December 12 Message - Powerless: A Lesson in Illusions
In our natural state, we are glorious beings. In the world of illusion, we are lost and imprisoned, slaves to our appetites and our will to false power.
Marianne Williamson
On this Sabbath, as the world is celebrating the first day of Hanukkah, a festival of light and hope, We will open the message with a Hanukkah blessing
Opening Blessing
Today's Scriptures
1 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.3 They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth."
5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. 6 The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."
8 So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel —because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
Genesis 11: 1-9
1 But now, this is what the LORD says—he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze....
No one can deliver out of my hand.
When I act, who can reverse it?"
the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.
Praise be to God!
Message
Sabbath this week also coincides with the beginning of Hanukkah, the Jewish winter festival of lights. This festival commemorates a victory in 165 BC of a sect of Jewish rebels called the Maccabees. Judas Maccabeus and his followers recaptured the temple in Jerusalem from foreign invaders. During this festival, Jewish families around the world light small candles on a special 9 branched candle holder called a menorah. The lighting of the candles recalls the miracle of a one-day supply of oil that burned in the temple for eight days until new oil could be obtained. That is why the celebration is sometimes called the Feast of Dedication or Feast of Lights.
The celebration is not one of the feasts specified in the Torah to be celebrated until the end of time. It has endured, however, because of its appeal as a message of hope. The message is that a small dedicated group can cause a great miracle to happen. Lighting of candles has always been a symbol of hope and is especially appealing in the dark of winter. Many other cultures have festivals in the fall or winter centered around light or fire. Hindus have their own "festival of lights" called Diwali in which they celebrate the triumph of light over darkness. In Iran, people of many faiths still celebrate Shabe Yalda, the birthday of the sun, in December by lighting bon-fires. Even Christians light advent candles for the 4 weeks that lead up to Christmas. Actually, many Christmas traditions are based on more ancient pagan religions. The pagan winter solstice practices include the Yule log, christmas tree, and lighting candles.
Here on the Hopi reservation, where we live, the Hopi tribe has their own winter solstice traditions. The sun is very important in the traditional agricultural society of the Hopis. They hold a special ceremony during the winter solstice called Soyal. This ceremony is dedicated to giving aid and direction to the sun which is ready to 'return' and give strength to budding life. It lasts for 20 days and includes "prayerstick" making, purification and rituals. At the end of the twenty days, there is a rabbit hunt, feast and blessing.
The ubiquitous nature of mid-winter celebrations of light and hope are a reflection of mankind's primal instinct to exert power over his surroundings. In the darkest time of the year, man seeks to restore light and warmth to his environment through his own actions. The hope is that the correct ceremonies, prayers and sacred fires will cause light, sun and goodness to be restored. We, who have been schooled in modern sciences, may scoff at these beliefs. However, we are not that different.
Even in 2009, humankind still seeks to shape and control the environment. We smugly believe that with the right tools we have the power to ward off any danger. We believe we are the masters of our destiny. We use more sophisticated methods but we are not that different from the ancient culture that built the tower of Babel. The only difference is that instead of building towers to the heavens made of brick and tar, we build retirement plans, 401ks and buy real estate to create our own monument to ourselves. We trust in science and medicine and modern technology to keep us alive, comfortable and safe.
The current economic crisis has shown us the folly of these tactics. In a matter of days, the tower of our financial prowess came tumbling down like a house of cards. The world that we thought we knew changed before our eyes. This is nothing new. It has happened before and will happen again. A few examples in modern history are the great flu pandemic of 1918 - 1919, the great depression of the 30's, Pearl Harbor, Sept 11, 2001. These were all moments when the world as we knew it changed before our eyes.
The truth is that anything made by man is not permanent. Scripture says it is like the grass of the field....here today and tomorrow thrown into the fire. We would like to believe we can build a firm foundation upon our own merit. Yeshua said, however, that is like building a house upon sand. It is an illusion of security. It is not real. Health, finances, loved ones, can all be lost in a moment...like sand sifting through your fingers.
I had a great illustration of this concept last week. A huge blizzard came through Arizona. It was the worst in modern time. The power was out all over this area of the state. Like all of my neighbors, I had no heat, no lights, no communication either by cell phone or land-line. My husband was out of town on business so I did not even have a car. It is 70 miles to the nearest grocery store out here. I was suddenly aware of how dependent I am on my modern conveniences...conveniences that can be lost in a moment. It is a very humbling feeling.
I started making lists of all the things I should stock up on in case this should happen again....one of those things was matches. I did not have a single match in the house to light a candle. My reaction was the normal rational human mode. If I just plan right and get right supplies, I will be OK next time. There is a flaw in this thinking. I do not know if there will be a next time and even if there is, I do not know if the circumstances will be the same. Next time, there could be a flood instead of snow and soak all my matches I buy so that they won't work 
. The point is that with our finite minds, no one can plan for every contingency. Trying to do so would drive a person batty!
There is an answer and it is a simple one. The clues are in the scriptures above. There is one true Source of Power that will never run out. No storm can stop it. It will never be disconnected. This Source is the Source of all. The scripture says the Lord gives power and strength to those who chose to live plugged in to the Source. Then, in ice storms or financial crisis, the children of God can have no fear. The Father and Mother are with us. Our Lord is the one true Power. In the gospel of Peter, Yeshua is quoted as saying "My Power, My Power, You have forsaken me. Yeshua was one with the Power. The Power is the source of Life. The power had to leave him in order for Yeshua to die on the cross. No harm can come to those who are one with the Divine Power. It is the only true reality. All else is illusion.
