Lesson 357.
Truth answers every call we make to God,
Responding first with miracles, and then
Returning unto us to be itself.
Forgiveness, truth's reflection, tells me how to offer miracles, and thus escape
the prison house in which I think I live. Your holy Son is pointed out to me,
first in my brother; then in me. Your Voice instructs me patiently to hear Your
Word, and give as I receive. And as I look upon Your Son today, I hear Your
Voice instructing me to find the way to You, as You appointed that the way shall
be: "Behold his sinlessness, and be you healed.
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Commentary on this lesson is by Kenneth Wapnick, from his book set: "Journey
Through the Workbook of A Course in Miracles," and may be purchased at the
following site: ~ M. Street
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Lesson 357.
"Truth answers every call we make to God,
Responding first with miracles, and then
Returning unto us to be itself."
*To state this important point again, miracles are the correction. Therefore,
the first response to our call for help is some recognition of the need to undo
our misperceptions, for it is only when we have exposed these to the Holy Spirit
that the ego can be undone. In that way our minds are freed to remember our
Identity as Christ.*
(1:1) "Forgiveness, truth's reflection, tells me how to offer miracles, and thus
escape the prison house in which I think I live."
*We offer miracles by accessing the correction in our minds, reminding us of the
mind's innate power to choose. Therefore, since minds are joined -- in the holy
instant in which we have chosen to forgive -- we remind our brothers that they
have the same power as we to choose right-mindedly.*
(1:2) "Your holy Son is pointed out to me, first in my brother; then in me."
*That is why this is a course in miracles, which means it is a course in
shifting how we perceive. Jesus directs his teaching to the conditions with
which we identify -- our special relationships. I first learn to perceive you
differently, because I believe you are really there; and not only are you there,
but you are there to victimize, hurt, and persecute me. Therefore, by asking
Jesus' help to shift my perception of you, I learn that what I am seeing in you
is a projection of what I see in me. Realizing that you are part of God's one
Son, I realize that I am, too.*
(1:3-4) "Your Voice instructs me patiently to hear Your Word, and give as I
receive. And as I look upon Your Son today, I hear Your Voice instructing me to
find the way to You, as You appointed that the way shall be:"
*Once again we are reminded of the wonderful prayer at the end of Lesson 189 --
it is God Who knows the way to Himself; of ourselves we do not, and cannot.
Forgiveness -- the Holy Spirit's gift that leads us home -- is not Heaven's
truth, but is its kind and gentle reflection.
This final line is a lovely summary of the healing power of forgiveness: *
(1:5) "Behold his sinlessness, and be you healed."
*In this familiar passage from the text, Jesus tells us not to see our brother's
sinlessness, for that is beyond us. However, he does ask for our little
willingness to see him sinless:
"Your question should not be, "How can I see my brother without the body?"
Ask only, "Do I really wish to see him sinless?" And as you ask, forget not that
his sinlessness is your escape from fear." (T-20.VII.9:1-3)
This statement from the lesson is meant to convince us of the need to have this
willingness. Jesus wants us to return to the part of the mind that has chosen to
see sin in others as a way of protecting it in ourselves, and thus accepting no
responsibility for it. When he says "Behold his sinlessness, and be you healed,"
he speaks of the correction of the misperception of sin, and our desire to see
it anywhere but in ourselves. By choosing the miracle we make the choice to be
healed, and our brothers along with us.*
