8th Trinity III
Luke 17:5-37
Jesus said to his disciples, "It is not possible for all hindrances to inner growth to be avoided. But woe to them through whom they come. It would be better for them if a millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea than that they should be the cause of disruption in inner growth for even one single delicately burgeoning human self.
"Take heed to yourselves! If your brother has done you an injustice, reproach him with it. And if he changes his heart and mind, forgive him. And even if he treats you unjustly seven times a day and turns to you seven times and says, 'I have changed my heart and mind,' you should forgive him."
And the apostles said to the Lord, "Strengthen our faith!"
And the Lord said, "If you had faith as full of life as a mustard seed, you could say to this sycamine [or, mulberry] tree: be uprooted and be planted in the sea! And it would obey you.
"Who among you who has a servant for plowing or for herding sheep, who would say to him when he comes home from the field, 'Come at once and sit down at table?' Instead, you would say, 'Put on your apron, prepare the meal for me, and wait on me until I eat and drink; afterward, you can eat and drink too.' Does the servant deserve special thanks for doing his duty? Think of yourselves like that; when you have done all that you have been told to do, then say, 'We are feeble servants; we have only done what we were obliged to do.' "
And as he was on the way to
Jerusalem, he passed through the middle of Samaria and Galilee. And as he was
entering a certain village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a
distance, and they raised their voices, saying, "Master, Jesus, have mercy
on us!"
And seeing them, he said, "Go,
and show yourselves to the priests." And it came about that as they went
on their way, they were cleansed.
Now one of them, when he saw
that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and
fell on his face at his feet and thanked himꟷand he was a Samaritan. 
James Christensen
And Jesus responded and said, "Were not all ten cleansed? And the nine—where are they? Was no one seen returning to praise the revelation of God's working in this event except this foreigner?" And he said to him, "Rise and go your way. The power of your trust has healed you."
At that time, the Pharisees asked him, "When will the Kingdom of God come?"
And he answered, "The Kingdom of God [The human Kingdom of the Spirit, permeated by God], does not come in a form which is outwardly perceptible. Nor does it come in such a way that one can say, 'Look, here it is, or there.' Behold—the Kingdom of the Spirit will arise in your own hearts."
And he said to his disciples, "There will come times when you will long to experience even one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not experience it. Then they will say to you, 'Look—there!' or 'Look—here!' Do not follow this call; do not go on their spiritual paths. For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning that flashes up in one part of the sky and yet instantly pours out its bright light over the whole firmament. But first, he must suffer great agony and be rejected by this present earthly humanity.
"As it was in the days of Noah, so will it again be in the day when the Son of Man will reveal himself—they ate and drank, they came together in marriage as man and wife, until the day when Noah entered the Ark, and the great flood destroyed everything. It was the same in the days of Lot—they ate and drank, bought, sold, planted, built until Lot left Sodom, and fire and sulfur rained from heaven, and everything perished. It will be like that, too, in the days when the Son of Man will reveal himself.
"When that time comes, let whoever is on the roof of the house, having left their goods in the house, not go down to fetch them. And let whoever is out in the open field not go back to what they have left behind. Remember Lot's wife! For whoever tries to preserve their soul unchanged will lose it, and whoever is prepared to give it, will in truth, awaken in themselves a higher life. I tell you, then there will be two sleeping at night in one bed; when the power of the spirit comes, one is gripped by it, the other is left empty. Two women will be grinding at one mill; one is deeply stirred, the other is left empty."
And they said to him, "Where shall we turn our gaze, Lord?"
And he answered, "Become aware of your life body, and you will see the eagles [of the Sun] that are gathering [within you]."*
[or, Where there are descent and disintegration, there also is revelation.]
[or, Where the formative life forces in the human being begin to work in freedom, there the Spirit of the World reveals itself.]
* The usual translation is "Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather." But the Greek original uses the word 'soma', a word for a living body, not 'sarx', corpse. And 'aetoi' refers to eagles, not vultures.
8th August Trinity
September 11, 2022
Luke 17:20-37
The human heart is complex. Not only does blood flow through it but also invisible components: Varied and intricate thoughts enter the heart and arise from it. Nuances and tides of feelings wash through it. Decisions and resolves of will form in it.
Because of its nature, the human heart can become a place for
Christ to visit,
Stephan B. Whatley
even to dwell. Our private individual religious practice, our
daily prayers, and devotionals prepare and tune our hearts to receive the flow
of Christ’s lifeblood through us.
A congregation, too, has a heart. In the congregation, the invisible heart of each member becomes part of the larger heart of the community. Each contributes their thoughts, their feelings, and will. Each is indispensable. Whenever someone joins us, the communal heart swells and beats a little higher and stronger.
The congregation’s religious practice is the sacraments, especially the Act of Consecration. In the Act of Consecration, when we join together our individual hearts to form the community’s heart, Christ’s life-giving blood flows further and even more strongly.
Our collective heart is also joining invisibly with the collective
hearts of other communities. On Sundays, all across the world, beginning in
Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and soon Korea, a great communal heartbeat
sweeps sequentially through the time zones. As individual hearts join to form
the communities’ hearts, congregations become vessels for the even greater
heart of Christ. In Acts of Consecration, His powerful life pours in a mighty
stream from east to west, gathering momentum and strength as each community celebrates
His act of life. All through our night, in our sleep, we have been washed in
the stream of the sequence of Acts of Consecration from east of us. The communities
in Europe and Africa were strengthening us. And now, we communities on the east
coast [of the US] join in pouring this creative and life-giving stream westward
and into the future. We do this,
so that the high and unifying thoughts of Christ’s great heart can enlighten humankind;
so that the life of His pure and
ennobling feelings can warm and uplift our humanity;
so that His resolutions for our future, steeped in His love, can permeate the life of the world.
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