THE TIME OF CHRIST
A Course In Miracles (reference pages)
Chapter 15 – Section – THE TIME OF CHRIST
1 Sparkly Book – p.371 / JCIM – p.155 / CIMS – p. 312
Chapter 15 – Section – THE TIME OF REBIRTH
First Edition – p. 301 / Second Edition – p. 324
It IS in your power, in TIME, to delay the perfect union of the Father and the Son. For in this world, the attraction of guilt DOES stand between them.1
Which means it stands between you and your Father . . .
. . . the attraction of guilt . . .
Of course, you don’t like to think about yourself being guilty, but you don’t mind thinking about your fellowman as being guilty and making him pay for his guilt, or getting even for him with it because of his guilt, or neglecting to forfeit and abandon the expression of anger that your brother so clearly deserves.
It IS in your power, in TIME, . .
. . . not eternity, but . . .
in TIME, to delay the perfect union of the Father and the Son. For in this world, the attraction of guilt DOES stand between them.
It keeps all of you pre-occupied. Now, . .
Neither time nor season means anything in eternity. But here, it is the Holy Spirit’s function to use them both, though not as the ego uses them.
In other words, the Holy Spirit can use those things which find no real place in eternity to help you Wake up. And so, the Holy Spirit uses time and the Holy Spirit uses seasons, and the Holy Spirit uses seasonings to make delicious food many times to cause you to have an enlightening experience or an occasion for an “Ah-ha” to occur. The Holy Spirit can turn anything in your experience to your advantage whether those things have any place in the eternal scheme of things or not. And the Holy Spirit does.
Now we could say, continuing:
This is [almost] the season . . .
. . . but the actual words are:
This is the season when you would celebrate my birth into the world.
At the time that I was dictating this to Helen, it was that season, which was the reason for discussing the fact that the Holy Spirit can use time and season, you see? So . . .
This is the season when you would celebrate my birth into the world. Yet you know not how to do it.
Be willing to live with that statement.
Yet you know not how to do it.
Learning to use the holy instant is part of how to do it, as you’ll find out.
Let the Holy Spirit teach you, . .
. . . how to do it.
Let the Holy Spirit teach you, and let me celebrate YOUR birth through Him. The only gift I can accept of you is the gift I GAVE to you. Release ME as I will YOUR release. The time of Christ we celebrate TOGETHER, for it has no meaning if we are apart.
This is very literal.
The time of Christ we celebrate TOGETHER, for it has no meaning if we are apart.
If you see me as having been born two thousand years ago and having lived for thirty-three years and then left, no longer available to walk with you and chat with you as I did with my disciples, and you gather around Christmas trees and in churches and sing Christmas carols and praises of God relative to my coming and my leaving, all without a sense of my actual presence that you would have if we were walking and chatting together, then it has no meaning because we are apart. And everything you’re doing is in remembrance of an event you’ve heard about but not an actual experience you’ve had.
The time of Christ we celebrate TOGETHER, for it has no meaning if we are apart.
Wow . . . so that’s why you know not how to do it, because you’re doing it without being with me. You’re doing it without taking the steps that allow for the joining to occur. You’re doing it without abandoning your orphanhood and the very firm beliefs you have about being alone and on your own and probably not the effect of an eternal God at all.
The holy instant is truly the time of Christ.
Not two thousand years ago. The time . . .
The holy instant is truly the time of Christ. For in this liberating instant no guilt is laid upon the Son of God, and his unlimited power is thus restored to him.
Very key point. Guilt takes your unlimited power away from you. Guilt obscures it from you. Guilt causes you to believe with fervor and commitment, nothing but weakness. But in the holy instant . . .
. . . no guilt is laid upon the Son of God, and his unlimited power is thus restored to him.
That is how you celebrate the season, truly causing the season to actually have Meaning because it gives entrance into the world to the Christ . . . to me through you, thus illuminating the Christ of you in the world. That means everything “in the world” has changed.
What other gift . . .
