-john .,: i-i tf-, = 'f -2. 6-, ~,- s;) - unity · the subject or the lesson i5 jesus talking...

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) : : .',,4.' .. " ':_i;~ CHARLES FILUJORE, AU1UST 31~ 1924 TIlE !~NSTRUCTI?JG THE ~LJ.lECTUA~O:fSCI)USNESS. .-John .,: i-I tf-, =... 'f -2. 6-,~,- S";) . The subject or the lesson i5 Jesus talking to the S&maritan woman at the well. If you '~ere about to attend one or il&gner's operas, you would give a little attention to the meaning~ you :rrould want to knOYi what the different characters represented; you would. want to know some- :: ..~- -:~~--- ,~ ~. -'~~~ , ,.-,,; 2 thing about the history ~ dc'Jbtless~ but the inlportant inforh.t.9,tion viould be to kno~¥hmv these characters carried out some ohar&cteristic of the h~n .fa".'i ly. So if you wore going to one of Shakepeare' splays" you would stu~{ up the pla~- before you went in order th~t yo~ might hl~ve a r better ps:rchological understc.r.ding. T}lere is a gre~1.t interest now-a- days i:l psychology, !tnd one of the greatest books on Psychology ever . UNrTY SCHOOL OF CHR\STtANITY UNITY ARCHIVES

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: .',,4.' ..

" ':_i;~

CHARLES FILUJORE, AU1UST 31~ 1924

TIlE !~NSTRUCTI?JG THE ~LJ.lECTUA~O:fSCI)USNESS.

.-John .,: i-I tf-, =... 'f -2. 6-, ~,- S";)

.The subject or the lesson i5 Jesus talking to the S&maritan

woman at the well. If you '~ere about to attend one or il&gner's operas,

you would give a little attention to the meaning~ you :rrould want to knOYi

what the different characters represented; you would. want to know some-::

..~- -:~~--- ,~ ~. -'~~~

, ,.-,,;

2

thing about the history ~ dc'Jbtless~ but the inlportant inforh.t.9,tion viould

be to kno~¥ hmv these characters carried out some ohar&cteristic of the

h~n .fa".'i ly. So if you wore going to one of Shakepeare' splays" you

would stu~{ up the pla~- before you went in order th~t yo~ might hl~ve a

r

better ps:rchological understc.r.ding. T}lere is a gre~1.t interest now-a-

days i:l psychology, !tnd one of the greatest books on Psychology ever .

UNrTY SCHOOL OF CHR\STtANITY

UNITY ARCHIVES

written is the Bible. If you 'Tould understand the Bible. you must know

somewhat about the characters, what they in h\lnW'J.n lii'e. Jesus

character.in the Bible. because he demonstrated !:lore oi'

spiritual power We search for it

in ma~ ~;a;rs, but the goal oi' every man's life is to obtain freedom i'rom

the limitations of materiality. Now the spirit is

lirrli ted state

W(" are inner meaning

of this great, I might say victory of the man Jesus. Some people think

this a tragedy but it iR a victory. It is the way you look at it. If

you look at it from the h~n side, from the natural ma.n view:r>oint, you

5

see beyond that into the spiritual, you. will say it is a victory. So

we spiritually discern that the life of Jesus Christ was a mighty victory,

a victory over the natural things, a victory over the limited conditions

and how did he obtain the victory? We are to follow him, we have got

enough of this natural n1J.n,--"!riost, of us. We do not enjoy him as we

oncedd, a~d why? Well, because we are ready for the next step in

6

-tha t great step is to understand the. soul's

7'steps? Why they are ~iven scripture.

Nowcln the lesson this morning the central fif!;ure of the

-story is the woman of' Sa~ria, the Samaritan woman, and we should in-

selves. r~aw everything revolves around the self. We talk about man

bei~ selfish, but the fact is that he hint dovm toc .'.

..c,;;

~:; the last dregs, he is selfless. to the achiev6-~~~~~~

.~cQ"~

ment of the desires or-the that Tfr,ich says'c'

make th~t attainment and that goal selfish in its paths, in its ways of

attaining I;re::.t end? ~y. n'J. So that selfishness applies to T18.ny degre~s

c

8

--,

or phases of man's work. If you limit your 1~ork to the physical and

look upon yourself as a pig~, you will be what the world oalls selfish.

but if you see yourself as a large man giving everybody everything that

you have and giving to yourself larger pr:f.vileges why then Vie are con-

sidered altruistic. We are unselfish. And what is the end? Why that~tC~

we may attain a better un d", rstanding of' the self'. So tha.t in the ci.':'7'"c~""" ..'\i?

