1st Advent 2022, I Am Coming

 1^st Advent

Luke 21:25-36 

And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars; and upon the earth, the nations will be constricted with anxiety and doubt with the advent of these spiritual revelations, as before a roaring sea and waves. And people will lose their inner strength of soul out of fear and foreboding of what is coming over the living earth: for the dynamic powers of heaven will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud, in the sphere of life, with dynamic power and great radiant glory. 

And when these things begin to happen, stand upright and lift up [or, raise] your soul to the spirit, for your deliverance draws near. 

And he gave them a comparison, saying,

"Observe [or, behold] the fig tree and all the trees when they burst into leaf. Seeing this, you know yourselves that summer is near. So also, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 

"Amen, the truth I say to you: this present age of being human shall not pass away until all has happened. 

"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. 

"Guard yourselves lest the perceptive power of your hearts be smothered by an excess of food and drink and by over-concern with the cares and worries of life, and the light of these spirit events break upon you suddenly like a snare; for it will come upon all who dwell upon the face of the whole earth. So be awake in the spirit at all times, praying, so that you may have the strength to live through all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."

1^st Advent

November 27, 2022

Luke 21:25–36 

Roaring windstorms quake the trees and scatter their leaves. If we were to be seeing this for the first time, it might seem to us as if the trees were being stripped of their very life. We would quail with anxiety at the fearsome power of such apparent destruction. 

But we know, in fact, that trees bud, leaf out, and drop their leaves as a matter of course. Overall growth demands that the old leaves drop away to make way for the next phase. The roaring of the wind also belongs to that time of leaf loss. But even before the old leaves drop, the buds of the new growth are already in place. They stand firm through the winter’s chill till the sun brightens and opens them again. 

We, too, have times when the soul wind roars and we are shaken. The old drops away, and it makes us anxious and fearful. But it is, in fact, a sign that the next phase has arrived. The spirit wind is cleaning house, removing the old and outworn. It is painful to lose what we have built up. But the strength of all our inner work, our prayers, our attention to quality and character, our strivings, are the life that survives loss. They are the
buds of life’s next phase that are already in place. For a while, their life lies dormant, but after the heart’s winter, they will burst forth. 

Sombart

The tree of the human race also has its seasons. Here too, there are times when the old must pass away. Phases of history and the blossoming of cultures give way to what needs to develop next.
Painful battles shake the earth. Humankind is fearful. 

But the budding of the new, of what continues to grow, the life in the tree of earth, speaks to us in a voice like an angel’s: “Do not be afraid. Become. Do not lose heart. You can stand firm, for I am always with you. I am the evergreen tree of life; and I am the wind of the spirit, the soul’s sun, and the ground beneath your feet. I am coming. And I create all anew.”

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4th Trinity IV 2022, The Veil Will Part

  

Trinity IV

The end of Revelation 22:12-21 

"Keep watch. I am coming soon, and I will have my rewards with me to give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the goal. 

"Blessed are those who cleanse their garments so that they will have power in the realm of the Tree of Life, which overcomes death and may go through the gates into the Holy City. Outside shall remain those bound to low senses, those who serve evil powers, who walk impure paths of soul, who spread death around them, who give themselves up to demonic forces, and who, through their ways and deeds, falsify their true being. 

"I, Jesus, sent my angel to report these things to your assembled communities. I AM the root and stock of David, the star who unfolds his brightness in the morning." 

And the Spirit and the Bride, the Holy City, say, "Come!" 

And may whoever hears also say, "Come!" And may the thirsty come, and may everyone who wants it get to drink the Water of Life freely, as grace. 

Everyone who hears can find their inmost being strengthened in the prophetic words of this book. Whoever does not yet sense its greatness and truth, God will lead them to full knowledge through the trials of destiny written in this book. 

And whoever diminishes the words of this prophecy, God will remove from them their share in the Tree of Life that overcomes death and their share in the Holy City written about in this book. 

He who lends these words their power says, "Yes, I am coming quickly!" 

Yes, so be it. Amen. Come, Jesus our Lord. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all!

 4^th Trinity IV

November 20, 2022

Revelation 22:12–21 

There is a great wellspring, a tree-shaped fountain, which exists just behind the veil of the senses. Bright waters gather and rise up powerfully, release in a great showering crown, and fall in sparkling color back to the Source to rise again, ever-changing, ever-renewed. 

Within this shimmering fountain-tree, there appears One who gathers substance and rises in birth, whose arms, outstretched like a cross, shower the blessings of his love’s light, who falls into death and then gathers himself and rises anew, who gathers and ascends again in ever greater cycles, joining heaven and earth. 

