Divine Sacrifice
An Interfaith Devotional of Scriptural Passages on the Sufferings of the Vicegerent of God
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When righteousness is weak and faints / And unrighteousness exalts in pride, / Then my Spirit arises on earth. / For the salvation of those who are good, / For the destruction of evil in men, / For the fulfillment of the kingdom of righteousness / I come to this world from age to age.
(Bhagavad Gita, 4:7-8)(Oratorio to His Holiness Bahá'u'lláh)
The whole duty of man in this Day is to attain that share of the flood of grace which God poureth forth for him.
O mankind! there hath come to you a direction from your Lord and a healing for the (diseases) in your hearts,- and for those who believe, a guidance and a Mercy.
In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.... That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
It was We who revealed the law (to Moses): therein was guidance and
light....
And in their footsteps We sent Jesus the son of Mary, confirming the Law that had come before him: We sent him the Gospel: therein was guidance and light, and confirmation of the Law that had come before him: a guidance and an admonition to those who fear God.
To thee We sent the Scripture in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it, and guarding it in safety.... To each among you have we prescribed a law and an open way. If God had so willed, He would have made you a single people, but (His plan is) to test you in what He hath given you: so strive as in a race in all virtues. The goal of you all is to God; it is He that will show you the truth of the matters in which ye dispute;
[God,] the Source of infinite grace... hath caused those luminous Gems of Holiness to appear out of the realm of the spirit, in the noble form of the human temple, and be made manifest unto all men.... From Him proceed their knowledge and power; from Him is derived their sovereignty. The beauty of their countenance is but a reflection of His image, and their revelation a sign of His deathless glory. They are the Treasuries of divine knowledge, and the Repositories of celestial wisdom. Through them is transmitted a grace that is infinite, and by them is revealed the light that can never fade.
I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.
And this is a Book which We have sent down, bringing blessings, and confirming (the revelations) which came before it...
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
...the universal Manifestations of God... the divine Luminaries, by their loving care and educative influence, cause the trees of divine unity, the fruits of His oneness, the leaves of detachment, the blossoms of knowledge and certitude, and the myrtles of wisdom and utterance, to exist and be made manifest. Thus it is that through the rise of these Luminaries of God the world is made new, the waters of everlasting life stream forth, the billows of loving-kindness surge, the clouds of grace are gathered, and the breeze of bounty bloweth upon all created things. It is the warmth that these Luminaries of God generate, and the undying fires they kindle, which cause the light of the love of God to burn fiercely in the heart of humanity. It is through the abundant grace of these Symbols of Detachment that the Spirit of life everlasting is breathed into the bodies of the dead.... Through Him all things live, move, and have their being. Through His grace they are made manifest, and unto Him they all return.
Through their appearance the Revelation of God is made manifest, and by their countenance the Beauty of God is revealed.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
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He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
(Isaiah, 53:3)He gave His back to the smiters, and His cheeks to them that plucked off the hair; He hid not His face from shame and spitting.
(Isaiah 50:6)(Handel, "Messiah", Air 20)
Each nation hath plotted darkly against their Messenger to lay violent hold on Him, and disputed with vain words to invalidate the truth.
We gave Moses the Book and followed him up with a succession of messengers; We gave Jesus the son of Mary Clear (Signs) and strengthened him with the holy spirit. Is it that whenever there comes to you an messenger with what ye yourselves desire not, ye are puffed up with pride?- Some ye called impostors, and others ye slay!
Since the Seal of the Prophets (Muhammad)--may all else but Him be His sacrifice--and before Him the Spirit of God (Jesus), as far back as the First Manifestation, all have at the time of Their appearance suffered grievously. Some were held to be possessed, others were called impostors, and were treated in a manner that the pen is ashamed to describe. By God! There befell Them what hath made all created things to sigh, and yet the people are, for the most part, sunk in manifest ignorance!
The same religion has He established for you as that which He enjoined on Noah - that which We have sent by inspiration to thee - and that which We enjoined on Abraham, Moses, and Jesus: Namely, that ye should remain steadfast in religion, and make no divisions therein....
