us have the opportunity to meet at Christmas
to spend time with the Teachings through Worship or Reading
together, most of us do not.
The illustrations all come from Belles Heures of Jean of France,
Duc of Berry. Completed by late 1408 or early 1409, probably
in Paris, this is a private devotional book commissioned from
the Limbourg brothers, Pol, Jean, and Herman. Those of you
familiar with the Illuminations of Frank Buist will see a simillar
use of colour, style and detail.
It is hoped that the following Meditation will provide spiritual
sustenance to you.
The Magnificat
My Soul doth magnify the Lord, and my Spirit hath rejoiced in God
my Saviour.
For He hath regarded my low Estate; and He who is mighty hath
done great things unto me through the Holiness of His Name.
For His Love is unto His children, even throughout all the generations.
He hath made manifest His strength when by His Right Hand He
hath scattered the proud who imagined vain things in their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty ones from their high places where they
oppressed those who were of lowly estate.
He hath satisfied the hungry with His goodness, and through His
richness in Love none need go empty away.
He hath holpen His servants Israel, through their remembrance of
His Love.
Logia page 96
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The Annunciation
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The Shepherds of Bethlehem
There dwelt upon the planes of the Bethlehem Shepherds, and these
watched over their flocks during the long night.
For intense darkness had overtaken the Holy City of Ierusalem, and
all who dwelt within her borders.
And the Shepherds upon the planes were filled with great anxiety for
their flocks lest they should become lost amid the darkness, and be
unable to find their way back to Bethlehem.
And the Shepherds sorrowed that the darkness should so long prevail,
and prayed that the Light might soon break; for they kept burning
upon the altar of their hearts the Fire of the Holy One.
And whilst they prayed, behold the Heavens opened unto them, and
beside them stood the Angel of the Lord who thus spake unto them:
‘Behold! Behold! Tidings of great Joy to you I bring
And unto all peoples of the land shall it be.
This day there is born unto you in David’s city
He who shall become unto you Christ and Lord;
In Bethlehem shall ye find this One, a Saviour,
And He shall be to you the Light of Life.’
And there was with the Angel of the Lord an heavenly host, who sang
this song:
‘Glory be to God within the Highest
Where He reigneth King over all,
Making manifest His glorious Presence,
In the vision of the Beauty of the Lord;
And upon the Earth-planes be His Peace,
Through the willinghood of His good pleasure.’
And the Shepherds made haste and went up to the Bethlehem; and
there they found it even as the Angel of the Lord had said unto them.
And great was the joy within them because of all that had come into
their lives.
Logia page 90
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The Annunciation to the Shepherds
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The Birth Story
Now, the birth of the holy states of Jesus, Christ, and the Lord is after
this manner.
Maria being great with child, having conceived within the womb of
the Soul, and of the Holy One who overshadows her continually, that
Life which shall be named Son of God, goes up into Bethlehem that
she may bring forth the child begotten within her from the Highest.
And Ioseph also goes with her, being espoused unto her that he may
minister unto her in the days of her travail, and companion her. For
unto him doth the Angel of the Lord appear to instruct and counsel
him what to do in his espousal of Maria, and to inform him of the
nature of the holy thing to be born of her.
And they go up to Bethlehem together. And there Maria brings forth
her first-born, even Jesus. But he is born in lowly state as becometh
one who would love all creatures; for in the blessing of the new-born
Soul-state all the creatures are to have a share.
For, finding that the Inns whither they go have no room for them,
they seek a lodging with the lowly ones, and so make the Manger the
cradle of their first-born.
And the child grows and waxes strong, growing in grace and wisdom,
and in the fear of the Lord. And he abides at Nazareth with his
parents, being subject unto them until the day of the appearing of
the Angel of the Lord unto him when he should go forth to make
manifest the way of salvation for all peoples, and cause the Light to
shine upon the ways of the Gentiles that they may come to know his
saving grace.
Logia page 92
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The Nativity
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The Magi: A Story of Israel
There dwelt once, in an ancient City of the East, men who were
full of wisdom and who sought out the deep things of God: these
were interpreters of the Stars, and watchers for the coming of divine
events.
Their ways in life were those of Israel when as yet Israel was unfallen;
for they were pure in their manner of living, eating no flesh, drinking
no wine, and desiring only purity and truth.
Now, these three Kings of the East beheld upon the spiritual heavens
the arising of a Star, and knowing well its meaning, being interpreters
of such wonders, they watched its progress, and followed it as earnest
Souls.
