A Chance Visit with Sam
It happened while walking in the park at the Courthouse Square in Prescott, Arizona ...
Sam Steele is a Baptist minister and my friend. I knew him during the time I also was a Christian minister. This was back in the early 1960s, over 50 years ago.
Sam was the pastor of a very large and thriving church, while I was the little guy on the other side of town, pastor of a struggling small church. I stayed in the Presbyterian ministry for only ten years, while Sam continued and retired from the Baptist Church, a very successful and well respected minister.
Sam was a few years older than me and we became friends because neither of us allowed our separate creeds to interfere with our relationship. Sam maintained his personal beliefs but always respected differences of opinion in theology. Though we differed in our understanding of Christianity, we never allowed our differences to hinder our friendship.
In the center of the small city where I live there is a beautiful park; our County Courthouse is located here and there are many benches and picnic tables randomly scattered about. One day while I was walking in the park I happened to see a man that looked very familiar. He was sitting alone on a bench.
I walked slowly toward him, trying to be discreet and nonchalant, yet looking carefully to see if this was indeed Sam. If it was Sam, he hadn’t changed much, though his hair was completely white now. He was still slender. I concluded this man had to be Sam, and decided to approach the bench where he was sitting. When I was within respectful distance I stood in front of him, a little to his side, and said, “Hello, Sam. I am Joe Babinsky. Do you remember this name?”
Sam was obviously in deep thought, as I could see that he was quickly bringing himself back to the present moment. He looked up at me, and started to sort out his memories. It didn’t take him long; as I recall he had a fantastic memory. Sam stood and reached out his arms.
“Joe! I am ever so happy to see you again! You hardly look a bit different than you did fifty years ago.” We embraced.
I laughed and replied, “You are gracious as ever, Sam; many hairs on my head now gone, and a grey beard, and yet, you still recognize me. This is very kind of you.”reminded me of my friend of fifty years ago, Sam Steele.
He chuckled, “The years do make difference for many people, but for you, not that much.”
“May I sit with you awhile, Sam, or are you waiting for someone?” In saying this I tried to be respectful of the possibility that he was not alone.
“Why, certainly; please sit down. I am here alone; Laura passed away several years ago, if that is what you were inferring.”
Sam and I began by speaking about personal affairs; and then we drifted into telling brief stories of our fifty year journey since we last saw each other. We had a grand time visiting, enjoying one another’s company and listening to stories.
After this, Sam said, “Joe, I have certainly remained solidly attached to my Baptist beliefs through the years, but it appears you have drifted far from what I remember your faith to be. I’d like to hear why this is so.”
A fifty-year journey of the spirit is difficult to condense into a short conversation; therefore, when Sam asked his question, I paused, wondering how I could best answer it. Quietly, in my mind, I said a prayer, asking guidance for words to speak. Then I proceeded.
“Sam, we became friends because we both shared a mutual love for Jesus. We differed in what this meant and how best to interpret this love; but we respected each other’s perspective.”
“Yes, this is true, Joe. Frankly, I always admired your rather uncomplicated love for Jesus, but privately wondered why you were not Baptist instead of Presbyterian.”
We both laughed heartily.
“My love has not diminished, Sam” I continued. “In fact, through the years it has grown deeper. Allow me to ask you a question; you do not need to answer, but let me ask it. Then I will proceed.”
“Yes, of course, Joe.”
“Imagine, if you will, that you are able to transport yourself 2000 years back to the time when Jesus lived. You find him sitting alone on a hillside. His companions are occupied elsewhere. You walk up to Jesus and he invites you to sit with him, in the same manner as you asked me to sit with you on this bench. You talk and Jesus makes it clear that he is aware of the date and times where you now live, and where you come from. You talk awhile longer, and then you feel moved to ask him a question. Naturally, he invites your question.
“You continue and say, ‘Jesus, do we have it right, or do we have it all wrong as to how we understand you and your message?’’”
Sam did not immediately reply. I remained silent. After a moment of silence I continued.
“I have a feeling that your thoughts are not too unlike my own. If I were to do what I asked you to do, I believe I would sit on the hillside with Jesus with a thought to be ready to listen to the Master. I would not argue with him or offer him my opinions and theologies. I believe I would feel that I was sitting in the Presence of Pure, Unconditional Love. I would want to listen closely and very attentively to his words.”
“I think you are right, Joe; I believe that is what I would do too. I would want to listen very carefully to his words.”
“And Sam, would you further agree that the kind of listening you would do pertains more to the inner heart than to the brain?”
