© 2011 Charles Laurence Olivea
© 2011 The Urantia Book Fellowship
| The First Epochal Revelation in American Indian Traditions | Volume 11, Number 2, 2011 (Summer) — Index | Machiventa Melchizedek: One of History's Mysteries |
All hail the power of Jesus’ name!
Let angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown Him Lord of all;
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown Him Lord of all.
Let every kindred,
every tribe,
On this terrestrial ball,
To Him all majesty ascribe,
And crown Him Lord of all;
To Him all majesty ascribe,
And crown Him Lord of all.
O that,
With yonder sacred throng,
We at His feet may fall;
We’ll join the everlasting song,
And crown Him Lord of all;
We’ll join the everlasting song,
And crown Him Lord of all.[1]
This Christian hymn was evidently written in the latter eighteenth century to honor our Master’s achievement to the rank in the universe as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. It captures the power of his name to draw personalities to him. Bur how did his name acquire such power?
The hymn’s lyrics reflect a paradoxical truth exhibited by Jesus; a truth he spoke about in one of his sermons, i.e., his spiritual ability to attract persons to him without advertising himself. “Let me emphatically state this eternal truth: If you, by truth co-ordination, learn to exemplify in your lives this beautiful wholeness of righteousness, your fellow men will then seek after you that they may gain what you have so acquired. The measure wherewith truth seekers are drawn to you represents the measure of your truth endowment, your righteousness.” Then, he commented on its opposite: “The extent to which you have to go with your message to the people is, in a way, the measure of your failure to live the whole or righteous life, the truth-co-ordinated life.” [UB 155:1.5]
In the perspective of Christianity, as exclaimed in the hymn quoted above, even “angels prostrate fall…[and] every kindred, every tribe” of this world are drawn to him to “crown Him Lord of all.” I think the power of his name draws from the fruits of the spirit manifested in his superb personality and matchless character:
loving service,
unselfish devotion,
courageous loyalty,
sincere fairness,
enlightened honesty,
undying hope,
confiding trust,
merciful ministry,
unfailing goodness,
forgiving tolerance,
and, enduring peace. [UB 193:2.2]
These fruits of the spirit constituted the character of the man. With that in mind, I would like to point out that “respect” contrasts greatly with “popularity.” Respect is a “pearl of great price.” People respect a person when they are convinced that the individual is entirely genuine, morally and spiritually. Being popular can be fickle. It tends to be fleeting, faddish. Respect endures controversy and often grows over time.
This is the case with Jesus. His spirituality may be the largest factor in his appeal and compelling reputation. The paradox of the man was that he was without sin, and while he never drew attention to that virtue, people were drawn to him. The matchless, eternal living legacy of his life and teachings on Urantia is a benevolent spectacle of how far a mortal can evolve on an evolutionary world with the fruits of the spirit. His Urantian name and legacy have become virtually synonymous with each other.
At this point, it might be worthwhile to make a closer examination of the nature of names in general and what in particular Jesus’ name might mean for us.
The Chinese philosopher, Hsun Tzu, an early Confucianist, thought that names necessarily made two general types of distinctions: “On the one hand they are to make evident the noble and base, and on the other to distinguish similarities and differences.”[2] It is the former distinction made by Hsun Tzu that is applicable here. He undoubtedly was highlighting the contrast in status relationships between higher or greater (nobler) and lower or lesser (baser), e.g., ruler and subject, father and son, or elder brother and younger brother, etc. Applying this to the name of Jesus, the early Hebrews defined “Yehoshua” or “Joshua” as meaning “salvation.”[3] Notwithstanding that “Joshua” was a common Jewish personal name, it must be of special significance that our Master’s bestowal name was suggestive of the core mission of his incarnation. Names can have poignancy and substance. In Michael’s case, would another personal name for his bestowal have altered the impact of his earthly career? While I am not sure, the actual name he was given seems to have served his life purpose. The word, “Jesus,” designated a personality who proved to be the savior of not only a world, but a universe.
