"And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, 'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.'

And he replied, 'Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.'

So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night. And He led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East."

by Minnie Louise Haskins

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From a sermon by Rev. Emily Jane Lemole:

Readings:

• Isaiah 26:1-4, 42:5-8
• Matthew 7:7-14
• Revelation 22:14
• Arcana Coelestia 2851

We are standing at the Gate of the Year, a threshold to the unknown in many ways. “Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”

We read many passages from the Word and the Writings about gates. Gates provide a connection between what is inside and what is outside. They suggest a choice – whether to open or shut it – whether to come in or stay out.

A closed gate makes us hesitate and stop. In this Sufi saying the gates provide thoughtfulness and reflection about what we say:

Before you speak, let your words pass through three gates.

1. At the first gate, ask yourself, “is it true?”

2. At the second ask, “is it necessary?”

3. At the third gate ask “is it kind?”

How best to begin this New Year? There are the usual resolutions – to lose weight, be healthier, be more organized, and spend more time with loved ones. But there are deeper resolutions or intentions that are crying out for a new start, a fresh beginning.

Number 1: Putting God in the center of our lives – seeing the Lord Jesus Christ as the beginning, middle and end of our day. A good habit is to pray – a lifting up of our perspective – of our priorities – several times a day. Even the physical action of looking up and pausing can shift an annoyed, resentful mood into a moment of correction – a turnaround of most of what we fuss about.

"Sub specie aeternitatis" is a great reminder. Under the auspices of eternity – what matters? Not most of what worries and upsets us. In the long view, with God at the center, what really matters becomes evident and what doesn’t diminishes.

So how do we put our hand into the hand of God? How do we open the gates of our minds and hearts to all that is good and true, wise, kind and peaceful? How do we shut the door to selfishness, unkindness, resentfulness, ingratitude and violence? By what we do every day.

“The way we do anything is the way we do everything,” says Fr. Richard Rohr, the Franciscan priest.

What do we pay attention to and give our time to? What do we love?

A New Year seems a good time to take inventory, a reflection on last year, not so much what we have accomplished as who we are becoming. What matters most to us? What are our priorities? Or as Swedenborg would ask, What do we love? For we are what we love!

We learn that there are two gates that are in each of us:

1. The Gate to Heaven, surrounded by angels, leads to what is good and what is true.

2. And the Gate to Hell, surrounded by evil spirits, leads to what is evil and false.

These gates are in us. We get to choose, and what determines our choice? What we love!

Every year, every week, every day, every moment we have the freedom to choose who we are, what brings us pleasure, how we spend our precious time – what we love and how we love.

And let’s remember that if we don’t honestly like what we see in our inventory, we can repent! Turn around! Change our direction! Change our minds! Change our loves!

Swedenborg describes what we cannot see – our spiritual companions – the company we keep and are for the most part unaware of. Like guests, they come by invitation.

We are surrounded by spiritual guests, invited by our states of mind and heart: Through the Heavenly Gates come the angels and good spirits; from the Hellish Gates come the evil or bad spirits. My high school Latin teacher used to refer to these as the “Basement Boys”.

It is out of fashion today to speak of evil, guilt, repentance or hell. These terms have become obsolete, uncomfortable and ones we really don’t want to be reminded of. But from everything Swedenborg teaches, these are spiritual realities.

Evil is very much alive and well in our world (if one reads the papers and watches TV) and in each one of us, recognized with some introspection! When we honestly become aware of our own intentions and emotions, we know this!

Evil, with its twin, falsity, is everything that is against God, that is selfish, dishonest, greedy, mean and cruel. But evil can also appear with a deceptive face – we can justify our resentments, our ingratitude, our unforgiving stance. Sin means missing the mark, the mark being God. All that draws us away from God makes us miss that mark!

Guilt – a very necessary emotion that makes us want to repent – not to wallow in, but to lead us to repentance – to persuade us to change course!

And evil spirits – these are the very real spiritual companions that we are told are fighting for our attention, and in the end, for our spiritual life. We are in the balance. We are between two gates.

An ancient Buddhist proverb teaches: Everyone is given the key to the Gates of Heaven; the same key opens the Gates of Hell.” The key is what we love.

Every decision we make feeds either our proprium (our unregenerate will) or feeds our "remains" – that inviolate treasure, a storehouse of all the good and true things we have experienced since before birth. Remains are our birthright, and we draw from it and add to it forever with true thoughts and good deeds.

Since the number one focus of most New Year’s resolutions is to lose weight (and I’m not against that, if needed) let’s try to use that concept for a spiritual weight loss – losing the burden of negative emotion, the bad habits of criticism, complaint, gossip, irritation, annoyance, being easily offended, anger – the list we know goes on and on. The diet for this weight loss is good thoughts, honest behavior, truthful intentions. Turning off the bad news, turning on the good news. Supporting a hopeful optimism that encourages others; kind acts that look for no return.