And the Star moved towards the Bethlehem, and there it paused. So
they went thither to the place where it had stayed in its course; for
they knew that it was to them the herald of the arising of Christ.
And the glory of the Star shone upon the place where the Christ had
been born: and when they came to the place, they found IosephMaria with the Christ-child.
And these three Kings of the East bowed themselves before the Lord
of the heavenly Hosts and worshipped, and were full of joy at what
had come to pass. Then they poured out before the Lord of their
treasures, Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh.
Now, the Star which the three Kings of the East beheld, and which
led them unto the Christ-child in the Bethlehem, whither they went
taking their gifts with them, was the arising of the Light within them,
even the Light of Christ. For these three were of His Order.
And these found Christ born within the Hostel which sheltered the
creatures; for the Hostel is in Bethlehem, and outside of the Inn. It is
in the pure, tender and compassionate one.
Thus is it with every one within whom the Lord of Life comes to birth.
Logia page 98
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The Adoration of the Magi
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John The Vision of the Cross
Todd
was in the Spirit in the Day of the Lord and was carried up unto the
Ferrier
Heavens of the Divine where I beheld a most wonderful Sign.
It was a Cross composed of a multitude of Stars, the base of which
rested upon the foundations of the Heavens wherein I beheld it, and
which appeared to fill the whole Heavens, so great was it.
As I looked upon it, the overwhelming sense of the Divine Presence
filled me, for I knew that it was the manifestation of the Divine Nature
upon the Kingdom of the Divine Love and Wisdom, the embodiment of
the Adonai upon that Kingdom, the Sign of the Cross.
And I lay as one who had the deep consciousness of bearing the burden
of Iniquity, Transgression and Sin upon him, beholding the wonderful
Sign and feeling the unspeakable goodness of Him concerning whom
it spake.
Then I became conscious of the outflowing towards me from the
Presence of the Divine Love of the Healing of a great Peace which
spake unto me of that Love whose fullness is infinite, whose compassion
is unfailing, and by whose very tenderness the Soul is made great.
And, lo! the burden with which my Soul was oppressed seemed to
become lightened as if its weight were being shared by the Divine
Love even until the Iniquity,Transgression and Sin, with the sorrow and
anguish born from them, were all taken away.
For the wonderful Vision with its even more remarkable Sign, was unto
me the testimony that in the Divine Nature is to be found the fullness
of the meaning of the Cross.
The Second Coming of Christ page 30
I
Jacqueline Eternal Light
Ives
...The Teachings of the Order are the Ancient Wisdom.
They take in all that was of the real Ancient Wisdom.
They reinterpret anew the Ancient Wisdom in every
department. There is no realm they do not touch. But
beyond these things, the Message unveils the Mystery of
God’s purpose for the healing of the world
Divine Renaissance Volume 1 pages 193-194
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The following paragraphs are selected passages taken from a
dissertation that was written with the aim of enquiring into whether
the Order of the Cross is related to an ancient tradition - the ‘ancient
wisdom’, ‘primordial tradition’ or ‘perennial philosophy’. The above
quotation reveals that Our Friend states that it is, but the dissertation
had to be written in the form of an enquiry.
The passages are from comparisons made with other traditions that
were felt to be close to the ancient philosophy, mainly Quakerism
and Gnosticism, with reference also to the Essenes; and briefly, from
Eastern religions, Buddhism and Hinduism.Traditional Christianity has
to a large extent rejected the philosophy, so these have not included
in these selected passages comparisons with the more traditional
branches of Christianity.
Quakerism
The Quakers have no creed, but instead a list of ‘Testimonies’
- for Peace, Truth, Simplicity, Social Responsibility. These
Testimonies are about a way of living. The most notable is
perhaps the Testimony for Peace, as Friends (Quakers) are
almost always pacifists, as are members of the Order. Also
important is Social Responsibility. Quakers have always been
to the fore in confronting social issues, such as slavery, poverty,
education, prisons and criminal justice.As with the Order, I have
knowledge of Quakerism from the inside, attending a Quaker
meeting regularly. The society seems far more compatible with
the Order than are many other Christian movements. Even the
founder, George Fox, started out with his teachings very much
based on the Bible, desiring to bring Christianity back to what
he saw as its old simplicity. He taught his followers to be guided
by the inner (or inward) Light more than by fixed doctrine, and
it seems likely that this is what has led modern Friends to be
free-thinkers– or free-thinkers to be attracted to the Society of
Friends. This inner light is compatible with the intuition of the
Order of the Cross and with that of the primordial tradition.
