The Angel Connection

      

       On Christmas Eve my family attended a Presbyterian Church service where the pastor surprised me by speaking about angels. Three large sets of white angel wings, trimmed with gold garland, were hung over the altar that was decorated with the usual poinsettias and wreaths. Angels play an important role in the Christmas story, so why was I surprised? 

       Just a few years ago this same pastor stated that she wouldn't wear angel jewelry because a focus on angels distracts people from their relationship with God. And while angels are mentioned in the Bible numerous times, this is the first time I recall them being the topic of a sermon. The pastor had been inspired by a children's book about angels written by a friend of hers, and she encouraged the congregation, children and adults alike, to be open to the angelic messages we might receive.

       I believe in angels because I have heard so many wonderful stories of their appearances, and because they are acknowledged in many world religions. Angels are divine beings who help to create a sense of oneness among people of different cultures and faiths. 

       Roman Catholics tend to place more importance on angels than members of Protestant churches. "Angels in Catholicism are intermediaries between God and humans. In addition to their role as servants and messengers, angels are also attendants to God's throne. Catholic theology outlines a hierarchy of nine choirs of angels divided into three groups: Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones; Dominations, Virtues and Powers; Principalities, Archangels and Angels."(BeliefNet.com/Inspiration) 

       Most Protestants share the belief that angels are messengers from God who also offer guidance, protection, and assistance. Protestants are warned not to pray to angels the way Catholics do, but I'll bet a lot of Protestants have broken that rule since angels have become so popular in recent years. 

       Buddhists believe in celestial beings, also known as devas. In Tibetan Buddhism devas are sometimes considered to be emanations of bodhisattvas or enlightened beings. Different schools of Buddhism have different important devas, as they are often derived from pre-Buddhist cultures and religions and not from Buddhist philosophy. (BeliefNet.com/Inspiration)

       Hindus do not refer to angels, but they do believe in various spiritual beings who act as divine messengers. These include the minor gods, or devas, a name that means "shining ones." As the pastor pointed out on Christmas Eve, the angels are clothed in light, so "shining ones" is an appropriate name for them!

       Angels in Islam, or malaikah, play an essential role as messengers and intermediaries from Allah to the world, beginning with the angel Jabrai'il (Gabriel) who revealed the Qur’an, Islam's holy book, to the Prophet Muhammad. Gabriel was also one of the seven archangels in Hebrew tradition. He appears in both the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures 
where he serves as the announcer of the births of John to Zechariah and Jesus to Mary. The Archangel Gabriel symbolizes the Oneness of these three major religions by his important role in each one. 

       I have met many non-religious people who believe in angels even though they don't believe in much else. Angels are the divine representatives that connect people in a common belief while also maintaining the bridge between heaven and earth. 

Interfaith Love

       Last week my husband and I took a train from Syracuse to Chicago, and another one to Kenosha, Wisconsin, to visit our children and grandchild.  Monday night, at the beginning of our return trip, we had a layover at the Chicago train station. We took turns watching our bags at a table and going to get something to eat in the food court. When I went to the counter of a Middle Eastern deli to buy fruit salad and stuffed grape leaves, the young attendant asked how my day was going. I said it was going well and asked about his. He responded that it was good even though he had to work for 12 hours. As he was ringing up my purchases he blurted: “I’m in love with a girl, and she loves me, but we believe in different Gods.”

       I asked him what religion he followed and he said Muslim. “But she is Christian,” he said, “and she says I believe in the wrong God.”

       I said: “But there is no wrong God because there is only one God. The Muslim God, the Christian God, the Hebrew God, and all Gods are one and the same, and that God is Love. You love her, she loves you, so God is always there with both of you.”

       The young man smiled and said, “I like that! I wish she believed the way you do. Are you Christian?”

       I told him that I used to be, but now I just believe that the one God of Love is God of all. “But the Bible does say that God is Love,” I told him. “It’s in the Book of John. You can remind her of that.”

       He told me more about the difference between his upbringing in Morocco and hers in Chicago. He is 23 and she is 19. I told him that she may be too young to deal with so many differences, but I hoped they would work something out. We could have talked longer, but I felt bad for my neglected husband and finally said, “I have to go back to my table so my husband can get something to eat.” Needless-to-say, Mark was also dying of curiosity!

       After I paid for my food the young man thanked me for talking to him and I think we both realized it was one of those serendipitous moments when two strangers were meant to meet, if only for a few minutes.

       I will always wonder what will happen between the young Moroccan and his American girlfriend. Even if they don’t find common ground in their relationship I believe I helped to open his eyes to the possibility that two open-minded people can share peace and harmony in a common faith, even when they come from two different cultures. I will think of him and his longing for love whenever I eat grape leaves.

Beloved Presence

     

     Several years ago I wrote a blog about the many paths of God and how I honor them in different ways. At that time my husband and I were attending the same Red Door Presbyterian Church every Sunday. Now we alternate between our old church and the Unitarian-Universalist Society. When we're able to make the 90-mile trip to Albany we like to visit the Unity Church. When we go to the Red Door Church we hear the familiar old stories about Jesus and his ancestors and see our old friends. We attend the other churches to experience the Divine in different ways, and to hear new and different ideas.

     While I love to hear the stories of God's love from the Bible, I also like to be reminded that Divine Love is known in other cultures and other religions. Today's reading in the Unitarian service is from Shams Ud-Dun Mohammad Hafiz, a Muslim, and it is beautiful:

Beloved Presence

Cloak yourself in a thousand ways;

still shall I know you, my Beloved.

Veil yourself with every

enchantment

and yet I shall feel you,

Presence

most dear, close and intimate.

I shall salute you in the springing 

of cypresses

and in the sheen of lakes, the 

laughter of fountains.