“Yes, or as the Bible says, ‘He that hath ears to hear, let him hear’. I believe this is what you are referencing.”
“In a real sense, Sam, I have been trying to do exactly this my entire life. I did not last long in either the Presbyterian Church or the Pentecostal Church because I was always much more interested in listening beyond words. Theological systems and church dogma never held my interest long, nor did doctrines and confessional statements.”
“Are you saying that the salvation of your soul was never a deep concern of yours, Joe?”
“Why, of course it was, Sam. That is precisely why I was open to listen to the message from the Pentecostal Church. They seemed to have an experience of God to back up their words. Yet, after a period of time, I saw this as absent of abiding love as any other Christian church group that I am knowledgeable about. It was a fear-based belief system because Christianity generally is based on fear, and represents a distorted understanding of Jesus and his message.”
“Well, Joe, you are certainly making a strong statement. Are you able to back this up?”
In silence I admitted to myself that Sam’s question backed me up on my heels. Thus, once again, I became very quiet. I wanted to see Sam through eyes of truth and not of judgment.
Continuing after what seemed to me like a rather long pause, I said, “Sam, for a moment, let us suppose that archaeologists recently unearthed an ancient document, more ancient than the Nag Hammadi Library and the Dead Sea Scrolls. What if this document was authenticated beyond a shadow of doubt and proved that the New Testament we have held so dear is in fact in error? Wouldn’t this somehow be the answer to your question to Jesus, ‘Do we have it right?’”
“It might be, but I know of no such document.”
“Yet, you admit that if there were such an archaeological discovery, then the possibility might exist that we do have it wrong. Since there are no such records, you say that such a possibility does not exist. Is this correct?”
“Yes.”
“What I am saying is that there is such a document on the earth now; but it is not an ancient document. Though this document was not known to the general public before 1976, it is new, not old. In fact, it did not exist prior to 1972, except on typewritten pages. However, I myself did not come to know about this document until 2004, long after it was finally made public and published as a book.”
“Joe, are you saying that Jesus came back to earth in 1972, and gave a new message to the world?”
“No Sam, I did not say that. But I will say that a message from Jesus came to the humanity, starting in 1965, and it was finally disseminated to the world in 1976, in the form of a book.”
“Have you seen this book and read it?”
“I started to read it in 2004. But I will not tell you the name of this book, at least not yet. I want to get back to your original question as to how I moved away from the Christian faith.”
“Sam, you knew me at a time in my life when I was a Presbyterian minister. You did not know me when I became a Pentecostal. I think I need to talk about this very briefly. I wrote a book about this; if you are interested you can pick it up at Barnes and Noble, or on your computer at Amazon dot com.”
Sam asked, “And how would I find your book?”
“If you search on the Internet, just enter my name and you’ll find it. Now, allow me to continue and I will tell you a condensed version.
“In 1973 I experienced an extremely powerful conversion in the desert outside of Tucson. This experience came at the culmination of months of conversation with a friend in the office where I worked.
“You have a better grasp on particular Bible verses than I; I have become a bit rusty in this department. But perhaps I can capture the essence of the verse I am thinking about. The Book of Ephesians was once my favorite. Thus, in the desert experience I am referring to, I was reading Ephesians. I came to a verse which enabled me to make a decision to align with the Pentecostals. The verse I was reading is this:
Awake thou that sleepest, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.
“Did I quote it correctly, Sam?”
“Yes, you quoted it perfectly.”
“I cannot begin to tell you the depth of intensity in my experience when I read those words. In short, I interpreted those words and my experience as a direct sign to me that I should move my allegiance to the Pentecostals. I did this, and stayed with them for almost 14 years.
“And then, in the fall of 1986, after many months of deep questioning of our basic doctrines, I finally departed the Pentecostal Church. I returned to the Presbyterian Church but to stay was not to be so. Other directions were calling to me.”
I paused and then said, “Sam, this is the point in the telling others my story where I have lost the open ear of a few of my Christian friends.”
“And why do you feel this happened, Joe?”
“Because this is the point in my journey where I decided to look within for the answers I was seeking. In other words, Sam, I walked away from organized Christianity. It has been many years since I last stepped inside a church building.”
“And did you find what you were looking for?”
“Let’s say that truth found me. By this I mean to say that by looking within, I became open to hear the voice of Jesus as I never heard it before. Let me make it clearer, Sam. I am not saying that others must do what I did. This is just how it happened for me; it is my story. I am not suggesting that a person must leave the church or religion of their choice in order to hear Jesus. The new message of Jesus is not a religion or the beginning of a new religious movement. The purpose of the new message of Jesus is not to start a new church.”
