Sacred Journey. M.K. Welsch
of the world … ” (5749-15) The readings target this date as “ … not as counted from the Roman time, nor that declared to Moses by God, not that same time which was in common usage in that land, but what would now represent January sixth.” (5749-15) Interestingly today we celebrate the sixth of January as the Epiphany, which means “manifestation” or “showing.” The birth of Mary’s child was indeed the revelation to human consciousness of the divine in man and as man.
The readings remind us not to become confused by considering just the physical birth of the baby Jesus. “ … While to you it may seem to be the first Christmas, if it were the first then there would be a last, and you would not worship nor hold to that which passes. Time never was when there was not a Christ, and not a Christ mass,” (262-103) they maintain. The Cayce material goes on to eloquently describe the extraordinary phenomena accompanying that fateful night when a new creation took hold. “All were in awe as the brightness of His star appeared and shone, as the music of the spheres brought that joyful choir, ‘Peace on earth! Good will to men of good faith.’ All felt the vibrations and saw a great light—not only the shepherds above that stable, but those in the Inn as well.” (5749-15) It is said the innkeeper’s daughter, Sarapha “ … felt a new light, a new vision, a new experience was being born in every atom of {her} being.” (1152-3)
As with most mystery laden, high-vibrational incidents observed by those not yet ready for or receptive to the spiritual impulse, doubters later would dispel their experiences that night by declaring they had been “ … overcome with wine or what not.” (5749-15) Cayce elaborates—
And the hour approaches when nature is to be fulfilled in the natural courses in the experience of the Mother, and His Star has appeared—and the angels’ choir, and the voices of those that give the great message! Who heard these, my children? Those that were seeking for the satisfying of their own desires or for the laudation of their own personality? Rather those close to nature, to the hours of meditation and prayer, and those that had given expression, “No room in the Inn!” For no inn, no room, could contain that as was being given in a manifested form! … Only then to those that sought could such a message come, or could there be heard the songs of the angels, or that music of the spheres that sang, “Peace on earth—Good will to men!”
262-103
Three Gifts
Many others in the immediate area were deeply touched by what had transpired and, sensing the truth and significance of the event, began to spread the word about what they had experienced. Their listeners in turn carried the news back home to the cities and towns from which they had originally traveled. The following day the Wise Men arrived “ … with their ladened beasts or camels … ” (1152-3) The readings explain that during those times there were men throughout the world who sought a closer understanding of the deeper mysteries and universal Creative Forces—individuals who had subdued the earthly influences within themselves. Holy in body and mind and wholly at one with the divine purpose, this priestly caste was known as the Wise Men. These seekers after truth also were recognized for counseling others “ … using the mathematical activities of the ages old, as well as the teachings of the Persians from the days of Zend and Og and Uhjltd, bringing for those people a better interpretation of the astrological as well as the natural laws.” (1908-1)
The gifts these sages carried into the lowly stable (symbol of Spirit encircled by the physical or animal form) represented the triune phases of man’s experience in this dimension: gold, the material; frankincense, the ethereal; and myrrh, the healing force—or body, mind, and soul. Along with the metaphysical meaning they carried, their offerings also brought “ … encouragement for the mother and those who had nourished, who had cherished this event in the experience of mankind.” (5749-7) The three sages worshipped the holy baby and praised everyone “ … who had kept the faith, in making and preserving, in keeping and helping those that were in need, that were alone—yet God with them!” (1152-3) The Cayce information also reports that although Sarapha was impressed by the glories of the exotic Magi and the precious things of the earth they had arrayed at the newborn’s feet, she was deeply touched that the lowly shepherds, who had come down into the cave from watching their flocks with nothing more than love to present, were just as acceptable to the child. “ … There was no respecter of persons in the face or heart of that Babe …,” remark the readings. (1152-3)
Circumcision
The Gospel of Luke reports that after eight days the infant was circumcised and given the name Jesus (Jeshua) as revealed by the angel before his conception. While central to the traditions and tenets his parents held sacred, the circumcision of the holy child unquestionably carries added significance when viewed through the filter of the messianic story. Passing references to circumcision scattered throughout the Bible belie its enormous significance in the spiritual history of human-kind. Steeped in mystery and regarded as one of the bedrock rituals of Judaism and other religious traditions, the practice of circumcision was instituted during the period of Abraham as a sign of his covenant with God. “This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised,” (Gen. 17:10) recounts the Book of Genesis. The removal of a precious piece of flesh intimately connected with the male sex organ eight days after the birth of a baby boy (the male signifying the outward expression of spirit in matter) is a rite religious believers and nonbelievers alike have continued to perform generation after generation. Yet few have understood its deeper esoteric meaning.
The ancient rite of circumcision, established by a sacred directive as interpreted through the enlightened mind of Abraham, the father of the Israelites, represents an unbroken link between a people and their God. At some point during the primordial epoch when he walked the earth, Abraham’s consciousness had evolved to the level where he was able to grasp the idea of one God—a single force embodying all the power of heaven and earth. The patriarch’s highly developed understanding of the Spirit he venerated moved him to introduce a custom that would forever identify his offspring as belonging to this unseen deity. Set apart from other nations by their belief in the one God, the Hebrews would bear the mark of circumcision, which for generations has compelled the descendants of Abraham to remember they are a people wholly pledged to the same mysterious being their ancestor worshipped and as such comprise more than mere flesh and bone. Their heritage is divine.
The act of cutting off the foreskin of an infant is the mystical equivalent of announcing that man’s regard for the material dimension must diminish in order that he may pay homage to the omnipotent Spirit that created him—an invisible force which depends on nothing in the exterior realm for its existence. “Do not glorify matter over Spirit” is the message communicated through the rite of circumcision, for just as this piece of bodily tissue is discarded so, too, will all material form be cast off someday. Centuries after Abraham establishes his compact with heaven, a Jewish infant by the name of Jesus will be presented in the temple and marked with the sign of circumcision. But after growing into manhood and taking up his life’s work, this same child will annul every known religious doctrine and mandate, including the need for corporeal circumcision, by heralding a new covenant: God and man as one.
5Anne Read, Edgar Cayce on Jesus and His Church, ed. Hugh Lynn Cayce (New York: Warner Books, Inc., 1970), 38.
Chapter 4
Becoming a Master
For this, then, is in every birth—the possibilities, the glories, the actuating of that influence of that entrance again of god-man into the earth that man might know the way.
262-103
Even