Ascension
John 16:22-33
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| William Blake |
So you have to suffer pain now. But I will see you
again, and then your hearts will be filled with joy, and no one can take that
joy from you. Up to now, you have not prayed in my name. Pray from the heart,
and it will be given to your heart, that your joy may be fulfilled.
All this I have given to your souls in imagery. But
the hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in pictures but will tell you openly and unveiled
about my Father, so that you can grasp it in full, knowing consciousness. Thus
will I proclaim to you the being of the Father. On that day, you will ask out
of my power and in my name. And no longer will I ask the Father on your behalf.
For the Father himself will love you
because you have loved me, and have known in your hearts that I have come forth
from the Father. I have come forth from the Father, and I have come into this
world.
I leave the sense world again and return to the
world of the Father, of which you say that it is the world of death.”
Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking
in clear thought and without imagery. Now we know that all things are revealed
to you and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes
us believe that you came from God.”
Jesus answered, “Do you now feel my power in your
heart? Behold, the time is coming and has
already come, when you will be scattered, each to his own loneliness. You will
then also leave me alone. But I am not alone, for the Father is eternally
united with me.
All this I have spoken to you so that in me you may
find peace. In this world, you will have
great fear and hardship. But take courage. I have overcome the world.”
Ascension II
May 27, 2020
John 16:24-33
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| Jan de Kok |
The blossom opens itself to
the sunlit air. In doing so, its beauty and fragrance expand outward. It sends
out its pollen and in turn it receives the warm impregnating power from without. Through this fertilization, it becomes fruitful. At its core, seeds of new life begin to form.
The deepest core of our humanness
lies in our heart. As we open our heart, we can stream forth the fragrant
beauty of our gratitude for all that we have received. Through opening in
gratitude, we continue to receive what we need for our future existence. We
receive from the future the force that engenders new life, a force that enters and settles
into our inmost core.
Christ’s love is that impregnating
power for new life that fertilizes our open, thankful hearts. He is the gentle
fire of love, creative of being. His power engenders in us new, future life.
His love in our hearts is the seed-force for a new earth.
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