. . . than unlimited power . . .
. . . can you offer me, when only this I will to offer YOU?
You see? That was my reason for being present. That is still my reason for being with you. I will for you to know who you Are. Because I know it’s impossible for you not to know who you Are. It is impossible for you to actually have forgotten. It is impossible for you to actually be insane. And I’m here to speak to you, to talk to you, to be with you, to chat with you in this fashion and we’ll say, within your own mind, so that you know you’re not alone. And that because of Who is speaking to you, you may realize that you’re worthy of being spoken to by Him and in that realization it can begin to dawn upon you that you are truly my Brothers or Sisters, that we both have the same Inheritance. We both have the same Birthright.
Now I’m going to back up a moment because the fact is that you all know you need miracles. You all know that there are circumstances in your lives that deserve to be changed for the better no matter what seems to have brought the situations into existence. You see. No matter what causes there seem to have been, they cannot legitimately obscure the Presence of God Being everything there. And they cannot have any power to cause God to be invisible and lose His Presence-impossible.
If you want to see transformation, then you’ve got to be willing to be in the instant with different goals, with different motives than the ones you normally have. And when you abandon yourself into the holy instant, having left the past behind, and therefore carrying forward no grievances and abandoning any thoughts of the future and fear that might be associated with it, you are in a place of innocence and you are in a place where you have absolutely no control. And when you allow yourself to be there humbly and with faith that there is a God, and you wish to know of God what the truth is or you wish of God for Him to reveal to you the truth, and you bring no force into it, just watch your experience transform. Just watch what you couldn’t possibly have brought into existence or what you couldn’t possibly have caused to happen, happen or appear.
But again, I have to ask, “What will it take? What is needed in order for you to engage in the holy instant?”
What other gift can you offer me, when only this I will to offer YOU? And to see me is to see me in everyone, and offer everyone the gift you offer me.
Oh boy . . .
And to see me is to see me in everyone, . .
So, you’re in a line in the grocery store and somebody behind you has gotten pissed off with you-says you’re taking too long or with so many groceries why didn’t you get in another line or whatever-and is making a fool of himself and a scene and embarrassing you . . . Oh-h boy . . .
And to see me is to see me in everyone, . .
. . . everyone right at that instant! What is it going to take for you to be willing to enter into the holy instant when you’re embarrassed, you know? What is it going to take to cause you to abandon your embarrassment, to disregard how you think the event is making you look to everyone else? That seems very important, doesn’t it. That seems more important than your sanity or a miracle, right? If you’re not careful, it does . . . and it sucks you right in and you make commitment to that.
And so the question is, “What will it take for you to enter into the holy instant, to avail yourself of the holy instant in which God’s laws prevail and not the bad behavior of some fellow, and not the misunderstanding of everyone else who’s observing?” You see, that isn’t what prevails in the holy instant. But what will it take for you to engage in or indulge in the holy instant right on the spot there?
See, this is where it counts, this is where it matters, this is where you get off the wheel of history and you just don’t repeat the old habits-habits you may have made up for yourself or habits which you may have copied from your parents or your friends or your relatives. You see?
I am as incapable of receiving sacrifice as God is, and every sacrifice you ask of yourself you ask of me.
Oh yeah, you know,you do penance by sacrificing. Or you are sure that because you’re so awful-you’re such a bad orphan-that you need to engage in some obediences which constitute giving up something for a period of time.
But you know what? When you engage in sacrifice, especially for pious reasons, for spiritual reasons, you are withholding your Self, you are unwilling to stand in receipt of the Father’s Love . . . “Behold it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom,” not withhold it from you. And it’s not the Father’s good pleasure for you to say, “I will not receive it because I have been a bad boy and I’m going to engage in sacrifice for awhile and not receive the Gift.” And then you come to me and you pray to me or you say you want to enter into the holy instant, but you enter into the holy instant as this poor orphan who is dutifully sacrificing in one way or another.
