St. John’s
Mark 1, 1-13
This is the beginning of the new word from the realm of the angels, sounding forth through Jesus Christ. Fulfilled is the word of the prophet Isaiah:
Behold, I send my angel before your face.
He is to prepare your way.
Hear the voice of one calling in the loneliness of the human soul
Prepare the way for the Lord within the soul,
Make his paths straight, so that he may find entrance into Man’s innermost being!
Thus did John the Baptist appear in the loneliness of the desert. He proclaimed Baptism, the way of a change of heart and mind, for the acknowledgment of sin. And they went out to him from all of Judea and Jerusalem and received baptism from him in the river Jordan and recognized and confessed their failings.
John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist. Fruits and wild honey were his food. And he proclaimed:
‘After me comes one who is mightier than I. I am not even worthy to bend down before Him and to undo the straps of His sandals. I have baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the fire of the Holy [healing] Spirit.’
In those days, it happened: Jesus of Nazareth came to Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John.
And at the same time, as he rose up again out of the water, he beheld how the spheres of the heavens were torn open, and the spirit of God descended upon him like a dove.
And a voice sounded from the world of the spirit:
‘You are my son, the beloved —in you is my revelation.’
[‘Today I have conceived (begotten) you.’ Luke 3:22]
St. John’s
June 24, 25, 2017
Mark 1, 1-13
We stand at a still point, at the solstice, at this midpoint of the year. The entire past stands behind us. And the entire future leads away from this moment. What can happen in the now, in this moment of stillness, is that the soul opens in gratitude.
We give thanks and praise for all that has gone before – for those no longer with us on earth; for those divine beings who guide us; for the elemental beings whose work supports us on earth.
We give thanks and praise for all the events that have brought us here, to this place and time. We give thanks for all who have made this moment, this 'now', possible for us. And we are grateful for the fact that there is a future. We give thanks for all who are coming toward us from the future; for all future guidance, for all the future support. We know that we will be given the strength and love to meet it. In the words of Adam Bittleston, our hearts pray:
For the speaking light of the senses
Which bears into our souls
The world's abundance,
We thank the powers of heaven.
For the health that is in our bodies,
Even in illness and need,
Sustaining, renewing, refreshing,
We thank the will of Christ.
For the wonders of human friendship,
Which bless the life of earth
With the hope of eternal being,
We thank the Father's love.*
*Adam Bittleston, "Thanksgiving", in Meditative Prayers for Today, p. 50
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