.

eration of at not only the meaning of these

other characters. but the meaning of the self. What is the self1 It is

;~:represented here ..:!:~,

:;;c~!Samaria. Now the woman is always pictured symbolically as repre-,'~'.!'::.'~,

'::;~~~..;~!;sentative or the"feminine side of man. Jesus represents the masculine

Woman represents the feminine and this woman was a Samaritan. She was not a,

genuine Jew. The Jews represent the spiritual man's ideas. not necessarily

all attained but on the way to attainment. The Jews were the chosen people.

The Jews can be discerned in your thoughts as those thoughts that desire to

know spiritual things. We call it the religious part of the man. It is that

which recognises thctt there is a God and it is God in us that aspires toCC~~"~

~~~uMerstand God.--It is the -1"eli~ious -nature\'~i:' -).

cC"'::

you and the Gentile is that in you desires to knoy; about mat'3rial

things located in the fl~sh. It is strictly the material man.

have everyone of us the Jew e.nd the .;. .,

., of a mixed race. The Sa.ma.ritans and thA Jews were intfJrrelated in that

..respect and their religion wa~ also a mixture. They recognized part of

the Pentatench truth. I thirlk they recogniz,;,d all of the five books of

12.

Moses but they did not recognize the prophets. They did not recognize the

other books which the Jews treasured. They incorporated into their reli~ion

more or less paganism. They were on one side related to the heathen, so-

called. So this wOIM.n was one in soul who was attached not only to the

'"spiritual but also to the material. And Jesus told her tlw.t .-he had had c'i;~;;~,::

;,:c ~~~'-:::'--ii"fenusban4s and "that the one .be was Livinr,cwith now was not her husband; ~

c)"" " C~

c; ,

That means that this intuitive soul in us. this feminine side of the soul.-

has functioned through each of th~ five senees. NCWl in our evolution the

Darwinian school has proved through their studies of man's evolution that

he has passed through each one of the five senses in his evolution and~~~:'

';"'- that now he is functioni~ through the intellect. That is what is symbolized

in the lesson. Jesus told her that she had had five Husbands. That is. she.

14

had been,united with these five senses in her evolution. He was talking

to her soul. he was talking to the soul in every woman. and I might say

every man. He said. "You have had five husbands; you have been united

with these five avenues of yourself and you are now tryin~ to express

..,. through another and that is the intellect. and that is not your husband.";; ;~:.-;:.:::;.

."'---' -,

WhY? Because the soul is t.ruly related with t

~~~,tF

15

man is the real man and Jesus represented that spiritual man. And he went

on to say to her that he ~ted a drink. He was thirs.ty. What is it

that is thirsting in man? It is this higher self. It is you when you are

hungering and thirsting after ri~hteousness. That is the man in you that is

thirsting. and you are thirsting for what? Well. spirit. As I stated in the

beginning we are all aiming for this spiritual development. OY'{e hear of 8. m8.n

:.

16

or a woman tht has s orne spiritual qual;. ty that is above the average and ~~

iYILT!Jediately we want to get in touch wit; them. we wa;nt to find out the .

secret somethi:1g mysterious about then, something that the sou}) in us is

seeking. and tho.t is the ob,iect of our very existence. to have that spiri t-

;.-' ual umerstanding. a'ld spiritual power, because it is that that rai.

..~. c_.~--~-~-""~.c

.c above the common herd. We all want to get ahead; we all1tant to be

.17

.little better than other people and to be real ourselves. Vie have ideals

.away beyond what we have achieved. HO\'{ shall we fulfill these ideals?.By understanding the spiri tual man~ NOt'{ Jesus told this 'W"OD8.n that he

would like to have a drink, and she Yro.S giving him to drink but he

\~ wanted to carry the subject a little further ths.n the mere drinking of

that water. He said, ~y if you kne\~ that

&

.18

was a well of living'w~ter you would drink of it and never thirst again."

.'h--But she said, "\'ihy. YOll can It draw fran this well." She was talking about ~"-;~

;,j;"

outer things,~S I said, the \70man was talkin~ about outer things and think-

ing about outer things and tht1.t is the condition of the majority of the

human family today. They are functioning through the intellect, Life is

C~=;;;;';'=_:"-~C:C:=::-alwa ys Symbolized"i-n-"t;he-Bible under two great symbols

;".,;c ..

