Analogue 52a

Analogue 52a

Children of the Bridal Chamber

The truth regarding the deeds of humanity is this: Deeds come from human power called “abilities,” but another “accomplishment” of humans is the progeny born to them from out of a period of rest. Through power humans are able to govern, and yet children also reveal accomplishment, though they come from this state of repose. You will see, then, that this applies all across the imagery used to mirror human beings: personal accomplishment is done through effort or power, and yet through rest or repose children are begotten.

In this world slaves are forced to work for those who are free-born. In the Realm of the Heavens, however, it is the free-born who act to serve the slaves—for the children born from the Bridal Chamber are created to serve the sons and daughters of natural birth. All the children of the Bridal Chamber bear the same name—Rest. And they share it mutually and need nothing else, for in their awareness they contemplate the glorious beauty of the Icons. This is true immortality, for these dwell in the sacred Bridal Chamber receiving all the glory of those who have reached fulfillment.

SYNOPSIS

• Description of the source and meaning of spiritual activity as the divine Work (theurgy) in the world. 
• The restoration of all things to an ultimate destiny. 
• The contrast between accomplishments and deeds done in two realms—the horizontal realm of ordinary human behavior, and the vertical realm of divine Work. 
• Deeds are what human beings can accomplish through their native abilities. 
• Progeny is an accomplishment (children being born) out of the “state of Rest” — sexual activity at night during the period of repose. 
• Along the vertical Axis an opposite force is at work. There is a different generativity as the “response” out of the Bridal Chamber.  First, there is the accomplishment of a new kind of progeny being born. Second, there are deeds which act to free humans from slavery. 
• These deeds are done by the new race of humankind. It is their work because there was first rest or repose (a uniting in the Bridal Chamber). 
• The Bridal Chamber is the source of ultimate freedom and service to the naturally born children of humanity. 
• This then becomes the great spiritual Work, but paradoxically, that Work’s source is “accomplished” through contemplation in a state of rest. This is Visio divina, for it comes through the contemplation of the icons. 
• Glorious Beauty describes the effect of seeing the icons, which is the perception of the iconic nature of each soul’s being. 
• To remain in and work from the Bridal Chamber bestows great benefit, strength and support, which is available from the glory and beauty of those who have reach this higher state of fulfillment. 
• This becomes the source and strength of the great Work. In the end, it is the only thing that can free the “slaves.”

                                                        You Tube link to recording

COMMENTARY

Visions from the Bridal Chamber

The text of the Gospel turns now to a further exploration of mysteries inside and flowing from the intimacies of (the mystical experience within) the Bridal Chamber. Yeshua went into that space and knew it in some visionary and experiential way, which is described here in greater detail. In that inner chamber, he was anointed (saturated) with Spirit making him capable of the Great Work. The direct union of his own soul with that which was higher than himself gave him great power. Coming to know the Source directly by experience, he had access to a greater authority, describing the Source as the Abba. 

He also came into union with the Spirit as the feminine figure, Wisdom-Sophia. He united with both and became a “married being.” From there, he moved into the outer world full of purpose, taking up his divine vocation on earth. It is that same task which he shares with all who, experiencing inner union, follow after him into the Great Work. The inner mysteries have external consequences. Yes, it is a hidden chamber, but its effects are felt far and wide outside that perimeter. In the end, the effects have cosmic significance—the Reconciliation of the entire cosmos recreated anew after the divine Image. 

The previous analogue says that when he left the Bridal Chamber as a married being, his sacred task became the great reconciliation. What occurred along the banks of one small river in eastern Palestine had ramifications for the entire cosmos. It put into motion an ever expanding series of effects. This is a grand vision, so the question remains, how can it be actualized? How can we who follow after join in solidarity with him? How can we to add to his great Work? 

It appears to be monumental and singular, but Philip insists it is a shared task, which cannot be taken lightly nor can it be done without us. This cosmic vocation is spreading out along the horizontal axis in both space and time (past, present and future), but it cannot be accomplished simply from the realm; it must come from the “rest point” found inside ourselves which is deeply connected to the place of rest inside the Source itself. Ultimately that place is where the horizontal and the vertical axes meet inside the Bridal Chamber. This imaginal description is a deeply contemplative, visionary, and mystical one. 

Sacred Vocation

Starting where we normally experience action in this world, the deeds and behaviors of humankind are a result of the pathways we have taken from the Garden—the original homeland of humanity. Ancient decisions made there have set us out along a long historical road of cause and effect with their consequences and accomplishments. Humans have obviously gone on to populate a world full of other human beings. Because of our inherent abilities, civilizations have certainly accomplished many marvelous things. What they have created (even the progeny they have produced), however, are all from one level of being. The truth is that all of it, no matter how great it may be, will never bring about the great reconciliation. That Work must come from some other place. At our current level of consciousness, we cannot save ourselves from ourselves. That must be done from the place of the mysteries where the vision of human destiny can be known and enacted from beyond the surface levels of ordinary consciousness.  

