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Mystical Reflections on Hebrews 11:29-12:2 - Proper 15C

It's almost funny, I stared at the text today trying to find some deep meaning and got nothing - nada, zip, zilch.  At the same time, an email arrived in my inbox from www.meaningfullife.com about their 60 day journey.  The lesson for today told the story of Moses desiring to see God's face, and God instead put him in the cleft of a rock, covered Moses with His hand, and passed by.  Moses was only able to see God's back, not His face.  In essence the story was God's way of telling us, "You will see me when you are not looking."

This Sunday's text from Hebrews describes many heroes of faith, who underwent suffering.  They endured beatings, fire, lions, being sawed in half, persecution, etc. etc.  Then the text has a curious shift: "Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect. (Hebrews 11:39-40 NRSV)" 

On one level there is a lesson here about suffering for the sake of others - a theme not uncommon in the Christian faith.  Scholars and theologians throughout the centuries have struggled to figure out how suffering can be redemptive.  Most of the theories center around the passion of Jesus and how that suffering paid the price for humanity's sins.  But here the author is describing the suffering of the saints, and how even though they endured and believed, they did not receive what was promised.  We are told that they would not be made perfect apart from us, and that God had provided something better.

Again an understanding of the Four Worlds can shed some light on the matter.  Some mystics will describe our task here on earth as making corrections so that our world more closely follows the divine blueprint.  You might say that the highest world, Atzilut, is the purest and closest to God's intention, yet it is the least actualized.  As you move down through the worlds, imperfections arise, each of which needs correcting.  This is not to say that God has made a mistake, but the realities of created beings with free will always allows for imperfections.  A correction in the upper worlds always means a correction of thought or belief, while a correction in the world of Assiah involves a different action: being kind to someone, expressing love, giving to charity, etc.

From this point of view its almost impossible to think of one-for-one spiritual rewards.  Your good actions are meant to correct the entire world.  Sometimes those contributions are incredibly humble, yet necessary.  Often they go unrecognized or unnoticed.  That doesn't mean that they're trivial.  As a matter of fact, they're probably the most indispensable pieces of the puzzle.

In this case, the correction of faith means that you may not see the fruits of your labor in this lifetime.  But in the world to come, when all of these corrections, good deeds, pieces of the puzzle come together, we will all experience the reward God has promised.  That reward is a world full of love, peace, justice, and righteousness.  You may not receive that reward now - as a matter of fact you probably won't.  But faith means hoping for that reward, and holding on to it with the utmost conviction.  By faith you cling to the upper worlds, and to the image that they project.  That faith will always translate into actions in this world, even when you don't see the point in them.

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