According to the human interpretations of these events, Judas was delivered over to the devil beforehand, being created vile, base, envious, greedy, and sanguinary, for no other purpose but to commit this crime, in order to fulfil the prophesies of the Old Testament. How much plainer is the justice of God manifested in the fate of a presumptuous spirit who asked to co-operate in the great work, and who, notwithstanding all advice, persisted in the attempt, trusting more in his presumption than in the foresight of him who said to him through his guides, "You will fail.” But even then the paternal hand is always held out to the disobedient child to raise him after the fall which has given rise to a salutary humility, which had not yet found room in his heart. O how great is that God who permits his guilty child to discover, even in his own unworthiness, the starting-point which shall lead him towards perfection! Oh how merciful is He who is always ready to pardon a repentant sinner, and who binds up the sores of our guilty hearts with his own benevolent hands, sheds the balm of hope upon them, and heals them with the aid of expiation! Blessed be thou, my God! JUDAS ISCARIOT. After this unexpected manifestation, we said to the spirit of Judas, "We thank you for manifesting yourself to us. You failed by asking for a mission above your strength, but God in his infinite goodness and mercy has permitted you to rise up again; and you have now become one of the humble and devoted servants of Christ. May all learn from this encouraging lesson that however great may have been the sin of the creature, it is never so great as the mercy of God." The hand of the medium was fluidically controlled, and instantly and spontaneously wrote as follows: The love of God is over all his creatures; and you may well have confidence in him. It is not the innocent who need pardon; and it is not the strong who need support. Come, ye children who weep over your faults; the Lord will dry your tears. Come, sick and unhappy children; the Lord will give you a larger share of his love. Come ye, in perfect trust; for we, like you, have fallen; we have mourned over our faults, and by long and painful labour, we have expiated the crimes which we have committed, and the faults to which we yielded during the long series of existences which prepared and accomplished our purification; and the Lord has permitted us to enter into his joy. Imitate us, then, dearly loved brethren; for you have all more or less to expiate, and must all ask for mercy. Come to the feet of your Father in perfect confidence, and confess your faults at his tribunal. The Judge is just and equitable, but he is your Father, and his mercy is always in advance of his justice. His decrees are always within the limit of your strength; he is a mild and patient creditor, and will wait until you are able to pay your debt. O come unto him, and may the hand which we extend towards you uphold you by showing you all the treasures of love which have been granted to us! Even Judas is now a spirit who has been regenerated in the furnace of repentance, remorse, expiation, reincarnation, and progress; and has become one of the humble, active, and devoted auxiliaries of Christ. Let this example show you that you should never repulse any of your brethren; and still less exclude them from the peace of the Lord. MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE, JOHN, JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA; SIMON OF CYRENIA. MATTHEW, CHAP. XXVI.-VERSES 20-30. MARK, CHAP. XIV.-VERSES 17-26. LUKE, CHAP. XXII. VERSES 14-23. The Last Supper. Matth. xxvi. (20) And when it was evening, he was reclining with the twelve, and while they were eating, he said to them, (21) Verily I say unto you that one of you shall betray me. (22) And they were exceedingly grieved, and each of them began to say to him, Lord, is it I? (23) And he answered and said, He who dippeth his hand with me into the dish, he shall betray me. (24) The Son of Man indeed goeth, as it is written of him, but woe unto that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It were well for this man if he had not been born. (25) And Judas who betrayed him answered and said, Rabbi, is it I? And he says to him, Thou hast said. (26) And while they were eating, Jesus took bread and having blessed it, broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. (27) And taking the cup, he gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, (28) Drink ye all of it for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many, for the remission of sins. (29) And I say unto you, Henceforth I will drink no more of this fruit of the vine until I shall drink it new with you in the kingdom of my Father. (30) And having sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Mark xiv. (17) And when it was evening, he came with the twelve. (18) And when they were reclining and eating, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you that one of you who is eating with me shall betray me. (19) And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to him one after another, Is it I? and another, Is it I? (20) And he answered and said to them, It is one of the twelve who dippeth with me in the dish. (21) The Son of Man indeed goeth away, as it was written of him, but woe unto that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed? It were well for that man if he had not been born. (22) And while they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, Take, eat, this is my body. (23) And taking the cup, he gave thanks and gave it to them, and they all drank of it. (24) And he said to them, This is my blood of the new covenant which is poured out for many. (25) Verily I say unto you that I will drink no more of this fruit of the vine until that day when I shall drink it new in the kingdom of God. (26) And when they