So you’re not giving your whole Self to me, you’re not bringing yourself fully into the relationship with me, and obviously you cannot be bringing all of yourself as you truly Are into any of the relationships you’re in with your fellowman.
I am as incapable of receiving sacrifice as God is, . .
. . . so don’t waste your time indulging in it . . .
. . . and every sacrifice you ask of yourself you ask of me.
But [chuckling] I’m not going to agree and I’m not going to join you.
Learn NOW that sacrifice of any kind is nothing but a limitation imposed on giving. And by this limitation you have limited acceptance of the gift I offer YOU.
The gift I offer you is the acknowledgement-the full true acknowledgement-of what you divinely Are, of what you truly Are. And I know It with God’s Mind. And I want you to know It about your Self with God’s Mind. Because in giving you the Kingdom, God has not withheld His Mind from you and His perspective is your Birthright to be experiencing. That’s the gift I offer you. That’s the gift you need to offer back to me.
It’s like saying, “Hey, Brother.” And you say, “Hey, Brother.” And we acknowledge each other knowing who we Are and Who the other Is, you see?
If this doesn’t happen in your exchanges with your brotherwho you can see, or your sister or your class mate or your work buddy, you know, if you don’t do this with them, if you can’t do this with them, you’re missing out and you’re disallowing for a different kind of experience-a healed experience, a miraculous experience-one in which things reconfigure in a manner that you could only describe as glorifying God . . . glorifying good.
And yet these things are happening . . . these things are happening. These things happened last week . . . the week before . . . they will happen next week, because some of you will take the opportunity-usually out of a severe feeling of incapacity in the face of great need-to enter into the holy instant and join with the Father and ask for help, and give up control.
But these experiences need to be more frequent, so that they can begin to register with you as being more normal than what you’ve been experiencing, so that you, with less resistance, embrace them. You see?
We who are one CANNOT give separately.
How can that which is one give separately? You and I are Brothers and Sisters. We are kin. When we truly give, we can’t give alone. We can’t think that we’re indulging in a private act that no one else is experiencing, except perhaps the individual toward whom that act is being extended. That isn’t the way it works.
We who are one CANNOT give separately. When you are willing to accept OUR relationship . . .
. . . yours and mine. When Paul is willing to accept our relationship, his and mine as real. And because I’m your Brother, every single one of you has this relationship with me.
When you are willing to accept OUR relationship as real, guilt will hold NO attraction for you.
Well, there’s a goal for you that you haven’t been engaging in . . . to accept our relationship as real . . . I mean, really, Real-as real as a relationship you think you could have with Paul because he’s here where you are and you think I am somewhere else.
When you are willing to accept OUR relationship as real, guilt will hold NO attraction for you.
And so I ask, what will it take to let that be a goal instead of getting even, or instead of protecting yourself or any of the other things you do? How about having that for a goal, and what would it take to do it.
For in our union you will accept ALL of our brothers. The gift of union is the only gift that I was born to give. Give it to me, that YOU may have it.
You see, I’m Real and I gave the gift. And the gift was given to all Brothers, all Sisters, not just my disciples and not just those who were on your planet at that time, but to all of the Brotherhood.
The gift of union is the only gift that I was born to give. Give it to me, that YOU may have it.
Give to me your recognition that I am Real and that I am your Brother. And then you’ll know who you Are-not an orphan-A holy Son of God, a holy Daughter of God.
Give it to me, that YOU may have it.
Acknowledge that I’m Real and I’m your Brother, and then you’ll know you’re my Brother and you’ll know who you Are and you will have It.
The time of Christ is the time appointed for the gift of freedom, offered to everyone.
[Repeats] . . . offered to everyone.
Why, what, today, tonight, just now? No, it was the gift that was given two thousand years ago. It was the meaning of what happened. And it has forever since been the meaning.
The time of Christ is the time appointed for the gift of freedom, offered to everyone.
Now, the time of Christ is also the holy instant. So the holy instant . . .
. . . is the time appointed for the gift of freedom, offered to everyone.