Sam looked at his watch and said, “Well, Joe, I won’t turn you off. It is only ten o’clock. I don’t have to meet my son for another hour. I’m interested in hearing more of your story, if you have the time.”
“Thank you, Sam. I think the story gets more interesting as it goes along.” With this encouragement, I continued.
“Looking back,” I said, “I feel that my journey dovetails beautifully with the story Jesus told about the prodigal son. And this parable, in my mind, connects with the verse in the book of Ephesians which I already quoted.”
“Sam, you probably know this parable by heart.” After saying this I then asked him, “Do you mind telling it now?”
“Do you want me to quote it or tell it in my own words?”
“Either way you choose will be fine.”
“Alright; I’ll tell it the way I like to use it.”
Sam continued and said, “There once was a father whose son wanted his inheritance. The father gave it to him. This son went into the world and spent his fortune carelessly. Over a period of time, the son lost everything he had and turned to tending and feeding pigs for a living. One day he came to himself and thought about his father’s house and his servants. Even my father’s servants fare better than me, he thought. I’ll go back to my father’s house and tell him I am no longer worthy to be his son, and ask if I might be one of his hired servants.
“When this son returned to his father he was in for a big surprise. His father rejoiced to see his son’s return; happily and completely his father received him back into his home as his son. There was great celebration in his father’s house the day his son returned.”
“Sam, thank you; that was beautiful. I notice you did not add the reference to the elder son.”
“I didn’t because I don’t believe it belongs to this parable. It’s not important.”
“I don’t either; it just doesn’t fit the story. I think it was added.”
“Me too.”
“The way I see it, Sam,” I continued, “the son is none other than me and you and every other person that lives now or ever lived or will live. We already are God’s Son; we don’t need any sort of magic to make us into something which we already are. We may liken our present life to a dream; all we need to do is remember who we are and return to our right mind. When we do this—when we remember who and what we really are—we will be home with our Father in an instant.
“Christianity has taken this simple message of Jesus and added all sorts of conditions and demands, until people are absolutely confused by all the complicated and dissimilar messages church groups propagate in His Name. It is no wonder that there are over 20,000 different church groups, each one thinking their interpretation of Jesus is right.
“In the parable of the prodigal son we are not told that the son is bad, evil or a sinner; the son is not judged. There is no indication that he ever lost his place as the son. He was not required to do anything except to return to his right mind.
“Thus, Jesus taught a message which said that each person is a Son of God, and together we are the One Son of God. Jesus never pointed to himself as unique and different, the only Son of God. Where He welcomes our respect and honor, it is only because he is the first to see and live this truth about our identity completely and fully. He never commanded or invited worship and homage.
“The message of Jesus is simply this: Awake! Remember who and what you really are.”
“Joe, is this the new message of Jesus, and it is in the book you are now studying?”
“This is only tip of the iceberg, Sam. What I have told you thus far barely scratches the surface of His message. I feel that what I have told you is hardly close to an adequate introduction; the reason this is so is because His message is much deeper than can be said in the brief words I have used.”
Looking at my watch, I continued, “Sam, I realize we don’t have that much more time to talk, so I want to move on to something that helps summarize my attachment to the new message of Jesus.
“When I first started to read the new spiritual document of Jesus, I came across a sentence which has meant so much to me that I try to remember to say it every day. It appears in the form of a prayer and this is it:
“I thank you, Father, for Your Perfect Son, and in his glory will I see my own.”
“I believe it is a prayer which you could easily say; don’t you agree?”
“Yes, Joe, it is very thoughtfully phrased,” Sam replied.
“What or Who came to your mind when you first heard me say the words?”
“Why, Jesus, of course!”
“Yes, I totally agree. And I thought this way for perhaps the first seven or eight months that I was reading and studying the book. Then, one day, it dawned on me that Jesus is not referencing only himself. In fact, He is asking me, through the use of these and other words in the book, to see with new eyes my own true identity. Like the prodigal son, I thought I lost my identity; yet I cannot lose something that is mine and yours forever.
“The parable of the prodigal son is not a wisp of smoke which disappears into the air. It tells us the truth about who and what we are. It is not just that we may say, ‘we are all God’s children’. It goes much deeper than this. I now say with certainty, I am the Son of God. And Sam, you are the Son of God. We are One; together we are One with Jesus.
