Christmas Day, 2022, Holy Face

 Christmas III, Day

John 21:15-25 

Now is proclaimed the end of the entire Gospel, according to John in the 21^st chapter: 

After they had held their meal together,

Jesus said to Simon Peter: "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than the others here?” 

Peter answered, "Lord, you know that I am your friend." 

Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs." And he said to him again, a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?” 

Peter answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I am devoted to you." 

Jesus said to him, "Shepherd my young sheep." He asked him a third time, "Simon, Son of John, Are you my friend?" 

Peter was heartbroken that he could say to him the third time, 'Are you my friend,' and he answered, "Lord, you know all things; therefore, you know that I am devoted to you." 

Jesus said, "Feed my sheep. Amen, the truth I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked wherever you wished. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and Another will gird you and lead you where you do not wish to go." 

He told him this to indicate the kind of death by which he would bring the divine to revelation. Then he said to him, "Follow me." 

But Peter, turning, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved, following him. He was the one who had leaned upon his breast at the supper and had asked, "Lord, who is it who betrays you?" When Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what of this man; what is his task?" 

Jesus said to him, "If it is my will that he remain until my coming, that does not affect your path. You follow me." 

From this day, the story spread among the brethren that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, "If it is my will that he remain until my coming, that does not affect your path." 

This is the disciple who here bears witness to these things and who has written all this. And we know that his testimony is true. There are also many other things that Jesus did. If they were to be written down one by one, I do not think that the world itself could contain the books that would have to be written.

Christmas III, Day

December 25, 2022

John 21:15–26 

Every child is born for a purpose. At midnight we heard how the Christ Child was conceived. At dawn, we held him in our hearts in amazed reverence. And now, suddenly, the tender child-bud is fully grown. The gospel reading catapults us into the Child’s future, and the whole purpose of His life flashes before us. The man that the child will become already stands before us, not merely full grown, but already born yet again as the Risen One.

Friedrich Stockli

The Rose of Love has already blossomed from the crown of thorns. 

He is asking Peter, “Do you love me? Will you turn my love toward others? Will you share it? Will you nourish, guide, and protect them as I have nourished, guided, and protected you?” 

His first birth was a gift from the angels. We glimpse his approaching second blossoming, but one that is now intimately tied to us. We hear his words, “Do you love me?” and like Peter, it breaks our hearts. For now, the Rose would multiply. The Rose would be handed as healing to those who suffer, as food and drink to those who hunger and thirst. He needs human wills, turned to the good, to distribute the roses of healing and peace. 

“Do you love me?” 

And we answer in the words of Rilke: 

We will sense you

like a fragrance from a nearby garden…* 

Only in our doing can we grasp you

Only with our hands can we illumine you….**

The day’s labor grows simple now

and like a holy face

held in [our] my dark hands.*** 

 

*Rilke, The Book of Hours, Barrows and Macy, pg 122

**pg. 84

***pg. 147

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Christmas II, 2022, Hold You Gently

Christmas II, Dawn

Luke 2:1-20

 

(Now is proclaimed the [middle of the Gospel[s], according to Luke in the second chapter.) 

Now it came to pass in those days that a proclamation went out from Caesar Augustus that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone set out to be enrolled, each to the town of his ancestors. 

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he belonged to the house and lineage of David. He went to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed. And Mary was with child. And it came to pass that while they were there, the time was fulfilled for her to be delivered. And she bore her son, her firstborn. And she wrapped him in linen and placed him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. 

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks in the night. And an angel of the Lord came upon them [appeared before them], and the light of the revelation of God shone about them. And great fear came upon them. 

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for I announce to you a great joy, which shall be for all on earth: today is born unto you the Bringer of Healing, in the city of David, Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign for you: you will find a little child wrapped in linen, lying in a manger." 

And suddenly around the angel was the fullness of the heavenly angelic hosts: their song of praise sounded forth to the highest: 

God's Spirit reveals itself in the heights

And brings peace to all on earth

         In whose hearts goodwill dwells!

 

And as the angels withdrew from them into the heavens, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go to Bethlehem to see the fulfillment of the Word that has happened here, which the Lord let be proclaimed." 

