n e w c h u r c h l i f e : m ay / j u n e 2 0 1 5
Wouldn’t it be nice if
we spent the weeks
between June 19th,
the day we celebrate
the Second Coming
occurring in 1770, and
July 4th, Independence
Day, reflecting on the
freedom required to
be New Church?
Why does the Lord hold us in
this equilibrium, in this freedom? He
does this so that in this freedom He
can, without our awareness, bend our
desires toward good. He can, without
our awareness, move us closer to
Him. And by doing this, without our
awareness, each of us continues to act
and believe that we are free.
But there is an enemy of freedom.
That enemy exists both within us and
outside of us but it is known by different
names. The internal enemy is our own
selfishness and inclination to follow
our more base instincts and desires.
Externally, the enemy of freedom is
compulsion. Everyone who is to be
reformed by the Lord, who is to set aside his or her will for His will, is to do
so within a freedom guaranteed by the Lord. When a person is compelled it is
human nature to draw back from the compulsion:
No one who is compelled to think that which is true and to do that which is good
is reformed, but instead thinks all the more what is false and wills all the more
what is evil. This is so with all compulsion, as may also become clear from all the
experience and lessons of life, which when learned prove two things – first, that
human consciences will not allow themselves to be coerced, and second, that we
strive after the forbidden. (Arcana Coelestia 1947)
A favorite patriotic hymn of many Americans is the Battle Hymn of The
Republic. The original version includes this verse: “As He died to make men
holy, let us die to make men free.” This verse has been removed from many
modern arrangements. This is unfortunate as, from a New Church perspective,
the verse contains an important message. The Lord teaches that, “Greater love
has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15:13)
From a New Church understanding, to lay down one’s life is to set aside
your desires in favor of another’s. In the context of this hymn I can see this
meaning that when we lay down our desires – set aside our beliefs of what is
better for another person – we leave that person in the state of freedom. This
is what the Lord uses to best move him or her, imperceptibly, toward a state of
greater order, both internally and externally.
In the years ahead wouldn’t it be nice if we spent the weeks between June
19th, the day we celebrate the Second Coming occurring in 1770, and July 4th,
Independence Day, reflecting on the freedom required to be New Church –
the freedom to be New Church.
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