“Thus, when I stopped one day to consider this prayer again, I began to see that I am to thank our Father for the vision and revelation of the True Son, allowing me to see His glory, which is my own.”
“Aren’t you making yourself equal to Jesus?” Sam asked.
“Jesus maintains his position as first, and therefore, my elder brother. But I no longer worship and venerate him as special and different from my own essential reality.”
I continued, “Sam, Christianity took the body of Jesus and made it important, whereas Jesus placed no such significance on his own body. In fact, when he seemed to die on the Cross, he did so in order to show that the body is meaningless. We turned all this around, making detailed and complicated doctrines and dogmas about his death, burial and resurrection.
“The true reality about the Son of God is not about the body, yours or mine, or the body of Jesus. We have it upside down. What we call real, this body,” I said as I slapped my leg, “is not the real, but only an illusion. Going further, the world we do see with our physical eye is not real at all. This is why there is a great cloud over our eyes covering out true identity. This world was made in order to assure us that we do not see our glory as the perfect Son of God. Our real identity is invisible to these human eyes. Thus, what I told you earlier about the identity of the Son of God can be wrongly understood.”
“What are you referring to, Joe? I am not following what you are saying.”
“I said, ‘I am a Son of God, and so are you.’ This is true; yet in saying this I am not making the human being the Son. Our Sonship is beyond this world of homo sapiens. Our body is not the temple of Christ.
“In fact, to be blunt, we are living a dream, Sam, and the new document of Jesus calls to us to awake from our dream life and return home.”
Sam smiled at me, “Joe, this is very radical thought. Are you suggesting Jesus taught his disciples correctly, yet they did not fully grasp it, and therefore did not adequately represent his true message in our Gospels?”
“It is not that the writers of the New Testament did not adequately represent the true message of Jesus; they actually distorted it to such a degree that the message of Jesus is not present at all.”
“Joe, I can see now why a few of your other Christian friends broke off conversations with you. If what you say is true, it would completely change the way our churches speak about Jesus.”
“And there is much more; as I said, I have barely touched the vast depth of the new message of Jesus.”
Sam asked, “In this document, does Jesus attack the churches and Christianity?”
“No, Sam, he certainly does not. Attack in any form whatsoever is never justified, he tells his students. And he exemplifies this in the way he presents his message. In a most loving way, he brings correction to our thoughts and beliefs.”
“And what about salvation? From what I hear you say, salvation is not an issue. And I take it there is no need to evangelize and proselytize.”
“These are good questions, Sam, and would require more time than we have right now. We do not proselytize and evangelize. There is no need to do this. Each of us has the Master Teacher within us; you do, Sam,” and I pointed toward other people walking in the park, “everyone has the Inner Teacher within them. It is a matter of each person taking the time to listen to the quiet Voice within. Yet, this task of listening is nearly impossible. It is the key issue of our life and is one of the central teachings in the new message of Jesus. As to salvation, yes, it is discussed widely in the book. But I may add that it is redefined from what you and I are familiar with. You’ll have to read it for yourself, Sam.
“There is one thing that has inspired me more than anything else in the new message of Jesus. Yet I hesitate to say this, because there are so many great things within its pages. Nonetheless, in one place he says the following words:
Nothing he can do can compare even in the slightest with the glorious surprise of remembering Who he is.
“There is no accomplishment or ability a man may achieve in his lifetime that will ever come close to this experience of recognizing his True Identity. When we remember Who and What we are, everything else in this life pales in comparison. The Son will awake, of this we are certain.”
After a brief pause, Sam looked to the end of the park and stood up, saying, “I see my son heading this way. Will you now give me the name of this new book before I leave?”
I stood with Sam and replied, “Yes, Sam, the name of this book is called, A Course in Miracles. And as I said earlier, it is not a book to start a new religion or to establish a church. It is a self-study course; the Teacher is Jesus, who is within you.”
“Very, very interesting; I promise I will look into this. Thank you so much” and reaching his arms toward me, he said, “It was indeed a blessing to see you again, Joe, and to listen to your story. I see very plainly that Jesus is still very real to you.”
We embraced as brothers, and I replied, saying, “Samuel, in the quietness of your deepest inner silence, the words I have spoken this morning will be confirmed. Blessings to you in your journey.”
Sam turned and walked briskly toward his son.
When Sam walked away, I paused for a short time and then turned and walked the other direction toward my car. As I walked I thought about Sam and asked myself, “Hmm, I wonder why I used the name Samuel when I said what I did to him? I wonder if he caught this too.”
