Put Up the Sword – Replace the Ear

  

Driving down the interstate, perhaps the speed was a little above the limit, but car after car was passing at high speed. Then out of nowhere the state patrol vehicle with lights flashing pulled up behind the car and pulled it over.

The driver, Lee,  a dear family member was told that he had been stopped for speeding.   When he explained to the officer that every car on the road had been passing him at high speed and asked why he was being singled out,  the officer smiled wryly and said, “You were easier to catch.”  OUCH!!!

The very injustice of this made Lee’s blood boil.  It just wasn’t fair.

Maybe many of us have been faced with similar instances of  injustice on the human scene.  We often hear that “life isn’t fair”, but when it hits us personally,  witty sayings go out the window.   We just don’t understand why we are being singled out or punished!!

I have begun to see that the seemingly unfair, unjust act can actually be an opportunity to heal wrong thinking and bring us to a higher level of peace,  patience and loving thought.  

In an article called “Taking Offence,”  religious pioneer Mary Baker Eddy relates:     “There is immense wisdom in the old proverb,  He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty.”*     Hannah More, an English religious writer and philanthropist in the 1800s said,  “If I wished to punish my enemy, I should make him hate somebody.”  WOW. Hatred, harsh judgement, ill will are truly harmful to the “holder”!

A  great example of failing to react to injustice involves an incident from years ago.  A group of authorities and soldiers came to a small group of men  for the purpose of arresting one of them. One of the friends of the man to be arrested pulled out a sword and cut off the ear of  a member of the approaching mob.    The man to be arrested immediately told his friend to put up his sword, then he touched the severed ear and healed the man.  

Now the most  miraculous part of this is not that this man’s ear was replaced  without sutures or medical treatment, as amazing as that was, but the display of a very humble, fearless and  loving demeanor by the man to be arrested that resulted in a more peaceful confrontation  for all concerned, quelling  anger and retribution.

Of course, the Holy Bible contains that story. *   The man being arrested was Jesus of Nazareth and his friend with the sword was his disciple, Peter.  How unjust was this action by the High Priests against Jesus, a man of peace and goodness,  and certainly understandable was the anger and desire for retribution exhibited by Peter.   The desire to strike back, to “get even” and settle the score.   But as is so characteristic of Jesus of Nazareth, he explained to Peter that “people like us don’t do that”!!!

In that profound lesson that lives through time, Jesus showed how to replace a sense of injustice with healing kindness,  showing that evil and a sense of unfairness and  injustice does not deserve a violent  reaction, but only makes love and understanding more imperative.

Well, that was easy to understand!!
Guess I am outta here!

One occasion in my own experience stands out in my thought as a similar lesson.   I held a fairly high position in a large corporation and had a lot of responsibility. One day the Vice President called me in and told me I  was being terminated. Somehow we just had not seemed to click together as a management team and it had become obvious that something had to change. I wasn’t actually shocked, but felt such of sense of disappointment.  Certainly I wasn’t the problem, I thought,  and the temptation to strike out against my boss was very strong. I had worked very diligently  and effectively and the injustice of it all hit me hard.

As a student of the Bible and its lessons, which are still so appropriate centuries later, I reached out for help.    The story of replacing the ear was like guidance direct from Heaven!!!    In the Bible companion book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, the author wrote:  "Evil has no reality. It is neither person, place, nor thing, but is simply a belief, an illusion of material sense.” ***   Jesus demonstrated this.  He saw evil as separate from person, as when he healed the man who was possessed by “devils”, mental illness and healed all manner of disease and sin.   He saw that the problem was evil and had no real part in the man.   

I saw that I could separate my manager from the problem and that I need not be incensed, embarrassed or hurt by the illusion of the human sense of life and his actions.