It is the point in which, where God’s laws prevail, you experience your freedom and you behave as though you’re free and are a new presence in the world. And therefore, the gift of freedom is being made, is being given in the world like it hasn’t been before. You see? And the Christ is present. And so the season-the meaning of the season-is embodied, manifest.
And by YOUR acceptance of it, you have OFFERED it to everyone.
You know what?
It IS in your power to make this season holy, for it is in your power to make the time of Christ be NOW.
Not off in the future, you see. That’s the way to “celebrate the Season,” by making the time of Christ be NOW. And by making the time of Christ be now by joining with me, letting me, through the Holy Spirit, reveal your right Mind to you and your true Identity to you, so that you become in expression the Christ that you Are, rather than a pretence of an orphan that you aren’t. You see?
Now, I’ve been asking, “What will it take?” And you may have been thinking about this as I’ve been speaking. And you might have come to the conclusion that it’s going to take a catastrophe, or that it’s going to take some world shaking event, or it’s going to take something significant enough to grab your attention-to, in so many words, force you to do it.
Well, it’s simpler than that. The answer is, that what it’s going to take for you to engage in the holy instant is Love.
You might say, “Wow, where is that going to come from?” And it’s a good question. It’s a good question for you to be asking with all seriousness, with all intent to have the answer. And it’s an answer, for lack of better words, that you’re going to have to come up with. It’s not an answer I’m going to give you. And it’s not an answer that anyone else is going to give you.
Where is the willingness to Love going to come from, out of the blue, while you’re in the checkout stand at the grocery store, or when somebody else has gotten upset with you, or you feel justified with being upset with someone else? It’s going to come from somewhere. And it just might have something to do with, um-m . . . dare I say, there being an unreasonable willingness to Love right then, right there. I’m not going to say anything more than that.
The question . . . the significant question is, “What’s it going to take for you to engage in the holy instant?” And the answer is, “What it’s going to take is Love.”
And you know what? I’m going to be blatantly clear with you, each one of you has it in you. I know that from time to time you’ve taken my counsel and you’ve said, “I wish to see the evidence of Love,” and you’ve also said, “I wish to be the evidence of Love.” What’s it going to take for you to go ahead and be the evidence of Love?
And please keep in mind, there’s only going to be one answer. And the answer is going to be the way to do it. It’s not going to be, “Well, you don’t really have the capacity to do it.” The answer won’t be, “Well, you’re going to have to refine your soul for a few more lifetimes before you can do it.” No. The answer won’t be the ways in which it can’t happen. It’s already in you. And the answer will be how it can . . . the answer will be what spontaneously slips into the doing of it.
Now, letting this question be foremost in your mind and abiding with it with attentiveness to the answer is a goal that you haven’t ordinarily engaged in, in your life. It’s a different kind of goal. And it is the different kind of goal that is more typical of what you divinely Are. And it’s a goal for you to be willing to embrace with gratitude and commitment. And it’s a question to be asked in the grocery line. And it’s a question to be asked in every single encounter you have with your Brother.
Now the question isn’t, “What will it take,” because now you know that it’ll take Love. The question is, “Where will the Love come from? What will cause It to slip into expression so that the embodiment of the Christ happens in the grocery store? Christmas happens while you’re standing in front of the clerk as she tallies up your groceries, whether it’s June or December.
Don’t think too much about this. When you’re in the grocery store line and something happens, ask, “Where’s the Love going to come from that will allow me to enter into the holy instant right now?” Ask the question as though you expect an answer right there in that grocery line-not after you’ve loaded your groceries in the car and gotten half way home-because I’m there and the Holy Spirit is there and the Will of God is there for you to find that Love and let it out-embody It!
We will end there tonight. And although I am always with you and have been, and the Holy Spirit, of course, is inseparable from you and the Father is inseparable from you, I want you to know that during this coming week, we are specifically engaged in consciously being with you in support of the holy instants that await you at any given moment. You have Great support . . . you have Great support.
~*~
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