Unity Church of Castro Valley
Sunday Message for January 20, 2008
Spiritual Support
This week's Quest lesson starts with this statement: "There is extra power available by being with people who support you in your desire to change." This is one of the reasons we come to church.
God does not require you to go to church. You can commune with God wherever you are. We don't believe in hell, so you won't be condemned to eternal fire if you don't show up for church. But we come to church to be with like-minded people who support our spiritual path. We come to church for encouragement with our spiritual growth.
Jesus said in (Matthew 18:18-20) "Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them."
And Jesus was not the only one to express this. It says in Buddha, The Gospel
"As ships are blown by wind on sails,
As arrows fly from twanging bow,
So, when the force of thought directs,
The body, following, must go.
"Just as machines are worked by ropes,
So are the body's gear and groove;
Obedient to the pull of mind,
Our muscles and our members move.
"No independent 'I' is here,
But many gathered mobile forces;
Our chariot is manned by mind,
And our karma is our horses."
SPIRITUAL SUPPORT EXPLAINED
We are basically social creatures; we are dominated by a craving of belongingness. M Scott Peck wrote in his book The Different Drum, "On my lecture tours across the country the one constant I have found wherever I go--is the lack of--and the thirst for--community"
He says, "Trapped in our tradition of rugged individualism, we are an extraordinarily lonely people. So lonely, in fact, that many cannot even acknowledge their loneliness to themselves, much less to others."
Coming to church cures our sense of isolation or spiritual loneliness. No one who knows God can ever be lonely, for we know that God walks beside us each step of the way. An antidote for our loneliness and craving of belongingness can be a spiritual support group. It can give us a feeling of belonging and being loved, while at the same time it can nurture our connection with God – which is the only infallible cure for loneliness.
Jesus repeatedly told us to (John 13:34) "love one another." To become acquainted with others, to know their problems and to learn to love them, is the supreme experience of living. Among Jesus' last instructions to his apostles was, (1 Peter 1:22) "Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart."
A spiritual support group can provide the opportunity to really get to know and understand other people. Once you understand others, you will become tolerant, and this tolerance will grow into friendship and can become love. Even Jesus craved a trustworthy and confidential friend. Not something easy to find when people want to worship you.
A group where members are learning to truly love one another must have a spiritual basis. All true love is from God, and we receive this divine affection as we give love to others. Love is dynamic. It can never be captured; it is alive, free, thrilling, and always moving. We can never take God's love and imprison it within our hearts. God's love can only become real to us by passing through us to others.
(1 John 4:19-21) "We love because he first loved us. Those who say, "I love God," and hate their brothers or sisters, whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also." So the nature of a spiritual support group is that people can be led to love the unseen God by being first taught to love others whom they can see. On the other hand you learn to love others more when you learn to love God more.
So, since love flows in an unbroken circuit, we can plug into it by communing with God, by realization of the Christ within ourselves, or through extending God's love on to others. Regardless of our point of entry, once we tap in we are involved in the entire circuit.
Through support groups, we can also help to manifest the oneness that Jesus prayed we would know when he said, (John 17:20-23) "I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."
Spiritual support groups:
- provide opportunities for us to understand ourselves better, to raise low self-esteem, and to more completely love others.
- They enhance our ability to solve our own earthly problems and live more spiritual lives, through providing a loving atmosphere, reflecting spiritual perspectives and encouraging spiritual approaches to problem solving.
- They actively support our religious growth.
- And they provide us avenues for service to others.
Low self-esteem is all too common in our society and support groups can help people to appreciate their true worth through loving interactions and through reminders of the fact that we are children of God. Our Father/God has placed a high value on each and every one of his children – no matter what status we may think we have in this human experience.
Support groups can take their lead from Jesus who told us (Matthew 5:14-16) "You are the light of the world, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven."
Understanding ourselves and others better is another value we get from a support group. We wouldn't be on this spiritual path if we were not actively interested in our own growth as individuals. In a support group we become "mirrors" for each other's self-realization.
But one of the most important benefits of a spiritual support group is a deeper experience of loving others. Jesus impressed on us that love is the greatest relationship in the world when he said, (Matthew 22:37-40) "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
If you love your neighbor as yourself you know yourself as an offspring of God. When we dare to love others we achieve the beginnings of spiritual brotherhood and treat them as we would be treated or as God would treat them. In a support group, members can reinforce each other in continuing to take the risks which ultimately pay off abundantly in spiritual growth. A spiritual support group can provide the opportunity to better understand and refine the totality of one's experience of loving.
Applying spiritual principles to solving material problems is another legitimate purpose of a support group. Jesus told us that it is God's will that we should work persistently and consistently toward the betterment of our estate on earth. God wants us to lead happy lives. Jesus said, (John 10:10) "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."
Jesus taught his disciples to recognize and minister to those with troubled minds as well as to those with physical illness. He instructed them to (Matthew 10:8) "Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons." They were not only to cure the sick – but to cast out demons. What they called "demons" in that day and age were usually emotional and mental problems.
Comfort for those with troubled minds is still sorely needed in today's society. We are such a fast-paced and stressed out society that we have become mentally dislocated. We are anxious, restless, fearful, uncertain, and unsettled as never before in history. We need the consolation and stabilization of sound religion. A spiritual support group can help people experience the fact that true religion is the cure for soul hunger, spiritual disquiet, and moral despair.
A parallel purpose of a spiritual support group is to enrich the religious lives of each person involved. The highest happiness we can experience is linked with spiritual progress. Spiritual growth yields lasting joy and peace which passes all understanding.
WHY TO SEEK SUPPORT
The lesson this week in the Quest class shows us how to select people to form our own spiritual support group. Any support group has a great amount of energy because all of its members share a common goal. Like Jesus said, "where two or three are gathered." But a Spiritual support group has even more creative energy, because it's members are seeking a higher goal.
Knowing that you have a group of people that support you can be essential during those times when we let the turkeys get us down. Our group will be there to remind us of our true nature as children of God. Or we may be encouraged by others in the group that are making progress with their goals. Jesus said, "When I be lifted up, all around me will be lifted up."
Also there is great synergy in a group of people. It tends to take on a mind that is greater than the sum of its parts. Your wisdom will be supplemented by theirs.
Not all of us have been lucky enough to have family or spouses that are on the same spiritual path as we are. This is not a criticism of them, we love them anyway. But it can be very satisfying when we can travel our path with like-minded spiritual companions. A spiritual support group can serve this purpose.
CAN I DO THIS?
So look around you at your work place, your home, your friends, and the groups that you are involved in. Are any of these places or people supportive of your spiritual growth?
If not, do you know anyone who would be supportive? Think of all the people you know, in all the places you go. Is there anyone you could enlist to be in a spiritual support group with you?
This really is important to your spiritual growth and well-being, so give it some serious thought. It may even be someone in another town who you could contact by phone.
When you come up with two or three people, contact them and explain exactly what you are doing and what kind of support you need. Then ask if they would be willing to participate in this way.
You may be surprised to find that some of them are on the same path as you – but had never mentioned it. They don't have to be of the same religion; seeking God is seeking God. Take the risk, reach out, and find a Spiritual support group.
SCRIPTURE: John 13:34; 1 Peter 1:22; Matthew 18:18-20; 1 John 4:19-21; John 17:20-23; Matthew 5:14-16; Matthew 22:37-40; John 10:10; Matthew 10:8
REFERENCE: The Different Drum by M Scott Peck; Buddha, The Gospel
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Last updated
January 21, 2008