Another helpful thought from the Eddy article was: 

To punish ourselves for others’ faults, is superlative folly. The mental arrow shot from another’s bow is  practically harmless, unless our own thought barbs it.   It is our pride that makes another’s criticism rankle, our self-will that makes another’s deed offensive, our egotism that feels hurt by another’s self-assertion. Well may we feel wounded by our own faults; but we can hardly afford to be miserable for the faults of others. ****

 I felt a peace and calm come over me.

 

      The arrow that doth wound the dove  
        Darts not from those who watch and love.******

When we begin to understand the deep love and humility that Jesus displayed, and become true followers, we may be able to " put up the sword" and to “replace the ear” and love one another.    

*           Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures - Mary Baker Eddy p 71

 **        Taking Offence,”  Miscellaneous Writings -Mary Baker Eddy  p 224

***        Luke 22

****      Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures p22

*****    Miscellaneous Writings  p 24  

******  Hymn 30 Christian Science Hymnal  

EARTHQUAKES AND OTHER SCARY STUFF

I could feel the floor starting to tremble under foot, first a jolt and then a gentle tremor. I saw my office door begin to swing slowly, then I realized...  Here we go again, still another earthquake. 

I happened to be on an important telephone call at the time and as the senior manager in my building I knew I should set a good example and evacuate immediately but, even though the ceiling tiles were falling, books being jostled from the bookcase and there were sounds of screaming in the hallway, I stayed on the phone for the a couple of minutes to finish the conversation. The guy on the other end, one of my staff members, was laughing at my plight as he was safely in his office in Oklahoma, far from my Southern California location. The screaming continued, I left the office for safety outside.

When the dust settled and we received an “all clear” from Security, we all returned to the offices and I addressed the source of the screaming. I called my administrative assistant

into my office. One of her duties was “Building Safety Coordinator. I told that I had seen her grab her “hard hat” and run out into the hall as the tremor started. That was good. But, we also discussed how that it was probably not appropriate for her, as the Building Safety Coordinator responsible for an orderly building evacuation, to run down the halls screaming “Run for you life! We’re all gonna die”!!!

I suggested that perhaps it would be better for her to give up that additional duty position and to accept another duty that was less stressful.

Now I personally know a lot about FEAR. I have sampled various fears many times in many of its disguises and know it intimately.

For example, Fear comes in many disguises. What is frightening to one may not be to another. 

SKEERD?  Not Me!!!!!

Panic Sets In!!!!

Fear is irrational. I have felt perfectly safe on a very bumpy flight, experiencing heavy turbulence, while the person next to me was reduced to crying and shaking. And, I have felt inexplicable fear in a packed elevator while others crammed in next to me laughed and talked, oblivious to what was frightening me, while I was about to implode.

If fear were rational, we would all fear the same things, which proves to me that FEAR is individual and within our own consciousness.

Courageous Burmese political figure, Aung San Suu Kyi is

quoted as saying: “The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear.”   Intellectually, we know that it is important to stay calm, and we should exercise caution. Author Neale Donald Walsch says:“Caution is what causes you to look both ways before crossing the street. Fear is what keeps you frozen on the curb forever.” 

When FEAR lifts its ugly head, we all react differently. Fear and confusion often block intelligent actions, sometimes we seem to become immobile. A Flying Safety magazine article some years ago reported that the Landing Gear warning horn was so loud and insistent as his jet fighter aircraft approached the runway, creating fear and confusion in the pilot’s thinking, that ironically, he landed without lowering the landing gear.

Since fear is subjective, in our own thinking, I have often contemplated Job’s observation and its relevance to myself. In the Bible, in the Book of Job, we find:" For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me." *1  

Is the fear, that "Gear Warning Horn" so loud and insistent,   “coming upon me” because I am entertaining it, giving it place, honoring its presence by believing it? If I didn’t fear, would the “thing” happen?

Now I am not saying that my Administrative Assistant caused the earthquake!! But her reaction certainly reflected a fear that was personal to her.   BUT, what causes fear? How can we conquer it? 

