Rev. 3, 14-22 (Laodicea)
And to the leading angel of the community at
Laodicea write: Thus speaks the Amen, he who
strengthens all spiritual working with his own being, the witness trusted and
true, the ground of all divine creation:
I see through your deeds. You are neither cold nor
hot. You should be either cold, or hot. But since you are lukewarm, I am about
to spew you out of my mouth.
You say: I am rich, I have my fortune, and I don’t
need anything else. But you do not know that you are wretched and pitiable, a
beggar blind and naked. I counsel you to acquire from me
gold that is purified in fire, that you may become truly rich;
and garments to clothe yourself, so that the shame which lies in your
nakedness may not be revealed;
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| William Holman Hunt |
and a salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see.
I AM he who disciplines all whom he loves, calls
them to account and refines them through trials of destiny, thus drawing them
into the stream of cleansing.
Therefore generate warmth [be eager] [strengthen yourself]
and change your heart and mind.
Behold, I stand before the door and knock. If
someone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and share the
meal with him, and he with me.
He who overcomes, to him I will give the power to
sit with me on my throne, just as I have been raised to the throne of my Father
through the victory of the spirit. He who has ears to hear, let him hear what
the spirit would say to the churches.
2nd November
Trinity
November 3, 2013
Revelation 3: 14 – 22
Here on earth, if one wants
to lift up something and have it remain elevated, one has two choices. One can either
continue to hold it up with one’s own muscular effort, otherwise it falls; or
else one can place it on a stand.
In the world of spirit,
however, things are a little different.
In terms of spiritual effort, we do need to exert
ourselves. We need to become spiritually ‘muscular’, to whatever extent we can,
so that we can raise the content of our souls and spirit, elevate them. Yet
there always comes a moment when we must let go, when of necessity we turn
again toward the earthly.
We will receive help in
holding up our efforts, so that they don’t fall. We do so
by addressing Christ,
the Amen, the One to whom we appeal at the end of every prayer. He promises to
add His strength to our spiritual efforts, helping us to become stronger in our
inner work. And when we must let go, we offer our efforts to Him, as a
sacrifice on the altar of His being. He will accept them, hold them, transform
them for us. He is always waiting at the door between worlds.
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| Oleg Shuplyak |
What is important to Christ is that we make a
strong effort to generate inner warmth. It is this fire of the heart that
allows our work and prayer to rise, like the smoke of the incense on the
burning coal. And offering our warm efforts to the divine allows for inner
transformation. It creates in us a slow and gradual change of heart and mind,
held, carried and strengthened by Him whose being is Love.