19

the other is spirit. Wh~n Jesus talked to l1icooemus -he said,- ..You must be born of water and of spirit." Those two avenues of

, -

expression are part ~f the soul's development. Now it takes something

more than lite to make a man, doesn't it? It takes intelligence, and

it takes substance, and pmver and a whole lot of ability grouped in

one conscious~ess to make a man. But Jesus in these various lessons';~:';"'~~.'"

20

yms ShO?lin~ us how to get hold of these various attributes and this life.

Life is fundamen~al. What kind of life? Well sniritually speaking there

are two great phases of life. First is this wa~er or life, natural life.

~-, that we develop as na.tural beings. Vie live in a great sea

"'of natural life. As Paul !aid'. ~irst that ...hich is na.~l, then ~hat wlLich~.,~"

If -=~Zi4;~~~~~~'c-~~8 !piritual. -N"aIT we rise up ou-t'of"-this natural life Intoa~ rreeri':"";'~

,; .:i.~;':~c:..

,;t~il

fuller lif~~hat is spiritUAl life. first mir~cle he turned;.'

the water of life into the wine of life.

new qUAlity through spiritual ener~. Now we are doin~

that same thing every time we have high aspirations. Every time you are

thrilled with some mighty emotion, wh~tever it may be, be it music, art,

or through reading the Bible. Some people get tJ1"t thrill when they read

22

the Bible. 1Vhat is it to them? Spirit descending and contacting ~tural

life. You go through that period which is mentioned in the 1'irst miracle

in Cana. of Galilee, the water 1'illing those firkins is transformed into

the wine of life. You are a different being; you are living in a dirrerent

world arter you hQve once relt these uplirts, these inspirations. Now

;.~:j~-~:::::,C8.n we develop a capacity in ourselves to have this lrispiration at any t.

"

23

to make, in other ,vords this well of living water within us a permanent

enduring quality? Certainly, that is just what it taught. That is what

is teaching to this woman. He said, "'rhere is' a well of living

is within springing up into eternal life." Now we k!1CfW

that th~s natural lif~ is eternal. It is transitory. It comes. They say

that the natur~l man,. his span of life is only about thirty-three years,

24

but the limit of it is score and ten. 'Just think

of the millions of yer1.rs that this planet has produced hwnani t~r, and are ,',

we to be Jimited to thirty-three years or seventy years? Why, it is silly :':~'"'-.'~;~.,

,.to think about it. 1'fe should be in conscious union with this abiding :

-,.;

c;,life. '!re should knoiv how to continue to live and enjoy life. We all ;;)

/c,.;~dread disease and death. Why? Because it is unna.turo.l. 'nle nfltural man. ,.'.:

"""",,;,,' ,. ""c, c,."c UNlTY SGHOOkcOFCHRtSTIANJrv ',j!%~:,',;1;,. ,cc c ,",,(CC ,.( ,(cc,.' c(c"; ,. C(:'o~1'~CC",c".c c ,. C".c":c j""'ccccc": C',"C c cUN1TY ARCHI'VES C'C!1;;"~

:c~;1

25

should have this springing within him of the eternallifespring. That is.it. It is a spring of lil"e. Take it anp.'"!1Y you want. you will find there is

& spring in you and if you spring th~t spiritual &ctivity, know this Truth,

1'f~,,; the. t there is 1'ti thin you a c ons~ iousnesB, if you would lay hold of i t---

this woman at the well can through the intuition, through the power of the

spiri'h, dralY from your inner consciousness a ,pure stree.m of~ -

~

26

life. But you of yollr

being

that this spirit of God is located somevthere else YOlI lose the right

tunder.tanding of your!elf and God. So Jesus t~ught this woman

that God is Spirit. not a !pirit. not a specific snirit located samev'here,

..;,~~,'~~~~c .heeding it, rays to you 8ky above

ii~'9 .,-';"""'.";;';;""'."'~

-

or in anyway loc~t.d. God is not a person. God is

principle. God is the source of all the so-c~lled gods.

God t s many an d Lord's

the identified God.

Elohim6 and that E1ohim is the gren.t univers3.l

~e stand in relation to that spirit ju:t as Jesus Christ did.. If we have

28

attained the understanding of the power of the Spirit within us, we

shall be joint -heirs' with him and with all that is ~in this

.ful kingdom of the Spiri~. And here is the open door, the door which

opens within our .oul. We must know that there is a well of living

.' water, an inspiration, an eternal springing up within us of life. This

~t~n outer-stUdy .We "ha:~~thoughtthiit we

;

.an understanding of this through the Bible, for example. rIo,

that doesn't give it to us clearly;, it only points the w&y. ire mu.t get

it for ourselves just a. ~hese Bible writers got it. Haw did they get it?