It seems that FEAR is a feeling that somehow we have become separated from our Creator, that we are alone without support. We may we feel that we are adrift in this world, vulnerable to something that is about to happen, or may happen, or will happen!! We feel a lack of firm foundation, and we ACCEPT those fearful, threatening thoughts and cling to them!

But do we have to believe everything that comes into our thought, everything we see, hear and feel? Are we “authorized” to sort the thoughts that come to us, do we have permission to keep the good ones, discard the bad ones, the fearful ones?

In her book, Rudimental Divine Science, Mary Baker Eddy cautions that : “Accepting the verdict of these material senses, we should believe man and the universe to be the football of chance and sinking into oblivion'.”*2   In her Bible companion book*, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, she challenges us, when threatened by belief of disease or any erroneous belief, to guard the door of our thought: She counsels: " Reverse the case. Stand porter at the door of thought. Admitting only such conclusions as you wish realized in bodily results, you will control yourself harmoniously." *3 

God’s plan for us is never frightening, never leading to danger, doubt, discouragement, disease. We are never separate from our divine Source, never out of the Mind that holds us in His consciousness never threatened by God, who is LOVE.

Jesus of Nazareth, the humble preacher centuries ago, knowing that he was ALWAYS hand in hand with his heavenly Father, faced every situation fearlessly. He said, “I and my Father are ONE.”*4   And the apostle Paul comforted us by assuring us of our inseparability from God when he said:   “In Him, we live, and move and have our being.” *5   Definitely a statement of our true, spiritual existence.



Regardless of how solid, or shaky, material foundations may seem, they are really not “the rock” that we need as

security. The assurance and peace of mind of being “at one with the Father” comes to us in a way that some of us have experienced as children when, unexpectedly separated from a parent and experiencing that sinking feeling, looked desperately for their comforting presence. Then, reunited, hand in hand with our parents, we once again felt safe and secure. That same comforting presence of our heavenly Father/Mother is always available, here and now, and will bring that same sense of peace and well being.

This poem speaks of feeling God's everpresence: 

I walk with Love along the way,

And O, it is a holy day;

No more I suffer cruel fear,

I feel God’s presence with me here;

The joy that none can take away

 Is mine;  I walk with Love today.

Come, walk with Love along the way,

Let childlike trust be yours today;

Uplift your thought, with courage go,

Give of your heart’s rich overflow,

And peace shall crown your joy-filled day.

Come, walk with Love along the way.*6

*       The Holy Bible  - Job 3:25

**      Rudimental Divine Science - Mary Baker Eddy (MBE)

***     Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (MBE)

****    The Holy Bible  - John 10:30

*****   The Holy Bible  - Acts 17:28

******  Christian science Hymnal 427

Doesn’t that make you ANGRY???

There it is AGAIN!! I thought I had put that to bed once and for all!! But, Nooooo! Here it is again, that urge to react, to respond with anger, to fight back

The voice on the other end of the phone didn’t even say Hello when I answered… just..  “Who do you think you are” the irate voice, dripping with venom nearly jumping out of the receiver.

WOW. That was a shocker. It took me a moment to settle my thoughts after after a most troubling conversation. As a member of a local volunteer group I had recently agreed to help a friend by advertising an upcoming charitable event on our organization’s web site.  

Unknown to me, another group was participating with him in the endeavor and apparently this caller thought I was trying to "horn in"!! I had no idea anyone else was even involved and was certainly not trying to “take credit” for it, as the caller had howled!!
That call did me a big favor. Time for self examination.. AGAIN!!   Don’t we all need to revisit who we think we are, maybe frequently, and this call was a catalyst. 

Who Do I Think I Am?  Am I a person who reacts to anger? A person who needs tit-for-tat, whose pride and self importance are so stiff that I can’t bend in humility when challenged? 

