Jesus said, “The harvest is great but the laborers are few. Beseech the Lord, therefore, to send out laborers to the harvest.”
You are not alone in the struggle of conscious evolution and the quest for enlightenment and liberation. The souls of the prophets and apostles of God, the spirits of the saints and sages, and the holy angels of the Lord are all present and willing to help you. The Spirit of the Messiah itself is present with you and within you. You are not alone, but rather you are in good company. You only need to invoke, ask for help, and open yourself to the presence of the luminous assembly, and the Lord will answer your prayer and send you the help you need. Anywhere, at any time, you can call upon the holy ones and divine assistance will be present for you. Praise the Lord for the holy ones who guide and protect the faithful and elect!
The adepts and masters of the Light-transmission work from within the inner planes and in the material world for the enlightenment and liberation of souls. They are servants of God and laborers in the fields of sentient existence, seeking the harvest of souls for the Lord. Along with the holy angels of the Lord, they labor for the refinement and evolution of souls toward God-consciousness. They are ever ready and willing to render assistance to anyone who invokes them and opens themselves to the presence of the Lord.
Very few are they who have the spiritual faculties actualized to see the more subtle and sublime manifestation of the holy ones and angels in glorified form. Although a holy one or angel might appear in the subtle dimension right before them, or an assembly of radiant holy ones might appear all around, they would not perceive nor be conscious of these holy ones. Thus, they could not directly receive the divine influence of these holy ones; they could only receive it unconsciously. The degree to which the holy ones and angels can influence and help most ordinary individuals from the inner dimension is often very limited. Therefore, the tzaddikim and maggidim incarnate in the physical world in order to have a more direct influence. Everyone can see and encounter an incarnate tzaddik or maggid, whether or not they are able to recognize the Divine presence of the holy one. Because of this, the holy ones may be able to render assistance, both visible and invisible, more effectively.
Now, compared to those in need and the souls ready for harvest, there are relatively few holy ones incarnate. While it is the sacred heart of compassion and the Will of the Lord that sends them into the world, it is also our own invocation and desire to receive them in the world that brings them into incarnation. Here, we might consider our Master’s teachings regarding prayer. When we pray, we become channels or vehicles of the Divine presence and power in the world, making ourselves a link between heaven and earth so that the Divine powers may enter and accomplish the Divine Will. We are, in effect, the receivers and transmitters of the Divine powers. Only to the degree that the faithful and elect attune themselves and invoke the Divine powers, can the Divine powers enter into the physical world and act to bring about a greater good. So it is with the souls of the tzaddikim and maggidim—they also respond to our prayers and meditations, entering into the world dependent upon the balance of Divine providence we create. We must continually ask the Lord to send his holy ones into the world, inviting them, as it were, so that they may enter and labor with us in the great work on earth.
The Holy Scriptures and books of esoteric wisdom teach us that we determine the balance of Divine providence in the world. According to the degree to which human beings seek the Lord and cleave unto the Spirit of the Lord, the Divine presence and power is present with us and active in the world. Conversely, when human beings do not seek the Lord nor cleave unto the Spirit of the Lord in their lives, in effect they banish the holy Shekinah from the world and leave the world to the play of the cosmic forces of ignorance. Hence humanity plays an active role in the balance of the play of spiritual forces. Here, the Master is pointing to this truth and encouraging his disciples to consciously bring forth the Divine powers and the holy ones in the world.
The tzaddikim and maggidim are directly supported in their divine labor by the faithful and elect. The prophets and apostles of God do not labor alone, but labor together with their disciples, and the faithful and elect of their generation, to bring about the plan of God and to uplift humanity to God. Without their disciples and the matrix of the faithful and elect souls, they cannot accomplish the mission for which they are sent. We are all a part of the mystical body of Christ and have a role to play in the divine labor of the great transformation. The great work is a divine labor not only of individuals; it is a divine labor of collectives of individuals working together.
The Lord is not speaking of you as in any way separate or apart from the holy ones, but rather as intimately connected with the holy ones and a part of the same mystical body. The Lord is calling you, as a disciple, to the same ministry of the Word and Wisdom of God. Indeed, it is the intention of the Master not only that you should invoke the Divine powers and the holy ones, but that you also should bear forth the Divine powers as a holy one yourself. You also are a laborer of the Lord that, in your prayers, you call upon to help with the harvest of souls. This invocation is as much about your holy soul as any other soul of Light. You are needed in the great work. Many are the souls that need your help for their enlightenment and liberation. The need is great, and every soul among the faithful and elect is called upon to meet the need. The Lord is sending you out to the harvest of souls!
There is definite instruction in this verse regarding things we might pray for. We are to pray that the Lord sends prophets and apostles, saints and sages into the world and, likewise, for assistance of the holy ones and angels of the Lord for those we know are in need of assistance. So, too, we are to pray for the growth of our spiritual communities, that new companions come and labor with us in the great work. We are to pray for the holy ones and the faithful and elect, that they might be empowered by the Holy Spirit and have all that they need to accomplish the great work—hence, that the Lord go with his servants and glorify himself through them. The Lord is calling us to develop an active prayer life, not only for ourselves alone, but for the sake of all living souls. We are to pray for the health, happiness, and enlightenment of all living souls, and actively labor to assist in any way we can.