St. Johnstide
John 3:22 - 36
After this Jesus and his disciples came to the land of
Judea. There he stayed with them and baptized. John also baptized; he was at
Aenon [ee’nuhn] near Salim [say’lim], because there was much water there, and
people came to him and were baptized. For John had not yet been imprisoned.
Then a dispute arose between the disciples of John
and the Jews about the path of purification. And they came to John and said to
him, “Master, he who came to you beyond the Jordan, to whom you bore witness –
here he is, baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”
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| Balduino |
“He who has the bride, he is the bridegroom. But
the friend of the bridegroom, who stands by and listens to him, he is filled
with joy at the bridegroom’s voice. This joy of mine is now full. He must
increase, but I must decrease.
He who descends from above, out of the spiritual
world, is elevated above all beings of the earth. Whoever is only of the earth,
whose being arises from the earthly, his word is also earthbound.
He who comes from the heavens is elevated above all
who have arisen from the earthly. What he has seen and heard in the world of
the spirit, to that he can bear direct witness, but no one accepts his
testimony.
But whoever accepts his testimony, sets his seal to
this: that God is true [truth] [that there is
no higher truth than the reality of God]. Whoever God has sent, his words are filled with
the power of divine thought, for God gives the spirit to human beings not
according to human rules, but according to the creative power that he awakens
in man.
The Father holds the Son surrounded in his love,
and has given everything into his hands. Whoever trusts in the power of the Son
within himself, he grows out of the earthly into timeless life.
Whoever cannot trust in the power of the Son within
will not behold the world of life; rather the working might of the spirit world
must one day burn him like a fire that will consume him.”
John
3: 22 – 36
Power
has a kind of radiance. It moves outward and creates effects. It can be
positive or negative. It can overwhelm. Love from the spirit is a bit
different. It too radiates – warmth and support. But the highest form of love
does not overwhelm. It invites. And it waits for assent.
Today’s
gospel reading is about the difference between power and love. Some of John the
Baptist’s disciples come to him complaining that one of the people he had
baptized, that Jesus fellow, is preaching a path of purification that is
drawing greater crowds. John emphasizes that legitimate spiritual power is
granted by the divine world. John reiterates that he himself is only a
forerunner of One to come.
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| Christ as Bridegrooom |
Moving
forward into this second half of the year, our soul is being invited to become
engaged to Christ. As we move through the summer we have the opportunity to
gradually approach Him, to align ourselves with Him, to develop a trust in His
will, His love, His healing. We are preparing our souls and spirits for the
great wedding with the King’s Son in October, at Michaelmas. We are looking forward to the birth of the eternal
spirit Child at Christmas, that will arise out of this marriage.
But
first we have to engage. First we develop an active relationship of trust in
this powerfully loving Divine human being, this God-Man, who is the soul’s true
intended. This engagement is a matter of the heart. We will decide to betroth
our soul’s heart to Christ, not because He is powerful, but because He is our
great teacher of love. This love from above, from the divine heights, is food
and nourishment for the soul’s journey of life. It is the protector of the
generative, creating capacity of the heart.
“Whoever
trusts in the power of the Son within herself, she grows out of the earthly
into timeless life.” John
3:36
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