I'!e must

eve~ne of us, in the .ilences of our awn soils awaken this well of living

wa ter and it will not only be a new life'that you will ref'.lize but an in-

30

telligence. Here is the source of man's knowing. It is throu~~ the

inner spiritual soul. You must ~ow that God universal is concentrating

its forc8.,-- in you; that you &re the son of this living God; that you

~re life. All you have to do in order to awaken this well of livin~

lifec, wr..ter within you which will spring up into eternal/is first to simply

;;;:,g.c -~~""~-""~1"eco~ize

th~t 'there is an inner 11.re.force~--You a;llknow--thRt~~ou"". .' "

,.c

.

that proposition without You say, "I know that the

of my life came from wi thin~

inner You say,

.

have been prescrihed for health." But did Jesus teach any of that?

.teach a thing along that line. He sr\id, "The kingdom

said, "In

being." Do YO'l knOV{ for yo11rself that

move and have yo1lr being in an omnipresent spiritual Principle?

Do YO1.l know that the kin~dom of God is within you? If YO1) don't,

.,

? don't urrlerstand the Bible and Jesus Christ.£::==:::~.c

..

within. We are discovering in our scholastic study that all we have to

do with our children is to call forth th~t which is already within them.

it on from the outside. So YO1~ cannot plaster on

a la "This

it." That isn1t the way a spiritual I!!I.n is

It COMes trom within. This well is within of 11S.

Now let us join Jesus Christ in this wonderful sermon. Let us all be

members of that congregation. Vie are told that this was the greatest sermon

that Jesus Christ ever prAached and it was to one lon~ vroman. ~nd that woman

.not recognized as one of the tribe of Judah. She ~s an outlaw in more

way. than one. but Jesus recognized her. and he taught this wondertullesson

2£ " ~.."C'".

~4ocner .t1ie-le..dritba twe"are a.llt nl; a va a-ge-of. It-i.:';~~ ,. .

.

35

widow's mite that he gave the illustration of. It ~~~ a snall beginning

but it branches out like the river in the garden of Eden. It covered the

whole warth. I remember readi~ 8. story once in the lite of J:fenryWard

Beecher. In his early days he was called to preaohto sorte people

He ';-ent there on a stormy night and there

couldn't

spend his time givi~ A. discourse to one man, but I suppose he sat in

about it. ./inyrray,

up and to that linn sat

.near the stove. It was one of those country

But he said he preached the sermon just as enthusi~stically

great worker ~~d went. but he g~ve a

,;;;'c" man's conversion and blessed his e.ffort.

,

:'c

~';c)ii~'~~~ in preaching to one man. So numbers do not;J~~?~

.~ beginninp; of all pbeaching-right nOVl to one ma.n

:"'C':

and that one ~.n is yourself. That is what Jesus Christ really was doing;

he was talking to his own intellectual consciousness, raising it to spirituil

38

consciousness and that is what \ve are ever~ne doing. I tell you, the

majori ty of us are functioning throu~ thb front brain. the intellect.

That is only one of the senses. ~n has seven len.e,; we have developed

five .enses and now we are developing the intellectual man,---thought

transference we call it. The time is coming when \ve will use very little' ,;~;;.~..

-:~~'"~~-- language. We will thirik at ~t\cn. other wi th'this front-brain and know wha.t-~~~~~

': !':'t

'{if" "';~

is,

is one of the senses. realm of the absolute and

.know that back of all this consciousness is an.spiritual

..

reali ze thi 6 kingdolrl., of you.

..

woman &t the Tlell because Yfe knm; and the soul y{itmin knows,

to your C1ffTl

inner co~sciousness. ~t us trlis rnorninl; begin to medit03.te upon the

snirit within; let us knC'-J that there is a kingdom of the universal

God within us; let us sit with that Master of mer., Jesus Christ, in.this kingdom. In the na.-ne and through the power of t.~e Lord Jesus Christp:"",

Amen. "UN\TY "k;>~" ~""c"'" ", ,!,;",:c", '"

~ ' 0' Nt TV ,I\"RCH 1V~~c' , ,,:-'lcfl7\!"'~""i