Now Satan went in search of an instrument for his evil deeds for the Enemy can instigate things but the acts must be carried out by a living creature.

Transcription

1 Heart of Evil Our story today is about the heart of evil. It is adapted from one of my favorite books, God Is A Verb by Rabbi David A. Cooper. Unity s approach is always one of accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative. Yes, that is from a song and sometimes we are accused of being too sing song-y. Spellcheck does not believe that is a word but I m using it! The story is troubling yet so is the appearance of evil in our world. So let s dig in and see where this story from Mystical Judaism takes us. Many of the mystic stories are about past rabbis, whose wisdom becomes entwined with mythical stories and this one is about Israel Baal Shem Tov, one of the most famous mystics. When the Baal Shem Tov was only 5 years old, his father, Eliezer, became fatally ill. On the last day of his life, young Israel s father called to the boy and said, My son, remember that the Enemy will always be with you, but no matter what happens, the soul within you is pure and whole. Fear no man, and do not fear the Enemy, for God is always with you. Then his father died. Israel s mother had died shortly after his birth so now he was an orphan. The people of his village raised him. He was not a very diligent student and when he wasn t staring out the window, he was wandering the fields and woods, eating roots and berries and singing with the birds. In his outside education he learned the language of nature. At the age of 10, Israel became the helper of the schoolmaster. His job was to guide the children to school in the morning and lead them home again in the evening. Soon the children became absolutely radiant with happiness, smiling and constantly singing. The parents were delighted but only Israel and the children knew why. Each morning and evening, Israel took the children not along the road but cutting through the fields and forests. Playing, speaking with the animals and singing. Their songs broke through the very ethers of the heavenly realms. Now when Satan, the Enemy, heard these songs and the rumors that the beautiful music heralded the messianic time, he resolved to stop whoever was meddling on earth. The prophet Elijah said, But they are only children! but even he wondered if the innocent joy of the children meant the messianic time was near. Satan demanded of God, Let me challenge the children! God acquiesced. 1

2 Now Satan went in search of an instrument for his evil deeds for the Enemy can instigate things but the acts must be carried out by a living creature. The Enemy searched in nature for an insect, a bird or animal who would act. But Israel knew the language of nature and not one living creature would agree to harm him. Finally Satan found an old man who lived as a charcoal burner. He was one of an extremely rare breed for he had been born without a soul. He looked normal but he had no feelings. His mother had abandoned him and he was nursed by a she-bear. The old man was smart and learned about fire and survival. People were afraid of his odd ways and noises so the trading of charcoal for food and drink took place without contact. Although Satan had already sent a demonic power into the charcoal burner s body, he was not satisfied with merely causing him to grow fur and howl at the full moon. Now, while the old man slept, Satan reached in and removed his heart, replacing it with a piece of his own heart, the heart of evil, the nucleus of the darkest void. The next morning Israel led the children on their usual path but as they approached the line of trees at the edge of the forest a huge, shadowy creature stepped out of the darkness; snarling, spitting and eyes glowing red. The children either fainted dead away or ran for their lives. Only Israel stood his ground. After awhile the werewolf returned to the woods. Now the parents were angry with Israel for exposing the children to danger. Everyone knew the werewolf lived in the woods. Israel assured them that the next day the children would be over their fear and it would be a good thing. Finally the parents agreed he could guide the children again. The next day the children huddled together as they approached the trees. And sure enough, the werewolf appeared again, howling and snarling. Israel asked the children to stand still, cover their faces if needed. He would deal with the creature. Israel walked forward, placing himself between the beast and the children. As he got closer the beast loomed larger and larger, until he was like a black cloud that enveloped the boy. He was frightened but his father s words were repeating in his mind, Do not fear the Enemy for God is always with you. Israel kept advancing, closer and closer and the werewolf did not move. And then the dark cloud descended and Israel found himself inside the creature. 2

3 In the murky shadows, he saw its smooth, black heart the heart of darkness. He reached out, took it in his hands, and stepped backward. Once again he was outside the creature s body. The heart pulsed in his hands. Israel kept his grip tight. In this moment, young Israel had in his power the opportunity to destroy the heart of evil. If he did so, the world would never be the same. But at that moment he noticed a drop of blood trickling down one side of the heart, and his soul was touched to its depth. He could see that this heart was in torment, in agony. It too suffered the enormous pain of separation just like everyone else in the world. For even the heart of evil has within it a spark of the Divine and, it too, yearns to be returned to its source. Thus the compassion of Israel opened wide and his only choice was to release the heart. He placed it on the earth and the earth split open and swallowed the heart into its depths. The next day the villagers found the body of the charcoal burner. It is said he had a peaceful look on his tormented face. It is also said the children were never as happy again, for the heart of darkness continued to do its work. Our Jewish friends have just completed their holy days between Rosh Hoshannah and Yom Kippur. So there is a sweet symmetry to having this story for this Sunday. There seems to be no shortage in our world of evil, of creatures who frighten children and adults; beings we perceive as having no soul. And it is easy to focus on elements of the story that are different than the teachings of Unity. We do not believe in an entity of evil. We have no Satan and no power to oppose God. We do not have those teachings, yet in a world of duality, we may find our thoughts moving in that direction. In my Wednesday , Eliminating Evil, I touched on Charles Fillmore s writings about evil in The Revealing Word: Evil appears in the world because man is not in spiritual understanding. He has not learned that all is Mind; neither has he conformed to the law of Mind, with the result that inharmony appears in his body and affairs. He can do away with evil by learning rightly to use the one Power. In Unity we often speak of being out of alignment with Divine Mind and out of alignment with spiritual understanding as experiencing separation. Our sense of separation from our true nature as spiritual beings produces the fears that give rise to the behavior we judge as evil. 3