I asked myself, "Am I a person that has to get back, to get even, to be hurt, upset, to react in like manner?"   I didn't really like the answer I was getting back from myself.  At that moment I was hurt, insulted, bewildered, submerged in a pool of self pity, injustice and resentment.  I was ANGRY.

That one conversation has been so beneficial.  It helped me see that anger is not a solution, but a trap, a venting of self righteousness, not productive, not endearing, not a way to elicit cooperation, not a pathway to clear thinking nor positive results.

Truly "Anger, is the nemesis of all ages". And yet how very popular it is. There’s certainly no shortage of opportunities to get plain old MAD!! In newspapers, television and on the internet we see that anger is boiling over in Brazil, Egypt, Syria and Turkey. There is anger in Washington and across the country  over many issues.  

 

Even here in my neighborhood in the North Georgia mountains,  the local newspaper reports an uproar over topics ranging from animal control to outrage over the local farmers’ market being kicked out of its normal place in the City Park. So many reasons to be ANGRY!!

TV networks seem to love anger... they report a terrible story and then invite us to “get angry, get upset, get irate.”

”Weigh in”, they say.  "Join in the conversation, give us your comments”.  And we are tempted to fall for it. As they stir the pot, we get agitated and upset, and like a pesky fly, buzzing around your face until you finally get fed up and smack yourself in the face trying to get that fly, and… voila… you hurt yourself!!! That's anger for ya'. I am hoping I am not the only one that has done this dumb trick!!

I recall a statement by Katharine Graham who led the Washington Post for two decades and wrote a Pulitzer Prize winning memoir. Her memorable quote is

The longer I live, the more I observe that carrying around anger is the most debilitating to the person who bears it.

Oh Katherine, how well you put it. Your statement speaks volumes.

Now, of course, we all have opinions on topics of interest. Our own human experience has shaped our thoughts but in truth, anger is not really necessary.  Seth Gordon a marketing consultant recently wrote a short blurb in which he said that "Anger is a habit", a habit he calls 'a thoughtless response to an incoming trigger.'”

The most successful people in the world have been able to overcome the tendency to "thoughtless responses" and having their thinking clouded by anger. 

Jesus of Nazareth, as described in the Bible, advised us to turn the other cheek when confronted. This was not a sign of weakness, but exhibited a profound understanding that things that make us angry are distractions that would pull us away from our true selfhood, the image of Love,  the likeness of our Creator.

Relating back to my air-traffic control days I remember when a plane was in an emergency and needed to make a gear up landing, we always foamed the runway. As the plane approached and touched down metal to concrete, instead of a shower of sparks the foam smoothed the way, lessened the friction, removed most of the danger, prevented fires from erupting due to the sparks hitting fuel leaks.

I’d like to share my little list of reminders, my "Foam the Runway" thoughts that help me avoid getting angry, serve to dampen the sparks that would ignite discord, disappointment and ill feelings.  They are taken from The Bible. These “helpers”, provide guidance, as follows: 

“If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.”   “Leave off contention, before it be meddled with.”  “A soft answer turneth away wrath.”

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.”

Feel free to use that checklist every day.  If we would find life’s peace, inner calm, and a joyous existence, we can turn off the TV of anger and enjoy the sweet classical music of peace.

A nineteenth century theologian, Mary Baker Eddy, faced incredible challenges in her life as a woman in a what was at that time strictly a man's world in religious circles.  Her calm and tenderness are good examples  for us all and she urges us to pray for patience, in the following, quoted from "Blessings of Forgiveness": 

Ask to be made patient    

And loving when persecuted…
Ask to be gentle tempered

And delivered from all anger
Or spirit of revenge.
Ask for this daily bread to feed you. 

 Mary Baker Eddy

And finally, maybe the most helpful for me, when I feel that old temptation rising to get angry, I hear the gentle but firm voice of my wonderful Mother, calling softly from the past, ‘Patrick, you know better than that.” "Yes, I do. And thank you Mom. I’ll try to do better.”