He is the pattern for all life. The flowing rise of energy, the sustained spreading release of the crowning, the falling back to the Source; this pattern underlies the flow of our day, the rising and falling of the phases of our lives, the arc of an entire lifetime, and of lives in succession. 

“Fortunate are those who wash their garments so that they will have power in the realm of the Tree of Life that overcomes death.” 

We all wear inner garments of soul, garments woven of habits, thoughts, and feelings. We have stained them by our everyday willingness to ignore the fountain that flows just beyond the veil, by our resistance to parting the veil and stepping into the beyond. 

But through the veil, we hear His voice. He who shines with the brightness of morning encourages us to dip our soul garments into His fountain to overcome our earthbound tendencies. He encourages us to rise with him in enthusiasm, to release His love and light into life, to return with Him to the Source, which is the true spirit of the earth. 

“Keep watch,” He says, “Soon, the veil will part, and I will appear, the fountain overflowing with life. 

To you who have washed your soul garments in the knowledge that the sense world is not all that there is;

to you who have felt My power flowing through the veins of your life;

to you who have worked to rise above the death of your soul;

your reward shall be to join me in the Fountain of Life, to partake of my renewing life at its Source.

 

“…for those who want it may drink of me, the Water of Life, free, as grace.”

 

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3rd Trinity IV 2022, Enduring Form

November Trinity

Revelation 21:1-27 

And I beheld the events in the spirit out of which a new heaven and a new earth proceeded. For the earlier heaven and the earlier earth were gone, and the billowing ocean is no more. 

Maronite

And further, I saw the Holy City, untouched by the Briearthly, coming forth out of the being of God, descending out of the spiritual worlds: the New Jerusalem. She appeared in her beauty like a bride who has adorned herself for the bridegroom. 

And I heard a powerful voice coming from the throne that said: "Behold the dwelling of God in the midst of humanity. He will indeed dwell in your midst, and the people will be His people.

God himself will be with them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eye. There will be no more death, mourning, crying, or pain for the old world is gone." 

And He who was seated on the throne said: "Behold: I am creating all anew." 

And He said, "Write, for it is these words that shall make faith and knowledge into true reality." 

And He said to me: "It is accomplished! I AM the Alpha and the Omega, World Beginning and World Goal. To the thirsty, I will give from the springs of the waters of life, outside the workings of destiny, as grace. Whoever overcomes shall inherit all this. 'I will be His God, and to me, He will be like a son.' 

And there came to me one of the seven angels who have the seven bowls filled with the last seven plagues of the world, and he spoke with me and said, "Come, I will show you the eternal Feminine, the bride, the wife of the Lamb." 

But as for the fearful souls, those who have no faith, who pervert the image of the human being, those who spread death around them, who tread impure paths of soul, make use of dark magic forces and serve demonic powers, as well as all frauds—the fiery swamp of the abyss opens for them and flames of sulfur blaze. That is the second death. 

 And he carried me in spirit-form up to a great high mountain, and let me see how the Holy City, Jerusalem, the City of Peace, descended out of the spiritual worlds, coming forth from the being of God, wrapped in the most intimate splendor of the revelation of God. 

Her shining [or, gleaming] is like that of a precious gemstone, like the stone jasper, clear as crystal. 

Her walls are of mighty size and height; she has twelve gates and at the gates stand twelve angels. On the gates are written the names of the twelve sons of Israel: three gates from the East, three gates from the North, three gates from the South, and three gates from the West. 

And the wall of the City rests on twelve sacred foundations, and the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb work in them. 

Ottheinrich Apocalypse

And he who spoke with me carried a golden
measuring rod to measure the City and her gates and her walls. 

And the City is spread out in a square; her length is the same as her width. And he measured the City with the measuring rod. It measured twelve thousand miles; the length and breadth and height were alike. And he measured her walls at one hundred forty-four cubits [ells], the measure of a human, which now the angel was using. 

The covering of her walls was of jasper, and the City herself of purified gold, clear as glass. And the sacred foundations of the walls were adorned with every precious stone: 

the first, a jasper,

the second, a sapphire,

the third, a chalcedony,

the fourth, emerald,

the fifth sardonyx,

the sixth, carnelian,

the seventh, chrysolite,

the eighth, beryl,

the ninth, topaz,

the tenth, chrysoprase

the eleventh, hyacinth,

the twelfth, an amethyst. 

The twelve gates were twelve pearls, and each of the gates made of a single pearl. And the City was of purified gold, like a transparent crystal. 

