Ascending the Mount

“When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them.”
-Matthew 5:1-3

I had this thought today that I could do a little metaphysical interpretation of the New Testament. Now, before you settle into groans, let’s check in. There are many who come to New Thought teachings because they have had a previous relationship with Christianity that was less than ideal. As a result, there can be an attitude of resistance when New Thought ministers begin to utilize aspects of Christian teaching in their work. Yet, these same people will fully embrace teachings of other faith philosophies (like Buddhism, Hinduism, and the like) just because they are different.

While these traditions are different in their path, the ultimate goal, I believe, is the same: LOVE.

It is common among New Thought ministers to downplay the role of Jesus in the New Thought teaching; when in fact we privately hold to the paradigm that what Jesus was teaching was New Thought. I could go on, ad nauseam, about how the core message of Jesus was made less important as time marched on. I would rather not. I want to do something that I feel has more value.

Let today be a day of deeper reflection and acceptance for that which may have been previously rejected or resisted. Let a light shine in the dark places, and illuminate the heart and soul in an evolutionary way.

There are a great many options upon which I could place my focus in this exploration, but I chose to focus on the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5, 6 and 7)

We begin with Jesus ascending the mount. I think it is important to consider here the metaphor of the crowds. Have you ever felt like life was pressing in all around you? I have. And that is the metaphor. Pretty simple, huh?

How do we address the pressure we feel of the world all around us. We ascend. We work in our own minds to move to a higher acceptance of consciousness and let ourselves be aligned with our deepest faculties so that we may consider the world from a new perspective. When all this is balanced, we become the authorities in our lives, the deepest expression of the inner infinite. This is what is meant as Jesus ascends the mountain, sits, and his disciples come to him.

The twelve disciples are the physical representation of our faculties. Very quickly and without interpretation this is what they represent:
Peter represents faith.

Andrew represents strength of mind.

James represents discernment.

John, love; Philip, patience; Bartholomew, imagination; Thomas, doubt; Matthew, divine will; James the Lesser, order; Thaddeus, heart; Simon, receptivity and enthusiasm; and Judas represents physical desire.

Our inner work is to be able to address these faculties with balance and authority. We are the point from which these aspects of our being spring forth into expression. Our mastery of them creates cohesion in our lives.

Let us learn to speak to them from the point of view of our inherent nature. We are Divine. We have the authority.

This is where we begin… in a place of willingness.

When we speak, we teach. Let’s take this to heart as we move through our day. What are we teaching the world around us? What are we teaching ourselves?

That is what I want to leave you with today. It is an invitation to know more, and know that the more you need to know is already a part of you.