_______________________________
Next: One Year Later
Sam was the pastor of a very large and thriving church, while I was the little guy on the other side of town, pastor of a struggling small church. I stayed in the Presbyterian ministry for only ten years, while Sam continued and retired from the Baptist Church, a very successful and well respected minister.
Sam was a few years older than me and we became friends because neither of us allowed our separate creeds to interfere with our relationship. Sam maintained his personal beliefs but always respected differences of opinion in theology. Though we differed in our understanding of Christianity, we never allowed our differences to hinder our friendship.
In the center of the small city where I live there is a beautiful park; our County Courthouse is located here and there are many benches and picnic tables randomly scattered about. One day while I was walking in the park I happened to see a man that looked very familiar. He was sitting alone on a bench.
I walked slowly toward him, trying to be discreet and nonchalant, yet looking carefully to see if this was indeed Sam. If it was Sam, he hadn’t changed much, though his hair was completely white now. He was still slender. I concluded this man had to be Sam, and decided to approach the bench where he was sitting. When I was within respectful distance I stood in front of him, a little to his side, and said, “Hello, Sam. I am Joe Babinsky. Do you remember this name?”
Sam was obviously in deep thought, as I could see that he was quickly bringing himself back to the present moment. He looked up at me, and started to sort out his memories. It didn’t take him long; as I recall he had a fantastic memory. Sam stood and reached out his arms.
“Joe! I am ever so happy to see you again! You hardly look a bit different than you did fifty years ago.” We embraced.
I laughed and replied, “You are gracious as ever, Sam; many hairs on my head now gone, and a grey beard, and yet, you still recognize me. This is very kind of you.”reminded me of my friend of fifty years ago, Sam Steele.
He chuckled, “The years do make difference for many people, but for you, not that much.”
“May I sit with you awhile, Sam, or are you waiting for someone?” In saying this I tried to be respectful of the possibility that he was not alone.
“Why, certainly; please sit down. I am here alone; Laura passed away several years ago, if that is what you were inferring.”
Sam and I began by speaking about personal affairs; and then we drifted into telling brief stories of our fifty year journey since we last saw each other. We had a grand time visiting, enjoying one another’s company and listening to stories.
After this, Sam said, “Joe, I have certainly remained solidly attached to my Baptist beliefs through the years, but it appears you have drifted far from what I remember your faith to be. I’d like to hear why this is so.”
A fifty-year journey of the spirit is difficult to condense into a short conversation; therefore, when Sam asked his question, I paused, wondering how I could best answer it. Quietly, in my mind, I said a prayer, asking guidance for words to speak. Then I proceeded.
“Sam, we became friends because we both shared a mutual love for Jesus. We differed in what this meant and how best to interpret this love; but we respected each other’s perspective.”
“Yes, this is true, Joe. Frankly, I always admired your rather uncomplicated love for Jesus, but privately wondered why you were not Baptist instead of Presbyterian.”
We both laughed heartily.
“My love has not diminished, Sam” I continued. “In fact, through the years it has grown deeper. Allow me to ask you a question; you do not need to answer, but let me ask it. Then I will proceed.”
“Yes, of course, Joe.”
“Imagine, if you will, that you are able to transport yourself 2000 years back to the time when Jesus lived. You find him sitting alone on a hillside. His companions are occupied elsewhere. You walk up to Jesus and he invites you to sit with him, in the same manner as you asked me to sit with you on this bench. You talk and Jesus makes it clear that he is aware of the date and times where you now live, and where you come from. You talk awhile longer, and then you feel moved to ask him a question. Naturally, he invites your question.
“You continue and say, ‘Jesus, do we have it right, or do we have it all wrong as to how we understand you and your message?’’”
Sam did not immediately reply. I remained silent. After a moment of silence I continued.
“I have a feeling that your thoughts are not too unlike my own. If I were to do what I asked you to do, I believe I would sit on the hillside with Jesus with a thought to be ready to listen to the Master. I would not argue with him or offer him my opinions and theologies. I believe I would feel that I was sitting in the Presence of Pure, Unconditional Love. I would want to listen closely and very attentively to his words.”
“I think you are right, Joe; I believe that is what I would do too. I would want to listen very carefully to his words.”
“And Sam, would you further agree that the kind of listening you would do pertains more to the inner heart than to the brain?”
“Yes, or as the Bible says, ‘He that hath ears to hear, let him hear’. I believe this is what you are referencing.”
