Today's sermon centered on the story about Jesus entering the locked room where the disciples were sequestered after his crucifixion, and about Thomas not believing they'd seen Jesus until he saw the nail marks in his hands and put his fingers in his side where the sword had pierced him. When he had done this and proclaimed, "My Lord and My God" Jesus said, "Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed."
Our pastor spoke about the way so many people are like Thomas, needing physical proof before they can believe something. I have always been comforted by the words, "Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed," because I know people who have actually seen angels, spirit guides, and even Jesus, while I have retained a strong faith in the unseen side of life without having seen any of it myself. Pastor Christie also spoke about the symbolism of the locked room, something I had not thought about before.
The locked room can symbolize our minds; our creativity and imagination that so many keep under lock and key because we have not seen proof that anything exists beyond the limits of our senses and the acceptable beliefs of society. Jesus is the divine messenger of Love who can enter our locked minds when we seek spiritual knowledge as did his disciples. Divine Love can then release our creativity, our imagination, and our sense of wonder.
With open minds we can understand that Jesus was resurrected to demonstrate that life is eternal and always has been. If life is eternal there must be an infinite universe full of beauty and wonderful experiences beyond the confines of the world we know. Everything that exists began in the imagination. So let's unlock our minds and let our imaginations go wild!
Astronomers estimate there are about 100 thousand million stars in the Milky Way and about 200 billion trillion stars in the universe. I can't begin to imagine how many planets revolve around all those stars, and how many are hosts to intelligent life. Not to mention the possibility of other universes that might be accessible through black hole portals (Black Holes Are 'Portals to Other Universes,' According to New Quantum Results).
I know people who say it's silly to wonder about life on other planets when we have to take care of our own Mother Earth. I very much agree that we must take better care of our world, but I also believe that we must use our imagination to create a better world, and imagining a world where everyone lives together in peace and harmony can make us realize the possibilities for humanity. What would a world at peace look like? How would its inhabitants resolve conflict? With millions of worlds, there must be some where the inhabitants exemplify a peaceful life. Perhaps they want to help us and they're just waiting for the earth to become more hospitable so they can make themselves known.
In addition to other physical worlds, we can imagine multiple dimensions right here in our own world. I know people with clairvoyant vision who have seen some of the nature spirits and other beings who dwell on other planes. I cannot see them myself, but my imagination reminds me that these invisible ones are helping my garden to grow and are doing their best to clean up the mess that we humans are making of God's creation!
Once we unlock the door of our imagination, there is no limit to what we can discover about our universe and the possibilities for the advancement of the human race. I recommend these few books to jumpstart your imagination:
On Angels' Wings by Mariana Stjerna
Telos: Revelations of the New Lemuria by Aurelia Louise Jones
The Real World of Fairies: A First-Person Account by Dora van Gelder
There are many other wonderful books by authors who are not afraid to cross the boundaries of conventional thought. Feel free to share your favorites in the comments!
