Expanding Your Wisdom
and Influence
A Sermon by the Rev. Erik J. Buss
Lessons: Genesis 26:1, 6-14; Arcana Coelestia 4067:2, 6599, 6600
W
e often say in the New Church that the basic principles of spiritual
living are very simple: Love the Lord above all else and your neighbor as
much as yourself. Obey the Ten Commandments. Thinking of spiritual living
that way you could never go to church again, focus on living these basic rules,
and be just fine. On one level we should acknowledge that reality intuitively
and joyfully. A loving God would not make it hard to get to heaven. He wants
as many of us there as possible, and He gave us simple rules that get us there.
So why do we continue going to church? Why do we acknowledge that it
is important to try to read the Word regularly? Many people do not. They take
the simple principles approach. Are you really getting anything extra out of
church? Or are you just a slow learner?
Again, we know intuitively that the simple version of spiritual rules is, by
itself, simplistic. It will get you to where you want to go, just like walking will.
But why walk a distance when you can drive? And why drive a great distance
if you can fly?
Today we’ll explore the ways in which ongoing learning and spiritual work
enable you to fly, spiritually speaking. And the approach to that topic is to
think about our spiritual connections.
If I asked you what you are feeling or thinking right now, you would say:
“I think such and such,” or “I feel happy, or lonely, or interested.” We talk about
our feelings as our own, yet we know from teachings such as those in our
reading that our feelings and thoughts in fact come from the spiritual world.
Each of us is connected to certain heavenly and hellish communities that are
the source of our thoughts and feelings. Right now every one of us is in some
heavenly or hellish community as our spiritual home. We are affected by the
place we are – it defines our character.
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