And they came hastening and found both Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger. And when they had seen, they made known the Word that was spoken to them concerning this child. [or, When they saw that, they understood what had been told them concerning this child.] And all who heard it were astonished about what the shepherds said. 

But Mary treasured [or, preserved] all these words, pondering them [or, turning them over] in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God to everyone for everything they had heard and seen, which was just as it had been announced to them.

Christmas II, Dawn

December 25, 2022

Luke 2:1–20 

It has happened. He has been born into the world. After a hard journey under arduous circumstances, this original Child, the Son of God from the beginning, is at last born in the midst of humanity. And the world seems suddenly tenderly new, like the freshness of a winter dawn. Over the whole earth, light flashes up, revealing jubilation in the heavens, igniting the enthusiasm of joy in human beings. For in this newborn Child, the dawning and rising of the Sun-King himself announces itself as fresh as on the first day. In Him, the pure shining innocence of the first human being radiates like a corona of light. 

Mary, the representative of all human souls, not only cradles the Child in the warmth of her arms. She also cradles and treasures the first light of his great new Dawning in the warmth of her heart.

The shepherds are filled with astonishment and fearsome joy. They actively seek the Child, speaking warmly to all about what they have seen and heard. 

Tender cradling, wonder, and joy—all this ignites afresh in our hearts at today’s new dawning.  We see the scene with our mind’s eye. With the poet, our hearts say: 

artist unknown

I would like to rock you and sing softly

and go with you to and from sleep.

I would like to listen in and listen out

into you into the world….

I have laid my eyes upon you wide

and they hold you gently…. 

 

Rilke, Book of Images, trans. by E. Snow. p. 59.

www.thechristiancommunity.org

 

Christmas I, Midnight, December 25, 2022, Heaven's Voices

Christmas I, Midnight

Matthew 1:18–25 

[Now is proclaimed the beginning of the entire Gospel, according to Matthew in the first chapter.] 

The birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way: Mary, his mother, was betrothed to Joseph. But before they were aware of having come together, she conceived a child by the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, however, her husband, who was an upright man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, was considering whether he should quietly set her free [or, decided to consider all this a mystery.] As he was pondering this, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared before him in a dream and said to him, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife because that which is to be born of her is conceived out of the power of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall give him the name Jesus, that is, the Bringer of Healing, for he it will be who will heal his own of their error and guilt." 

All this took place so that the word of the Lord, spoken by the mouth of the prophet, might be fulfilled: 

"A virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and they will call his name Immanuel, that is, God in our midst."               

Now when Joseph rose from his sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord directed him, and he took Mary to himself as his wife, and he knew her not until she bore her son, and he gave him the name Jesus. 

Christmas I

Midnight, December 25, 2022

Matthew 1:17-25 

A diamond in its natural state is dark and stained; it gives little clue of what lies in its depths. Not until it is cleaned, cut, and polished can the light within it begin to shine forth.  

Jesus’ conception was shrouded in darkness, awkwardness, and mystery. Like a diamond in its natural state, the conception of the Christ Child causes consternation. Joseph is not sure what this unaccountable conception means. Has Mary’s jewel of innocence been stained? Or is there a greater mystery at work here, something precious that requires her to be handed back to the temple authorities for safekeeping? 

Joseph ponders the awkwardness. 

And in answer, the heavens open. Tones sound forth. A bright angel speaks to him, saying in effect: ‘Do not be afraid of this situation. All the darkness of this diamond mystery will be chipped away. All the awkwardness will ultimately be set to rights. Remember the paradox of the prophecy? A virgin brings God into our midst.” * 

In night’s darkness, the star radiance of an angel pierces Joseph’s gloom. Joseph hears and listens. From night’s darkness, he rises up in understanding, ready to guard and protect the light-filled but as yet unmanifested jewel entrusted into his hands. 

Adam Bittleston captures the angelic voice that speaks to us today from the Gospel, the good news from the realm of the angels:

Jan de Kok

Darkness of night

Stars fill.

Silence of night

Music breaks.

