A SERMON ON THE PHYCHOPHYSIOLOGY OF THE BIBLE.

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume 26, Issue 8, 1 August 1936, Page 7

A SERMON ON THE PHYCHOPHYSIOLOGY OF THE BIBLE.

Cecil Gilbertson

(By

I. Thess. 1V.,3. This is the will of God, even your salification. Sanctification means holiness, which is only another word for wholeness, or perfection; and it doejs mot apply merely to the spiritual part of man, but to his whole being. Christ came to save the whole man, and not just a part of him. There is a very definite relationship between man's body and soul, and holiness of the soul will cause the whole man to radiate with health and happiness. And yet the outward man must perish, and flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven. There are two kinds of sickness, the sickness of disease and decay, and the sickness of transmutation and glorification. Our Blessed Lord's ' body whilst it was m the tomb did not see corruption, but it was changed, and became a glorified Body with which He ascended up into heaven. We shall not all die, but we shall all be changed, and this corruptible must put on incorruption. When we die our bodies must either see corruption or sanctification. Death means separation, a separation from God who is life and true consciousness. In this world we are not truly conscious until we are conscious of God. So long as we are living m a state of unconsciousness of God we are living as "the dead" of whom our Lord said "let the dead bury the dead." When we become conscious of God, and that consciousness turns to love and devotion, then death is but a sleeping while, this corruptible puts on its incorruption. We live, but yet not we, but Christ lives m us. We are dead — separated from our sins — our life is hid with Christ m God.

In modern terms this is all a psycho-physiological process; for right thinking and holy thinking, bring about a definite physiological change m our bodies through the medium of what the medical profession calls the endocrine glands, which m turn act upon the nervous

system by means of the hormones m the blood. Loosely speaking there are seven of these endocrine glands, and the sympathetic nervous system consists of two main nerves which run parallel on either side of the spinal cord. And this spinal cord runs from the base of the spine to the brain with which it is connected; the brain, of course, being the organ of the Ego. This is all comparatively new knowledge to the medical profession, and until quite recent years these endocrine, or ductless glands, were regarded as being mere vesticges of our animal ancestors, and of little importance to our physical well-r being. It is only m very recent years that their tremendous importance has been discovered, and we are still ignorant of exactly how they function. But — and this is the important part from the Church's point of view — there are strong reasons for believing that m ancient times the functions of the glands and the whole nervous system was known to man, and much can be learned of these things from the Bible. In Zechariah IV. we read a& follows: — "I have seen, and behold, a candlestick all of gold, with its bowl upon the top of it, and its seven lamps thereon; there are seven pipes to each of the lamps, which are upon the top thereof; and two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof." In this vision surely we may see the golden candlestick as a symbol of the spinal cord with the brain on top of it. The seven lamps are endocrine glands connected with the spinal cord by the seven "pipes," and the two olive trees, one on either side, are the sympathetic nervous system. The Explanation of the vision given later m the chapter is as follows: — "This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, not by might, nor by power but by my Spirit saith the Lord of Hosts. Who art thou, O great mountain? before . Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth a headstone with shoutings of grace, grace, unto it. Moreover, the word of Lord came unto me saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it;

and thou shalt know that that Lord of Hosts hath sent me unto you. For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice and shall see the plummet m the hand of Zerubbabel, even the seven which are the eyes of the Lord; they run to and fro through the whole earth. And I answered and said, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof? .... What be these two olive branches which are beside the two golden spouts, that empty the golden oil out of themselves? And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? ... ." These are the two sons of oil, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth." This is obviously symbolical language. But every Christian realises that it is "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit" that peace is brought to the disordered soul. The name Zerubbabel has the meaning of "the dispersor of confusion" and he appears to stand for that principle m man. He is that principle mus which lays the "foundation of this house" m the tabernacle of our bodies which are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Hitherto the endocrine glands which are "small things" have been despised, but now "they shall rejoice and shall see the plummet m the hand of Zerubbabel." The pineal gland is shaped like a plummet, and has always been regarded as the vestige of a third eye, but m ancient times it was known as the Eye of the Seer. The sympathetic nervous system, here symbolised as the "two olive branches that empty the golden oil out of themselves," is the means- by which all outward sensations reach our inner consciousness. And our inner consciousness is very truly the "Lord of the whole earth" of our bodies. This fourth chapter of Zechariah is perhaps the simplest illustration of how modern psycho-physiology seems to be unveiling some of the mysteries of our spiritual nature. But a deep study of the Book of Revelation of St. John, with its messages to the seven Churches is Asia, the opening of the^ seven seals, the sounding of the seven trumpets, the sevenfold harvest, and the seven scourges; and finishing with the sacred "Marriage of the Lamb," or the union of

the human soul with the Christ of God yields even more startling results, which, of course, cannot* be entered into now. But it is safe to say that the psychotherapist of the future will come to realise more and more that the only real cure for the ills of man lies m the holy Sacraments of -the Church. All forms of neurosis, and even immorality and crime, are being traced by the psychologist to "complexes," "dispositions" and "impulses" which are deep-hidden m the unconscious mind of man. The cure of such ills can only be brought about by bringing these deep-hidden diseases of the innermost soul to the surface, or m plain Christian language, by open confession, following upon the most carefully self-examination. But this is made difficult, and sometimes almost impossible because the cause of the disease is so deeply buried m the soil of the unconscious mind. This soil can only be made friable by the influence of the Sacraments with their wonderful powers of suggestion, by prayer, and by what may very literally be called the Light of the Holy Spirit. Religion alone can uplift fallen humanity. Religion alone can so educate him that the God m him is "lead out" to the surface, and given the power of self-expression. More and more we are learning the absolute necessity m these modern times of rush and bustle of training men and women to "be still and know that I am God."