“In a real sense, Sam, I have been trying to do exactly this my entire life. I did not last long in either the Presbyterian Church or the Pentecostal Church because I was always much more interested in listening beyond words. Theological systems and church dogma never held my interest long, nor did doctrines and confessional statements.”
“Are you saying that the salvation of your soul was never a deep concern of yours, Joe?”
“Why, of course it was, Sam. That is precisely why I was open to listen to the message from the Pentecostal Church. They seemed to have an experience of God to back up their words. Yet, after a period of time, I saw this as absent of abiding love as any other Christian church group that I am knowledgeable about. It was a fear-based belief system because Christianity generally is based on fear, and represents a distorted understanding of Jesus and his message.”
“Well, Joe, you are certainly making a strong statement. Are you able to back this up?”
In silence I admitted to myself that Sam’s question backed me up on my heels. Thus, once again, I became very quiet. I wanted to see Sam through eyes of truth and not of judgment.
Continuing after what seemed to me like a rather long pause, I said, “Sam, for a moment, let us suppose that archaeologists recently unearthed an ancient document, more ancient than the Nag Hammadi Library and the Dead Sea Scrolls. What if this document was authenticated beyond a shadow of doubt and proved that the New Testament we have held so dear is in fact in error? Wouldn’t this somehow be the answer to your question to Jesus, ‘Do we have it right?’”
“It might be, but I know of no such document.”
“Yet, you admit that if there were such an archaeological discovery, then the possibility might exist that we do have it wrong. Since there are no such records, you say that such a possibility does not exist. Is this correct?”
“Yes.”
“What I am saying is that there is such a document on the earth now; but it is not an ancient document. Though this document was not known to the general public before 1976, it is new, not old. In fact, it did not exist prior to 1972, except on typewritten pages. However, I myself did not come to know about this document until 2004, long after it was finally made public and published as a book.”
“Joe, are you saying that Jesus came back to earth in 1972, and gave a new message to the world?”
“No Sam, I did not say that. But I will say that a message from Jesus came to the humanity, starting in 1965, and it was finally disseminated to the world in 1976, in the form of a book.”
“Have you seen this book and read it?”
“I started to read it in 2004. But I will not tell you the name of this book, at least not yet. I want to get back to your original question as to how I moved away from the Christian faith.”
“Sam, you knew me at a time in my life when I was a Presbyterian minister. You did not know me when I became a Pentecostal. I think I need to talk about this very briefly. I wrote a book about this; if you are interested you can pick it up at Barnes and Noble, or on your computer at Amazon dot com.”
Sam asked, “And how would I find your book?”
“If you search on the Internet, just enter my name and you’ll find it. Now, allow me to continue and I will tell you a condensed version.
“In 1973 I experienced an extremely powerful conversion in the desert outside of Tucson. This experience came at the culmination of months of conversation with a friend in the office where I worked.
“You have a better grasp on particular Bible verses than I; I have become a bit rusty in this department. But perhaps I can capture the essence of the verse I am thinking about. The Book of Ephesians was once my favorite. Thus, in the desert experience I am referring to, I was reading Ephesians. I came to a verse which enabled me to make a decision to align with the Pentecostals. The verse I was reading is this:
Awake thou that sleepest, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.
“Did I quote it correctly, Sam?”
“Yes, you quoted it perfectly.”
“I cannot begin to tell you the depth of intensity in my experience when I read those words. In short, I interpreted those words and my experience as a direct sign to me that I should move my allegiance to the Pentecostals. I did this, and stayed with them for almost 14 years.
“And then, in the fall of 1986, after many months of deep questioning of our basic doctrines, I finally departed the Pentecostal Church. I returned to the Presbyterian Church but to stay was not to be so. Other directions were calling to me.”
I paused and then said, “Sam, this is the point in the telling others my story where I have lost the open ear of a few of my Christian friends.”
“And why do you feel this happened, Joe?”
“Because this is the point in my journey where I decided to look within for the answers I was seeking. In other words, Sam, I walked away from organized Christianity. It has been many years since I last stepped inside a church building.”
“And did you find what you were looking for?”
“Let’s say that truth found me. By this I mean to say that by looking within, I became open to hear the voice of Jesus as I never heard it before. Let me make it clearer, Sam. I am not saying that others must do what I did. This is just how it happened for me; it is my story. I am not suggesting that a person must leave the church or religion of their choice in order to hear Jesus. The new message of Jesus is not a religion or the beginning of a new religious movement. The purpose of the new message of Jesus is not to start a new church.”
