new church life: november/december 2015
Falling down and worshipping represents humility. (See Apocalypse
Revealed 370) Offering gifts represents the goodness of love. (See Arcana
Coelestia 9293.4) When we finally come face to face with Love in our lives, it
transforms us into more humble, generous and useful people, which is what
the life of love is all about. When our intellect follows the idea of love all the
way into our will and behavior, then we see the Lord’s presence in our life.
Our intellect is then changed. The magi were warned in a dream to return
a different way. (See Matthew 2:12) They were no longer guided by just a star,
but by a divine dream. The mere knowledge or idea of love has turned into a
heavenly perception. (See Arcana Coelestia 3463.3, 5937.3)
I like to think that rather than being guided by a faceless pinpoint of light,
the magi were now guided by the vision or voice of an angelic person. Love
is personal, and when we come face to face with that reality in our lives, our
understanding of the truth becomes more personal as well. The cold, distant,
glimmer of the knowledge of goodness and truth becomes the warm, personal
perception of goodness and truth.
And then the magi do not return to Herod. When our intellect has been
changed by the presence of Love, we have a tendency to move away from our
selfish ego. We depart for our own country another way – traveling East, in the
direction of love and charity.
So what are the gifts that we can offer the Lord in our lives?
• “And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him;
gold, frankincense and myrrh.” (Matthew 2:11)
• “Gold, frankincense, and myrrh meant the forms of good that should be
offered to God.” (Secrets of Heaven 9293.3)
• “Gold meant the heavenly goodness; frankincense, the spiritual
goodness; and myrrh, the earthly goodness that together form the
source of all worship.” (True Christianity 205)
When our intellect is guided by the truth – the idea of love – and we come
into the presence of the Lord, our intellect can then open up the treasures of
goodness inside our lives. This goodness can take many different forms, for
example:
Thinking about what talents and skills we have, and then using those to
help people
• Doing our jobs honestly, justly and faithfully
• Forgiving those who trespass against us
• Showing compassion for people going through hard times
• Listening
• Thoughtfully offering a smile, a kind word, or a hug, because we can
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