2nd Advent
Philippians 4:1, 4:4-9
Therefore my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and
my crown of glory, stand firm in the power of the Lord.
Rejoice in the nearness of the Lord at all times!
And I say it again: Rejoice!
Let a gentle kindliness be evident toward all human
beings you encounter. The Lord is near! Let not worry have power over you; let
your concerns in all things be known to God by sending your supplication and
prayer upward in thankful thoughts. And the peace of God, which transcends
anything that the intellect can grasp, will keep your hearts and thoughts safe
in the Being of Christ….
And lastly dear brothers I say to you:
all that is true,
all that is worthy of reverence,
all that is good and holy,
all that is lovely to look at and beautiful to hear,
all that has virtue and deserves praise:
let these be the content of your conversations and
thoughts. All that you have had handed on to you, what you have heard from me
and seen in me—put all this into practice; then the God of Peace will be with
you!
2nd Advent Sunday
Philippians 4:1 and 4:4-9
When we are cold, we seek a heat source. We do so because,
of course, warm objects, warmth itself, radiates itself outward. And one can
receive it, absorb it. Snakes need to receive their warmth from the sun before
they can begin to move. We human beings, on the other hand, are warm-blooded.
We can generate and maintain our own heat, although we may need help from time
to time from warm surroundings. A room full of people gets warm.
There is also the matter of inner warmth, warmth of soul. We
are also capable of generating soul warmth, and radiating it outward, so that
others, too, are warmed. In this reading, Paul encourages us to generate soul
warmth. This warmth is intimately connected with the quality of mood. He
encourages us to generate the warm mood of joy in the place of fear; a warmth
of kindness instead of the pinch of concern; a radiance of gratitude in place
of the cramp of worry.
In these times, we may feel we are having trouble keeping
our souls warm. We need help in maintaining inner warmth. We are able to do so when
we turn to the Christ Sun; His radiance warms human hearts. Through the
nearness of His eternal presence, our souls can warm and expand. Through His
warmth, our souls can radiate warmth and light, in joyful kindness and
gratitude.
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| Maulsby Kimball |
Hafiz wrote a poem about the moon, whom we can think of here
as an image of the soul. The moon says:
The Sun has been my faithful lover
For millions of years.
Whenever I offer my [self] …to him,
Brilliant light pours from his
heart
Thousands then notice my happiness
And delight in…my beauty.
…Is it true that our destiny
Is to turn into Light
Itself?[1]
The soul can turn to the Christ Sun. He helps generate the radiance
of the soul’s beauty and happiness. He helps her generate her warmth and light.
