T. 19. IV. C. 4 – 7. Jesus: “You who believe you have condemned the Son of God to death in a body are being arrogant indeed! Yet, if you would release him, you are but honoring the Will of his Creator.
The arrogance of sin, the pride spawned by guilt, the sepulcher of separation, all are part of your unrecognized dedication to death. The glitter of guilt you laid upon the body would be enough to kill it. For what the ego ‘loves’ must appear to die in its obedience to the ego’s purpose!
But what obeys the ego not, the ego cannot kill! You have the choice of another dedication that would keep the body incorruptible and perfect as long as it is useful for your holy purpose.
The body no more dies than it can feel. It does nothing! Of itself it is neither corruptible nor incorruptible. In truth, it is nothing! The perception of it in your mind is the result of a tiny, mad idea of corruption, yet one that can be corrected. For God has answered this insane idea with His Own, the Holy Spirit; an Answer Which left Him not, and therefore brings the Creator to the awareness of every mind which heard His Answer and accepted It.
You who have chosen once again and are now dedicated to the incorruptible, have been given through your acceptance of the Holy Spirit, the power to release God’s Son from all corruption.
What better way to teach the first and fundamental principle in a course on miracles than by showing you that the one which seems to be the hardest can be accomplished first?
The body can but serve your chosen purpose. By the way you choose to look on it, so will it seem to be to you!”
Note: It was Ken Wapnick’s observation that the Text of the Course was far broader, richer and deeper than the Workbook, which appeared to focus on the high points. He repeatedly told his students to do the Workbook as closely in accord with the instructions as possible, but only do it once! Otherwise, he said, it just becomes a ritual. (Ken also recommended doing the workbook first.) His advice to me ten years ago was to begin again with the Text, go through it word by word, and apply all the lessons found therein. He said he thought I would find twice as many useful lessons in the Text as in the Workbook. What he didn’t tell me, though he winked, was that my inner guidance would kick in as soon as I began. These excerpts are but my daily homework, the result following Ken’s advice, all the while asking for clarity. What comes in the way of grammar accommodates my understanding of the language, while my inner guidance keeps directing me to share it. I have also restudied Psychology PPP, The Song of Prayer, and Helen’s “Gifts of God” by the same approach with what I feel has been a great benefit to my understanding of the whole Course. Hence, it is probably better to regard these excerpts as a demonstration of an approach to study than as “Ron’s take on ACIM.” Hey, that guy Ron, he doesn’t know anything!
The sharing of these excerpts by e-mail, some of them appearing on the RMMC website, has been cleared with the Foundation for Inner Peace (FIP) and Foundation for A Course in Miracles (FACIM). I am currently using the Circle of Atonement’s online version, http://www.circleofa.org/a-course-in-miracles/ and Miracle Distribution Center’s online “Quick Lookup” for reference.