4th St. Johnstide 2009, No Body But Yours

St. Johnstide
Matthew 11: 2-15

When John heard in prison about the deeds of Christ, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are awakened, and those who have become poor receive the message of salvation. Blessed are those who are not offended by my Being.”

When they had gone, Jesus began to speak about John. “Why did you go out into the desert? Did you want to see a reed swaying in the wind? Or was it something else you wanted to see? Did you want to see a man in splendid garments? Those in splendid garments are in the palaces of kings. Did you go to see a man who is initiated into he mysteries of the spirit, a prophet? Yes, I say to you—he is more than a prophet. He it is of whom it is written:

           

            Behold it well: I will send my angel before your face;

            He shall prepare the way of your working in the hearts of men

            So that your being may be revealed.

The truth I say to you: among all who are born of women, not one has risen up who is greater than John the Baptist; and yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist, and even more now, the kingdom of heaven will arise within human beings through the power of the will; those who exert themselves can freely grasp it. The deeds of the prophets and the content of the Law are words of the spirit that were valid [worked into the future] until the time of John. And if you want to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

4^th St. Johnstide

July 19, 2009

Matthew 11: 2 – 15

In spring, fruit trees bloom in beauty. Through the kiss of sunlight, the wind, and the bees, they set fruit. Without the fruit, spring’s flowering beauty would be empty. It is the fruit that nurtures the sees of the next generation of life.

When John the Baptist asks Christ to confirm that He is the Messiah, Christ doesn’t say, ‘Yes, I am.’ He points to the fruits of His deeds: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are awakened, and the poor in spirit receive the message from the realm of the angels. (Matthew 11: 4 – 6) The beauty of Christ’s teachings and parables would be empty spring blossoms if they did not also develop into deeds. Christ teaches by example. He enacts what He says of every human being: by their fruits you shall know them (Matthew 7: 16 – 20); not what they say defines them, but what they do.

At Jesus’ birth the good news from the angels was that there will be peace on earth through those human beings in whom good will dwells. Christ came to strengthen, develop and consecrate human willing. Through His deeds in life, in death and in resurrection, He created a doorway in the human constitution so that He could enter into human willing. He lies as a seed in the innermost heart of every human being. Nurturing the Christ seed in our will life, we can become those in whom Christ’s good will dwells, those who spread healing and peace, those whose deeds reveal Christ fruit through the way we act and work in and for the world. For as someone said,

God has no body now on earth but yours

no hands but yours

no feet but yours.

Yours are the eyes through which he pours out,

compassion for the world, compassion in the world.[1]

www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1] Teresa of Avila

3rd St. Johnstide 2009, Hope Flares

St. Johnstide

John 1: 19-39

This is the testimony of John, when the Jewish leaders sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” Freely and openly he made confession. He confessed, “I am not the Christ [the Anointed].”

Then they asked him, “Who are you then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “No, I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.” Then they said, “Who are you? What answer are we to give to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”

He said in the words of the prophet Isaiah, “I am the voice of one crying in the loneliness: Prepare the way for the Lord [so that the Lord may enter into the inmost soul [self].”

And those who had been sent by the Pharisees asked him, “Why do you baptize if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?” John answered them, “I baptize with water. But someone is standing in your midst whom you do not know, who comes after me although he was before me. I am not worthy even to untie the strap of his sandals.”

This took place in Bethany near the mouth of the Jordan where John was baptizing.

The next day he [John] sees Jesus coming to him, and says, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes upon himself the burden of the sin of the world. He it is of whom I said: ‘After me comes one who was before me, for he is greater than I  [for he is ahead of me].’ [After me comes one who was (generated) before me, for he is the prototype.] Even I did not know him; but for this I have come, and have baptized with water, so that human souls in Israel might become able to experience the revelation of his being.”

Sombart

And John testified: “I saw how the Spirit descended upon him as a dove from the heavens and remained united with him. I did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend, so that it remains united with him, he it is who baptizes with the [breath of the] Holy [Healing] Spirit [and with fire].’ And I saw this, and so I testify that this is God’s Son.”

The next day John was again standing there, and two of his disciples were with him. And as he saw Jesus walking past, he said, “Behold, the [sacrificial] Lamb of God [through whom humanity’s sense of self will be purified.]”

The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?”

They answered, “Rabbi [Teacher], where are you staying [where do you live] [where do you take refuge]?”

He said, “Come and you will see!”

And they came and saw where he stayed [lived], and remained with him all that day. It was about the tenth hour [four o’clock].

3^rd St. Johnstide

July 12, 2009

John 1: 19-39

There are two forces, two streams that flow side by side within our human constitution. One is the instinct for self-preservation. The other is for the perpetuation of the species. These two streams rise from deep within our soul-bodily constitution. They are symbolized by the twin serpents of wisdom, twining upward around our spinal column. They guard and protect our selfhood, our life, and ensure the perpetuation of the human race.

John takes pains to speak what he sees: in Christ Jesus, John sees and proclaims that there is a new image arising in the constitution of man, the image of the lamb. He is seeing the emergence of a new human archetype.

Memling

As a young animal, the snowy white lamb represents upwelling, joyous new life. But ironically, this is an animal that offers no resistance when its own life is taken.

The old double serpent is being metamorphosed into the lamb. The wise serpent of self preservation is metamorphosing itself into an image of outspreading and self-sacrificing life. And the wise serpent of the generative force that perpetuates family and tribe is metamorphosing and rising into the innocent purity of an outpouring love for all of humanity.

John says ‘The lamb in us must increase; the serpents must decrease.’ Naturally we don’t like metamorphosis or self-sacrifice; for us, they are hugely threatening; it feels too much like a death. It takes courage to change one’s whole disposition. It takes courage to say with the poet:

I praise life's bright catastrophes,

and all the ceremonies of grief.

I praise our real estate - a shadow and a grave.

I praise my destroyer,

and will continue praising

until hours run like mercury

through my fingers, hope flares a final time

into the last throes of innocence,

and all the coins of sense are spent.[1]

www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1] “I Praise My Destroyer”, Diane Ackerman