Whitsun III 2007, Flames of the Heart

Pentecost

John 14: 23-31

Jesus replied, “He who truly loves me reveals my Spirit, and my Father will love him and we will come to him and prepare with him a dwelling in the everlasting [an eternal dwelling]. He who does not love me cannot reveal my Spirit. And the spirit power of the word that you hear is not from me; it is the speaking of the Father who sent me.

I have said this to you while I am still with you. But he who is called down, the health-bringing Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you everything and will awaken within you all that I have said to you.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid [have no fear].

You have heard how I said to you, ‘I am going away, and yet I am coming to you’. If you loved me you would rejoice because I am going to the Father[ly Ground of the World], for the Father is mightier than I am.

I have told you now, before it happens, so that when it happens you may find trust. I no longer have much to say to you, for soon the prince of this world is coming. Yet over me he has no power.

But the world shall see in this how I love the Father [Ground of the World] and how I act in accordance with the Father’s purpose, as it was entrusted to me. Arise, let us go on from here. [let us be on our way.]

Whittuesday

May 29, 2007

John 14: 23-31

The blossom opens itself to the cosmos. It streams forth fragrance and the life substance of its pollen. It receives new life from the realm of sun and air.

          Our hearts are like blossoms. They open, streaming forth heart’s warmth, the fragrance of devotion, the light of our love. Through our hearts’ opening, the warmth and life of the healing spirit can descend to us.

          The Act of Consecration is a mighty upward-streaming blaze – hearts burning together with zeal and enthusiasm in grateful offering. It is in this burning ardor of many souls that we rise together to the realm of the timeless, to the origin of health and our true being.

          The flames of our hearts generate our existence in the realm beyond time. In this timeless realm we enter into communion with Christ, the World Physician. From Him we receive new life. From Him we receive comfort and understanding.

The truest wisdom, that to which we can aspire,

Is to be joined with God, to be with love on fire.[1]

www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1] Angeles Silesius, “True Wisdom”, in Cherubinic Wanderer, p. 96

Whitsun II 2007, Vase of God

Pentecost

John 14: 23-31

Jesus replied, “He who truly loves me reveals my Spirit, and my Father will love him and we will come to him and prepare with him a dwelling in the everlasting [an eternal dwelling]. He who does not love me cannot reveal my Spirit. And the spirit power of the word that you hear is not from me; it is the speaking of the Father who sent me.

I have said this to you while I am still with you. But he who is called down, the health-bringing Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you everything and will awaken within you all that I have said to you.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid [have no fear].

You have heard how I said to you, ‘I am going away, and yet I am coming to you’. If you loved me you would rejoice because I am going to the Father[ly Ground of the World], for the Father is mightier than I am.

I have told you now, before it happens, so that when it happens you may find trust. I no longer have much to say to you, for soon the prince of this world is coming. Yet over me he has no power.

But the world shall see in this how I love the Father [Ground of the World] and how I act in accordance with the Father’s purpose, as it was entrusted to me. Arise, let us go on from here. [let us be on our way.]

Whitmonday

May 28, 2007

John 14: 23-31

A plant whose roots are torn from the soil will wither and die. One grown where there is no light will be pale and weak.

The service speaks of sin as weakness and infirmity. Our common human sickness comes from not being rooted in the Father Ground of the World. It comes from living in the darkness, of not understanding our true task as human beings.

Our true task is to grow and become ever more truly ourselves: to become strong souls, whose thinking is clear and objective toward the spirit; whose feeling  is freed of subjectivity in order to be an organ of perception for others; whose will is perceived as coming from others, affirmed as our own.

Our true task is to become well and whole.

Christ gathered around Him twelve such striving disciples to become members of a community. This community was to become His body, the place where His spirit would live and work on earth. We are gathered for this service in order to consecrate ourselves, so that we become His community, His body on earth.

     We are the vase of God, He fills us to the brim,

     He is the ocean deep, contained are we in Him.[1]

www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1] After “God Within and Around Me”  by Angelus Silesius, The Cherubinic Wanderer, p. 96

Whitsun 2007, Christ's Breath

Pentecost

John 14: 23-31

Jesus replied, “He who truly loves me reveals my Spirit, and my Father will love him and we will come to him and prepare with him a dwelling in the everlasting [an eternal dwelling]. He who does not love me cannot reveal my Spirit. And the spirit power of the word that you hear is not from me; it is the speaking of the Father who sent me.

I have said this to you while I am still with you. But he who is called down, the health-bringing Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you everything and will awaken within you all that I have said to you.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid [have no fear].

You have heard how I said to you, ‘I am going away, and yet I am coming to you’. If you loved me you would rejoice because I am going to the Father[ly Ground of the World], for the Father is mightier than I am.

I have told you now, before it happens, so that when it happens you may find trust. I no longer have much to say to you, for soon the prince of this world is coming. Yet over me he has no power.

But the world shall see in this how I love the Father [Ground of the World] and how I act in accordance with the Father’s purpose, as it was entrusted to me. Arise, let us go on from here. [let us be on our way.]

Whitsunday

Sunday, May 27, 2007

John 14: 32-31

            In the evening the sun descends in a blaze of color. If we let ourselves be carried by sunset’s mood, we may find ourselves becoming quieter, reflecting on the day’s events. And despite growing darkness, we have no fear: for we know that the sun will soon rise again to enlighten another day.

            Pentecost is like a bright evening in the story of mankind. At Ascension, the Sun of Mankind disappeared from sight. And yet the light did not leave us, for at Whitsun the disciples began to remember everything Christ had told them. The light of understanding dawned within them. The flames of their love rose up, and the warm light healed their sore hearts. Praise for the incredible new day of humanity broke forth from them. They offered themselves into this new streaming of light.

            The Act of Consecration is itself a Whitsun event. In the gospel reading we hear and remember what Christ spoke to humanity. The warmth of our love for Him rises like flames. Yet this is not a fire that consumes, it is a fire that creates, creates the light of understanding; creates warmth of heart and a fiery enthusiasm of will.

            Through the fire of our love, we are elevated to a creative stream, a collective place where all creatures sing His praise. We become, in the words of the poet:

A hole in a flute

That Christ’s breath moves through –

…the concert

From the mouth of every

Creature

Singing with the myriad

Chords.[1]

 www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1] Hafiz, “A Hole in the Flute” in The Gift, translated by Daniel Ladinsky, p. 203