 

Midnight words

Promise the coming

Humble, hopeful

Of man’s true healer.

 

Hear well, O Man

Lift up your heart

In deep darkness

To heaven’s voices.*

 

Hearing, we rise; our understanding opens into the starlight, as into the night of the sense’s darkness there streams here, now, tonight, the healing light of the Spirit’s Grace. For Christ is conceived every year anew. He is conceived as the God in our midst. He shines in us like the starlight in the diamond. 

*Isaiah 7:14

** “Advent,” by Adam Bittleston, in A Window Into Worlds 

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4th Advent 2022, Become . . .

 4^th Advent

Luke 1:26-38 

Martin Schongauer

During the sixth month, the angel Gabriel
was sent from God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth to a maiden engaged to a man named Joseph of the descendants of David, and the maiden's name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, "Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you." 

But she was confused at those words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord your God will give him the throne of his father David. And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. And his kingdom will have no end."

 And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I have not known a man?" 

And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason, the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God. And behold, even your kinswoman Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For no word of God will be impossible." [For no word is spoken by God that does not have the power to become reality on earth.]

And Mary said, "Behold, the Lord's handmaid; may it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her. 

4^th Advent

December 18, 2022

Luke 1:26–38  

“No word is spoken in the worlds of the
spirit that does not have the power to become reality on earth.” Luke 1:37  

In the beginning, God spoke. “Let there be…” he said. And gradually, all of the created world appeared. And with it, there arose, as its centerpiece, the human being, made as a picture of God, made to be, like God, a creator. God’s word, spoken in the world of the spirit, became earthly reality. 

To Mary and Elizabeth, God spoke again and conveyed His words through His messenger Gabriel. “You will conceive and bear a son.”  And it happens—both the virginal and the barren become fruitful. Because no word is spoken in the world of the spirit that does not have the power to become reality on the earth. 

Today God speaks again to all of us. He speaks but a single word, but a word of infinite and varied possibilities: 

“Become.” 

To creation, to fruitfulness is added the impetus of becoming, of changing and evolving, of metamorphosis. Just what we are to become is left unstated, for that choice has been handed over to us. 

Oleg Shuplyak

As humanity, we are no longer virginal and simple. But we have eons of human history, human experience, and accumulated wisdom to advise us. And we are made in God’s image. We can accept the task with Mary’s humility. We can receive this seed-word into our souls. We can conceive it, in our being, in our actions, and in our understanding. 

Just after the incident described in today’s gospel, Mary rises up and sets out on a journey to join her kinswoman Elizabeth. So we, too, having heard the word, can set off along a path to join others, to do the work of becoming, of developing, of transubstantiating. Now it is not only we who are to change. Now it is our task to help metamorphose creation. We are to transubstantiate bread and wine into God’s body and blood. We are to convert earthly matter into matters of the spirit for the help and healing of all the earth.

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3rd Advent 2022, Get to Work

3rd Advent

Matthew 25:1-13

Burnand

The kingdom in the heavens will be like ten maidens who took their oil lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. But
five of them were dull of soul, and five were alert and prudent. The foolish took their lamps without taking any oil with them. The wise ones took flasks of oil for their lamps. Now, because the bridegroom was a long time coming, they all became drowsy and were sleeping. But in the middle of the night, the call went up, "Behold, the bridegroom! Go forth to meet him!"
Then all the maidens rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, "Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out."

Burnand

But the wise ones said, "No, the oil would not be enough for us and you as well. Rather go to the dealers and buy oil for yourselves." And while they were away buying, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready to receive him went with him into the wedding feast, and the doors were shut.

Afterward, the other maidens came also and said, "Lord, Lord, open to us!"
But he replied, "Truly, I say to you, I do not know you."

So be alert of soul, since you do not know the day or the hour.

3^rd Advent
December 11, 2022
Matthew 25:1–13

In Jesus' time, it was the custom that a procession of bridesmaids accompanied the groom to the bride's house to meet his bride. The procession lit his way. In the story, half of them have stocked extra oil, and half have not.

