November 14 Message - Two Roads: The Art of Making Mindful Choices
By Robert Frost
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
two roads diverged in a wood, and I --
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Opening Prayer
Opening Hymn
Before the message, take some time now to become one with the One, our Father and Mother
Call to Worship
Now listen and recite the invocation in Hebrew along with the cantor. Let the words resonate within you and settle your heart.Scripture Reading
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make your paths straight. ...
13 Blessed is the man who finds Wisdom,
the man who gains understanding,
14 for She is more profitable than silver
and yields better returns than gold.
15 She is more precious than rubies;
nothing you desire can compare with her.
16 Long life is in Her right hand;
in Her left hand are riches and honor.
17 Her ways are pleasant ways,
and all her paths are peace.
Proverbs 3:5-6, 13-17
12 "I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence;
I possess knowledge and discretion....
20 I walk in the way of righteousness,
along the paths of justice,
21 bestowing wealth on those who love me
and making their treasuries full.
22 "The LORD brought me forth as the first of his works,
before his deeds of old;
23 I was appointed from eternity,
from the beginning, before the world began...
27 I was there when he set the heavens in place,
when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,
28 when he established the clouds above
and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,
29 when he gave the sea its boundary
so the waters would not overstep his command,
and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.
30 Then I was the craftsman at his side.
I was filled with delight day after day,
rejoicing always in his presence,
31 rejoicing in his whole world
and delighting in mankind.
Proverbs 8:12, 20-23, 27-31
13 Wisdom is glorious, and never fades away, and is easily seen by them that love Her, and is found by them that seek Her...
22 For in Her is the spirit of understanding: holy, one, manifold, subtle, eloquent, active, undefiled, sure, sweet, loving that which is good, quick, which nothing hinders, beneficent,
23 Gentle, kind, steadfast, assured, secure, having all power, overseeing all things, and containing all spirits, intelligible, pure, subtle.
24 For Wisdom is more active than all active things: and reaches everywhere by reason of Her purity.
25 For She is the breath of the power of God, and a certain pure emanation of the glory of the almighty God: ...She is the brightness of eternal light, and the unspotted mirror of God's majesty, and the image of His goodness.
27 And being but one, She can do all things: and remaining in Herself the same, She renews all things, and through nations conveys herself into holy souls, She makes the friends of God and prophets.
28 For God loves none but him that dwells with Wisdom.
29 For She is more beautiful than the sun, and above all the order of the stars: being compared with the light, She is found before it.
30 For after this comes night, but no evil can overcome Wisdom.
4 For it is She that teaches the knowledge of God, and is the chooser of His works.
Message
The point is that the physical mind only has limited capability to see. We are all limited by time, space and logic. If we journey through life only using the knowledge of the physical realm as our guide, we will be traveling through this existance with blinders on. We only see straight ahead and the road of life is not straight. There is much more to it than the physical. That is where the road starts to "bend in the undergrowth".
Fortunately, there is a Infinite knowledge in this world that knows all the paths. The Infinite One is all and knows all and has plotted out the correct path for each of us before our creation. The One is everything. She is Mother and He is Father. He is God Creator and She is Spirit Nurturer. The One is Yahweh and Shekinnah. The One is Lord and Sophia. The Infinite One has created a Way for the universe. Within that Way are the perfect unique paths for each individual.
There is a perfect path pre-designed for each human born into this creation. We were sent here for a purpose. Each of us has our own lessons and miracles to experience in this life. When the lesson is missed because we are too busy or too preoccupied, that lesson must be repeated. We also each have our own gifts, a piece of the Infinite within us. That innate Gift is our calling...what we are meant to share with the world. Since the Infinite is made up of much more than physical. We can only truly understand our Gift...who we are... with a Wisdom that goes beyond physical experience.
So how do we access Infinite understanding while we are encumbered with physical minds. The answer is we do not use our minds. Scripture says, those that are to know God must worship in "spirit and in truth" The Holy Spirit is Wisdom beyond the finite. She is the one that knows the path for us and can be our guide. She is Sophia. She speaks to us from a place that is beyond our mind's understanding. She is spirit and as such speaks to the spirit in us.
But to hear her, we must quiet the physical. The scripture also says to "Be still and know that I am God." That means we must tune out the noise of this world. We must slow down enough to "hear" and "see" with the Spirit. Wisdom is there. She is ready and waiting to share. She wants to guide you to the hidden beauty of each day.... past the bend in the road. But you have to be willing to walk with Her.
Closing Hymn
Final Thoughts
On a cold January morning in a Washington, D.C. Metro Station, a violinist played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time about two thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
In the end, only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money, but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32. When he finished playing, no one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
That violinist, Joshua Bell, is one of this nation's greatest musicians. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before this impromptu performance, Joshua Bell had sold out a theater in Boston. The price of the tickets for that concert averaged $100.
A columnist for the Washington Post had organized the metro station performance as a social experiment about perception, taste, and people's priorities. In a common place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do you perceive beauty? Do you stop to appreciate it? Do you recognize talent in an unexpected context? As you watch the video of the Metro Station experiment, consider what your actions might have been if you had been present on that winter morning in DC.
If you can not slow down for one moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, what else are you missing?
Wisdom is calling you to take time to look and hear with your Spirit. Will you take the time for Wisdom to speak?
Closing Prayer
Further Reading
Comments
Nice site and nice message. I did have a question. I did not see any where were it says what bible or books you use. I was wondering what book or books your church teaches as the word of GOD. Thanks
Posted by: Sean Richard | November 15, 2009 06:43 PM