Skip to main content

Mystical Reflections - Advent 4: Discipline with Love

Advent 4
In a previous post I wrote about a Kabbalahistic look at Jesus being the Son of God and how his birth was a direct emanation from the Infinite.  This week we read the story of when the angel Gabriel revealed to the Virgin Mary that she was to bear this Son of God.  As you learn more about Kabbalah you'll see that there are illusions to it throughout the New Testament.  This passage is no exception.

Gabriel is mentioned four times in the Bible.  Twice in the Book of Daniel, Chapters 8 and 9, and twice in the Gospel of Luke, both in Chapter 1.  Each time he is bringing a message from God, or helping someone interpret a vision.  In every case, the message from God is both good and bad news - it contains both love and judgement.

Gabriel's name has the same root as the Sefirah Gevurah.  Gevurah is the sefirah of judgement or discipline.  In the Tree of Life it is portrayed as being opposite of Chesed or love.  When they work together in harmony they create the next sefirah Tif'eret or Compassion.  This is because love must always exist within discipline.  And discipline must always be tempered with love.  Imagine a parent who loves their child without any restraint.  Such a parent would allow the child to do whatever he or she wanted - dangerous or not.  The child might go a very long time without ever hearing the word 'no.'  This child will have problems when he or she begins socializing with others since he or she is only one voice amongst many, and this will be the first time the people around him may not do what he wants the moment he wants it.  The end result is curious, as the parent's over abundance of love without judgement results in the child having an over abundance of judgement without love.  But when love is exercised with judgement or discipline it is a good thing, since it encourages one to consider the needs of others, and grow in a spirit of compassion.

At first glance you may not see this element of discipline in the passage but take a close look at what Gabriel promised to Mary.  He will be great.  He will have the throne of His ancestor David.  He will reign over the house of Jacob forever.  Of his Kingdom there will be no end.  To be in this position Jesus needs to exercise judgement.  The illusions here are for an earthly king, and no king, no leader for that matter can exercise his or her office without making judgement calls - distinguishing right from wrong, deciding on one course of action over another course of action.  This kind of judgement always needs to happen.

When one reflects on the Kabbalah it becomes obvious that this judgement can always exist perfectly balanced with love, or Chesed.  When this happens, judgement is exercised for the good of others.  Decisions are made in order to benefit everyone, not just the one making the decision.  When judgements are made to benefit one's self, this is Gevurah out of balance, and tyranny is the result.  But when judgements are made from a place of love, compassion is the result.

Just recently I was doing some stewardship research for my parish.  We're located in Virginia Beach, where according to city-data the median household income level is $59,000 per year.  When I look at my own budget, the cost of living, owning a home, etc. I really wonder how people can function at that level.  As a result, It's very easy for me to drive through some pretty run down sections of town, housing projects, and ghettos in between my house and my Church.  To contrast this statistic, at Bristol-Myers Squibb, where I used to work, the pay for the top executives ranges from $172,000 to over $5 million.  Obviously people are making decisions here - they are executing judgement calls.  But what would happen if they executed those judgements balanced with love.  What if each of the executives took a lower salary and used the funds to create more jobs?  What if the jobs were structured in such a way that each person working them was immensely satisfied and motivated by the job they were doing?  What would it look like if this happened on a global scale?

I preached a sermon along these lines once and was accused afterwards of being a socialist.  Of course I am anything but a socialist.  I believe that socialism is just another example of Gevurah being out of balance.  It can never come from a place of love because at it's very core is a philosophy of, "If people aren't going to benefit their fellow person we're going to damn well make them!"  While I agree with the intention of correcting imbalances in society I believe the only way it can happen is by changing hearts and minds.  Only true spirituality can bring love and judgement into balance, and the end result will achieve what socialism always intended to, but can never deliver.

This is just one example of what can happen when you balance love with judgement.  Applying this concept  to other aspects of your life and yield some stunning results.  In the Kabbalah we examine and study the sefirot because they allow us to see and observe God's qualities.  Since we are created in the image of God we have these same qualities.  But because of the fall they've become distorted and out of balance.  Through faith in Jesus Christ, through prayers and meditation and time in God's Word, we're able to see these qualities for what they were always intended to be, and bring our own lives back into balance.

For more on balancing your life with the Sefirot see Rabbi Jacobson's A Spiritual Guide to Counting the Omer or Towards a Meaningful Life.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Advent Challenge - Luke Chapters 8 and 9

Weekends can be a busy thing around the holidays.  Ironically Advent invites us to slow down while the world around us is speeding up with decorating, parties, shopping, etc.  That's why a challenge like reading a chapter of Luke every day is important - it refocusses you. Chapter 8 starts out with a parable about a farmer sowing seeds.  Most of the seed ends up useless, while the seed that fell on good soil yielded a massive harvest.  When the disciples asked what the parable is about, Jesus described it in terms of the Word of God, often falling on hearts that are either unwilling or unready, and it doesn't take hold.  But for some, it lands on a heart that's willing and ready, and bears much fruit. This sets the stage for two miracles that come next - the calming of the sea and the healing of a demoniac.  Jesus and the disciples went out on a boat, and a big storm came upon them.  While everyone else was panicking, Jesus was fast asleep in the stern...

Advent Challenge - Luke Chapters 1 and 2

It's been a long time since I published here - about 10 months.  My life has taken some twists and turns.  As I went along I reflected on last year's journey, and my plan to launch Parish Development Ministries.  When I look back at everything I intended to do, I do think I had a decent road map.  But I didn't do a lot of it.  As it turns out, my heart really is in parish ministry, and I'm really glad to be back in that role. Last summer I accepted a call to St. Mary's Church in Wayne, PA.  So we moved again, and I'm settling into this new and wonderful place.  Since it is a year of new things, I decided to launch an Advent Challenge for the new year.  Things worked out nicely.  There are 24 days of Advent this year, and it's Year C, when we'll be reading the Gospel of Luke.  Since Luke has 24 chapters, it just makes sense to read one chapter a day this month, and be prepared for Christmas. Luke is an interesting Gospel.  He has one...

Advent Challenge - Luke Chapter 5

Luke was a genius when it came to structuring this Gospel.  Chapter 5 is framed on two sides by calling of disciples, with two miraculous healings in between them. The chapter starts with Jesus calling Peter, James, and John, and as part of the calling provides them with a huge catch of fish.  The payload was so big that several other boats were brought in, yet they all started to sink because they were so full.  When Peter expressed his unworthiness, Jesus simply told him to follow, and Jesus would make him fish for people. This miracle foreshadowed the role Peter would play in the early Church.  On the first day of Pentecost in Acts, Peter's preaching converts several thousand souls in one day, and tradition holds that they returned home and began their own local Churches in their communities.  But the question remains, what are all of these conversions for? The next two sections in Luke 5 gives us a clue as to the answer.  First Jesus heals a leper, and ...