To explore this business of names a bit further, it is interesting and relevant to reflect upon the fact that the Universal Father has never revealed his personal name to us. “The names which the creature assigns to the Creator are much dependent on the creature’s concept of the Creator. The First Source and Universe Center has never revealed Himself by name, only by nature.” [UB 1:1.1] He is known by his primary role as Father. Indeed, he has revealed his identity through his attitude and actions toward his creation, characterized by love, goodness, wisdom, mercy, righteousness, truth, justice, and beauty.
Likewise, to my knowledge, neither has Michael of Nebadon revealed his personal name to us. Even so, I presume both Father and Michael have personal names since they are both personalities; albeit, one is the source of personality and the other the living way to that source. Notwithstanding this, we do know Michael’s bestowal name! This is a fact that we, on Urantia, should find deeply inspiring and profoundly reassuring. It enables us to know Michael in a beautifully personal sense. It is something we ought to cherish forever. It personalizes our relationship with him. Think how much greater our faith in all of his magisterial glory and power is strengthened by knowing his name. Many people have been a witness to the experience that just by speaking his name, “Jesus,” from the heart and with a childlike faith, they could feel his presence, his friendship, his spirit, and his love.
Therefore, it seems to me that we should realize that knowing the personal (bestowal) name of our elder, divine brother is a great advantage for us and everyone else on all the other worlds who also seek his grace. It should be an antidote to the fear and confusion that cloud human consciousness, an advantage that has the power to transform all mortals, even those living in Agondonter circumstances. Our Master’s name can aid us in contentious or perplexing situations.
I have experienced three occasions in my life in which the name of Jesus figured dramatically. These experiences were vivid and life-lasting. They have left me in awe and appreciation of our Master’s bestowal name. I believe it is the most striking noun in the human language.
(1) A Confrontation
Many years ago I was involved in an experience with something that I will term an “entity.” This “entity” proved to be hostile, probably mad, seething with rage, yet clever and, at least at the start of the confrontation, somewhat nuanced in its (his?) approach to me and my wife, Mary, with whom I shared the experience.
It all started when Mary tried an experiment with socalled “automatic writing” in our kitchen. The technique of automatic writing requires a person to suspend self-conscious control in the ordinary and everyday sense of that term. I read once that automatic writing is apparently an elementary form of ESP. In any case, it is used frequently by many who are curious about the future or the past.
This confrontation took place one afternoon and was followed by another the next afternoon. On the first occasion, Mary said the handwriting she did under its influence was very similar to that of her grandmother, who had died a little more than a decade earlier. The entity generalized about nondescript details, answering her questions in a vague manner. “Things were fine; don’t worry,” statements along those lines. I said little, making short simple observations that did not amount to very much. That first ‘session’ ended when Mary called it off, feeling a bit tense and uncertain about the encounter.
The second day started quietly enough, but very soon developed into a sharp disagreement between myself and the entity. It had her writing some negative views, sarcastic opinions of this and that (I do not remember the actual issues). I remember Mary being a bit disturbed by the off-putting nature of what she was writing. It was not very long into that exchange when I began to first question, and then criticize, the negativity of what was being written. The entity, through the automatic writing process, then warned me to mind my own business. I replied that this encounter was taking place in my home, and with my wife, and was very much my business! It then threatened me with harm of some kind, which I countered defensively. Our exchange escalated. Finally, the entity threatened to kill me or see me dead, words to that effect. I could readily feel its presence in the room; my sense of it was quite palpable. With the death threat, I said in substance: “How dare you threaten me. I am a son of the Living God, a follower of Jesus of Nazareth!”
I noticed immediately that when I spoke the name of Jesus, the entity started to flee. As it fled, I laughed at it, and also observed that it treated my humor as if it were a toxin. I promised to tell anyone who would listen to this story that it was afraid of human laughter. But it was the Master’s personal name that shook it all up. It was terrified of his name.