And they became divided only after Knowledge reached them,- through selfish envy as between themselves.... But truly those who have inherited the Book after them are in suspicious (disquieting) doubt concerning it.
But the fools of the world know not me when they see me in my own human body. They know not my Spirit supreme, the infinite God of this all.
And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.
O the misery of men! No Messenger cometh unto them but they laugh Him to scorn.
Not one single Manifestation of Holiness hath appeared but He was afflicted by the denials, the repudiation, and the vehement opposition of the people around Him.
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Surely He hath borne our grief, and carried our sorrows! He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him.
(Isaiah 53:4-5)(Handel, "Messiah", Chorus 21)
If thy Lord had so willed, He could have made mankind one people: but they will not cease to dispute.
When it is said to them, "Believe in what God Hath sent down, "they say, "We believe in what was sent down to us:" yet they reject all besides, even if it be Truth confirming what is with them. Say: "Why then have ye slain the prophets of God in times gone by, if ye did indeed believe?"
Of them there are some who (pretend to) listen to thee; but We have thrown veils on their hearts, So they understand it not, and deafness in their ears; if they saw every one of the signs, not they will believe in them; in so much that when they come to thee, they (but) dispute with thee; the Unbelievers say: "These are nothing but tales of the ancients."
Then sent We our messengers in succession: every time there came to a people their messenger, they accused him of falsehood...
Consider the past. How many, both high and low, have, at all times, yearningly awaited the advent of the Manifestations of God in the sanctified persons of His chosen Ones. How often have they expected His coming, how frequently have they prayed that the breeze of divine mercy might blow, and the promised Beauty step forth from behind the veil of concealment, and be made manifest to all the world. And whensoever the portals of grace did open, and the clouds of divine bounty did rain upon mankind, and the light of the Unseen did shine above the horizon of celestial might, they all denied Him, and turned away from His face--the face of God Himself. Refer ye, to verify this truth, to that which hath been recorded in every sacred Book.
Ponder for a moment, and reflect upon that which hath been the cause of such denial on the part of those who have searched with such earnestness and longing. Their attack hath been more fierce than tongue or pen can describe. Not one single Manifestation of Holiness hath appeared but He was afflicted by the denials, the repudiation, and the vehement opposition of the people around Him.
These were the men to whom We gave the Book, and authority, and prophethood: if these (their descendants) reject them, Behold! We shall entrust their charge to a new people who reject them not.
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Pange, lingua, gloriosi / Corporis mysterium, / Sanguinisque pretiosi, / Quem in mundi pretium, / Fructus ventris generosi, / Rex effudit Gentium.
Nobis datus, nobis natus / Ex intacta Virgine, / Et in mundo conversatus / Sparso verbi semine, / Sui mores incolatus / Miro clausit ordine. /
In supremae nocte coenae? / Recumbens cum fratribus. / Observata lege plene / Cibis in legalibus, / Cibum turbae duodenae / Se dat suds manibus.
Verbum caro, panem verum / Verbo carnem efficit, / Fitque sanguis Christi merum; / Et si sensus deficit, / Ad firmandum cor sincerum / Sola fides sufficit.
Tantum ergo Sacramentum / Veneremur cernui: / Et antiquum documentum / Novo cedat ritui: / Praestet fides supplementurn / Sensuum defectui.
Genitori Genitoque / Laus et iubilatio, / Salus, honor, virtue quoque / Sit et benedictio: / Procedenti ab utroque / Compar sit laudatio. Amen.
Translation
[Sing, my tongue, / The mystery of the glorious body, / And of the precious Blood, / Shed to save the world, / By the King of the nations, / The fruit of a noble womb.Given to us, born for us, / From a stainless Virgin, / And having dwelt in the world, / Sowing the seed of the word, / He closed in a wonderful way, / The days of his habitation... etc.]
(Josquin des Pres, Plainchant: Pange Lingua)
Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.
Accordingly, a brief mention will be made in this Tablet of divers accounts relative to the Prophets of God, that they may demonstrate the truth that throughout all ages and centuries the Manifestations of power and glory have been subjected to such heinous cruelties that no pen dare describe them.
