Looking back, behind me, I could see the Cross, glowing golden in the setting sun, radiant from this side of it. On the other side, I could still see the others who knelt and wept at the foot of that enormous, rough-hewn, dark wooden bloodstained Roman cross, used for capital punishment.
He was so much more than any of us thought. He was a good man in every meaning of the word good. He was a rare man of courage and heart, possessed by a passion for the truth, and he would not be silenced. The price he paid for his courage and passion was his life. Yet, he knew and might even have smiled at the thought that the sting to the Romans would be that their plan to silence him would backfire, and backfire badly. Not even death would silence him, and that incredible courage has stood the test of time.
I wondered why they were still there. I thought they would see the path he left, lighted by his Truth that opened the door to eternity for us. Didn't they see it? Didn't they understand? And, why is it they are not also on that path, following his light, into an infinite rainbow of truth spiraling around, above and beneath us?
"What trapped them there?" I wondered. I wanted to run back and tell them, gather them together and lead them beyond the cross that stood darkly in front of them.
Slowly, I turned around. I had to go back and tell them. I couldn't let them just stay there, kneeling and weeping forever. I saw dark clouds of an approaching storm on the eastern horizon. "Quickly," I thought as I hurried back down the path. He had said it all. I wondered why they didn't understand.
As I emerged from behind the cross, some of them looked up at me with surprise through their tears. Who did they expect to see? He wasn't there and he wasn't going to return the way they thought. He was operating on an entirely new dimension of ultimate reality. My compassion for them was all I had and I hoped that would be enough. I understood so well what brought them here and what they needed to understand to move on.
Some of the children ran to me, as their mothers chased after them. I sat down on the dry, hard ground. The children asked me where I'd been and why I was there.
I asked them to get their parents because there was something they needed to hear.
The women and men slowly, one by one, came near and sat down.
I asked them, "What is your greatest fear?"
One man shouted "death," another shouted "rejection." On and on they all started calling out their fears. They lived in so much fear that those fears had become familiar to them. No therapist was needed to help them get in touch with their feelings.
"So, what is rejection?" I asked back.
"It says you're not good enough, you're not wanted, you're cast away. It means ultimately that you are wrong, bad and should be left to die," the old man said.
"So, there are two thoughts here, and one of them is a lie," I said, adding, "and that lie makes the other a lie, also."
"Here's the truth. You are all worthy. You are all loved - so much more than you yourselves can love. Your feelings of rejection are real feelings, but falsely based. You all feel rejected by your countrymen, your government, and all those who hold the purse strings to your livelihood," I said.
"But, it’s a lie that you are rejected, or deserve to be rejected," I continued. "It's a terrible, terrible, evil lie that you need to stop believing right now."
"This good man who died here a couple days ago was rejected simply because he spoke a truth that no one wanted to hear. They were all in denial about the truth and wanted to kill anyone who challenged the illusion they lived under. You have followed his truth and because of that are also being rejected and you feel that rejection bitterly - right down to your swollen and bruised knees you've been on for three days."
"But, here's the whole point and you will languish here until you get this. There is no rejection and there is no death. Our father who considers us all his sons and daughters, as was that man who died here, loves you completely without any pre-existing conditions and never will ever reject you.
"Those who use rejection to abuse and control are the ones who are powerless really, and in their lack are preying on you. It's called projection and it's an unconscious behavior. They belittle you to control you so they will feel powerful. They are projecting their weakness onto you - only, again they don't know it. They wouldn't need to do that if they already felt powerful. Real power looks a lot like humility.
They were arrogant and unaware of their weak, empty, fearful hearts and circumstances, which is why they killed him. They thought his teaching would usurp what little power they really had. They were unconscious of their own motives and need, which is why he forgave them.
"When that understanding sinks deeply into your soul, it will change your life completely. Then, you will rise with him into the light that leads you on the path to the ultimate truth which is eternal life and joy."
"What do you mean there's no rejection," a young mother asked.
"It means that it's an irrational emotion you have been taught, forced into your subconscious like brainwashing which has oppressed you so you would be malleable by those who seek to control you and take your power, your money, and your life. It is what burdens you day and night, takes your life from you, and leaves you impoverished - financially, spiritually, and physically. It's what 'they' use to control you," I said, watching her as she looked away and down.
"I get that," she said, slowly smiling, looking down at her little dark curly head son in her lap.
"That's it, exactly."
"So, his message is that God doesn't judge, condemn, or ever reject, that God's love is beyond anything we can understand and is the ultimate power. This cross on this side is a symbol of that fear, rejection, and death. But, when you see it for what it represents, which is a warped manipulation by the controlling power brokers, it can't control you anymore," I said.
"What you're saying is we have become slaves to them out of the fear of rejection which is a fear of death really?" the woman asked.
"Yes, exactly, but now that you know this you will be aware and it can't control you anymore. You may still have to work for them, but in your mind, you will be free. And, that's the beginning of a beautiful new life. There's such a huge difference in this. You can laugh at their efforts to control you through rejection now that you understand their tactics - their game. Then, you will become more aware and empowered," I said,
"And that's just the beginning. Once you take back your mind, reclaim your power, you will grow into the powerful, free, enlightened children of our Father. That's what he taught and wanted for us and died teaching."
"So, now - all of you - do you see this? Do you understand that this cross on which He died, is a symbol forever of the dark powers' attempt to subject, control, and reject you?" I added.
"Now you can choose to be aware of their game and stay in ownership of your own sense of value, and can just step over their rejection, and live in freedom and in power, controlling your own minds and destiny?"
"And, once you realize this, you need to move on beyond this tired old cross into the light of the freedom this understanding and awareness brings you. Then, an exciting and life-giving new empowerment will envelop you; free you, eliciting so much joy. It will open the path to enlightenment, wisdom, and eternal life. And, when you are on that path, that way, you will see him again. That is for sure.
"It's simple really. Do you see this? "
"Yes, I get that,” a wise old man said, standing up, and glancing around at the others who were nodding thoughtfully.
"We all need to move into that new awareness, that bright new consciousness, which is a kind of enlightened, truth-imbued space, and live where there is no death and no rejection," I added.
"I see what you mean," the old man added, rubbing his eyes from the dust of the day."If there is no death and if we are all loved with an unfathomable love, and never rejected or judged, then those who judge and marginalize us are afraid of our power, then they are liars, thieves - the criminals? I can see how both rejection and death are fallacies. They are the tools used by those master criminals to whom we've been chained with fear, kept weak, limited, under control - all in the dark."
"Yes. Exactly! It's simple to understand. Now, the work is unlatching your thoughts, minds and emotions from the habit of being controlled and marginalized by them," I said, standing up and brushing the dirt off my jeans.
"Just remember it is those who abuse, reject and try to kill you who are weak. Why else would they bother? What is it from you that they want? They think you have something they need and so they sneak up on you and attempt to steal it. So, ask yourselves, what do you have they want? You have love and spirit, joy and freedom. Do they?"
A rich pause followed my words. I waited hoping they would receive his message, which I had once struggled to understand. They slowly began talking to each other. Soon, an energy began to pulse through the large group.
A young boy started to play the flute, sending its sweet sound drifting through the increasingly more animated group. I heard singing as I slipped unnoticed back behind the cross.
Didn't He say He played the flute for us and we didn't dance? Today, we dance.
The path ahead seemed brighter than before. Thankfully, I listened to my heart. I knew I wouldn't be alone on this path much longer. Soon, everyone would be on the way, also.
I smiled into the radiant amber sunset. What a glorious, awesome thing this all is - this life - this real life.
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