Part 1 Undoing the Way We See Things Now
Our ideas for review today are:
- (61) I am the light of the world. How holy am I, who have been given the function of lighting up the world! Let me be still before my holiness. In its calm light let all my conflicts disappear. In its peace let me remember who I am.
- Some specific forms for applying this idea when special difficulties seem to arise might be: Let me not obscure the light of the world in me. Let the light of the world shine through this appearance. The shadow will vanish before the light.
- (62) Forgiveness is my function as the light of the world. It is through accepting my function that I will see the light in me. And in this light will my function stand clear and perfectly unambiguous before my sight. My acceptance does not depend on my recognizing what my function is, for I do not yet understand forgiveness. Yet I will trust that, in the light, I will see it as it is.
- Specific forms for using this idea might include: Let this help me learn what forgiveness means. Let me not separate my function from my will. I will not use this for an alien purpose.[1]
Notes and Personal Application: When I first read this lesson, I scoffed a bit. I am not the light of the world, I told myself. For pity’s sake. Christ is the light of the world, that is His job. My job is to believe in Him and let Him shine. It was not until I realized the democracy of God, the laws in which God’s Kingdom operate, that I realized that as much as Christ is the light of the world, so am I, so are you, so is everybody. We are the Sons of God, one Brotherhood, one Sonship, one light. As that light we are holy. We have no conflicts. In the peace of that light, we remember that we are One with Christ, that we are Christ, that it is no longer Jesus standing alone with His light to save the world, it is all of us becoming Christ and Christ becoming us.
So let us not obscure the light of Christ within us! Let us not forget who and what we really are! Let us not scoff or make jokes about our holy function but let the light of the world shine through our physical form and let the shadow of our bodies and egos vanish before the light.
When we are no longer willing to obscure the light of the world in us, we begin to see the beauty, the love, the peace and love and joy that shines through others. We become so thankful! Instead of judging others, remembering grievances, and building up defenses against them, we remember their loving acts, their kindnesses, their sweet smiles, and their warmth, love, and how much fun they are. When we shine our lights, we tell our stories. We are no longer afraid to expose the shadow, to confess the wrongful deeds, the confusion, the fact that we could not succeed in a world that promises that which will never satisfy. We have a process, and that process is what we bring to the light. No shame, no guilt, no remorse. Everybody’s journey to salvation is a story that is designed to help others in their journey. When we hide our stories and project our mistakes onto others, hiding behind a false façade, we are obscuring the light of the world in ourselves. We are not only not helping others; we are actively hindering their progress by hiding the truth about ourselves.
The ego hates the light. When we say, “I am the light of the world,” the ego rises up to tell us otherwise. It will list every reason it can think of to remind us that we cannot be the light of the world! In my case, the ego will remind me of the ways in which I was shamed as a child, the ways in which I felt misunderstood and mistreated. I will remember the indignity of poverty, of being an outsider, of crucial information being withheld from me. I will remember how promiscuous I was, the abortions I had, the baby I gave up for adoption. The ego will remind me of the lies I told and the mean pranks I played on others. It will remind me of how I mocked people who loved God. It will remind me of how I would say “I love you,” when all I really meant was, “Love me.” The ego will remind me how I abused and misused the people I love and care about with my words, thoughts, and deeds. The ego will remind me of how I harbored grudges and hatred toward those whom God has called me to love.
The ego does not feel at all comfortable now in my life because I expose everything it would make me feel ashamed about. I tell it like it was because when I don’t, the ego can tempt me to hide my true identity by being afraid of my past. As long as that happens, the ego has me in its clutches. If the ego can’t make me proud of my misdeeds (like I used to be) it will make me ashamed and fearful. When I am the light of the world, I can say with my whole heart, “I can never project my sins upon others again, for here they are – every single one of them. And if you think of any more to add to the list, let me know, so I can shine the light on it and see the hold it has upon us, vanish before the light of God’s love!”
When we pray, “Let the light of the world shine through this appearance,” we are asking for the truth about God and who we really are, and we are exposing the ego who would steal our identity and keep us in darkness with fear, guilt, and shame. This is where forgiveness comes in to lead us along the path of salvation.
When we say, “God, Your Will be done,” we are accepting the function of God. Jesus tells us that forgiveness is our function as the light of the world. We may not understand exactly what forgiveness is, but we know that in the light we will see it as it is. The light will show us what forgiveness means. No matter how much the ego screams and resists the idea of forgiving those who have hurt us, let us never forget that the one it hates and wishes to die is the one we see in the mirror. The ego only pretends to be our friend. The ego’s protection, all of its defenses against love, lead us to death and enmity. The ego does its best to tempt us to believe we are only bodies, to settle for fleeting pleasures and special relationships in which to find succor. And we all know the end of that story.
When we can forgive ourselves and each other for the works of the ego, for the disappointments of the flesh, for the death of the body, we are starting to get a pretty good idea of what our function is as light of the world. Jesus knew what His function was; and now it is time we accept our place in the Brotherhood of Christ and fulfill ours!
[1] A Course in Miracles. Lesson 81…Foundation for Inner Peace, Second Edition (1992). pp. 146.
the friar patch 