This Gospel sees that the sacred Work of reconciliation, taking us in the direction of our true destiny, does not come from greater and greater human accomplishments or action. Paradoxically it comes from a place of “rest:” the rest-point which Yeshua experienced in the Bridal Chamber. This term, rest and repose (anapausis) used throughout this text and in the Semitic world, then, is deeply significant. It is a spiritual category with multiple levels of meaning beginning back in the Genesis account when the Creator rested after the work of creation. Also it figures prominently in the core wisdom teachings of Yeshua (see Logion 2 of the Gospel of Thomas, for example). Referentially the metaphor is used with respect to resting in the privacy of one’s bedroom where children are begotten and born (taking us immediately back to the primary image of the Bridal Chamber used here). 

The most precious thing that humans “produce” is not the products and artifacts around them, which they create from their abilities, but their own children. Children are a precious manifestation as a consequence of a more intimate process that comes from loving embrace in a state of rest. As a spiritual metaphor, then, this is a foundational principle in the mission of Yeshua. It is the primordial truth both as the beginning and ending point in his task of restoration and recreation. The fact is that only loving intimacy can produce these new-born beings who possess God-life.

Forms of Progeny

The teaching then turns to address all who join the Work in solidarity with Yeshua. Two kinds of humans hidden within the structures of the world illustrate the conditions involved: the contrast between freeborn beings and slaves. We have little problem understanding those who serve in the lowest strata of human society, and those who are considered of a higher class in our social systems. Servants (and at the extreme end, slaves), serve their masters. How could it be otherwise? If you hire someone to do some service for you, typically you manage that person and their work. In the transcendent realm, however, (counter-intuitively and perhaps shockingly), the reverse is true. What we call normal is stood on its head. In this new arrangement created by divine Reality, freeborn beings come to serve the slaves—those sons and daughters who only know and are subject to the laws of natural birth. 

As a result, the population of children born from the Bridal Chamber are growing in number, becoming prolific. Out of an inner state of rest and repose, free-born beings begin to produce more and more progeny, bringing forth children of a wholly different kind. This vision is not dissimilar from the Bodhisattva tradition of Buddhism, where Enlightened Ones will not leave this reality until all are served and released from bondage. This same sentiment is being expressed here in a slightly different way, but the intent is the same—to serve in the process of the reconciliation of all things. It is so interesting in this analogue that this task (and the ones who accomplish it), do so out of a state of contemplative rest from where they gaze upon iconic images of great beauty. Is this a contemplative vision where the ultimate image of the beings they are serving are being perceived in their final and most beautiful form? It appears that what is seen are these images of the incomparable beauty—the glory of their ultimate becoming. Can we I imagine then, that those who serve from a place of contemplative rest are given visionary access to the  final end—the glorious realization of all things and and the ultimate fulfillment of all beings? From that vision, these caretakers of the cosmos and Messianic co-workers are able to work toward that destiny?

This is a vision that is not dissimilar to the Bodhisattva tradition of Buddhism, where Enlightened Ones will not leave this reality until all are served and released from bondage.

Iconic Beauty

The conclusion, then, this analogue appears to be a visionary recital where iconic images are being contemplated. Though not fully described, these icons are part of a seeing  that gives the contemplative access to unknown forms of beauty. The vision contemplates beautiful forms of realization and fulfillment that have long been anticipated, perhaps from the beginning of time, but now in their eschatological glory. In later mystical literature this experience will be called the “beatific vision” which gives context and clarity to many aspect in the development of its theology in centuries to come. The contemplation of the icons in beatific vision puts into perspective the Messianic Work that must be done in order to bring about the perfection of humankind. It also gives strategic guidance for how that Work is to be accomplished. Coming analogues will go into greater detail concerning this Work, but at this juncture it is crucial that we must first know its source and the interior states of being from which it comes. 

In the depths of this Gospel is a teleological awareness that cannot be fully described. It can, however, be envisioned and known. Yeshua himself had experienced it. It fills his gaze and motivates his work. It guides his ministry and attracts many who are also being drawn toward that same goal. It may be that without this extraordinary vision he may not have made it through the trials and tribulations of his very difficult world. With this clear seeing, however, he was guided toward a destiny into which he threw himself self-sacrificially. He then invited his own students to participate with him in that same way, sharing his vision with them. We too are often overwhelmed by the details and conditions of the darkness around us. We need a glimpse of the ultimate destiny. With it we can reorient our being, moving through the world toward what the Jesuit master, Teihard de Chardin called the “Omega Point.” It is the beauty of that future point, attracting everything to itself and guiding the unfolding of the world, that Yeshua sees and moves. 

