Philippians 2: 5 – 16
December 28, 2014
Be imbued with the same state
of mind that also filled Christ Jesus himself: For, although he was of divine
nature and form, he chose not to lay claim for himself to be equal to God. Rather, he emptied himself in offering and
took on the form of a servant. In human form he took on body and he showed
himself in the form of a man throughout his whole life. Humbly and selflessly
he submitted to the laws of earth-existence, even to the experience of the
death on the cross.
Therefore God has also exalted him to the highest
heights and given him the name which is above every other name.
In the name of Jesus the
knees of all beings should bow, in the heavens, on the earth, and in the depths
of existence. And so that the Father, the Ground of all existence shall be
revealed, every tongue should acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord!
Therefore, my dear friends,
just as you always did—listen to the voice of the spirit, not only when I am
with you, but now all the more since I am far away from you. Work with anxious
effort and trembling expectation, to the end that the realm of healing power
may open to you. For it is God who awakens the will in you and who brings about
the fulfillment, so that everything can become good.
Do not let yourselves be held
back in that work by sluggishness of the will or by restless thoughts which
make you indecisive. , Only so can you live, without blemish and falseness, as
pure, “children of God in the midst of a dissipated and twisted humanity.” You
are to shine among human beings like bright stars in the sky by keeping to the
Word of Life.
Holy Nights
December 28, 2014
Philippians 2: 5 – 16
The sky can be filled with
clouds. They can obscure the light of the sun. But above the clouds, the sun
continues to shine forth its brightness, illuminating the clouds themselves. Even when the sun sets, seeming to be
swallowed up by darkness, it is nonetheless shining, continuing to illuminate
the earth.
Christ, the Light of the
World, the Sun-God, entered the form of the human being. Gradually his
brightness was clouded over by the human constitution, until finally, like the
sun at the end of the day, His light seemed to disappear into the darkness of
death. Yet He continued to shine in the depths. He is the seed that will grow
the earth into a new sun, a new star.
Since then, Christ has entered the form of all human
beings. He dwells in us as a Light-Seed, as the potential for us to become
shining miniature suns. He hopes we will hear his voice calling us, as the
voice within that says: Become! Develop! Grow me within you!
He is waiting for us to
cultivate Him in the depths of our souls, in the hearts of our communities, to
grow His being in us.
“For [as Paul says] we are to
shine…like bright stars in the sky by keeping to the Word of Life.”