Right after it left, I looked around the room and saw my two dogs shivering in one of the corners of the adjoining room. Their eyes were wide open with fear. The dogs’ anxiety was further evidence that something or someone had been there. It was some time before I could get them to calm down. I would advise anyone not to experiment with automatic writing or that sort of thing. Also, I will not speculate what or who the entity was. The real value of the experience lay in the power of Jesus’ name. That name vanquished it, and that is good enough for me.
(2) A Heavenly Defense
I have taught for about forty-one years, mostly with public high school students. All jobs or careers have their own particular challenges with people and things. In a school teacher’s role, one is faced with all the vicissitudes young people bring to school. They might be quite perplexed about who they are, why they are here, and where they are going. The young have many needs and wants. They often are confused morally and socially. Part of a teacher’s task is to exercise a leavening influence upon them. To do that, we usually have to get to know our students well.
I always thought of my high school students in several different ways: they are the “children of human parents,” “cosmic citizens,” (usually) “American citizens,” and neither wholly “fish nor fowl,”—caught between adolescence and early adulthood.
But first and foremost, I think of them as “children of God.” This puts us on an equal footing as brothers or sisters, whether or not they are aware of it. It also recognizes them as possessing an absolute value since they have been bestowed with “personality” directly from the Universal Father. This is so regardless of their behavior toward me or their peers. The value of their status as “children of God” is not in any way conditional as far as I am concerned.
Michael is also their local universe father as well as mine. That, too, is unconditional. I believe we are all family in the kingdom of God under the aegis of Michael. Even though by all outward appearances my classroom and curriculum seemed to be about American history or art history or government/economics or comparative religion, it was really about the search for truth in the larger context of person-toperson ties, human and divine. I think this explains why I never was “burnt out” in all the years of my teaching, and why it was relatively easy for me to forgive my students and remain patient with them.
These characterizations provide the backdrop for what I am about to describe concerning the power of the name of Jesus. The event occurred in my office one day with a female student of mine, who was either a sophomore or junior at the time. We knew each other well. I first met her during my lunchroom duty, when she was in middle school. Subsequently, she ended up taking one of my classes for each of her high school years.
The identity of this person (we are still friends over twenty years later) shall remain anonymous. She was about sixteen years old, plus or minus a year. She came to my office and said that she was feeling certain desires for me that she knew were not proper. I was initially alarmed, but did not show it. Sexual advances (even implied) from a student are potentially explosive, morally and in every other way. I had been her mentor since she was in the eighth grade. She looked up to me as a father figure, and trusted me with many confidences ranging from joys to sorrows, generally the latter.
I was faced with a perplexing, dangerous situation to her and to me. The young woman (or girl) in front of me was still an “innocent.” She was dependent on my wisdom and forbearance, and was accustomed to me listening to her many problems. It was my responsibility to handle the crisis in such a manner that:
It would be absolutely clear to her that what she desired was forbidden,
Our teacher-student relationship would be preserved;
The humanity of trust and friendship between us would be preserved;
Her vulnerability would be protected; I did not want her youthful self-image shattered;
My moral integrity would be protected;
The crisis would be de-fused without damaging either of us.
Perhaps a minute or so had elapsed, when I realized I was over my head if I was to accomplish all of the above for the two of us. I turned to Jesus, explicitly and in humility, explaining in essence, “I need your ‘voice’ to manage this crisis. Please, Lord, help me.” This prayer was said in silence.
The following are the thoughts that came to me and constituted what I in essence said to her: “You do not want me; you want Jesus. He is the real (or true) object of your desires. Even though you did not realize this, turn to him.” I recall the encounter most vividly! When she heard what I had said, she recoiled briefly, as you would when first hearing something that caught you off-guard. Her body language indicated that Jesus’ name jolted her, but not in fear—more in wonderment. Her eyes very soon lit up as the spiritual and moral weight of what I said began to sink into her consciousness. The power of our Master’s name was being made manifest to each of us, although on different levels.
The use of his name addressed all of my concerns immediately and perfectly. It was my privilege to speak for him. He is truly a Master Creator Son and a wonderful father-brother to us all.