had sung a hymn, they went forth to the Mount of Olives. Luke xxii. (14) And when the time was come, he rested, and the twelve Apostles with him. (15) And he said to them, I have desired with longing to eat this passover with you before I suffer. (16) For I say unto you that I will eat of it no more until the time when it shall be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. (17) And he took a cup, and having given thanks, he said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves. (18) For I say unto you that I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God shall come. (19) And taking bread, he gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them saying, This is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me. (20) Likewise also the cup after he had drunk, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. (21) But lo, the hand of him who betrayeth me is with me in the dish. (22) And the Son of Man indeed goeth as it was appointed, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed! (23) And they began to inquire among themselves who then it might be of them who was about to do this. § 283. The meal which Jesus took with his disciples, and the communion to which he invites all men, ought not to raise any materialistic ideas in your minds. Jesus made a last solemn appeal to universal fraternity, by the emblems of bread and wine, which he compared to his body and to his blood. You are all seated at the same banquet, and should all partake of the same food, and drink of the same cup. The Lord has shown you the place which you ought to fill, and has pointed out the food which should sustain you. Be united during your life, as the eleven faithful disciples gathered round the Master, and be animated by a common sentiment-love for the Father, love for the Saviour, and love for your brethren. You should all share equally in the same sacrifice; and remeniber that the bread should be the same for all; and that the beverage ought equally to refresh all who are weary, for the Saviour poured it out equally for all. Act towards your wandering brethren, even the most perverse, as Jesus acted towards Judas. Although he knew that Judas was a false brother and deceitful disciple, Jesus admitted him to the same banquet as the eleven faithful disciples, to share the same food with them, and to drink of the same cup. He thus permitted him to hear his last appeal to universal brotherhood; for Judas was the wandering sheep whom the Good Shepherd would lift on his shoulders afterwards to bring back to the fold. When Jesus was on the cross and about to leave the earth, he had only one word of pardon for Judas who had betrayed him, as well as for his revilers and executioners: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Judas, who had heard the Master's voice, and had not listened to it, was seized with remorse in this world, and driven to suicide; but yet he found pardon after death by sincere and profound repentance, united with the ardent desire for expiation and reparation. After appropriate moral sufferings and tortures, he beheld the path of reincarnation, purification, and progress open before him. He was thus led, like others, through centuries of trials and expiations, by the infinite justice, goodness, and mercy of God, to come forth purified by humility, disinterestedness, and love. He thus regained his place at the banquet with the other disciples, and now joins with them in inviting all his wandering brethren to come, to sit with him at the table of his Master. Try to lead your wandering brethren back to the fold by meeting injury, insult, and treachery, with the gentleness, patience, and silence with which the Master treated Judas, and his revilers, and executioners. Let your hearts and lips, like those of Jesus, feel and express only words of pardon for them; and lead back the most perverse by perseveringly practising love and charity towards them. Do good to your enemies who hate you, and pray for those who persecute you or slander you; and thus develope in them the feelings of what is true, just and good. Prepare them, under the influence of repentance, and the desire of reparation and progress, to come with you one day to take their places at the Feast of the Passover of universal brotherhood. The bread and wine are merely emblematical, and Jesus never intended to give them a material application; but yet what has been, was to be; for matter is needful for matter. A mere commemoration would have been useless to men, and it was needful to impress them by leading them to regard themselves as tombs in which Christ came to bury himself daily (sepulchres whited externally, and generally very unworthy to serve as altars of propitiation !) But human intelligence is now ready to render to matter the things which belong to matter, and to spirit the things which belong to spirit, and to make the commemoration of the Passover its real end. Routine, blindness and obstinacy have upheld the old error; but it is doomed. You must understand that it is good for man to devote one day to this great commemoration. It is good that the memory of this great Example who stooped to you should assist in raising you to him from age to age, that the time may rapidly approach when you may meet him in the higher spheres, and still receive from his blessed hand the bread of life and the cup of eternity. It is good that man should thus make a solemn and profound appeal to him who watches unceasingly over your humanity; asking him from the depths of an earnest heart, to give you the bread and wine which you should share with your brethren, by handing them the cup of benediction and giving them their share of the bread of life. Ask him who blessed the bread and wine to bless them once more before handing them to you. It will be well to devote the day of consecration to a yet VOL. II. BB |