Seeing Life on Three Levels
A Sermon by the Rev. Göran R. Appelgren
Lessons: John 17:13-26; Arcana Coelestia 3388;
Divine Love and Wisdom 46; Divine Providence 237
I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the
world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the
world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as
I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. (John 17:14-17)
W
e will begin with something unpleasant. Imagine you have a bad
toothache. It’s the only thing that occupies your mind. You are acutely
aware of the pain and probably are thinking: I have to get to the dentist as soon
as possible.
Another example: You are in your car, driving through a beautiful
countryside far from a town or village. You notice the fuel gauge is close to
empty. Again you experience pain – more psychological or mental distress –
but pain. You begin to think not dentist but fuel station.
Both examples have to do with the physical world and in both cases our
senses register something – through the senses of touch and sight – which
leads to thoughts.
We observe what is going on in our physical environment, but most of the
impressions disappear in a moment. Sometimes we use the information for a
very short time. We may observe someone trying to cross the street – or the
cars if we want to cross the street. A few seconds later all of that is gone from
our memory.
We all do these things with our five senses and our thoughts. Animals also
do this. The observations lead to a thought process – sometimes simple, other
times more complex: Maybe the dentist is booked for the next two weeks; then
what? Or the dentist is on holiday. Will the treatment be expensive? And so on.
As for the low level of fuel: how far can we drive? Should we turn around
and go back? What if we run out of fuel before we get to the station? Did we
bring the mobile phone?
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