February 24th 1966
There is a green hill. And we are told that the green hill is far, far, away. But for those who have tried to live the life who have searched for truth, who have tried to understand the meaning and purpose of life, to those we would like to say that the green hill is so very, very, near, so many, many times.
And to this place the seeker after truth must oft times go. Because, even as the crowd drove the Master under the weight of his own cross, to this very place, so do the ignorant and those that think wrongly, and also the ignorant in one's own self, which is inevitable whilst on the Earth, all this drives the seeker time, and time again to the green hill.
And here he feels the misery of the whole world, the sadness, the wrong thinking, and the misunderstanding. And the darkness, we are told, fell over the Earth. And even in our own lives, as we reach this place, time after time, we feel the same darkness envelop our hearts and our minds. And we feel in this darkness that we cannot even think. And we become in body and mind limp, and helpless. And then, inevitably, inevitably because this is the proper place, because this is an absolute must for all who follow this path, Jesus, the Master, knew, all through His Earth life that it would and like this. And we who travel on, who are trying, who are persevering, we who have left the Earth are always ready, at the foot of the cross, as it were, to those who are having this same experience upon the Earth, even as Mary and John waited at the foot of the beloved Master, so do we, when this experience overtakes you, await, to bring comfort and to help at the end, because we are certain that this time, this so-called end, will come again, if only for a little while.
And in your heart, as you stand alone, absolutely, upon the green hill of experience, the faith within you tells you that it cannot last forever. It cannot last for long. And then the dark thoughts which fill your mind, which are symbolic of the dark, angry, vicious crowd, that stood around the cross crying, "Crucify him," these thoughts, these misgivings, caused through other people, and through a certain amount of ignorance in your own education, in your own make-up, at last they begin to list(?) and you cry once again, "Father, forgive them, Father forgive me, for we know not what we do."
But before this state, before this sensation of release, of forgiveness, comes unto you, there is always the time when you cry out also, "O my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
This experience is inevitable too. There must come, there it came to Christ. It has come to us and it will come to you, many times, the feeling that God has forsaken thee. But just as surely, this will pass and the other words will come. "Forgive them, forgive us, we know not what we do."
And then you will be ready once again for the minor resurrection. This keeps happening all along life's way, whilst one is on the Earth plane, with other people of different and varying states of soul. And you must remember that at all times it is ignorance, dull, angry, sullen, smouldering, ignorance, that drives all those who are trying to love to the green hill, to Calvary.
But Christ made that journey for the last time two thousand years ago. It was His last experience of the so-called cross. He rose again to prove to the world, to all the world, that life was everlasting, that death could be the very last, and the most important victory, and that ignorance could be forgiven, and that life on a higher plane, in a better place, on a higher vibration, could go on for ever. And that even the beggars, the murderers, and the thieves, were not exempt.
But the cross that you carry in this life, the remorse, the regrets, the sorrow concerning others, the sadness of the compassion that sometimes seems so useless, and your very own helplessness in the face of the trials and tribulations of others, all these crosses, on which at one time or another you seem to hang, are but shadows of the real. And every time that you go to the green hill, and you suffer in this way or that, upon this cross or that, all these things eventually bring into being a cross of solid gold, the last cross. All lessons have been learned, all experiences have been understood, and at last, the eternal, everlasting resurrection will take place. And then, the arms of the cross will be of such that it will, if you can imagine a resting place, and here one can lie relaxed, and be at peace. This very cross. And here, one will thank God for all the other crosses, all the other experiences, all the other Calvarys, that have led, eventually, to this. All the others will be soon as shadows, and this, the real, and the absolute.
Soon all the peoples will be gathering in the various churches and they will be singing, "There is a green hill far away, beside the city walls." But this, this will not please or satisfy the Spirit of Jesus. But for those who recognise this very happening within their own lives, those will cheer His spirit, and He will thank God that He did not hang upon that Calvary in vain. There are those who at last are beginning to understand the message.
Take all these things, my children, for symbols. We know and we understand that when this darkness fills your being, you are being crucified. We patiently wait, because we know the dawn will come.
There are many who through your life, and through your prayers, and through your compassion, will be in paradise because of you.
Calvary — the "green hill" of the hymn — isn't a one-off historical event here, but something anyone who genuinely seeks truth keeps revisiting: driven there again and again by ignorance, both others' and one's own. Each visit follows the same shape Christ's own did — the cry "My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46), followed by "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34) — despair giving way to forgiveness and release, a "minor resurrection," over and over, as one keeps growing.
But these repeated crucifixions are described as shadows of a final one: eventually, once all the lessons carried by every smaller cross have been learned, they resolve into a single "cross of solid gold" — no longer an instrument of suffering but a resting place, where every earlier Calvary is given thanks for having led here. This final peace is not exclusive: "even the beggars, the murderers, and the thieves were not exempt," a direct echo of the thief crucified beside Christ, promised paradise that same day (Luke 23:43).
Perhaps the most thought-provoking and inspiring comment is the last sentence. That Mary’s life, prayers and compassion have helped others obtain paradise. Such is the power of true spiritual thinking.