1st June Trinity 2021, Waking Up

 

1^st June Trinity II

John 3:1-17

There was a man in the circle of the

Tissot

Pharisees, whose name was Nicodemus; he held high rank among the Jews. He came to Jesus in the night and said, "Master, we know that you are a high teacher of humankind, come to us from God, for no one can do such signs of the Spirit as you do unless God himself is working together with them in their deeds."

Jesus answered and said to him, "The truth out of the spirit I say to you: whoever is not born anew from above cannot behold the kingdom of God."

Nicodemus said to him, "How can someone be born again when they are old? Can they return to their mother's womb to be born again a second time?

Jesus answered, "The truth out of the Spirit I say to you: whoever remains as they are and does not come to a new birth out of the formative power of the water and out of the breath of the Spirit [or, …and is not born anew out of the spiritual power of eternal becoming and out of being touched by the might of the Spirit world] cannot enter into the kingdom of God. What is born out of earthly elements is of earthly nature. But what is born out of the breath of the Spirit is itself Spirit. Do not wonder that I said to you that you must be born anew from above. The Spirit wind blows where it wills; you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born anew out of the breath of the Spirit."

Nicodemus replied and said to him, "How can one attain this?"

Tissot, Moses 

Jesus answered, "You are a teacher of Israel and do not know? Amen, the truth I say to you: we speak of what we know, and we bear witness to what we have seen in the Spirit, but none of you accepts our testimony. When I speak to you of earthly things, and you do not believe them, how shall you believe when I want to speak to you of heavenly things? No
one has ascended to the spiritual world who has not previously descended out of the spiritual world, that is, the Son of Man.

"Just as Moses once lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who finds his power in their hearts can win a share in the higher life beyond time. God has so loved the world that he has given his only begotten Son. From now on, no one who fills themselves with his power shall perish, for they will share in timeless, higher life. God did not send the Son into the world to condemn it, but so that the world be saved [or, healed] through him and not fall prey to ruin."

1^st June Trinity

May 30, 2021

John 3:1-17

The plants have grown enthusiastically. Their flowering has released clouds of pollen. Carried up by the wind and thermals, the pollen is kissed by the life-giving power of the sun. When it returns to the plants, it will bring them the potential to create the seeds of new life.

We, too, have our times when we expand out into the universe. Mostly we do so unconsciously, in our sleep. When we return to our bodies in the morning, blessed and strengthened by an encounter with our angel, we are refreshed and ready for new life in a new day. 

Nicodemus comes to Christ in the realm of night. And Christ tries to make clear to him that it is now necessary to become aware, to work consciously with these spiritual forces of new birth from above with our day-waking consciousness. The Spirit-breath, the Spirit-wind, carries with it words of creation, the potential for the next step in humankind's evolution. The Spirit gives us the impulses for the new—a new way, a new direction, a new paradigm. For the old is falling away. But the Spirit needs our voluntary cooperation. 

It is time to open ourselves. It is time to receive the blessing and strength from the Spirit for what is coming. We may not know where exactly which direction the impulse for the new is coming from; we may not know where it will lead us. 

It will most certainly at first lead us through the death of the old way, just as following Christ led Nicodemus through the events of Christ's death and resurrection. For we hear of him helping to prepare Christ's body for the tomb (John 19:39). Nevertheless, we can listen for the sound of the Spirit-wind and rise to hear the words of becoming, sounding on the breath of the Spirit. As we do so, we will begin to share in Christ's timeless, higher life. 

As poet Antonio Machado said:

Beyond living and dreaming

there is something more important:

waking up.*

 

 www.thechristiancommunity.org

 

 

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*Antonio Machado, The Winged Energy of Delight, translations by Robert Bly