How could such Souls have consented to surrender themselves unto their enemies if they believed all the worlds of God to have been reduced to this earthly life? Would they have willingly suffered such afflictions and torments as no man hath ever experienced or witnessed?
Fix your gaze upon Him Who is the Temple of God amongst men. He, in truth, hath offered up His life as a ransom for the redemption of the world.
And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought.
For I am the sacrifice and the offering, the sacred gift and the sacred plant. I am the holy words, the holy food, the holy fire, and the offering that is made in the fire.
Moreover, consider the hardships and the bitterness of the lives of those Revealers of the divine Beauty. Reflect, how single-handed and alone they faced the world and all its peoples, and promulgated the Law of God! No matter how severe the persecutions inflicted upon those holy, those precious, and tender Souls, they still remained, in the plenitude of their power, patient, and, despite their ascendancy, they suffered and endured.
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He was cut off out the land of the living: for the transgressions of Thy people was He stricken.
(Isaiah 53:8)(Handel, "Messiah", Accompagnato 28)But Thous didst not leave His soul in Hell; nor didst Thou suffer Thy Holy One to see corruption.
(Psalms 16:10)(Handel, "Messiah", Air 29)
For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.
For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
We, verily, have come for your sakes, and have borne the misfortunes of the world for your salvation. Flee ye the One Who hath sacrificed His life that ye may be quickened?
I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Though afflicted with countless tribulations, which We have suffered at the hands of Our enemies, We have proclaimed unto all the rulers of the earth what God hath willed to proclaim, that all nations may know that no manner of affliction can deter the Pen of the Ancient of Days from achieving its purpose.
All the divine discourses containing reproof, though apparently addressed to the Prophets, in reality are directed to the people, through a wisdom which is absolute mercy, in order that the people may not be discouraged and disheartened. They, therefore, appear to be addressed to the Prophets; but though outwardly for the Prophets, they are in truth for the people and not for the Prophets....
To conclude, the addresses in the form of reproach which are in the Holy Books, though apparently directed to the Prophets--that is to say, to the Manifestations of God--in reality are intended for the people.
Also the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither.
But the LORD was wroth with me for your sakes, and would not hear me: and the LORD said unto me, Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto me of this matter.
Furthermore the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, and sware that I should not go over Jordan, and that I should not go in unto that good land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance: But I must die in this land, I must not go over Jordan: but ye shall go over, and possess that good land.
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Thy rebuke hath broken his Heart: He is full of heaviness. He looked for some to have pity on Him, but there was no man, neither found He any to comfort Him.
(Psalms 69:20)(Handel, "Messiah", Accompagnato 26)Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto His sorrow.
(Lamentations 1:12)(Handel, "Messiah", Arioso 27)
The Ancient Beauty hath consented to be bound with chains that mankind may be released from its bondage, and hath accepted to be made a prisoner within this most mighty Stronghold that the whole world may attain unto true liberty. He hath drained to its dregs the cup of sorrow, that all the peoples of the earth may attain unto abiding joy, and be filled with gladness. This is of the mercy of your Lord, the Compassionate, the Most Merciful. We have accepted to be abased, O believers in the Unity of God, that ye may be exalted, and have suffered manifold afflictions, that ye might prosper and flourish. He Who hath come to build anew the whole world, behold, how they that have joined partners with God have forced Him to dwell within the most desolate of cities!
And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
The purpose of God, moreover, was to sacrifice him as a ransom for the sins and iniquities of all the peoples of the earth.
Know thou that when the Son of Man yielded up His breath to God, the whole creation wept with a great weeping. By sacrificing Himself, however, a fresh capacity was infused into all created things. Its evidences, as witnessed in all the peoples of the earth, are now manifest before thee. The deepest wisdom which the sages have uttered, the profoundest learning which any mind hath unfolded, the arts which the ablest hands have produced, the influence exerted by the most potent of rulers, are but manifestations of the quickening power released by His transcendent, His all-pervasive, and resplendent Spirit.