Think on these things, Paul writes in his letter to the Philippians.

“Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy meditate on these things.” Philippians 4:8.

And the exercise required for this transformation of the soul’s health is spiritual practice – the exercise that brings the abstract into the real, the doing of what we say we believe. Perhaps this year we can embrace a spiritual exercise:

- Meditation

- Prayer

- Lectio Devina – slow, purposeful reading of Scripture and other Holy Books.

A dear friend of mine makes a habit of thinking about which type of spirits are influencing her, and then asking the Lord to send away the harmful influences, when there. Also, she has developed a practice of thanking the Lord for all good things when they happen.

We can open the Gates of Heaven. Angels can rush in at any time that we cause the gates to swing open by loving what is good, what is true, the Lord and one another. These choices open those gates.

We all need reminders to help us make the right choices. We forget so quickly and are distracted by the loud noise of our times. We are plugged into T.V., radio, our computers, phones and i-pads -- a secular culture that is immersed in what is natural, not spiritual. But it is not natural for us to turn away and turn toward God and the Heavenly gates. It is unnatural. It is spiritual. Here are a few reminders that I have found helpful.

SET A TIME FOR AN APPOINTMENT WITH THE LORD: Every morning and before bedtime are two commonly used times to reserve for the Lord. When feeling angry, raise your thoughts and vision upward, and ask for the angels at the gate for assistance. Try a phrase learned from one of our daughter’s friends: Bless and release! Work toward seeing God in everyone and in all things.

Let ugly states pass – bless your enemies, remembering that those who disagree or dislike us are likely our best spiritual teachers. We can see our response to them, usually a response that mirrors the behavior that irritates us. Love our enemies, we are told, as well as our neighbor.

We need to watch our thoughts.

From the Ancient Vedas:

"Watch your thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become actions. Watch your actions, they become habits. Watch your habits, they become character. Watch your character, it becomes your destiny."

Most important is to detect what we love, for that will determine which gate we hang around, and later, enter.

How auspicious it is that we have Holy Communion as we enter the New Year. What better way to begin, seeking first the kingdom of Heaven – putting what matters most into the forefront?

This is a beautiful prayer by Sister Joyce Rupp:

SACRED MYSTERY,

Waiting on the threshold

of this new year,

you open the gates

And beckon to me:

(You say) “Come! Come!

Be not wary of what awaits you

as you enter the unknown terrain,

be not doubtful of your ability

to grow from its joys and sorrows.

For I am with you,

I will be your Guide.

I will be your Protector,

You will never be alone.”

Guardian of this new year,

I set aside my fears, worries, concerns,

I open my life to mystery, to beauty,

to hospitality to questions,

to the endless opportunity

of discovering you in my relationships,

and to all the silent wisps of wonder

that will draw me to your heart.

I welcome your unfailing Presence

And walk with hope into this New Year.

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“Go out into the darkness, and put your hand into the hand of God.”

It really matters as we stand at the Gate of the New Year whose hand we will take – whose inspiration we will follow and whose influence may determine who we are becoming.

From Psalm 118:19-20:

“Open to me the gates of righteousness;

I will go through them,

And I will praise the Lord.

This is the gate of the Lord,

By which the righteous shall enter.”

Amen!

(Referenties: Arcana Coelestia 2851 [1-15])

4061. Genesis 31

1. And he ¹ heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, Jacob has taken all that belonged to our father, and from what belonged to our father he has gained all this wealth.

2. And Jacob saw Laban's face, and behold, he was not at all friendly towards him as before. ²

3. And Jehovah said to Jacob, Return to the land of your fathers, and to [the place of] your nativity, and I will be with you.

4. And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field, to his flock.

5. And he said to them, I see your father's face, that it is not at all friendly towards me as before; ³ and the God of my father has been with me.

6. And you yourselves know that with all my strength I have served your father.

7. And your father has deceived me, and has changed my wages in ten ways, and God has not allowed him to do evil to me.

8. If he said thus: The speckled will be your wages, then all the flocks bore speckled. And if he said thus: The variegated will be your wages, then all the flocks bore variegated.

9. And God has taken away your father's cattle and given them to me.

10. And it happened, when the flock came on heat, that I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the he-goats mounting the flock were variegated, speckled, and mottled.

11. And the angel of God said to me in the dream, Jacob. And I said, Behold, here I am.

12. And he said, Lift up now your eyes, and see all the he-goats mounting the flock, variegated, speckled, and mottled; for I have seen everything that Laban is doing to you.

13. I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar, where you made a vow to Me; now rise up, go out of this land, and return to the land of your nativity.

