4th
Sunday after Easter
John
16:1–33
"All
these words I have spoken to you so that you will not go astray [because you
discover what destiny falls to you through being connected with me]. For they
will exclude you from their communities, and the hour will come when those who
kill you will think they are offering service to God. They will do all this
because they have not known my Father or me. All these words I have spoken to
you so that when the time comes, you will remember that I told you about it. In the beginning, I did not need to say such
things, for I was with you. But now I am going away to him who sent me; yet, none of you asks me, 'Where are you
going?' Now that I have said these
things to you, sorrow enters your heart.
"Nevertheless,
I tell you the truth: it is for your salvation and healing that I leave you,
for if I did not go away, the Helper, [the giver of spirit courage, who will
stand by you in all trials, or, the Spirit upon whom you can call for
assistance at any moment,] would not come to you. When I now go away, I will
send him to you. When he comes, he will call humankind to account for the decline into sin,
for the working of human's higher being and for the great world separation; for
the decline into sinfulness, because they did not fill themselves with my
power; for the working of their higher being, because I go to the Father and
you see me no more; for the great world-separation, because the decision has
already been made about the ruler of this world.
"I
have yet much more to say to you, but you cannot bear it now. But when the
Spirit of Truth comes, he will be
your guide on the way to the Truth that Embraces All. he will not speak out of himself,
but what he hears he will speak, and he will proclaim to you what is to
come. he
will reveal me, for what he draws
out of my being, he will proclaim
to you. Everything that the Father has is also mine. That is why I can say, 'He will draw upon my being and proclaim
to you.'
"In
a little while, you will see me no more, and again a little while, and you will
see me."
"Then
some of his disciples said to one another, "What does he mean by saying 'In
a little while you will see me no more, and again a short time and you will see
me,' and 'I am going to the Father'? They kept asking, "What does he mean
by 'a short time'? We do not understand his words."
Jesus
knew that they wanted to ask him,  |
| Dvorak |
and he said, "You are wondering that I
said, 'A short time and you will see me no more, and again a short time and you
will see me.' Yes, the truth I tell you, you will weep and lament while other
people will rejoice. You will be filled with sorrow, but this your grief will
be turned into joy. A woman giving birth must bear pain, for her difficult hour
has come. But when the child is born, she no longer considers the anguish
because of her joy that a human being has been born into the world.
"So
it is with you. Now is your time of grief. But this your grief will become the
power of Spirit-Birth, for I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice,
and no one can take that joy from you. On that day, you will no longer need to
ask me anything.
"Yes,
I say to you; from now on, what you ask of the Father in my name, He will give
to you. Until now, you have not been able to pray in my name. Pray from the
heart, and it will be given to your heart so that your joy may be full.
"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 plainly about the Father, [so that you can grasp it in full,
knowing consciousness]. 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 loves 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 am leaving
the [sense] world again and going to 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. By this,
we 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 their own loneliness. You will then also leave me alone. Yet
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."
4th after Easter
May 15, 2022
John 16:1-33
In spring, the fruit trees blossom like a revelation from
heaven—purity of color and heavenly fragrance. But, in a short time, the
revelation is lost; petals drop; the glory disappears. Yet at the places where
the petals shone, there now appear tiny green fruits. The tree sacrificed the
glory of its petals in order that fruit could form.
Once upon a time, we human beings shone with the glory of heaven;
but we lost our glory as we descended to earth. With the loss of our awareness
of our heavenly origins, we are threatened with barrenness. Without conscious
sacrifice, it is possible that our lives will bear no fruit.
Christ,
the Divine Human Being, descended into earthly human existence. His radiant
purity shone at his Baptism. He sacrificed the flower of his divinity. Through
his death, he offered his divinity to us. He transplants it into us so that our
lives can once again become fruitful and that humankind will have a future. He
transplants the radiant blossom power of His being into the human spirit. In
awakening to Him, we can become pure of heart, radiant with life.
All
this He accomplishes, like the woman giving birth, through His pain, a pain
that continues to be fruitful, a pain that is becoming an immense and deep joy.
Christ's continuing pain and sacrifice ensure that our losses, our pain, and our
sacrifices will be fruitful and create joy. Christ's continual self-offering ensures
that the loss of our original innocence will be transformed into a more
conscious power of purity, into a power to grow rich future-bearing spiritual
fruit.
Angelus
Silesius said,
The Godhead
is my sap; what in me greens and flowers
It is His
Holy Spirit who all the growth empowers.*
In the Act of Consecration of Man, we make a conscious offering, a
conscious sacrifice along with Christ. We offer our purest thoughts, feelings,
and intentions. We do this so that our lives, our souls, and spirits, joined
with His, can grow and be transformed. We do this so that our soul fruits grow
and ripen into the future. We do this not only for ourselves but for all of humankind,
for the whole earth. For together with others, together with Him, our many
offerings are forming the seeds of humanity's new future, a City of Peace, a
shining new earth.
*"The Godhead Brings forth Growth," Angelus Silesius,
in The Cherubinic Wanderer, transl. by M. Shrady, p. 43
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