© 2010 Chris Ragetly
© 2010 Association Francophone des Lecteurs du Livre d'Urantia
Can we see ourselves as ambassadors of the kingdom as Jesus announced to the twelve after their ordination?
The twelve were apostles, they were specifically ordained as ambassadors by Jesus, even the disciples were not ambassadors. … The Master and his apostlesdisciples continued in this simple way until Sunday, January 12, in the year 27, when he gathered them together and formally conferred ordination on them as ambassadors of the kingdom and preachers of its good news. ( UB 138:10.11)
Jesus has not conferred upon us such an honor; we can only consider ourselves mortal readers of the fifth revelation and as such we must attempt to communicate the teachings of The Urantia Book to our brothers and sisters seeking truth.
Jesus’ first injunction is: … “When you find any of my children in distress, speak to them encouragingly, saying, ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, the humble, for theirs are the treasures of the kingdom of heaven.’” Here is the development of this sentence: UB 140:5.7… The poor in spirit seek goals of spiritual wealth—seek God. Such truth seekers need not wait for their rewards in the distant future; they are rewarded now. They find the kingdom of heaven in their own hearts and experience that happiness now. To experience finding the kingdom of heaven in one’s heart, and to have a truth seeker find it now, is the immediate reward that can be known here on Urantia. It is an incomparable satisfaction to announce this revelation to a sincere truth seeker, and we immediately feel that satisfaction warming our hearts.
“2. “Happy are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Only those who feel poor in spirit will ever hunger for righteousness. Only the humble seek for divine strength and crave spiritual power. But it is most dangerous to knowingly engage in spiritual fasting in order to improve one’s appetite for spiritual endowments. Physical fasting becomes dangerous after four or five days; one is apt to lose all desire for food. Prolonged fasting, either physical or spiritual, tends to destroy hunger.” (UB 140:5.8)
“3. “Happy are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Genuine meekness has no relation to fear. It is rather an attitude of man co-operating with God—“Your will be done.” It embraces patience and forbearance and is motivated by an unshakable faith in a lawful and friendly universe. It masters all temptations to rebel against the divine leading. Jesus was the ideal meek man of Urantia, and he inherited a vast universe.” (UB 140:5.11)
Let us try to define the words “meekness” and “long-suffering.” For the first, it is a kindness taken to the extreme and for the second, it is the patience with which one bears offenses, faults that one could punish. So here we have a meekness (gentleness and indulgence), coupled with a kindness taken to the extreme and accompanied by a patience that allows one to bear offenses and faults that one could punish. It is the attitude of man cooperating with God. It is indeed an attitude that can only be motivated by an unwavering faith in a friendly universe dominated by a Father whose love invades and envelops us. Once again, the example of Jesus shows us the ideal Urantian meekness.
Under these conditions, the very idea of rebelling against divine guidance seems inconceivable to us, but to achieve such an attitude, it seems to me that solid experience in the practice of being meek is essential, and this is part of the secret of evolution and finite experiential progression.
“1. “Happy are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” So-called common sense or the best of logic would never suggest that happiness could be derived from mourning. But Jesus did not refer to outward or ostentatious mourning. He alluded to an emotional attitude of tenderheartedness. It is a great error to teach boys and young men that it is unmanly to show tenderness or otherwise to give evidence of emotional feeling or physical suffering. Sympathy is a worthy attribute of the male as well as the female. It is not necessary to be calloused in order to be manly. This is the wrong way to create courageous men. The world’s great men have not been afraid to mourn. Moses, the mourner, was a greater man than either Samson or Goliath. Moses was a superb leader, but he was also a man of meekness. Being sensitive and responsive to human need creates genuine and lasting happiness, while such kindly attitudes safeguard the soul from the destructive influences of anger, hate, and suspicion.” (UB 140:5.16)
These emotional attitudes are precious and indispensable to understand and achieve this authentic happiness, which has nothing to do with the purely material or physical happiness that represents for most mortals the goal of their life. When we experience this authentic happiness, we feel within us, in our heart, a joy and a fullness that is found nowhere else. These moments are precious to us and each time reinforce our motivation to try to do even better next time.
“2. “Happy are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” Mercy here denotes the height and depth and breadth of the truest friendship—loving-kindness. Mercy sometimes may be passive, but here it is active and dynamic—supreme fatherliness. A loving parent experiences little difficulty in forgiving his child, even many times. And in an unspoiled child the urge to relieve suffering is natural. Children are normally kind and sympathetic when old enough to appreciate actual conditions.” (UB 140:5.17)
“3. “Happy are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.” Jesus’ hearers were longing for military deliverance, not for peacemakers. But Jesus’ peace is not of the pacific and negative kind. In the face of trials and persecutions he said, “My peace I leave with you.” “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” This is the peace that prevents ruinous conflicts. Personal peace integrates personality. Social peace prevents fear, greed, and anger. Political peace prevents race antagonisms, national suspicions, and war. Peacemaking is the cure of distrust and suspicion.” (UB 140:5.18)
Chris Ragetly