8th September Trinity
Luke 17: 20-37
At that time the Pharisees asked him, “When will the
Kingdom of God come?” And he answered,
“The Kingdom of God [The human Kingdom of the Spirit, permeated by God], does
not come in a form which is outwardly perceptible. Nor does it come in such a
way that one can say: Look, here it is, or there. Behold—the Kingdom of the
Spirit will arise in your own hearts.
And he said to his disciples, “There will come
times when you will long to experience even one of the days of the Son of Man,
and you will not experience it. Then they will say to you: Look—there! or
Look—here! Do not follow this call; do
not go on their spirit paths. For the Son of Man in his day will be like the
lightning which flashes up in one part of the sky and yet instantly pours out
its bright light over the whole firmament. But first he must suffer great agony and be rejected by this present earthly
humanity. As it was in the days of Noah, so will it again be in the day when
the Son of Man will reveal himself: they ate and drank, they came together in
marriage as man and wife, until the day when Noah entered the Ark and the great
flood destroyed everything. It was the same in the days of Lot: they ate and
drank, bought, sold, planted, built, until Lot left Sodom, and fire and sulfur
rained from heaven and everything perished. It will be like that, too, in the
days when the Son of Man will reveal himself.
When that time comes, let him who is on the roof of
his house, having left his goods in the house, not go down to fetch them. And
let him who is out in the open field not go back to what he has left behind.
Remember Lot’s wife! For whoever tries to preserve his soul unchanged will lose
it, and whoever is prepared to give it, will in truth awaken in himself a
higher life. I tell you; then there will be two sleeping at night in one bed;
when the power of the spirit comes, one is gripped by it, the other is left
empty-handed. Two women will be grinding at one mill; one is deeply stirred,
the other is left empty-handed.
And they said to him, “Where shall we turn our
gaze, Lord? And he answered, “Become aware of your life body, and you will see
the eagles that are gathering. [or, Where the formative forces in the human
being begin to work in freedom, there the Spirit of the World reveals himself.]
[or, Where there is descent and disintegration, there also is revelation.]
8th Summer Trinity
Luke 17:20-37
Here in Southern
California ’s late summer heat, wildfires often ignite. A lightning
strike, a stray spark and fields and forests are altered. We who build our
homes in the hills are invested in not letting this change happen. But it is
the way of nature’s life in this part of the world.
In today’s gospel reading, Christ
talks about the nature of the Kingdom
of God
A surprising characteristic of
this kingdom is its impermanence. He
compares it to lightning flashes which suddenly illuminate everything. It comes
to individuals, not to groups, and seems to be connected with suffering. He
warns us against trying to keep things unchanged, especially in our interior
landscape. For in the inner realm of life, as in the outer, there is always the
ongoing decay of old forms and the rising of new ones. And in the soul there is
always the ongoing interplay between suffering and joy, between descent and
revelation.
It is just in this interior
landscape within us, this borderland of changing forms and phases of life, and
the ups and downs of the soul, that the Spirit of the World reveals Himself. He
comes and establishes his kingdom in us as a flicker of inspiration, as a flash
of understanding, as a flaring of love. For the Spirit is like the play of fire
and light – sometimes a small spark, sometimes lightning; sometimes painful,
sometimes bringing joy. But always changing. It is the creating fire of love,
helping to nurture the good into an existence that endures. This is the nature
of His kingdom within.
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