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Article - Healing Our Broken HeartsHealing Our Broken Hearts Adapted from a transcription of "Healing the Broken-Hearted" by the Rev. Jeremy Simons The story of Jacob meeting Rachel is about love at first sight. As soon as Jacob knew who Rachel was, he loved her. When he saw her he was so filled with strength that he was able to roll back a heavy stone from a well by himself. Then he ran to Rachel, kissed her, and wept for joy. This story has great meaning in our lives. For one thing, we all hope for the experience of falling in love with someone who we know is right for us, someone we deeply love and who loves us in return. Hopefully such a meeting will happen, or has already happened for you. But this meeting also happens on a spiritual plane, within each one of us. Jacob was running away in fear of his brother Esau, who wanted to kill him. But he was also on a journey because his mother had sent him to find a wife from her family in Haran. Everybody is on a journey of some kind in their life, both fleeing from negative things and searching for peace. This journey is part of an inner love story that goes on in our minds throughout our life. It is a search for the truth and the love inside of us that are just right for each other, that can be united together, like a spiritual marriage. On this journey, Jacob saw a well in a field with shepherds around it, and he began to ask them questions. He wanted to know where they were from, who they were, and if they knew his relatives. The shepherds told Jacob that the daughter of his relative was coming with her flocks. Jacob's conversation with the shepherds is like us considering the quality of the ideas and people in our lives. After we meet someone new, we begin to wonder what they are really like. Are they genuine? Are they suited to us? Is their good like ours? Can we join them in the service of the Lord? This is how we orient ourselves to new people and also to new ideas we come across. Rachel, represents something special and beautiful that we are all looking for (whether we are male or female). And as soon as we see it, we recognize how important it is. We realize that this is our purpose in life, this where we belong, this is the idea to which we want to dedicate our lives. Throughout our life, each of us will find this thing more and more specifically. It is not our occupation, rather it is what we believe, what we stand for. Rachel represents a deep love for what is true. Her occupation as a shepherdess shows that this love has the ability to teach us and lead us to a healing peace, as a shepherd gently leads a flock. When we recognize this love in ourselves, we are tremendously motivated by it. In the story, Jacob was so stirred by seeing Rachel that he rolled away the stone from the well. The well represents the Word. Truth from the Word is present in our life. Yet it is not until we see it in a special way - until we love it - that we are given the strength to remove the things that have blocked our way to the Lord. All of a sudden, certain things make sense that have never made sense before. We embrace this love of truth, we weep for joy, and we thank the Lord. It is a wonderful and powerful experience. But it is not easy to find a genuine love of truth, just as it is not easy to find a person to truly love in this world. A perfect love story seems elusive and rare. And so there are many people who are brokenhearted. The reason why this wonderful love seems rare is that all love really has to do with religion. The state of marriage, the state of love among friends, is all connected to the state of religion with people. This is because religious beliefs and values connect people with the Lord. So when these are not strong, broken hearts are common, and love is rare. The Lord was born into this world more than 2000 years ago to change this situation, to make that love more common and widespread. His Second Coming in the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Church teaches this even more clearly and strongly. This marriage of truth and love is what the New Church is all about. This all comes about from the well of the Lord's Word. To the extent that we live by the Word, there will be love among us - love to the Lord and love for each other. The effect takes time to be seen and felt. People learn to recognize and live by the truth only gradually. As they do, a new love is born in the human heart. Our recognition of this love of truth - a love and a truth that are perfectly suited to us - is deeply moving. It carries a compelling promise of healing and peace. |
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