I did not see a temple in the City, for the Lord God, Ruler of All, is her sanctuary, and the Lamb. 

And the City needs neither sun nor moon, for she shines from within; for the shining revelation of God is streaming brightness in her, and her light is the Lamb. 

And all nations shall walk in her light, and the rulers of the earth will carry their spiritual treasures into her. And her gates will never be closed by day, for there, the night will be no more. 

And all the shining treasures of the revelations of the world, and all the spiritual worth of the nations and all achievements of the soul will be brought into her. 

And nothing can enter that is not spiritualized [or, is not consecrated], nothing that perverts the image of the human, nothing that remains under the power of the Lie, but rather only those who are written into the Book of Life of the Lamb.

3^rd Trinity IV

November 13, 2022

Revelation 21:1–27 

“The wall of the city rests on twelve sacred foundations, and the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb work in them.” Rev. 21:14 

The heavenly Jerusalem, a city of peace, is the future residence of humanity. It rests upon the working of the twelve apostles, on human efforts. Even today, human virtues flowing into and from Christ are creating the basis, the foundation of our future residence. 

Patient self-control, enduring courage, compassionate and courteous unselfishness are some of the virtues that sustain our future. Our efforts in these areas are born out of our love for humanity and for the world of the spirit. In this work toward the future, we join Christ’s apostles, the ones He sends out to do His work. 

In every effort to create virtue, Christ joins His power to ours. We offer Him our best efforts, and however imperfect they may be, Christ adds the power of his strength and endurance to them. Through Him, they are solidified and become enduring foundation stones. 

In consecrating the human being, we are given
the opportunity, week by week, to offer Him our endeavors. In the offering, a fire is enkindled in which human love and divine love intermingle. This love-fire is not destructive; it is creative. The flames of this love give vitality to what we offer. Our offerings of the work of virtue are kiln-fired at the altar to give them strength and holding power so that their goodness endures. They become living gemstones. 

We bring our inner materials to the altar. There we offer them into Christ’s flame of love. Our raw efforts are given a finish and fired, transforming them into an enduring form, into the foundation stones of the New Jerusalem, the city of Peace. 

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2nd Trinity IV 2022, Awaken, Remember

November Trinity IV

Rev. 3:1-6 (Sardis)  

"And to the angel who penetrates the congregation
of Sardis write: Thus speaks he who has power over the seven creating spirits of God and the seven stars: I know the consequences of your deeds, for one says of you that you live, and yet are dead. Awaken, and strengthen what remains in you, that is otherwise about to die, for I have not found that your works possess reality before my God. 

Tiffany, Angel of Sardis

"Remember how you were once receptive for all the words and workings of the Spirit. Care for them in your soul in inner loyalty. Change your heart and mind. 

"If, however, you do not awaken, I will come over you suddenly like a thief, and you will not know at which hour I will come over you. 

"But you have some names in Sardis whose souls have not been darkened by illusion and addiction to the senses. They will walk with me in white garments, for they are worthy of them. 

"Whoever overcomes, they shall be clothed with white garments, and I will not wipe out their name from the Book of Life. I will speak out their name and acknowledge them before my Father and his Angels. Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches." 

2^nd November Trinity

November 6, 2022

Revelation 3:1–6,  Sardis 

Inner loyalty is difficult to maintain. For it is our human nature to be distracted by all the claims made upon our souls. There is so much in the world that cries out so loudly for our attention. And the spirit only whispers. 

Memling

We need to quiet ourselves from time to time, to listen; to listen to the voice of the spirit; to listen to its echo in our hearts. We need to quiet ourselves to remember, to remember how we were once open, to generate that openness again. 

All of us have been led to this community because once upon a time, we heard the living voice whispering from the world of the spirit. We recognized: Something important speaks here, something alive. That word found a resonance in our hearts’ love. And so we made a promise, a commitment both to the spirit and to ourselves, that we would continue to try to be open and awake to that voice whenever it speaks. 

It is so hard to stay awake in the spirit in between times. The world is so loud. It drowns out His voice, and in spirit, we go to sleep. 

But once a year, as the year itself dies away, especially those of us present here are privileged to hear His voice speaking clearly once again—

Awaken.

Remember.

Care for the words and workings of the spirit in your soul in inner loyalty. 

His is the voice that awakens us, the voice that reminds us to remember the love we first felt, the voice that encourages us to care for the inner realities in loyalty. 

And we respond—Yes, Lord; may you be in us. May the fire of your loyal love ignite in our hearts. May our prayers be for your listening ear.

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