4 Our sense of separation from our true nature as One with all that is gives rise to acts that we perceive as harming someone else without acknowledging we have harmed the wholeness we are a part of. Fillmore says we can do away with evil by learning rightly to use the one Power. The Power that appears as Love, Wisdom, and Compassion restores the balance that eliminates evil. In the book, the Heart of Evil story is explained this way. The lesson is that even the heart of Satan has a divine spark; even the heart of evil yearns to be redeemed. This is important because we learn that our job is not to set up a battleground to eradicate evil, but to search out its spark of holiness. Our task is not to destroy but to build; not to hate but to find a place of yielding; not to polarize but to discover the points of commonality so we can work together. Even the heart of evil yearns to be redeemed. There is poignancy in that phrase. Similar to the line in the story, For even the heart of evil has within it a spark of the Divine and, it too, yearns to be returned to its source. It is easy to dismiss that there is any longing in the heart that beats in the body of the harmful actor. It is easy to dismiss that fear drives those choices. Yet how do we respond when fear overtakes us? In the story, Israel is not afraid. His father s words repeat, Do not fear the Enemy, God is always with you, and it allows him to make an important choice: the choice not to destroy. Last Sunday, on my facebook page, I shared a Gandhi quote, I am praying for the light that will dispel the darkness; let all those with a living faith in nonviolence join me in the prayer." I prayed this as our nation seemed poised once again to use force to eliminate a perceived evil. Clearly the loss of lives in Syria was wrong. But how to respond? I prayed for a peaceful resolution when that seemed totally unlikely. Hearts around the world are now looking for different paths to eliminate the separation that produces such harmful acts. And the path must involve love, compassion, forgiveness and oneness. Vince Gill is a gifted singer and songwriter, in my humble opinion. He is a straightforward kind of guy from Oklahoma. This past week he had a concert in Kansas City. Kansas City is so close to Topeka, the Phelps folks could not resist coming over to picket. It seems from their website they oppose divorce and this is a second marriage for both Vince Gill and his wife, Amy Grant. 4

5 Also, the Phelps folks have not taken kindly to Amy s support of her LGBT fans. She is, after all, a Christian singer! The signs these people carry are venomous tirades as they claim to speak for God. Video captured a brief encounter as Vince came out before the concert to speak to the demonstrators. He asks What are y all doin out here? What are you doing with two wives? a woman asked. If you have a wife and take another you are an adulterer. Jesus Christ said that! the woman challenged. Without violence Vince responds, Jesus said a whole bunch of stuff about love and forgiveness and compassion too. Y all ain t got none of that! Vince has distilled a formula we need to focus on. It is what transformed Israel s choice in the story. We cannot eliminate evil without love, forgiveness and compassion. We cannot eliminate the separation giving rise to harm by separating ourselves from each other or from the Divine Nature we are. What if I told you that what the Phelps people want and what I want are the same thing? You would think I was crazy. But each of us wants people to live more God-ly lives; we simply differ profoundly on what that looks like. Yet just as I believe the Phelps cannot speak for God, neither can I. Many of the tensions in Syria are around faith. How have we let our different paths lead us to believe we are not seeking the same destination a return to Source? We must find our commonality. We must remember our oneness. There is no judgment we render against another that is not a judgment of ourselves. There is no act of violence, in thought or deed, which is not an act of violence against our own wholeness. We cannot escape our wholeness. We can ignore it but not without consequences. To eliminate evil, we must acknowledge the separation within ourselves. We must apply the same love, forgiveness and compassion to ourselves that we are called to give others. We must hold our own heart in our hands and know that it pulses with the spark of the Divine. There is no part of us to destroy; only parts longing for the healing power of Source. Perhaps this is not the perkiest sermon I have ever given. But if it can touch one heart; if it can cause one person to reconsider their belief about peace, it is worth the discomfort. We may find ourselves uncomfortable on the path to transformation but we are not here to remain asleep. We are here to awaken and to awaken our world. Shalom. 5