Sam looked at his watch and said, “Well, Joe, I won’t turn you off. It is only ten o’clock. I don’t have to meet my son for another hour. I’m interested in hearing more of your story, if you have the time.”
“Thank you, Sam. I think the story gets more interesting as it goes along.” With this encouragement, I continued.
“Looking back,” I said, “I feel that my journey dovetails beautifully with the story Jesus told about the prodigal son. And this parable, in my mind, connects with the verse in the book of Ephesians which I already quoted.”
“Sam, you probably know this parable by heart.” After saying this I then asked him, “Do you mind telling it now?”
“Do you want me to quote it or tell it in my own words?”
“Either way you choose will be fine.”
“Alright; I’ll tell it the way I like to use it.”
Sam continued and said, “There once was a father whose son wanted his inheritance. The father gave it to him. This son went into the world and spent his fortune carelessly. Over a period of time, the son lost everything he had and turned to tending and feeding pigs for a living. One day he came to himself and thought about his father’s house and his servants. Even my father’s servants fare better than me, he thought. I’ll go back to my father’s house and tell him I am no longer worthy to be his son, and ask if I might be one of his hired servants.
“When this son returned to his father he was in for a big surprise. His father rejoiced to see his son’s return; happily and completely his father received him back into his home as his son. There was great celebration in his father’s house the day his son returned.”
“Sam, thank you; that was beautiful. I notice you did not add the reference to the elder son.”
“I didn’t because I don’t believe it belongs to this parable. It’s not important.”
“I don’t either; it just doesn’t fit the story. I think it was added.”
“Me too.”
“The way I see it, Sam,” I continued, “the son is none other than me and you and every other person that lives now or ever lived or will live. We already are God’s Son; we don’t need any sort of magic to make us into something which we already are. We may liken our present life to a dream; all we need to do is remember who we are and return to our right mind. When we do this—when we remember who and what we really are—we will be home with our Father in an instant.
“Christianity has taken this simple message of Jesus and added all sorts of conditions and demands, until people are absolutely confused by all the complicated and dissimilar messages church groups propagate in His Name. It is no wonder that there are over 20,000 different church groups, each one thinking their interpretation of Jesus is right.
“In the parable of the prodigal son we are not told that the son is bad, evil or a sinner; the son is not judged. There is no indication that he ever lost his place as the son. He was not required to do anything except to return to his right mind.
“Thus, Jesus taught a message which said that each person is a Son of God, and together we are the One Son of God. Jesus never pointed to himself as unique and different, the only Son of God. Where He welcomes our respect and honor, it is only because he is the first to see and live this truth about our identity completely and fully. He never commanded or invited worship and homage.
“The message of Jesus is simply this: Awake! Remember who and what you really are.”
“Joe, is this the new message of Jesus, and it is in the book you are now studying?”
“This is only tip of the iceberg, Sam. What I have told you thus far barely scratches the surface of His message. I feel that what I have told you is hardly close to an adequate introduction; the reason this is so is because His message is much deeper than can be said in the brief words I have used.”
Looking at my watch, I continued, “Sam, I realize we don’t have that much more time to talk, so I want to move on to something that helps summarize my attachment to the new message of Jesus.
“When I first started to read the new spiritual document of Jesus, I came across a sentence which has meant so much to me that I try to remember to say it every day. It appears in the form of a prayer and this is it:
“I thank you, Father, for Your Perfect Son, and in his glory will I see my own.”
“I believe it is a prayer which you could easily say; don’t you agree?”
“Yes, Joe, it is very thoughtfully phrased,” Sam replied.
“What or Who came to your mind when you first heard me say the words?”
“Why, Jesus, of course!”
“Yes, I totally agree. And I thought this way for perhaps the first seven or eight months that I was reading and studying the book. Then, one day, it dawned on me that Jesus is not referencing only himself. In fact, He is asking me, through the use of these and other words in the book, to see with new eyes my own true identity. Like the prodigal son, I thought I lost my identity; yet I cannot lose something that is mine and yours forever.
“The parable of the prodigal son is not a wisp of smoke which disappears into the air. It tells us the truth about who and what we are. It is not just that we may say, ‘we are all God’s children’. It goes much deeper than this. I now say with certainty, I am the Son of God. And Sam, you are the Son of God. We are One; together we are One with Jesus.
“Thus, when I stopped one day to consider this prayer again, I began to see that I am to thank our Father for the vision and revelation of the True Son, allowing me to see His glory, which is my own.”
