© 1999 Chris Ragetly
© 1999 Association Francophone des Lecteurs du Livre d'Urantia
| The Evolution of Fetishism and Idols “Sacred Books” | Le Lien Urantien — Issue 10 — Summer 1999 | Reflections on the Jesus Prayer |
Besides the apostles, there are other human personalities who knew Jesus and gave their opinion of his character and personality: Rebekah: “…waiting for the hour when he (Jesus) who was to her the greatest man who ever lived, should begin his career as a teacher, teaching the living truth…To her as well as to countless worlds above, he was: ‘the only one wholly lovable and the greatest among ten thousand’” (UB 127:5.6) True, Rebekah was in love with Jesus, and her judgment was inevitably biased, at least at first, but she followed him throughout his public ministry, and was present when Jesus hung on the cross. I think Rebekah must have quite a special status in his morontia career at this time.
We can also mention Martha, Mary and Lazarus who were very close friends of Jesus. They considered him as a big brother and “drank his refreshing teachings” (UB 162:8.2). After the resurrection of Lazarus on Urantia, the relationships between Jesus, Lazarus and his sisters took an even stronger turn in their intimacy. Here again, the status of these three people must be at this moment in their morontia stage, quite particular.
Rodan of Alexandria had studied the character of Jesus closely, here is what he says about it: "This practice of worshiping your Master (thy will be done and not mine), brings that relaxation which renews the mind, that illumination which inspires the soul, that courage which allows one to bravely face one’s problems, that self-understanding which removes debilitating fear, and that awareness of union with divinity, which gives man the assurance allowing him
to dare to be like God. The relaxation due to adoration, spiritual communion as practiced by the Master, relieves tensions, eliminates conflicts and powerfully increases the sum of the personality’s resources…“ (UB 160:1.12), a little further on: ”…The Master says that he came from the Father and will show us the way. I am entirely convinced that he is telling the truth, and definitely convinced that outside of the Universal Father there are neither ideals of realities nor values of perfection that are accessible." (UB 160:5.8)
Rodan was certainly one of the great thinkers of his time. It is unfortunate that none of his writings have come down to us. Perhaps the great fire in the Library of Alexandria destroyed them all. The two fascicles concerning Rodan, (160 and 161) deserve to be studied carefully, to fully understand the character, teachings, method of life and work of Jesus.
For approximately 40 days (9/4/30 to 18/5/30) Jesus lived on Urantia, the morontia career that is ordinarily reserved for mortals during their sojourn on the seven mansion worlds of Jerusem. (UB 190:0.1)
David Zebedee, the chief messenger, had perfectly understood that the resurrection of Jesus was true, he said to the apostles gathered in the upper room: “…I heard the Master say that after his death, he would rise again on the third day, and I believe it…” (UB 190:1.3). No doubt on David’s part, as to the Master’s word; for him Jesus was the truth. So he did not hesitate for a moment to send his 26 messengers to announce the Master’s resurrection far and wide. (UB 190:1.3-5)
All the morontial appearances of Jesus to the mortals of the kingdom obviously caused them a strong emotion (and there was reason to!) and contributed enormously to the birth of Christianity, but, among the people who had the privilege of speaking with the morontial Jesus, two did not immediately realize that they were dealing with the resurrected Jesus; they were Cleopas and Jacob, the two brothers of Emmaus, they walked several kilometers talking and especially listening to Jesus without recognizing him (even though Cleopas knew him well) and what Jesus taught them marked them forever in their future life. (see UB 190:5.4)
The Urantians were not the only ones to benefit from the presence of the morontia Jesus. More than a million morontia directors and their associates, as well as mortals of various orders in transition on the seven mansion worlds of Satania, had come to Urantia to participate in the morontia transition experience of the Master (UB 191:3.1). They too encountered a sovereign personality of perfect character who had just completed his near seventh and final bestowal before coming into the presence of the Universal Father and thus becoming the undisputed ruler of Nebadon, a Master Creator Son.
End of the second part
Chris Ragetly
| The Evolution of Fetishism and Idols “Sacred Books” | Le Lien Urantien — Issue 10 — Summer 1999 | Reflections on the Jesus Prayer |