This requires some qualification. A strand of evangelism (which
is in contrast to free-thinking) continued throughout, even into
the 20th century, and this has been personally observed among
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a few (very few) Quakers to this day. It may surprise readers
to learn that 80% of Quakers world-wide are evangelical (Pink
Dandelion, Quakerism: A very short Introduction page 18). However,
English Quakers are mostly Liberal Quakers. A point of interest
is that to this day, a typical Quaker Meeting in this country
consists of sitting in meditative silence, waiting upon the will of
God (or the inward Light) before anyone is moved to speak in
ministry.
From the seventeenth century until the present day (this
practice) remains the source from which everything else
springs.
Jim Pym, Listening to the Light page 39
With the help of others, Fox founded the movement in 1652,
preferring meeting houses to churches, advocating simple dress,
treating all as equals, a simple ‘yea’ or ‘nay’ instead of making
vows.
The latter got the early Quakers into trouble in the courts, as
did their pacifist stand; for, as stated above, in this returning to
the basic Christian tenets, Fox and his followers saw pacifism
as one of them. Together with their concern for social issues
and reform they have been active campaigners for peace to this
day.
Gnosticism
Similarly, there is a resemblance in the Order to the teachings
of Gnosticism, and interestingly a comparison is made to
the Quakers by Stuart Holroyd: in his book, The Elements of
Gnosticism:
If Valentinianism had prevailed, the Church would have
been more like George Fox’s Society of Quakers, a
congregation of equals any one of whom might be
moved by ‘the inner light’ to preach or testify to his or
her spiritual experience.
The Elements of Gnosticism page 33
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The reference here is toValentinus who was born in Egypt around
100C.E, and is ‘generally acknowledged to be the greatest of
the Gnostic teachers’ (The Elements of Gnosticism page 32) and
Founder of ‘a particularly important Gnostic school’ (Giovanni
Filoramo The History of Gnosticism page 3), but little of his work
has been preserved. He was denounced by the Church Fathers
as a heretic, as were other early Gnostics writers and teachers
such as Basilides; Marcion; and Simon Magnus whose name
appears in the Bible (Acts 8: 18-24) where he appears to have
been severely rebuked by the apostle, Peter. There were many
others, as listed by Holroyd and Filoramo.
A main primary source of Gnosticism is provided by the Nag
Hammadi texts.These were discovered by a group of farmers in
the Egyptian village of that name in 1945. Other early sources
gleaned before this discovery came from critical and antagonistic
Christian Writers, the Church Fathers such as Tertullian (around
160-220 C.E.). Gospels not included in the accepted Bible are
among these Gnostic texts. Perhaps best known is the Gospel of
Thomas and, interestingly, there is a Gospel of Mary Magdalene.
The term ‘Gnosticism’ is derived from the Greek word, ‘Gnosis’
meaning ‘knowledge’.This does not mean mere intellectual
knowledge, but suggests a mystical or direct understanding of
the nature of existence, experiencing the Divine within oneself,
and therefore one’s immortality. Gnosticism is often described
as a ‘Christian heresy’.
However, it is not one religion, but a number of religions, with
shared concepts. Many Gnostics claimed that what we now know
as traditional Christianity was the heresy, and that they - the
Gnostics - were the true Christians. I would suggest that if they
were correct, this could be the link we are looking for. While
what we have since come to know as orthodox Christianity
diverged from the original mystic (Gnostic) teachings, the latter
are closer to the Teachings of the Order of the Cross. This is
the reason why importance is attached to Gnosticism in this
dissertation. Todd Ferrier occasionally refers to the Teachings
as the ‘true Gnosis’ (The Logia page 4 and The Master page 6).
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Gnostic mythology is based on the Fall, and in this sense,
describes a spiritual death. Creation is explained through cosmic
drama, usually involving the fall of a divine element, that caused
the creation of a material world or universe, which can only be
saved through a process of awakening to Gnosis (knowledge of
the Divine). This recurring legend of the Fall suggests an early
tradition (part of the primordial tradition) known to many.
The Demiurge is an inferior god (not the true God), who appears
in many of the Gnostic myths, and is said to have formed the
material cosmos and imagined that he was the sole creator. He
is sometimes equated with the God of the Old Testament and
is the creator of this imperfect world, as shown in Elaine Pagels,
The Gnostic Gospels pages 55-79; also Filoramo pages 77 and 78;
and we can also compare C J Jung’s Answer to Job.
