We hereby continue the methodical study of "The Gospel According to Spiritism" by Allan Kardec, the third of the works of the Kardecian Pentateuch. The first edition was published in April, 1864. The answers to the questions suggested for discussion are at the end of the text below.
Questions for discussion
A. What did Jesus mean when he told Peter to put away his sword and not use it?
B. There is a great merit in doing good without ostentation. However, in what does it consist of, and in which moment does such action become more sublime?
C. Kardec recommends us to seek for the hidden misfortunes and gives us an example of the application of generosity. Comment on this.
D. Which is the most difficult charity to practice? (Chapter XIII, section 9)
Reading text
177. This Earth, being an orb of probation and exile, will one day be purified by the sacred fire, and will see charity, humility, patience, devotion, abnegation, resignation and sacrifice, being practiced and all born from true love. (Chapter XI, section 9, Fenelon)
178. Selfishness, the monstrous devourer of all intellects, born from pride, is the cause of all the miseries found in this world. It is a denial of charity and, consequently, the greatest obstacle to human happiness. (Chapter XI, section 11, Emmanuel)
179. You would be right to say that mankind was intended to be happy in this world. Happiness is to be looked for in the practice of goodness, and not within material pleasures. The history of Christianity tells us of martyrs walking happily to their execution. Today, Christians no longer need to face the holocaust of martyrdom, nor to sacrifice their lives, but they only need to fight against their selfishness, pride and vanity. You will only triumph, if you are inspired by charity and sustained by your faith. (Chapter XI, section 13, a Protecting Spirit)
180. Should we expose our lives in order to save the life of a criminal? Devotion is blind; enemies must be rescued; therefore, one ought to help an enemy of society, in other words, a criminal. Do you think that you are only saving this miserable creature from the act of death? You are perhaps giving him the opportunity to redeem all his past life. Go, men! Go, all of you, enlightened by the knowledge of spiritism, go and free this criminal from his condemnation and who knows this man, who would have died blaspheming, may throw himself into your arms. (Chapter XI, section 15, Lamennais)
181. " Ye have heard that it hath been said, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth - but I say unto you, that ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." (Matthew, Chapter V, vv. 38 to 42). To the proud man this teaching may seem cowardice, since he does not understand that it takes more courage to support an insult than it does to revenge it, because his vision does not reach beyond the present. (Chapter XII, sections 7 and 8)
182. However, you should not consider this lemma literally. The self-preservation instinct, being a law of Nature, prevents a person to offer his neck to the criminal. By enunciating this maxim, Jesus did not mean that self-defense is forbidden, but he meant that revenge is condemned. Telling us to offer the other cheek when one has been offended, is merely another way of saying we must not pay evil with evil; that man should humbly accept everything that serves as a means of weakening his pride; that his greater glory comes from being offended and not from offending, of suffering injustice patiently, instead of practicing it; that it is worth being deceived than deceiving, and to be ruined than to ruin. (Chapter XII, section 8)
183. Revenge is one of the last remnants of barbarism, which tends to disappear. Revenge is totally against Christ's principle: "Forgive your enemies". The one that refuses to forgive not only is not a Spiritist, but certainly is not even a Christian (Chapter XII, section 9, Jules Olivier)
184. Love one another and you will be happy. Above all, love those who inspire indifference, hate and disdain. Christ, who you should consider as a model, gave us an example of this devotion. Missionary of Love, He loved so much as to offer His own blood and life in the name of Love. Dear children, do not forget that love draws us near to God and hate drives us away from Him. (Chapter XII, section 10, Fenelon)
185. You are only truly worthy, if, when thinking of life as a journey, which will lead you to a determined point, you will not consider the roughness of your journey, nor will you let your steps to walk astray from the straight and narrow path. To devote one's time to revenge an offense is to withdraw from life's ordeals, and this procedure is always considered a crime in the eyes of God. (Chapter XII, section 11, Adolfo, Bishop of Argiels)
186. In certain cases to duel may be a proof of physical courage, of disdain for life. But, unquestionably, it is a proof of moral cowardice, just as suicide is. The suicide has not the courage to face the vicissitudes of life, whereas the one who duels cannot support offences. (Chapter XII, section 12, Saint Augustine)
Answers to the proposed questions
A. What did Jesus mean when he told Peter to put away his sword and not use it?
The sentence: "Put away your sword, because he who kills with the sword shall also perish by the sword" shows that all negative action generates an equally negative reaction and proves too that, so speaking, Jesus explicitly condemned the duel, the retribution, crime and all manner of revenge. (The Gospel According to Spiritism, Chapter XII, sections 12 and 13.)
B. There is a great merit in doing good without ostentation. However, in what does it consist of, and in which moment does such action become more sublime?
“But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee." Such words, mentioned by Jesus, mean that the good we practice must not be disclosed, nor become a reason for the person who practices it to become proud of. To do good without ostentation and to hide the hand that gives is a sign of great moral eminence, since, acting in such a way, the person renounces to the satisfaction that comes from the recognition by his fellow creatures and awaits for God's approval. And this action becomes even more sublime when the benefactor, reversing roles, finds a way to pretend that he is the one who benefits before the one he serves.
C. Kardec recommends us to seek for the hidden misfortunes and gives us an example of the application of generosity. Comment on this.
Kardec mentions the case of a distinguished lady, simply dressed, who enters a sordid looking house where a mother lies surrounded by her children. On her arrival, the thin faces glow with happiness, because the lady brings the resources they need, along with gentle and consoling words, thus allowing the ones she protects to accept these benefits without blushing. The father is at the hospital and, while he is there, the mother is unable to provide the family needs with her work. Thanks to this good lady, those poor children will no longer feel cold nor hungry. After leaving this house, she will go to the hospital to comfort the father and put his mind at rest regarding his family. When telling us the details of this case, Kardec is showing us the path we ought to follow and how should material charity be practiced. (Ibid, Chapter XIII, section 4.)
D. Which is the most difficult charity to practice? (Chapter XIII, section 9)
Although we may all practice it, because it implies in no material cost, the most difficult charity to put in practice is the moral charity, which consists in enduring each other. There is a great merit in learning to keep silent, and letting the more foolish speak; in playing deaf when a mocking word escapes from a mouth used to mockery; in seeing the disdainful smile of the one who greets us, and wrongly assumes he is far above us, forgetting that in the spiritual life, the only real one, he is often much below us. All these ways of behaving are expressions of moral charity too. (Ibid, Chapter XIII, section 9.)