As the situation eased, I told her that it was nearly time for the next class period to begin and that she should prepare to go to her next class. It was a reasonable thing to say, even in light of what had transpired. The Lord’s influence had removed enough tension, emotionally and socially, for both of us to go our separate ways to attend our respective classes. I do not remember if I saw her later in the school day or the next day, but it was evident to me that everything between us was put back into its proper perspective.
As I stated above, we remained good friends (not buddies: I was not her peer after all). The respect essential to any well-grounded teacher-student relationship stayed fully intact. Years later, she would marry and become the mother of two children. To this day, we keep in touch from time to time. I marvel at the spiritual fragrance of Jesus’ name.
(3) The Authority of His Name
This last example pertains to my father, that is, my earthly father. He was at one time, God rest his soul, a “drunk.” The sharp edge of that word describes accurately the personal and social reality of growing up in a household with such an affliction. Yet, I can recall from memory many of the “flashes of lightning” I saw or the “sounds of thunder”. I heard in my childhood without bitterness toward him. The reason for these benign feelings was, again, the power of our Savior’s name, as reflective of his living spirit. As a young man I chose to do something that I still regard as the greatest decision of my life. But I came to call upon his name by a circuitous route.
As a young man, I watched with great interest the powerful force that Martin Luther King exerted as the leader of the Civil Rights Movement. Danger and death lurked in numerous places for him and his followers. The threat of death was one of his constant companions. What impressed me about him—often moved me deeply—was his ringing capacity and willingness to repeatedly forgive his enemies. As I watched him on TV lead one protest after another, give one press conference after another, meet with one official after another, while exhorting listeners to behave non-violently in heart, hand, and head, I noticed the spirit of Jesus “emerging” more and more in what he said and did.
At some point in time, I wanted what Martin Luther King had; I wanted to acquire some of his ability to forgive others. I was drawn to him on that basis. This was the very spiritual point I quoted earlier from Jesus, “The measure wherewith truth seekers are drawn to you represents the measure of your truth endowment, your righteousness.” This was the measure I made of the man. But I learned more. It was through Dr. King that I “re-discovered” Jesus. It was a delightful, insightful revelation. Rev. King had attracted me, spiritually, because of his sincere, consistent, and genuine actions on behalf of human liberty. I took the spiritual content of his message to heart.
As a young man in my early twenties, I decided upon reflection that Jesus, who forgave his enemies while on the cross, was now personified in Martin Luther King. This was a compelling reason to forgive my own father. I resolved to meet with him and tell him face-to-face that I was no longer his enemy. This is what happened.
As I sat down in front of him, I said for the most part that, “Jesus wants me to forgive you for your drinking. I believe it is God’s will. So, I now pay all your (moral) debts and forgive your bad behavior towards me in the past. I want you to be treated before God as if you did nothing wrong.” When I used the name of “Jesus,” he looked straight at me with a solemn and grave countenance. I will never forget the studied expression on his face. The Master’s name immediately leant ”authority” to what I said to him. He seemed to realize this. I remember feeling greatly strengthened by using his name. I thought it would not only get my father’s attention at the level I wanted, but would garner his respect and acceptance for what I declared to him.
I could see him considering very carefully what I had just said to him; however, he didn’t say a word during the whole experience. Nonetheless, I surmised at the time it was probably the first time in his life that he had ever been “forgiven” for anything. It may have been the only time in his life he felt that way. The two of us would go on to enjoy a normal span of father-son relations in the years following this event. He passed on about a decade afterwards. But we had no “issues” between us; no undue, unresolved tension to linger on in my mind after he died. It was a blessing.
