Church of the Holy City

The Redeemer Will Come to Those Who Repent

The Redeemer Will Come to Those Who Repent
Rev. Dr. David J. Fekete
June 10, 2012

Isaiah 59:12-21 John 4:7-14 Psalm 130

Last Sunday I talked about evil. I said that we should not be surprised to see that there is evil in us. I illustrated this with a poem by Dylan Thomas that said we are not wholly bad or good. I also quoted Swedenborg, who said that we have evil spirits attached to us and also angels attached to us. The reason why we have evil spirits attached to us is because we are born with evil tendencies and some of these become acts. If we did not have the freedom to feel those tendencies, we would not be able to live. Swedenborg tells us the following unpleasant news,
That spirits that communicate with hell are also adjoined to a person, is because a person is born into evils of every kind, and so his first life is only from them; for this reason, unless there were adjoined to a person spirits like himself, he could not live, nor indeed be withdrawn from his evils and be reformed (HH 293).
But I don’t mean to leave us in evil. Today I will be talking about what we do with the evil we see in ourselves. I call our attention to that last line in the citation above, “unless there were adjoined to a person spirits like himself, he could not live, nor indeed be withdrawn from his evils and be reformed.” This line refers to our theme this morning, which is repentance. Isaiah tells us that, “The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins” (59:20). This means that God will purify our souls and come to us when we repent. So the question becomes, “What is repentance?”
Repentance is a process. It is a process by which evil is removed and good is implanted in its place. Last Sunday I cited a passage from Swedenborg that just touched on how this process works. In Heaven and Hell Swedenborg writes,
That a person cannot be reformed unless he has freedom, is because he is born into evils of every kind, which yet must be removed in order that he may be saved; nor can they be removed unless he sees them in himself and acknowledges them, and afterward ceases to will them, and at length holds them in aversion; then they are first removed (HH 598).
That is the process in a nutshell. We first see and acknowledge evils in us. Second, we cease to will them. And third, we hold them in aversion–which means that they become distasteful to us. This short statement is actually the whole process of repentance, reformation, and regeneration, which can be found in True Christian Religion, nos. 510-620. This Sunday we look at repentance, which is the first thing that we do with the evil we see in ourselves.
We can only change ourselves if we see that we need to be changed. Plato said that the unexamined life is not worth living. Repentance requires real self-knowledge. It requires what 12-step programs call a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. When we look at ourselves, we should not be surprised to find areas where we need to change. We may see very unflattering aspects to our personalities. This is normal for every human being. When Jesus says that we need to be born again in order to see God’s kingdom, he doesn’t mean only a few bad eggs. His statement includes all of humanity. So the first step in spiritual growth is to see and admit that we have evil in us. Swedenborg’s short statement on this goes as follows,
The question is, therefore, How ought a person to repent? The reply is, for one to examine himself, know and acknowledge his sins, make supplication to the Lord, and begin a new life (TCR 330).