“Aren’t you making yourself equal to Jesus?” Sam asked.
“Jesus maintains his position as first, and therefore, my elder brother. But I no longer worship and venerate him as special and different from my own essential reality.”
I continued, “Sam, Christianity took the body of Jesus and made it important, whereas Jesus placed no such significance on his own body. In fact, when he seemed to die on the Cross, he did so in order to show that the body is meaningless. We turned all this around, making detailed and complicated doctrines and dogmas about his death, burial and resurrection.
“The true reality about the Son of God is not about the body, yours or mine, or the body of Jesus. We have it upside down. What we call real, this body,” I said as I slapped my leg, “is not the real, but only an illusion. Going further, the world we do see with our physical eye is not real at all. This is why there is a great cloud over our eyes covering out true identity. This world was made in order to assure us that we do not see our glory as the perfect Son of God. Our real identity is invisible to these human eyes. Thus, what I told you earlier about the identity of the Son of God can be wrongly understood.”
“What are you referring to, Joe? I am not following what you are saying.”
“I said, ‘I am a Son of God, and so are you.’ This is true; yet in saying this I am not making the human being the Son. Our Sonship is beyond this world of homo sapiens. Our body is not the temple of Christ.
“In fact, to be blunt, we are living a dream, Sam, and the new document of Jesus calls to us to awake from our dream life and return home.”
Sam smiled at me, “Joe, this is very radical thought. Are you suggesting Jesus taught his disciples correctly, yet they did not fully grasp it, and therefore did not adequately represent his true message in our Gospels?”
“It is not that the writers of the New Testament did not adequately represent the true message of Jesus; they actually distorted it to such a degree that the message of Jesus is not present at all.”
“Joe, I can see now why a few of your other Christian friends broke off conversations with you. If what you say is true, it would completely change the way our churches speak about Jesus.”
“And there is much more; as I said, I have barely touched the vast depth of the new message of Jesus.”
Sam asked, “In this document, does Jesus attack the churches and Christianity?”
“No, Sam, he certainly does not. Attack in any form whatsoever is never justified, he tells his students. And he exemplifies this in the way he presents his message. In a most loving way, he brings correction to our thoughts and beliefs.”
“And what about salvation? From what I hear you say, salvation is not an issue. And I take it there is no need to evangelize and proselytize.”
“These are good questions, Sam, and would require more time than we have right now. We do not proselytize and evangelize. There is no need to do this. Each of us has the Master Teacher within us; you do, Sam,” and I pointed toward other people walking in the park, “everyone has the Inner Teacher within them. It is a matter of each person taking the time to listen to the quiet Voice within. Yet, this task of listening is nearly impossible. It is the key issue of our life and is one of the central teachings in the new message of Jesus. As to salvation, yes, it is discussed widely in the book. But I may add that it is redefined from what you and I are familiar with. You’ll have to read it for yourself, Sam.
“There is one thing that has inspired me more than anything else in the new message of Jesus. Yet I hesitate to say this, because there are so many great things within its pages. Nonetheless, in one place he says the following words:
Nothing he can do can compare even in the slightest with the glorious surprise of remembering Who he is.
“There is no accomplishment or ability a man may achieve in his lifetime that will ever come close to this experience of recognizing his True Identity. When we remember Who and What we are, everything else in this life pales in comparison. The Son will awake, of this we are certain.”
After a brief pause, Sam looked to the end of the park and stood up, saying, “I see my son heading this way. Will you now give me the name of this new book before I leave?”
I stood with Sam and replied, “Yes, Sam, the name of this book is called, A Course in Miracles. And as I said earlier, it is not a book to start a new religion or to establish a church. It is a self-study course; the Teacher is Jesus, who is within you.”
“Very, very interesting; I promise I will look into this. Thank you so much” and reaching his arms toward me, he said, “It was indeed a blessing to see you again, Joe, and to listen to your story. I see very plainly that Jesus is still very real to you.”
We embraced as brothers, and I replied, saying, “Samuel, in the quietness of your deepest inner silence, the words I have spoken this morning will be confirmed. Blessings to you in your journey.”
Sam turned and walked briskly toward his son.
When Sam walked away, I paused for a short time and then turned and walked the other direction toward my car. As I walked I thought about Sam and asked myself, “Hmm, I wonder why I used the name Samuel when I said what I did to him? I wonder if he caught this too.”
_______________________________
Next: One Year Later