1st Advent
Luke 21:25-36
And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars;
and upon the earth, the nations will be constricted with anxiety and doubt with
the advent of these spiritual revelations, as before a roaring sea and waves.
And men will lose their inner strength of soul out of fear and foreboding of
what is coming over the living earth: for the dynamic powers of heaven will be
shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud, in the sphere
of life, with dynamic power and great radiant glory.
And when these things begin to
happen, stand upright and lift up [raise] your soul to the spirit, for your
deliverance draws near.
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And he gave them a comparison, saying, ‘Observe
[behold] the fig tree and all the trees when they burst into leaf. Seeing this,
you know yourselves that summer is near. So also when you see these things
happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.
Amen, the truth I say to you: this present age of
Man’s being shall not pass away until all has happened.
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will
never pass away.
Guard yourselves lest the perceptive power of your
hearts be smothered by excess of food and drink and by over-concern with the
cares and worries of life, and the light of these spirit events break upon you
suddenly like a snare…for it will come upon all who dwell upon the face of the
whole earth. So be awake in the spirit at all times, praying, so that you may
have the strength to live through all these things that are about to take
place, and to stand before the Son of Man.
1st Advent
Sunday
Nov 27, 2011
Luke 21:25-36
A woman about to give birth is seized by fearsome
convulsions; she feels dragged along by the mighty forces of birth. Yet knowing
of the immanent arrival of the child can give her powers of endurance.
Humankind is now being seized by mighty convulsions of
change. The dynamic powers of heaven are being shaken, for we are all in the
midst of a new birth. The kingdom of the heavens, the realm of divine love,
that wants to be born in human hearts, is approaching.
We are feeling the convulsions most especially in the
economic sphere because it is the sphere of brotherhood. We hear the cries for
human dignity, for equitable standards of living and care for all, not only
here, but elsewhere in the world as well. What humanity is laboring to bring to
birth is the compassionate Son of Man within our hearts. For the present, we
must stand. We must begin the labor of bringing to birth. We must endure. For
as Vaclav Havel says:
It is I who must begin.
Once I begin, once I try --
here and now,
right where I am,
…I suddenly discover,
to my surprise, that
I am neither the only one,
nor the first,
nor the most important one
to have set out
upon that road.
Whether all is really lost
or not depends entirely on
whether or not I am lost.[1]
[1]
Vaclav Havel, “It Is I
Who Must Begin”, in Teaching With Fire, ed. by S.M. Intrator and M.
Scribner
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