I shall surely see you in 

tumbling clouds,

in brightly embroidered

meadows.

Oh, Beloved Presence, more

beautiful than

all the stars together,

I trace your face in ivy that

climbs,

in clusters of grapes,

in morning flaming the

mountains,

in the clear arch of sky.

You gladden the whole earth and

make every heart great.

You are the breathing of the

world.

     The talk for today was about the Koran, and how it compares to the Bible. The similarity lies in the stories of violence and massacre in which both the God of the early Hebrews and Allah urge their worshipers to slay those who do not pay homage to the "one true God." It is because of these passages in both holy books that I contend there is a great deal of the human ego intermixed with whatever divine inspiration lies behind these scriptures. I see more of the divine in Hafiz's poem than I see in any scriptural stories of violence. 

     If there is ever to be peace and unity in this world, people will first have to recognize how the human ego has inserted itself into the scriptures and teachings of  our religions. The simple truth is that the Prime Creator of this universe is Love, and every bit of Creation is part of that Love from which we emanate. Anything that is not of Love is of the fear and ego that want to be separate from and better than others. I visit different churches and different spiritual groups in search of those who follow this simple teaching. I find the teachings of Love and the teachings of Ego everywhere I go - thus my reason for not choosing a single church or path to follow.

     I recently saw the movie "Life of Pi" in which Pi's parents tell him he is making a mistake by trying to  embrace several different religions. They want him to choose one, even if it's not the same one as theirs. I love the way Pi finds the Divine in a variety of spiritual practices, because he can choose the highest and best of each path, thus growing closer to God than he might if he followed the best and worst parts of a single faith. I think the time has come in human evolution when more and more people will follow the way of Love and Oneness as taught by a variety of divine teachers, realizing that a multi-strand path can take them higher than a one-lane highway. And the Beloved Presence can be felt in any church, in Nature, in our homes, and everywhere we go!

The Multifaceted Path

I have come to realize that there are as many ways to understand the Universe as there are snowflakes in a winter storm, and just as many ways to connect with it. Some of us have an understanding that we call God. Some don’t believe in God, and yet believe in a Universal Mind that orchestrates the grand symphony of life. Others believe in many gods: the gods of Nature – one for each little part of Creation. But then, that Creation is connected by One Life Force that lives, and breathes, and has its being in all of these separate gods.

I have friends and acquaintances that include an assortment of Protestants, a Christian Scientist, Hindus, Latter Day Saints, Catholics, Reiki masters, Quakers, and Jews. I count among my best friends a psychic Unitarian who leads guided meditations, a Yoga teacher who practices mindfulness meditation, a polytheistic Animist, and a Presbyterian who sees auras. Each one is following a path of love – for love is the main component of each individual path. I respect and honor them all.

Mark and I have warmed a pew at the First United Presbyterian Church in Oneonta for twenty years. Belonging to a spiritual community is an important element in our life. I think of church as the trailhead of my spiritual path. I begin my week on Sunday morning with uplifting music, theological lessons to ponder, and connections with church family members. Love fills the sanctuary with a palpable energy! During the week I dally on several stepping stones of my multifaceted path, making sure not to stay on one well-worn section for too long. I may read some words of wisdom in a book such as The Third Jesus: The Christ We Cannot Ignore by Deepak Chopra, or gaze at the miraculous photographs in Crop Circles: Signs, Wonders and Mysteries by Steve and Karen Alexander. I will read The Upper Room devotions with Mark in the morning, and pray with him at bedtime. I’ll meditate with one of my CDs: my current favorite is: “Solar Radiance: Becoming a More Perfect Light” with Sanaya Roman. I may go into the Artisan’s Guild and talk to Debbie, a Wiccan high priestess, who creates beautiful crystal jewelry and offers energy healings to clients. Debbie is “a good witch,” who, like Glenda in The Wizard of Oz, casts spells only in the name of love and goodwill.

On the first Wednesday of each month I like to attend Vespers at the Unitarian-Universalist Society, where Diana leads participants in a guided meditation, sometimes to help us forgive those who have “trespassed against us,” sometimes to obtain guidance for our spiritual path. Then we light candles for every joy and every concern that we lift up in prayer. The pool of flames reminds us of the Light and Love that is expressed with our gratitude and intercessions.

Sometimes I’ll have a conversation, online, on the phone, or in person over tea, with a friend who likes to share thoughts about the path she’s on. Lilly serves the gods of nature who she also refers to as “the gods of love.” She speaks of “Loving Kindness” as a goddess, and vows to serve this goddess in all of her actions and dealings. Lilly’s path is peopled with love and joy and beauty!

Anna tells me about the yoga classes she teaches. I attended these classes for a couple of years, and I know that she shares her expertise in a gentle and caring manner. Anna tells her students: “There is a word that is often heard in the practice of yoga. That word is Ahimsa. Ahimsa is a Sanskrit word that may be translated as non-harming. But it is also translated as love. Let us love ourselves in our practice, offering kindness to ourselves. . . . Non-harming, letting go of violence. Love. We might just call it compassion."

It has always been my belief that everyone is a begotten child of God. I don't think of myself as an adopted child, as many Christians refer to themselves - because I think each of us is created by the same Divine Love that also poured life into the man, Jesus, - who demonstrates for us how to behave as divine children. If we see each other as One in spirit, having one parentage, and one divine consciousness, how much easier it is to love one another! We can even call God by different names, and follow different messengers, such as Buddha, or Mohammed, or Joseph Smith. But if we worship in the spirit of love, and listen with our hearts to each teacher's messages of love, we are still all One. As interfaith minister, Susanna Macomb says: “It is love, after all, that breaks down the prejudice and fear between people of different faiths and different cultures.”