 

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

1. The writer of this text is a mystic and a contemplative, as was Yeshua. He too perceived the destiny toward which all things are moving. Have you ever experienced a mystical vision or a contemplative experience that influenced your thinking and seeing? Journal what that may have been for you. 
2. The metaphors used to describe human accomplishment are observed on two levels: actions based on abilities, as distinct from accomplishments coming from contemplative rest. How does this division strike you? Is it helpful in understanding how spiritual tradition and its sacred vocations are accomplished? Describe what you understand about the difference.
3. Do you know about the Bodhisattva tradition of Enlightened beings who delay fulfillment in order to serve others? Study this Buddhist teaching online and journal what you find and how it might illustrate this text. 
4. Why is the word “rest” so important here? Why do you think the person who understands the meaning of that name needs nothing else? 
5. This text speaks about icons. Are these the ones painted (or written) by an iconographer, or in your view, are they something different? They are described here as gloriously beautiful—a beauty filled with glory. We might imagine this to be a doubling down on (or an intensification of) beauty. What perceptions do you think the author is trying to describe? Have you ever had a similar sense of something beautiful coming into being? What was that?
6. Look at how this text describes immortality. In a journal, put this in your own words. 

 

NOTES FOR FURTHER STUDY 

AND REFERENCE

1. In the Abrahamic faiths, the term rest is highlighted to represent what in other traditions might be thought of as nirvana, bliss, or even wu-wei (action-less action). It is a state of blessedness that was later thought of as heavenly rest following death, but also a mystical state that could be accessed and experienced during one’s sojourn on earth. The term rest has come up in this Gospel before, but here its significance has more to do with the experience of the enjoyment of intimacy between partners ending in sexual pleasure. It is obviously a generative rest, neither passive nor active as such, but the joyous state of being relaxed and in love with the Beloved. Within the Abrahamic faiths, stretching all the way back into the metaphoric Songs of Songs, this continues to be a theme expressed as a kind of tantric form of spiritual intimacy.
2. The reference that this analogue makes to the beauty of the icons, refers it seems to the original and beautiful face of every being that has been created. In some sense it is like what artists do when they bring into manifestation what they hold in their minds based on the hidden image within from which they create. Whether or not an artist reaches the perfection of that implicit image depends, of course, on his or her ability and skills. Each creature (which includes each one of us), was brought into being according to an iconic template that prefigured who we would be and what we would become. As we evolve toward that image or icon its original details are being made explicit. Interestingly we can cooperate in this artistry, the creation of our own becoming. The final details of the destiny toward which we are pointed—for which we were made according to the beauty of our icon—are also in our hands. 
3. Mystical theology describes the beatific vision as the direct self-communication of God to an individual person. In Latin it was called: visio beautifica. An individual who experiences the beatific vision reaches a place where he or she, in communion with all of the saints as members of completed form of humankind, begins to approach and see the divine Visage. This description of such a visionary experience understands it to be an ability of the heart (through the analogical imagination) to see. It results in the human experience of joy and fulfillment as we are inexorably drawn to see and know the face of God. Many explorations of this theme are found, for example, in Evelyn Underhill’s classic study, Mysticism (1955), and the extensive volumes: Christian Spirituality I and II (Editors: Bernard McGinn, John Meyendorff, and Jean Leclercq, 1987), A History of Christian Spirituality I, II, and III Louis Bouyer, 1963), and The Study of Spirituality (Editors: Cheslyn Jones, Geoffrey Wainwrite, and Edward Yarnold, 1986). 
4. The term the Omega Point was used by the French Jesuit and Catholic priest, Pierre Teihard de Chardin (1881-1955) to describe a future destiny towards which the creation is evolving. It is the place where creation and Creator are brought together into union. This Omega point is the place of convergence, whose final end is described in the Book of Revelation, as the Anointed One who is the Logos (said to be both the Alpha and the Omega) is the ultimate point toward which creation is being drawn. In this final form of human Being, a uniting is accomplished where everything comes together in oneness. 

Notes ON the Translation 

• The first paragraph of contrasts is compactly written, but seems to compare and contrast the outer deeds of humans getting things done on the horizontal plane with their inner accomplishments, producing children.
• Rest and repose are the same word, and stand for that superior state of being and consciousness in which things are held in unity and balance without compulsion or coercion.
• The phrase natural birth translates “marriage” (gamos in Greek). 
• The term immortality is a Greek term meaning “deathlessness.