The Washington herald., 1914-08-02

represents a process carried on In the
Individual, the concluding stage Of his
human evolution, and added many details
in the myth. Both Of these have contrib
uted to the gospel story and together
form the image OF the mystic Christ" ="
Let US consider frst the kosmic Christ,
the becoming incarnate Of the logos. the
clothing of God IN flesh"
When the matter which is TO form our
solar system IN separated on from the
infinite ocean Of matter which fills space,
the third person Of the trinity-the holy
spirit-pours his life into this matter to
revivify 1t. that II may presently take
form It IL then drawn together. and
form Is given to II by the life OF the
logos,- the second person OF the trinity.
who sacrifices himself by putting on the
limitations of matter. becoming the
! heavenly man." in whose body all forms
exist, of whose body all forms are part.
This was the kosmic story. dramatically
shown in the mysteries-in the true mys-
teries seen as II occurred In space. In the
physical plane mysteries represented by
magical or other means and in some
parts by actors.
These processes are very distinctly
stated in the Bible. When the spirit
Of God moved upon the face Of the wa
ters'' In the darkness that was upon
the face of the deep" the great deep
Of matter showed no forms; II was void,
inchoate. Form was given by the Logos,
the word. of whom II Is written that 'all
things were made by Him; and without
Him was not anything made that was
made"
Matter Is vivihea.
Only when this work OF the spirit has
been done can the Iogos, the kesmic
mystic Christ take on himself the cloth
ing of matter, entering in very truth the
Virgins womb the womb Of matter as
yet virgin, unproductive. This matter had
been viviield by the Holy Spirit. who,
overshadowing the virgin. poured into 1t
His life, thus preparing It to receive the
life of the second logos, who took this
matter as the vehicle for his energies
This is the becoming incarnate OF the
Christ. the taking flesh.
This is the descent OF the logos into
matter. described as the birth OF the
Christ of a virgin. and this in the solar
myth becomes the birth Of the sun-god
as the sign Virgo rises.
This is the logos of whom Plato said
that he was in the figure of a cross on
the universe; this is the heavenly man.
standing In space. with arms outstretched
in blessing; this Is the Christ cructfed.
whose death on the cross of matter nils
all matter with His life. Dead He seems
and buried out of sight. but He rises
again. clothed In the very matter In
which He seeped to perish. and carries
up His body Of now radiant matter into
heaven. where Il receives the down-pour-
ing life of the Father and becomes the
vehicle Of mans immortal life. For II
Is the life OF the logos which forms the
garment of the soul in man. and He gives
IL that men may live through the ages
and grow TO the measure OF His own
stature.
Part of Sacrifice.
The crucihxion of Christ. then. is part
Of the great kosmic sacrifice, and the
allegorical representation OF this in the
physical mysteries and the sacred symbol
OF the crucIhed man in space became
materialized into an actual death by cru
cifxion Ald a crucihx bearing a dying
human form: then this story, now the
story Of a man, was attached TO the d.
vine Teacher, Jesus. and became the
story OF His physical death. while the
birth from a virgin, the danger-encircled
infancy, the resurrection and ascension
became also incidents in His human life.
The mysteries disappeared, but their
grandiose and graphic representations Of
the kosmic work of the logos encircled
and uplifted the beloved figure Of the
Teacher OF Judaea. and the gosmic Christ
Of the mysteries, with the Iineaments of
the Jesus OF history. thus became the CEN
tral figure of the Christian church.
But this was not all: a touch Of fasci-
nation Is added to the Christ-story by
the fact that there is another Christ Of
the mysteries. and close and dear to the
human heart-the Christ Of the human
spirit, the Christ who Is in every one of
us, Is born and lives, is crucihed, rises
from the dead, and ascends into heaven.
The life story OF every initiate into the
true. the heavenly mysteries, Is told in
its salient features In the gospel bioE
raphy For this reason, st. Paul speaks
as We have seen OF the birth Of the
Christ in the disciple, and OF His evolu-
ton and His full stature therein. Every
man is a potential Christ, and the unfold:
Ing of the Christ-life in a man follows
the outline of the gospel story in its
striking incidents, which we have seen
to be universal. and not particular:
Five Great limitations.
There are five great limitations in the
life of a Christ, each one marking a
stage in the unfolding of the life of love.
At the first great initiation the Christ
is born in the disciple: II is then that he
realizes for the first time in himself the
outpouring OF the divine love, and ex-
periences that marvellous change which
makes him feel himself to be one with
all that lives. This is the second birth"
and at that birth the heavenly ones re-
joice for he is born into the kingdom
Of haeven." as one of the little ones,
as "a little child'-the names ever given
to the new initiates Such Is the mean
Ing Of the words OF Jesus. that a man
must become a little child to enter into
the kingdom. 1t is said Jesus was born
in a cave" the stable Of the gospel
narrative: the cave of initiation" is a
well known ancient phrase. and the ini-
tiate is ever born therein: over that
cave. where the young child is, burns
the "star of initiation the star that
ever shines forth in the East when a
child-Christ Is born. Every such child Is