I AM WORTHY 1

p.257-260

I think the phrase “Lord I am not worthy” is one of the most misunderstood and misquoted passages in scripture. To put it into context, the incident referred to is about a Roman centurion asking Jesus to heal his servant. And out of respect what he said was “I am not worthy that should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my servant will be healed.” Now I understand what that sounds like literally, and yet the sense I get from this is simply a man saying, “I don't want to bother you. I know you do not have to be physically present to heal my servant; you can do it from where you stand. I believe that with all my heart.” The emphasis in this story and Jesus actually confirms this is not about worthiness or unworthiness, it is about the man's faith, his belief.

I hate to get a political about this, but imagine if the leadership of the church where to put the emphasis on unworthiness. What a powerful bit of control over their subjects that would create. I do believe this is at least in part where some of the emphasis came from.

There is absolutely nothing in these books we are studying or any other writings, for that matter, exploring the metaphysical meaning of things, that we are unworthy in anyway—ever no matter what. We are divine children of God created from perfection. Of course we lose our way occasionally,  but even getting lost has nothing to do with unworthiness.

However, it is difficult to shed this illusion that so many of us have grown up with. I am presuming releasing this illusion of unworthiness is a huge part on our study together.

I might be jumping ahead a little bit by addressing worthiness directly, but I felt it is a necessary piece right now.

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Most of today's lesson has to do with the values or what is important to us and exploring why it is important.

The Buddhists put a great emphasis on the idea of the attachment. In Western terminology we speak of addictions, however, those seem to be limited to certain people and circumstances. In Buddhist tradition we all have attachments, many of them in fact and it is primarily attachments which weigh us down and limit our growth.

Because attachments can come in all forms–material, physical, ideas, beliefs, patterns of behavior, and all sorts of other possibilities, we can use this Eastern terminology to our advantage by expanding our awareness of those people, places, things, beliefs, and ideas which not only weigh us down but also continually produce a sense of separateness.

As I mentioned there're many forms attachment can take.

As I was studying this lesson I was reminded of a teaching that I discovered when I was working in treatment. I was working on a way to describe and define spirituality in a way that people ordinary people could understand. Because even in today's language, for many, it is difficult separate religion from spirituality. In recovery because it is a spiritual process, an understanding of spirituality is essential.

What I found was that adapting Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs was a very beneficial way of introducing the concept of spirituality and to tie it into today's lesson it was also away how understanding values.

I would begin by suggesting that people become aware of some material things that were important to them. Objects that have a price tag. In other words, they could be replaced if lost, and there might be sacrifice involved but they could be replaced. So we examined such things as cars and stereos, clothes, homes, furniture etc. Then we moved up a step and asked what material things in your life are also important to you because they have some emotional or sentimental value. In other words, the object itself might not even be terribly important or valuable in a material way but the value we put on it is because of the emotional attachment we have to it.

Then we went to step further and asked about there any living things in your life (not people) but other living things that are important to you. Of course people would mention pets but then someone would say plants, flowers, others might even go so far as to point out some beautiful things in nature like a forest or woods or forests. 

Then to step further, “Who are the people in your life that are important to you” and then we asked why are they important We suggested that people go beyond a particular definition of a relationship like husband, wife, son and daughter, and take a look deeper as to what our value is around that person.

Then lastly we asked what are some of the qualities of life that are important to you—things like a love, friendship, companionship, compassion, service etc. We became aware that all of these qualities were intangible and not terribly easy to define. It was at this point the people became aware that they were discovering for themselves an awareness of spirituality—of energies that went beyond the physical world and intellectual definition. It is not a terrible stretch then to begin to be aware or to believe that there is a Source from which all of these qualities flow. That source we sometimes refer to as God or a higher power.

What do we value and why? The Second Noble truth of Buddha is that “All suffering comes from attachment.” The way Jesus put it was “Store up for yourself treasure in heaven we're neither rust not moth consume.”

“It has been said that it is difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” And what this really means is: Those things that you stand on to build your stairway to the light, if they are based in commerce, they will not sustain. We will tell it to you this way: If you have things that are tethering you, they will not carry you forward. And those beliefs you hold in the importance of things will stop you, finally, from moving forward.”

Again, it is important to explore the context of this idea. In Christian scripture a young man, sometimes referred to as “the rich young man” approach Jesus and asked him what else he needed to do on his path. Jesus completed his instruction by saying “If thou will be perfect go sell what you have, give to the poor, and  come follow me.” And it is said, “But the young man walk away sadly because he has many possessions.”

When questioned about this, Jesus said, “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. “

First you need to be aware that  Eastern literature is filled with impossible metaphors or at least exaggerated ones. However this one has an actual physical counterpart. I read some time ago that there was a small gateway in the wall entering Jerusalem and that was called “the eye of the needle.” In order for a camel to get through that gate he would have to crouch down and probably could not have much of a burden on it back. The image makes perfect sense. And to put it in the context of our lesson here,  it is much more about releasing our attachment to things rather than the things themselves.

The book emphasizes that this lesson is not about getting rid of everything it is more about releasing our attachment to things, and also exploring why we value some of the things in our life.

“I don’t value the car because it gets me to work. I value the car because it’s a great car, or because it’s an expensive car.” Now there is nothing wrong, as we have stated, about an expensive car. But please understand what we are doing right now is offering you a new way of looking at your surroundings to decide what you really need and what you have given value to because you have been told to. Fashions change. What is idealized in one culture varies to the next. Those things that are important one day become trivial the next in the face of something large.”

“Now conversely, in the last twenty years or so, as people have begun to wake up to conscious manifestation, people have been looking at it from a place of greed. Now we want to explain something here. There is nothing wrong with manifesting what you want. You can have the car or the house or whatever you wish. However, as we have said earlier, why you want that thing is the question that must be asked. If you are just asking for things and requiring the law of attraction, as it were, to make them so from a place of hunger for materialism, you are embedding yourself in a false structure.”