New Church Life Nov/Dec 2014 | Page 45

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? 535