There is a link with the Essenes, a sect that existed from as early
as the time of Christ, and later the Cathars - persecuted and
virtually wiped out by the French Catholics in the 13th century
- seemed to have derived their religion from the Gnostics. The
Essenes had a profound significance for Todd Ferrier, and are
referred to in Divine Renaissance Volume 1 on pages 49-58 and
other parts of this book.
A latter day Gnostic was William Blake (1757-1827) whose
mythology seems to come almost entirely from his imagination
and variations on the Bible (and also from such sources as
Milton’s Paradise Lost and Dante’s Inferno) until we understand
that his myths are based on Gnosticism. There are many
examples to show this, but one of them features in his character,
Urizen, ‘God of Reason’ and creator of the material universe
(the Demiurge). Urizen boasts of having created:‘I alone, even I...
A wide world of solid obstruction.’ (Poetry and Prose of William
Blake, edited by Geoffrey Keynes, page 222). This seems also
to resemble the fixed (fallen) world described in the Teachings
of the Order of the Cross. Also, when we understand a little
about Blake and Gnosticism, a new slant is given to his famous
poem, The Tyger:
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When the stars threw down their spears,
And water’d heaven with their tears,
Dare he laugh his work to see?
Did he who made the lamb make thee?
Poetry and Prose of William Blake page 91
The stanza reproduced here is from the first draft which, while
less enjoyable than the popular version, suggests more strongly
what may be Blake’s understanding of the significance of the
tiger’s ferocity, e.g. ‘Dare he laugh...?’ while the later version
reads ‘Did he smile...?’. This gives a different connotation.
The story of the Fall, as understood in the Order, was arrived
at through Todd Ferrier’s inward vision, but the parallel with the
Gnostic myths is clear, for some being re-created a world – that is,
made into an inferior world or system. According to the Order,
it is just our world and solar system that are affected (whereas
the Gnostic stories suggest that it is the whole universe, but at
the time when Gnosticism arose the vastness of the universe
would not have been known). The misguided power wished to
rebuild a world according to his own laws. To do so, he had to
go out from the Divine Plan – and this was the primary cause
of the imperfect world in which we live.
Eastern Traditions
Buddhism is a path of using practices such as meditation for
spiritual development, leading to enlightenment. Life, as most
people experience it is unsatisfactory, characterized by suffering
and impermanence whilst the process of change continues from
one life to the next. This contains the concept of reincarnation,
but in Buddhism the term is ‘rebirth’ which makes sense as we
often change and in this way we are – reborn in the sense of
changing even during a single life-time, but the understanding
is that this continues from one life to the next. In Buddhism,
however, it seems that there is not the notion of a soul, but
just the essence of someone continues. A central concept of
Buddhism is that of ‘no self’- annata. It is a concept hard to
understand, and much considered. The final sign of being is the
one that has caused more discussion and controversy even
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among Buddhists than anything else. Annata literally means ‘not
self’ or ‘non self’.We cannot really experience it except with an
enlightened mind, and we do not really know what kind of mind
that is. What kind of mind is a mind without a sense of self?
Jim Pym,You Don’t have to sit on the Floor page 46
A helpful explanation is in Aldous Huxley’s The Perennial
Philosophy
...when he insisted that human beings are by nature
“non-Atman”, the Buddha was evidently speaking of the
personal and not the universal Self.
The Perennial Philosophy page 9
Hinduism, like Buddhism, has reverence for life, and non-killing
of any creatures, in many of its traditions, and contains a belief
in reincarnation. It is in some ways closer to the Order because
of the concept of the Atman or soul (e.g. Bhagvad-gita, 2.13).
Todd Ferrier refers to the Hindu religion and the concept of
Brahm or Brahma, the overall God, stating that this is a term to
which the Biblical name, Abraham, is linked (The Mystery of the
Light Within us pages 153 and 155; Herald 20 pages 232-235).
Hinduism seems to have its roots in the primordial tradition. It
is thought to be the oldest known religion.
I hope that readers will find these passages from the dissertation
helpful and interesting.
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GATHERINGS AND EVENTS
February
14-17 Family Gathering at Swanage
March
20-22 Gathering at Old Churches House Dunblane, Scotland
April 2015
2-5 Easter Gathering: Sarum College
(accommodation available till 6 April)
5-13 Dance Week at Swanage
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