For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Because He bore injustice, justice hath appeared on earth, and because He accepted abasement, the majesty of God hath shone forth amidst mankind.
I sorrow not for the burden of My imprisonment. Neither do I grieve over My abasement, or the tribulation I suffer at the hands of Mine enemies. By My life! They are My glory, a glory wherewith God hath adorned His own Self. Would that ye know it!
The shame I was made to bear hath uncovered the glory with which the whole of creation had been invested, and through the cruelties I have endured, the Day Star of Justice hath manifested itself, and shed its splendor upon men.
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O Bahá'u'lláh, what hast Thou done? / May my life be a sacrifice for Thee. / May my soul be offered up Thy sake. / How full were Thy days, with trials and tribulations, / How severe the ordeals Thou didst endure.
("O Bahá'u'lláh", from "Oratorio to His Holiness Bahá'u'lláh")
Whoso will reflect upon the tribulations We have suffered, his soul will assuredly melt away with sorrow. Thy Lord Himself beareth witness to the truth of My words. We have sustained the weight of all calamities to sanctify you from all earthly corruption, and ye are yet indifferent.
As to the souls who are born into this world radiant entities and who through excessive difficulty are deprived of great benefits and thus leave the world--they are worthy of all sympathy, for in reality this is worthy of regret. It is for this purpose (that is, it is with regard to this wisdom) that the great Manifestations (of God) unveil themselves in this world, bear every difficulty and ordeal--to make these ready souls dawnings of light and confer upon them eternal life. This is the real atonement that His Holiness Christ made--He sacrificed Himself for the life of the world.
Glory to Thee, O my God! But for the tribulations which are sustained in Thy path, how could Thy true lovers be recognized; and were it not for the trials which are borne for love of Thee, how could the station of such as yearn for Thee be revealed?....
How sweet to my taste is the bitterness of death suffered in Thy path, and how precious in my estimation are the shafts of Thine enemies when encountered for the sake of the exaltation of Thy word!
Thou hast, verily, O my God, suffered Him Who is the Manifestation of Thine own Self to be afflicted with all manner of adversity in order that Thy servants may ascend unto the pinnacle of Thy gracious favor, and attain unto that which Thou hast, through Thy providence and tender mercies, ordained for them in the Tablets of Thine irrevocable decree.
How sweet to my taste is the bitterness of death suffered in Thy path, and how precious in my estimation are the shafts of Thine enemies when encountered for the sake of the exaltation of Thy Word!
Were it not for the cold, how would the heat of Thy words prevail, O Expounder of the worlds? Were it not for calamity, how would the sun of Thy patience shine, O Light of the worlds? Lament not because of the wicked. Thou wert created to bear and endure, O Patience of the worlds.... We have made abasement the garment of glory, and affliction the adornment of Thy temple, O Pride of the worlds. Thou seest the hearts are filled with hate, and to overlook is Thine, O Thou Concealer of the sins of the worlds.
Worldly friends, seeking their own good, appear to love one the other, whereas the true Friend hath loved and doth love you for your own sakes; indeed He hath suffered for your guidance countless afflictions. Be not disloyal to such a Friend, nay rather hasten unto Him.
Strive that haply the tribulations suffered by this Wronged One and by you, in the path of God, may not prove to have been in vain.
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At the break of dawn after centuries of night / A child is born, a child of light / Into a world of shadows and pain / Injustice rules and darkness reigns
How unique the child, His knowledge innate / No teacher could teach this child of fate / And there in a dream in an ocean disturbed / His long locks reached out and His message was heard
For thousand years we invoke Your name / And when You appear, You're bound in chains / Oh why, why are we so afraid of change / And I won't forget how unkind they were to You / I won't forget how You suffered / I won't forget Your message of love / I won't forget, I won't forget
You receive the word, Your purpose is clear / To share with the world with those who would hear / You take their hands and You heal their pain / You comfort their hearts with nothing to gain
The plight of the world weighs down on Your back / You share Your message and they launch their attack / They cast You out and don't recognize / Your book is wide open and there's tears in Your eyes
(Smith and Dragoman, "Messenger" from "Open The Gates")