June 13th 1966
"Wait upon the Lord." It is the servant's place, his work, to wait upon his Lord and to be ready to obey any summons which cometh forth from the master.
We come this day with words of good cheer. You have been talking this day about those certain ones who shut themselves away from the world. The monks, and those masters and teachers who reserve the power in their solitude to send forth this same power into the world. But, there are great ones of old, and in this present time also, who, like Jesus, walk abroad in, as it were, the market place, the highway, the sandy beech, and the outskirts of your cities, your towns, and in the centres of these same places are great souls still to be found.
And this is something that all seekers after truth must learn. Through patience, through seeking with diligence, they will eventually find that they have been waiting upon the Lord. And the time must surely come when the Master will recognise, in his servant, a true and lasting fidelity. He can see, because of like attracting like, that here is one that has been trained to perfection. And this humble servant can be trusted with the most important, specialised, work. And the one who can walk abroad, as it were, in the world, and give of love, and serve, as it were, on the vibration in which he finds himself at the moment, is the true servant: Who can at all times, in all conditions, and in all circumstances, serve.
It is good to be able to talk on any level, concerning anything. And we know that you, who have hungered and have been athirst for knowledge concerning truth, find it very, very difficult to understand the mentality of those who never seem to make this search, who never seem to have any desire to find out what is in store for them spiritually. But, we have told you before, that love has all levels. It can be on a high or it can be on a lower, but even as Jesus talked to the prostitute, talked to the woman at the well, the woman of Samaria, who sat in the inn with the so-called publicans and sinners, who made a friend of the tax-collector, and dined at his house, all those that around that professed religion and religious thought, condemned these things. They thought that the only place to talk about God was in the temple, in the synagogues, and in the so-called churches.
But Jesus taught, by His way of life, that this is not so. God is everywhere, in all things, all the time. And unless you can see Him everywhere, all the time, and in everyone. in everything, then you are not truly waiting upon the Lord. You are waiting more or less upon yourself. You are doing the things you want to do and the things you like to do. But, if you seek, if you search, if you develop patience, and if you are absolutely sincere, then the opportunity will come to talk, to converse, and to link up with influences higher than the Earth. But these things can only be brought about when one has truly served on every occasion, in every sphere, on every vibration, in the Earth world.
There is such a thing as spiritual gluttony, and spiritual snobbery, and these will feel that they are only good enough for the angels, that they must shut themselves away where they cannot become contaminated with their fellow men. And sometimes, not always, but sometimes be quite wrong. Because humility, being the key note of all spiritual progress, it is absolutely essential to see and feel God and love and the true Spirit in all and sundry.
And so, when you have to converse with those who will not talk about those things which are nearest and dearest to your own heart and mind, then you must give them of the very best that is available on that level. Bring in the thoughts of kindness, the little human kindnesses. Help them to be kind to one another, and if you feel that a conversation is beginning to bring into being any feeling alien to love, then call it gently back, and in this way you are continually waiting upon the Lord.
And we would have you remember also, that as you do the ordinary, the everyday, the mundane tasks, in your garden, in your house, that God is there. And we would have you look upon all these things as holy, sacred, tasks, and say to yourself the whole time, "I am waiting on the Lord. I am doing this for God." And you will find that you yourself will be lifted up onto this higher vibration all the time.
You talk about those who have to work in the so-called, uncongenial jobs. And you said that you were sorry, and so are we. So are we. But because of the state of your Earth world today, this work must be done. And because you have searched yourselves, and because you are linked up to higher and more spiritual vibrations, you have been lifted out of these conditions. You have been brought to your proper place through the way that you think. And we would have you not grieve too much, but if you can see that another person is gently rising above these conditions, then pray with faith that help may be forthcoming, and if that person is drawing on the right vibration, calling, as it were, if only through his or her thoughts, on the right influences, they will be lifted up and placed, as it were, in their proper habitat where they really belong.
Serve the Christ, the Spirit within you. Obey your higher instincts when you are with the ordinary, your friends and neighbours. And when the opportunity comes to link up with the divine, with the sacred, with the holy, wait upon the Lord also on these higher vibrations.
Even as a man, if he is to succeed in the material world, he must have an all-round physical, mental personality, so must you children possess, work for, acquire, an all-round spiritual personality and with this one you can be at ease, and with this one you can be at peace.
All is well. We are watching closely. All is well.
This transcript addresses a real risk in anyone earnestly seeking truth: the temptation to withdraw from ordinary people and ordinary life as though holiness required separation from both. It calls this "spiritual gluttony" and "spiritual snobbery" — a state where a person feels themselves too refined for their fellow men, and names humility, not withdrawal, as the actual key note of spiritual progress.
The model offered is Jesus's own way of life — talking with the woman at the well, dining with tax collectors, speaking with those that "professed religion" condemned him for even approaching. God is everywhere, in everyone, at every level, the transcript insists — and truly "waiting upon the Lord" means being able to meet a person exactly where they are, at whatever level of conversation is available, rather than only in temple, synagogue, or church. Even the most mundane tasks — housework, gardening — can become "holy, sacred," simply through the intention brought to them: "I am doing this for God."
This is a distinctly Franciscan — Francis of Assisi's own instruction, "preach the gospel at all times; when necessary, use words," and his insistence on serving lepers and the poor directly rather than withdrawing into contemplation alone. It's also close to what later Quaker and other traditions of "practical mysticism" describe as sacramental ordinary life — finding the sacred not despite the everyday, but within it, at whatever level one is actually standing.