The Sermon on the Mount, Part XI of XL

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TEXT: Continuing with Matthew 5:

29. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.

COMMENTARY: Again, Jesus uses the very dramatic metaphor of "hell"
to describe a horrific state of mind or being. He knew that karma could create many kinds of hell. He was not speaking literally, for he spoke of a "body" going to hell. (The traditional hell is a place for souls only, not for bodies.) But human bodies are deeply intertwined with karma.

Very few disciples ever plucked out an eye because they did not like what they saw! And Jesus, being a gentle moderate, would never encourage such extremist fanaticism. But Jesus wanted to be dramatic, even unforgettable! And this verse does imply strongly that spirituality, with its karma, is much more important than even an eye!
And that is pretty precious! We should all value our spirituality as much as we value our eyes! And we need to prove that we do by investing our time in spiritual learning and action!
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The Cross

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The cross is a very ancient and pre-Christian symbol. As the symbol of the four directions, the cross appears among the spiritual symbols of many native Americans, including both the Mayans and the Aztecs. It also appears in Buddhism, Hinduism, and both ancient Egyptian and ancient Greek religion, among many others. It is perhaps the one universal symbol among the human spiritual movements throughout the ages.

But when Jesus came, this symbol of the yin and yang forces of the cosmos changed. (The receptive energies of the cosmos were symbolized by the horizontal bar of the cross, the active by its vertical bar.) After Jesus, the cross took on its most popular form in the west, with the long vertical bar and the short horizontal bar, lifted high. (In other cultures, the equilateral cross was more popularly used, and there were also other forms. In many forms, it was combined with a circle.)

After Jesus, it became the ultimate symbol of "dying to the world," or being conquered by, surrendering to, the Spirit. To "die" to this world, in mystical and general Christian symbolism, was to die to full dominance by sensuality or materialism.

The cross also signified survival of physical death as a Soul. The Soul is intrinsically immortal. This is why translations of the Bible that say that Jesus offered "everlasting life" are incorrect. For when God creates a life, a mind, it is already everlasting. (Jesus used the Greek adjective aionian, meaning "timeless.") So, he did not promise his disciples "everlasting" life, but "timeless" life-- a life outside the flow of spacetime altogether (in only the now). So, the cross became the
symbol also of this special altered state of mind called "timeless life."

In time, the cross grew to represent the Holy Spirit, Christ-spirit, or God. Thus, it became a beautiful symbol of Love. Its symbolism also includes balance, similar to the Chinese Tai Chi Ch'uan, or "yinyang" symbol. The point at which its two bars converge is the point of Tao, the Origin of the cosmos.

There is so very much more that could be said about this fascinating subject. Years ago, a book was written here about the symbolism and complex history of the cross. But, no matter how multiple were its ancient meanings, its modern significance is that it is the ultimate symbol of the life and death of Jesus Christ.
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