Objective:
This week’s discussion will return to the conversation between Jesus and Pilot in order to give meaning to the very last bead in the meditation.
Beads:
The Tree/Cross: “For to this End was I born, and for this cause can I into Creation.”
Passages to Ponder
John 18:36-38
36. Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now is my kingdom not from hence.
37. Pilate, therefore, said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone that is of the truth heareth my voice.
38. Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews and saith unto them, I find in him no fault.
WARNING: This passage is used in the Meditation completely out of context!.
LET ME EXPLAIN
The way the words are used in the meditation, it is closing up the prayer by saying that your entire goal (end) is to become one with God, the way the Triangle and the last five beads describe that. Not only is it your goal for the meditation, but you recognize it is the purpose of Creation itself.
At face value, Jesus isn’t saying that to Pilot, and I’m not implying that he secretly is. (Not that there is anything wrong with that if you think he may be).
I used this passage to complete the name “The Beginning and the End”, which you started the first time you held the tree, as you started the meditation. I also used it because the Tree/Cross is painfully connected to this conversation between Pilot and Jesus. So, I used it because it leaves you in a rather painful situation, leaving you to reflect on how with his stripes you are healed. Or how his End enables you to reach your purpose for entering the Creation.
Questions of Knowledge (What it says at the surface)
- To what End did Jesus say he was born to fulfill?
- Who does Jesus say makes up the people of his kingdom?
Questions of Wisdom (What it means below the surface)
- Did Jesus’s end on this earth complete the End he was born to fulfill?
Questions of Understanding (Likening it to Ourselves)
- This conversation speaks of Jesus being “Born”, and we are to be Born again. Are there any connections hiding in that word?
Questions of Mystery (What deeper meaning can be harvested)
- Pilot asks “What is Truth?” But he doesn’t wait for an answer. What might Jesus have said had he waited to find out?
- How can you be “of the Truth” so that you can Hear the Voice?