Thomas Cooper Gotch

One might be inclined to fault the prudent ones for not sharing. Are they being selfish? No, in this instance, they are providing not just oil but foresight. They know that by dividing the oil, no one's light would last for the whole journey. And then everyone would be in the dark, unable to continue, and the marriage could not take place. This is not the moment for charity. It is the moment to be fully and wisely prepared to contribute to a strong collective effort in meeting the Bridegroom.

This story is a metaphor for the Divine Marriage of the Son of God and the collective soul of humanity. Nevertheless, the oil of prayer and spiritual light can only be acquired individually. One can only prepare one's own capacities for the Divine Marriage. One cannot do so for others. What is required in this case is not charity but foresight, spiritual preparation, and readiness. Last-minute preparations will not suffice.

We are resting, waiting in the darkness, not knowing when the wedding will take place. But come it will. And so we must prepare ahead of time to be ready.

In the words of Epictetus:*

It is time to really live; to fully inhabit the situation you happen to be in now.
You are not some disinterested bystander.
Exert yourself.
 
Respect your partnership with providence.
Ask yourself often, How may I perform this particular deed
such that it would be consistent with and acceptable to the divine will?
Heed the answer and get to work.
 
"Caretake This Moment," in Epictetus: The Art of Living a New Interpretation by Sharon Lebell.
 

2nd Advent 2022, Expanding Upward

2^nd Advent

Mark 13:24-37

 

"In the days after those hardships,

Aivasovsky

'the sun will be darkened,

the moon will no longer give its light,

the stars will be falling from heaven,

and the powers of the heavenly spheres will be thrown off course.'

"Then, the coming of the Son of Man will be visible in the realm of the clouds, invested with power, illumined by the light of the revelation of the world of spirit. And he will send out the angels to gather in all those who feel themselves united with him, from all four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

"Learn from the parable of the fig tree: When the sap rises through its branches, and it puts forth leaves, then you see that summer is near. So also when you see these things coming about, you shall be aware that the revelation of the Son of Man is near, at the very door. Yes, I say to you: Even before the time of human beings now living shall have come to an end, all this will begin. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. No one knows anything about that day or that hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

"Be observant and be awake, for you do not know when the time will be. It is like when a man goes on a journey and leaves his house. He gives his servants authority, gives each one his task, and tells the doorkeeper to be alert. So you, too, be alert. You do not know when the master of the house will come, whether in the evening or at midnight or at cockcrow in the morning. Take care that he does not find you sleeping if he comes suddenly. And what I say to you applies to all human beings: Be alert!"

2^nd Advent
December 4, 2022
Mark 13:24-37
 
Standing is both an effort and a gift.
 
It takes effort to overcome the downward drag of gravity, to pull ourselves into the upright, and to maintain that uprightness within all the subtleties of balancing.
 
At the same time, that we can do so at all is a gift from God, a gift of grace.
Plants rise upward through the sunlight’s power. Animals have been gifted with mobility but have mostly lost their uprightness into the bargain. But human beings have been given both the gifts of mobility and uprightness. We can move and still be connected not only to the earth but also to the heavens — feet firmly planted on the earth, head toward the stars, moving forward.
 
We can lose our uprightness physically through illness or accident. But more importantly, the forces of uprightness also operate on the soul level. We lose our inner uprightness through fear — a natural reaction to threats in the present. We lose our inner uprightness through foreboding — projecting our fears into the future. 
 
When terrible things happen, it takes an effort to stand inwardly upright, to raise our soul to the spirit. But our efforts are always met by grace.
 
In dark times, as we struggle inwardly to stand before the altar, we begin to dimly sense a dawning awareness of the spirit. From the altar, a kind of subtle light shines. And in awareness of this light, we know, as surely as the plant, the fig tree knows, that the light of the Son of God is approaching. Our hearts begin to feel salvation from fear. Comfort and promise overcome foreboding. We feel, indeed we know that the Christ Sun is working here on earth. Our souls’ efforts to be present here are met with His grace. With feet firmly planted on the earth, our souls overcome the downward drag of fear and foreboding. We stand upright on the earth and expand upward toward the stars, toward the realm of the heavens.
 

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