ACIM Chapter 14. V. The Circle of Atonement P 10, 11
The Circle of Atonement
V. The Circle of Atonement
10. The crucifixion had no part in the Atonement. ²Only the resurrection became my part in it. ³That is the symbol of the release from guilt by guiltlessness. ⁴Whom you perceive as guilty you would crucify. ⁵Yet you restore guiltlessness to whomever you see as guiltless. ⁶Crucifixion is always the ego’s aim. ⁷It sees everyone as guilty, and by its condemnation it would kill. ⁸The Holy Spirit sees only guiltlessness, and in His gentleness He would release from fear and re-establish the reign of love. ⁹The power of love is in His gentleness, which is of God and therefore cannot crucify nor suffer crucifixion. ¹⁰The temple you restore becomes your altar, for it was rebuilt through you. ¹¹And everything you give to God is yours. ¹²Thus He creates, and thus must you restore.
11. Each one you see you place within the holy circle of Atonement or leave outside, judging him fit for crucifixion or for redemption. ²If you bring him into the circle of purity, you will rest there with him. ³If you leave him without, you join him there. ⁴Judge not except in quietness which is not of you. ⁵Refuse to accept anyone as without the blessing of Atonement, and bring him into it by blessing him. ⁶Holiness must be shared, for therein lies everything that makes it holy. ⁷Come gladly to the holy circle, and look out in peace on all who think they are outside. ⁸Cast no one out, for here is what he seeks along with you. ⁹Come, let us join him in the holy place of peace which is for all of us, united as one within the Cause of peace. (ACIM, T-14.V.10:1–11:9)
Cast no one out.
Jesus begins these two final paragraphs in The Circle of Atonement by saying the crucifixion has no part in this, only the resurrection. When we judge someone, we crucify them. When we bless them, we resurrect them, so to speak. This is our purpose. Each person of whom we are aware awaits our judgment. Will we invite them into the Circle of Atonement? Or leave them out. We will place ourselves where we place them.
Who will I bless with the Atonement today? Which politician? Someone from my past? That person who thinks I don’t know what I’m talking about? How about the one who doesn’t seem to be taking our work together seriously? Anyone who seems like a threat to me in some way is one I can bless and bring into the Circle to stand with Jesus, and all of us.
Jesus tells us to “⁴Judge not except in quietness which is not of you.”
When I see myself judging today, I will stop and turn it over to the Holy Spirit to judge for me, so I can see it as it truly is. He cuts through the illusion of fear and goes straight to the truth. He will always judge us to be as God created us – completely innocent. This is not something I can do from the split mind’s perspective. On my own, I cannot see it, but I can choose the One Who does.
Jesus also tells us that “⁶Holiness must be shared, for therein lies everything that makes it holy.” I am holy because you are holy. I will not recognize my own holiness without recognizing yours. This is why I still judge and find others guilty. My judgment is perpetuating an error and keeping myself in fear of my brother rather than in love. I am keeping myself in hell. But I understand my way out now. When I fear anyone, I will see this error now and allow the Holy Spirit to decide for God for me. The ego certainly isn’t going to do that.
Jesus ends this section with a plaintive call to join that opens my heart to respond in kind.
⁹Come, let us join him in the holy place of peace which is for all of us, united as one within the Cause of peace.
I do want to respond to this call!
I want to join with everyone without exception. Yes, I want to call each person I meet or think of to the Circle of Atonement, and I can do this. I begin my day by asking the Holy Spirit to decide for me in all things, and I remind myself of this decision all through the day. I am devoted, with active willingness, to the denial of guilt in all its forms. Now I have discovered that the temptation to find guilt is a senseless attempt to defend against fear, and so I will turn that over to the Holy Spirit as well. I will let Him remind me of my true nature, which cannot be attacked, and that this life is just an experience I chose, not my reality. It hardly needs my defense, only my forgiveness.
Jesus, I love everything in your book, but I am particularly grateful for this section. It has brought me closer to awakening as I have practiced it along with my lessons. I will stand on this holy ground with you as I continue to invite all others you send my way to join us there. And if I falter, I know the Holy Spirit will gently help me find my way back. I feel blessed and want to extend that blessing to everyone else. And I will keep choosing again.