1st Advent
Luke 21:25-36
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| Roland Tiller |
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.
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
December 2, 2012
Luke 21: 25-36
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| Yggdrasil, Tree of Life |
Although we are approaching the depth of northern midwinter, Christ,
oddly perhaps for us in the north, speaks of the coming spring, and the fig tree bursting into
leaf. The fig tree in His time was the tree, like the bodhi tree, which
represented a broader, enlightened awareness.
This reading images for us the content of a higher
awareness: the living Son of Man, radiant and powerful, coming toward us in the
realm of the clouds, the biosphere, the realm of life.
This year has been seen as a year in which a shift of
awareness is anticipated. There are signs…signs that human beings are moving
into an anxious awareness of the wholeness of the living earth, into an heart
awareness that humankind is all one family; signs that the kingdom of God is
arising in human hearts. The angels are watching closely.
Denise Levertov says
Sometimes the mountain
is hidden from me in veils
of cloud, sometimes
I am hidden from the mountain
in veils of inattention, apathy,
fatigue,
when I forget or refuse to go
…to reconfirm
that witnessing presence.[1]
We are urged to pay attention, to stand, awake and at the
ready. For He who is the living Spirit of the Earth is drawing near.
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