The enduring power of love intrinsic to forgiveness was beautifully amplified in one of the greatest tales of world history, the Mahabharata, written thousands of years ago in India. In this tale, Yudhisthira, the emperor of the world and its moral instructor, in speaking about this subject said, “If there were not persons in this world who exercised forgiveness, then chaos would soon prevail…I shall cite to you the verse spoken in ancient times by the Rishi Kashyapa [a highly advanced ascetic]: ‘Forgiveness is virtue, it is truth, piety, religion…Through forgiveness the universe is sustained, and by practicing forgiveness a man can attain to everlasting regions of bliss.’”[4]
Since then I have speculated on how many other persons have felt “unforgiven” and how such an emotional burden twisted their self-image. I imagine it reinforced their sense of isolation in society. My sympathy for those so burdened has gradually increased over the years.
One of the greatest personal benefits for me was to be completely healed of the hurt previously felt toward my father. The decision to forgive exemplifies the spiritual logic in the Lord’s Prayer: ”forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
When employing the Master’s name in a genuinely spiritual act that is honoring the will of God, I believe we are calling upon the authority of Michael of Nebadon. Hence, the word, “Jesus,” when spoken or written sincerely and in a genuine spiritual manner, conveys in a way the aura of his authority stretching from Urantia to Salvington. Somehow it connects time and eternity for us. Indeed, the name of Jesus possesses a dual virtue—a child-like faith in the religion of the spirit coupled with an incisive quality of mind. These seem to constitute its power and authority. The very word itself comforts our souls and draws us closer to God the Father.
His name reminds us of the friendship he constantly extends to each of us. Remember what he said in the Farewell Discourse to the Apostles, “When I invite you to love one another, even as I have loved you, I hold up before you the supreme measure of true affection, for greater love no man can have than this: that he will lay down his life for his friends. And you are my friends. . . You have called me Master, but I do not call you servants. If you will only love one another as I am loving you, you shall be my friends, and I will ever speak to you of that which the Father reveals to me.…You have not merely chosen me, but I have also chosen you.” [UB 180:1.3-4] (Emphasis added)
I am sometimes moved to tears when just thinking (or feeling) his name. There is a soul-saving quality in Jesus. It is so precious; a spirit quality that always plumbs the depths of my heart. It is an original experience, each and every time, to feel his presence. For sure, it is a living truth that can only be known through experience. I attribute it to grace. It is grace that is not “incredible,” but “amazing,” as the song expresses in its poetic, seemingly timeless, fashion. It is grace that heals, provides security and safety, discerns truth, and enhances friendship—“will strike all sin forever dead.”[5]
A friend of mine, a former Forum member, who has since graduated, wrote a letter to me many years ago stating that the Christian hymn quoted at the beginning of this essay, was inspired by an earlier song sung in the local universe when Michael ascended on high as a Master Creator Son. She did not claim to know when the local universe song was originally written or how it came to be given to human beings. She noted in her letter that mortals have a tendency to change or add what they hear, so she could not account for exact wording of the original. But she was pleased with the Christian hymn knowing that something probably more beautiful was behind it. I write this on the assumption that this would be of interest to student of The Urantia Book.
Charles Laurence Olivea has been a devoted student of the teachings of The Urantia Book since 1968, a commitment somewhat parallel to his classroom teaching of history at the public high school level. He is now positioned to retire soon from the classroom and to shift over to expanding his long-tine effort to disseminate the book and its teachings while employing a strong pedagogy in that educational work. He serves at the pleasure of our Father and works with the Supreme as a cosmic citizen.
| The First Epochal Revelation in American Indian Traditions | Volume 11, Number 2, 2011 (Summer) — Index | Machiventa Melchizedek: One of History's Mysteries |
Edward Dwight Eaton, ed., The Student Hymnary, Harper & Brothers; NY, NY, 1937; “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name,” Page 80 ↩︎
Fung Yu-lan, A History of Chinese Philosophy, The Period of the Philosophers, vol. 1; Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 198 3; p. 307 ↩︎
Oxford English Dictionary ↩︎
Retold by Krishna Dharma, Mahabharata, Torcch Light Publishing; CA, 1986 p. 244 ↩︎
William Cowper, The Sight of Jesus; from The Celestial Country: Hymns on the Joys & Glories of Paradise, Seeley and Co. Limited, p. 85 ↩︎