June Trinity
John 3: 1-17
There was a
man in the circle of the Pharisees, whose name was Nicodemus; he held high rank
among the Jews. He came to Jesus in the night and said, “Master, we know that
you are a high teacher of mankind, come to us from God, for no one can do such
signs of the Spirit as you do unless God himself is working together with him
in his deeds.”
Jesus answered and said to him, “The truth out of the spirit I say to
you: whoever is not born anew from above cannot behold the kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born again when he is old? Can
he return to his mother’s womb to be born again a second time?
Jesus answered, “the truth out of the spirit I say to you: whoever
remains as he is, and does not come to a new birth out of the formative power
of the water and out of the breath of the spirit [or, …and is not born anew out of the spiritual power of eternal
becoming and out of being touched by the might of the spirit world] cannot enter into the kingdom of God. What is born out of earthly
elements is of earthly nature. But what is born out of the breath of the
spirit, is itself spirit. Do not wonder that I said to you that you must be
born anew from above. The spirit wind blows where it will; you hear the sound
of it, but you do not know where it comes from, or where it is going. So it is
with everyone who is born anew out of the breath of the spirit.
Nicodemus replied and said to him, “How can one attain this?”
Jesus
answered, “You are a teacher of Israel and do not know? Amen, the truth I say
to you: we speak of what we know, and we bear witness to what we have seen in
the spirit, but none of you accepts our testimony. When I speak to you of
earthly things and you do not believe them, how shall you believe when I want to
speak to you of heavenly things? No one has ascended to the spiritual world who
has not previously descended out of the spiritual world, that is, the Son of
Man.
 |
| Rubens |
Just as Moses once lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the
Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who finds his power in their hearts
can win a share in the higher life beyond time. God has so loved the world that
he has given his only begotten Son. From now on, no one who fills himself with his
power shall perish, for he will share in timeless, higher life. God did not
send the Son into the world to condemn it, but in order that the world be saved
[healed] through him, and not fall prey to ruin.”
1st June Trinity
June 15, 2014
John 3: 1-17
The blossom opens itself to the sun. Its pollen rises,
carried to the upper reaches of the atmosphere. Enlivened by the warmth and
light of the sun, it returns to earth, bringing new living forces, the power of
germination, to the plants.
Nicodemus comes to Christ in the night realm, with soul and
spirit open. Christ speaks to him about life being renewed from above, from the
warmth and light of the realm of the spirit. At first Nicodemus confuses this
renewal of life with the earthly level of physical birth. But Christ explains
that being touched by the spirit, by the spirit’s power of eternal becoming, is
what allows our lives to be ever renewed. It is our contact with the regions of
moving light and warmth that is our entrance into the kingdom of the heavens,
even as we still live in bodies on earth.
It is our own eternal spirit, the drop of the divinity given
to each of us at birth, which has descended with us out of those regions of
light. It is our awakening to this part of our being that allows us to open and
ascend again into the realms of spirit, now, like the pollen rising from the
flower. It is the power in us of prayer, the power of mindfulness, the power of
gratitude. This is the Christ power, the power of the Son of Man, working in
us. As the poet says:
 |
| C . Shuplyak |
pours light
into every cup,
quenching darkness.
…God pours light
and the trees lift their limbs
without worry of redemption,
every blossom a chalice.
…as light
pours like rain
into every empty cup
set adrift on the Infinite
Ocean.*
This is the power
that lets us rise, even daily, into the realms of timeless life, to be renewed
and refreshed, so that when we descend again, ‘the world can be healed and not
fall prey to ruin.’
*Hafiz, “God Pours Light”, (Interpretive version of
Ghazal 11 by Jose Orez)
thank you for posting it !
ReplyDeleteright now i am away from my community...
it helps !