The process of spiritual rebirth is one of actual character transformation. And this character transformation cannot be done in the twinkling of an eye. Nor can it be done magically by God without our cooperation. In order for us to change, we need to take responsibility for who we are. It is we who need to look at ourselves, acknowledge our sins, ask God for help, and begin a new life. Swedenborg puts this another way. He says that,
when one is considering evil with the mind, and is intending it, he should say to himself, “I am thinking of and intending it; but because it is a sin, I will not do it.” By this means the temptation injected from hell is checked, and its further entrance prevented (TCR 535).
He goes on to add the humorous remark that, “It is wonderful to say that one can find fault with another . . . and yet it is hard for him to say so to himself . . .” (TCR 535).
When we are examining our lives, we will find that we are driven by one ruling love. Swedenborg calls this the reigning love, or the ruling love, or the dominant love. The ruling love is what we love above all things. We enjoy and love many things, but they all come from what we love above all. Swedenborg describes our ruling love as follows,
All the enjoyments that a person has are of his ruling love, for a person feels nothing else enjoyable than what he loves, thus especially that which he loves above all things; whether you say ruling love, or that which is loved above all things, it is the same thing (HH 486).
Our repentance involves identifying our ruling love, and checking it against what we know to be good. What drives us? What do we seek to do? What do we enjoy doing? Are we motivated by heavenly loves? What kinds of loves and enjoyments make up who we are?
Swedenborg seems to use the term “ruling love” in two senses. In one sense, the ruling love is what defines us as an individual. We are what we love above all things.
A person is such as the dominance of his life is; by this he is distinguished from others; according to this his heaven is made if he is good, and his hell is made if he is evil; it is his very will, his selfhood, and his nature; for it is the very being of his life (TCR 399).
And likewise, Swedenborg says,
All the enjoyments that a person has are of his ruling love, . . . Those enjoyments are various; they are as many in general as there are ruling loves, consequently as many as there are men, spirits, and angels, for the ruling love of one is not in every respect like that of another (HH 486).
So to know who we are, we need to know what our ruling love is. We can get an idea of it by examining what kinds of things we enjoy, and to see what their source is. It shouldn’t be that hard to discover what we love above all things. Swedenborg tells us,
What a person loves above all is continually present in his thought, because it is in his will and makes his veriest life. . . . It is in his will like the unseen flow of a river which sweeps along and bears him away even when he is acting in some other way, for it is that which gives him life (TCR 399).
The second sense in which Swedenborg uses the term “ruling love” is even more directly related to our repentance. In this second use of the term “ruling love” there appear to be only four loves that qualify. Of these four ruling loves, two are heavenly and two are hellish. These four loves appear over and over again in Swedenborg’s works. I think that all Christians would agree on the two heavenly loves, since they are Biblical. But I haven’t heard much in other churches about the two hellish ruling loves. The four are as follows,
There are two loves from which, as from their very fountains, all goods and truths arise; and there are two loves from which all evils and falsities arise. The two loves from which all goods and truths are, are love to the Lord and love toward the neighbor; but the two loves from which are all evils and falsities, are the love of self and the love of the world. . . . The two loves from which are all goods and truths, which, as was said, are love to the Lord and love toward the neighbor, make heaven with a person, for they reign in heaven; and because they make heaven with a person, they also make the church with him. The two loves from which are all evils and falsities, which, as was said, are love of self and love of the world, make hell with a person; for they reign in hell; consequently also they destroy the church with him (TCR 399).
So our ultimate spiritual aim is to love God above all and to love our neighbor as ourselves, as Jesus says in Mark 12:28-34. I have said a lot about examining ourselves and rooting out the evils we may see in ourselves. But I also found something remarkable in Swedenborg that makes this whole repentance thing appear easy. So easy that I’m not sure how far to run with it. Swedenborg appears to say that if we do good from a religious motive, we avoid sin and are accepted by God. He does hedge when he talks about this, but in the end he seems to say that those who do good from a religious motive avoid evil. So at first Swedenborg is ambiguous,
All they who do good from religion avoid actual evils; and yet how rarely do they reflect upon the interiors . . . in the belief that they are not in evils because they are in good, yes, that the good covers the evil. But, my friend, the first of charity is to flee from evils (TCR 535).
What does he really mean here? It would appear that Swedenborg is saying both, that doing good from religion saves a person from evil and also that doing good doesn’t cover up evil. But having said this, he comes back to his original statement,
But yet, all who do good from religion, not Christians only but also pagans, are acceptable to the Lord, and after death are adopted; for the Lord said . . . Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of My least brethren, ye have done it unto Me. Come, ye blessed, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world (Matt. 25:31).
Swedenborg also lets us off the hook if we are basically good, even if we do occasionally commit evil. In a surprisingly lenient passage, Swedenborg says,
But good spirits are never punished, though they had done evils in the world, for their evils do not return; and I have learned that their evils were of another kind or nature than those of evil spirits, not being done purposely contrary to the truth, and not from any other evil heart than what they received hereditarily from their parents, into which they were carried from a blind enjoyment when they were in externals separate from internals (HH 509).
I think that the conclusion from all this is what a person intends. If we’re trying to be good from a religious principle, we will find heaven. If we deliberately do evil because it is against God and because we want to break God’s principles, we will find hell. I lean toward the four love model in regard to our ruling love. If we have love for God and the neighbor first in our hearts, we will find heaven because it is a state of love. On our path of good-will we will see evil in ourselves. We will want to avoid it when possible and come to a place where the better light fills our souls. As we advance on our spiritual path, we will continue to carve a place for God in our hearts. Then, as God fills our souls ever more fully with His life and love, like the woman at the well, we will ask for living water, and find it given as “a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14).

PRAYER

Dear Lord, you have promised forgiveness of sins and eternal life to all those who repent and turn to you. Help us to trust in this promise as we go about the work of our spiritual growth. Give us the courage we need to look at ourselves fearlessly, so that we may know who we are and where our lives need amendment. Give us strength to shine a light on our feelings and thoughts. Reveal to us our ruling love, that which we love above all things. And lead our spirits to love you above all, and the good life that love for you brings. Lead us to love our neighbor as ourselves, and to wish them well for their own sake. Lord we give you thanks for your mercy and forgiveness. We know that you hold our wellbeing always in your Divine Providence.

Lord, we ask for your peace to descend upon this troubled world. Where there is conflict and war, let there be understanding and peace. Inspire our leaders, and the leaders of other nations to govern their people with compassion and with your Holy Love. Where there is famine and thirst, may good hearted aid come and satisfy the needs of those who want. Where there are natural disasters, may help come from good neighbors and from compassionate governments. Where there is hardship and unemployment, lend your patience and hope.

Lord, send your healing love to all those suffering in body and soul. We ask you to give the gift of health to all in need. Give all the breath and energy they need to fulfil the calling to which they have been summoned. Send your healing power to all those in need.