14. And Rachel answered, and Leah, and they said to him, Is there still any portion and inheritance for us in our father's house?

15. Are we not considered strangers by him, for he has sold us, and also completely consumed our money? ⁴

16. For all the riches which God has snatched from our father belong to us and to our sons; and now do everything that God has told you.

17. And Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his womenfolk on camels.

18. And he brought away all his cattle and all his substance which he had gathered, the cattle ⁵ he had purchased, which he had gathered in Paddan Aram, to come to Isaac his father, to the land of Canaan.

19. And Laban had gone to shear his flock, and Rachel stole the teraphim which belonged to her father.

20. And Jacob stole the heart ⁶ of Laban the Aramean by not giving him any indication that he was fleeing.

21. And he fled with all that he had; and he rose up, and crossed the river; and he set his face towards mount Gilead.

22. And it was told to Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled.

23. And he took his brothers with him and pursued him for seven days; ⁵ and he caught up with him on mount Gilead.

24. And God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream by night, and said to him, Take care not to speak to Jacob either good or evil.

25. And Laban overtook Jacob, and Jacob pitched his tent in the mountain, and Laban pitched with his brothers in mount Gilead.

26. And Laban said to Jacob, What have you done, that you have stolen my heart, ⁶ and carried away my daughters like captives taken with the sword?

27. Why was it that you concealed your flight, and stole from me, and gave me no indication; for I might have sent you away with gladness and with songs, and with drums and with harps?

28. And you have not allowed me to kiss my sons and my daughters; now you have acted foolishly in what you have done.

29. Let my hand be for God to do you evil! And the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, Beware of speaking to Jacob either good or evil.

30. And now you have surely gone because you longed greatly for your father's house. But why did you steal my gods?

31. And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid; for I said, Perhaps you will take your daughters from me by force.

32. Anyone with whom you find your gods shall not live in the presence of our brothers. Examine for yourself what is with me, and take them to yourself. And Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

33. And Laban came into Jacob's tent, and into Leah's tent, and into the tent of both servant-girls, and did not find them. And he went out of Leah's tent and came into Rachel's tent.

34. And Rachel had taken the teraphim and put them in the camel's straw, and sat on them. And Laban felt around all the tent and did not find them.

35. And she said to her father, Let there not be any anger in my Lord's eyes, for I cannot rise up before you, for the way of women is upon me. And he searched and did not find the teraphim.

36. And Jacob was incensed and wrangled with Laban; and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my transgression, what is my sin, that you have hotly pursued after me?

37. Because you have felt around all my vessels, what have you found belonging to all the vessels of your house? Put it here in front of my brothers and your brothers, and let them decide between the two of us.

38. These twenty years I have been with you; your sheep and your she-goats have not miscarried, and I have not eaten the rams of your flock.

39. That which was torn [by beasts] I did not bring to you; I myself bore the loss of it; from my hand you required it - that stolen by day and that stolen by night.

40. This is how I was: By day the heat consumed me, and the cold by night; and my sleep was banished from my eyes.

41. These twenty years I have served you in your house - fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock; and you have changed my wages in ten ways.

42. Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Dread of Isaac, had been with me, you would now have sent me away empty-handed. My affliction and the tiredness of my hands ⁸ God has seen, and has given judgement last night.

43. And Laban answered and said to Jacob, The daughters are my daughters, and the sons are my sons, and the flock is my flock, and all that you see is mine. And for my daughters, what am I to do for them today, or for their sons whom they have borne?

44. And now come, let us make a covenant, I and you, and let it be a witness between me and you.

45. And Jacob took a stone and erected it as a pillar.

46. And Jacob said to his brothers, Gather stones; and they took stones and made a heap; and they ate there upon the heap.

47. And Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha; and Jacob called it Galeed.

48. And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and you today; therefore he called its name Galeed -

49. And Mizpah, for he said, Let Jehovah watch between me and you, for we are going to be hidden from each other. ⁹

50. If you afflict my daughters, and if you take wives (femina) besides my daughters, after we have parted from each other ¹⁰ - see, God is witness between me and you.

51. And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold the pillar which I have erected between me and you.

52. This heap is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this heap to you, and that you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me, to do harm.

53. May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor judge ¹¹ between us, the God of their father. And Jacob swore by the Dread of his father Isaac.

54. And Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his brothers to eat bread; and they ate bread and stayed the night in the mountain.

55. And in the morning Laban rose up early, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them; and Laban went and resumed to his place.

CONTENTS

The subject now in the internal sense is the separation of the good and truth which are represented by Jacob and his wives from the good meant by Laban, in order that they might be joined to the Divine coming from a direct Divine stock. The subject is also the state of the two so far as separation is concerned.

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