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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1st Advent 2021, Am I Lost?

 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 Sunday

Nov 28, 2021

Luke 21:25-36  

Cordoba Fresco

A woman about to give birth is seized by fearsome convulsions; she feels dragged along by the overwhelming forces of birth. Yet knowing of the imminent arrival of the child can give her the strength to endure the intensity of the transition. 

Humankind is now being seized by mighty convulsions of change. The dynamic powers of heaven are being shaken, for we are all in the midst of a new birth. The kingdom of the heavens, the realm of divine love, that wants to be born in human hearts, is approaching. 

We are feeling the convulsions most especially in the economic sphere because it is the sphere of brotherhood. Worldwide we hear the cries for human dignity, for equitable standards of living, and care for all. What humanity is laboring to bring to birth is the compassionate Son of Man within our hearts, the One who comes willing to sacrifice His entire life and being for others. For the present, it is our task to remain upright in the midst of the cataclysms. We are beginning the labor of bringing Him to birth. We must endure. For as Vaclav Havel says: 

It is I who must begin.

Once I begin, once I try --

here and now,

right where I am,

…I suddenly discover,

to my surprise, that

I am neither the only one,

nor the first,

nor the most important one

to have set out

upon that road.

 

Whether all is really lost

or not depends entirely on

whether or not I am lost.*

 

 

---

*Vaclav Havel, “It Is I Who Must Begin”, in Teaching With Fire, ed. by S.M. Intrator and M. Scribner

 

1st Advent 2020, Everything You Need

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 [raise] your soul to the spirit, for your deliverance draws near.
 
And he gave them a comparison, saying, ‘Observe [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 Sunday
November 29, 2020
Luke 21:25-36
 
A woman who is about to give birth experiences pain. Wave after wave of contraction sweeps over her, hard labor requiring endurance and strength. But in the end, she and all around her experience the radiant wonder that a tiny human being, surrounded by angels, has arrived on earth.
 
Today’s reading is a description

Jolan van Eyck

of the birth pangs of humanity. Constriction, anxiety, and doubt wash over us as world events, earth events, sweep over us. They require our strength and endurance.
 
These birth pangs also require our wakefulness. For this birth is not a physical one. It happens instead in the realm of life that permeates both us and our earth. It happens within perceptive human souls. For the outcome is the birth of the Son of Man. To perceive this birth, we struggle to stay awake amid the excesses of the season. We labor to remember that angels surround us.
 
Many are the human beings who, in their hour of extreme need, have raised their souls to the spirit in prayer. And in their soul is born the power and radiance of a paradoxical peace. A calm settles over them, and they feel the nearness of God. They sense that angels surround them.
 
Perhaps we can sense, as the poet David Whyte describes:
 
These are hard paths we tread
…..
I know that …

Larissa Khimich

storms break over,
…and you will not move
while the voice all around
tears the air
and fills the sky with jagged light.
 
But sometimes unawares
those sounds seem to descend
as if kneeling down into you
and you listen strangely caught
as the terrible voice moving closer
halts,
and in the silence
now arriving
whispers
 
Get up, I depend
on you utterly.
Everything you need
you had
the moment before
you were born.*
 
*David Whyte, “Waking”, in Where Many Rivers Meet

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1st Advent 2019, Grace Approaching

1st 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 men 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 [raise] your soul to the spirit, for your deliverance draws near.

And he gave them a comparison, saying, ‘Observe [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 Man’s being 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 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.

1st Advent

December 1, 2019

Luke 21:25-36

When a seed is planted, the first thing to happen is a kind of cataclysm, a disintegration. It swells; the hull cracks; the seed itself splits apart as the sprouts break forth, one diving down to root itself in the earth, the other rising into the light.

This is what life does. Real life, real progress and evolution break us apart. They change us, sometimes fundamentally. Life pushes us out of our comfortable place of the merely potential into the uncomfortable stretching and growing toward fulfillment.

At this time of the year, humanity is God’s Bride. He has impregnated us with His hope for us; with His trust in us; with His love for us. We are to grow and carry His Spirit-Child within us, His Son who will be born into our hearts at Christmas. Like any other fruitfulness, this brings us both joy and discomfort. The poet describes how it is for us:

There is a grace approaching
that we shun as much as death,

it is the completion of our birth.

It does not come in time,

but in timelessness

when the mind sinks into the heart

and we remember.

It is an insistent grace that draws us

to the edge and beckons us surrender

safe territory and enter our enormity.

We know we must pass

beyond knowing

and fear the shedding.

But we are pulled upward

none-the-less

through forgotten ghosts

and unexpected angels,

luminous.

And there is nothing left to say

but we are That.

And that is what we sing about.*

---

*Stephen Levine, “Millennium blessing”  in Breaking the Drought

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1st Advent 2018, Drawing Near

1^st Advent

Luke 21: 25-36 (adapted by the author)

Revealing spiritual signs will appear in sun, moon and stars, signs that the spiritual world is again drawing near to humanity. On the earth, however, the peoples will be in distress, helpless before the rushing of the world ether sea, whose waves touch the earth. Human beings will lose the inner strength that is based only on the earthly,  in fear and foreboding of everything that is coming over the earth.

Eye of God, Helix Nebula

For even the world powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then, however, they will look upon the Son of Man, the future image of human beings, how He approaches out of the being of the clouds that surround the earth, how He comes in dynamic power, a power that is higher than anything that approaches human beings; how he comes in the shining of his God-imbued revelation. When this begins to happen, stand upright and raise your mind’s senses to the spirit.

For the hour of your liberation, free to experience the spirit world, is near.

And He spoke a parable: look at the fig tree and all the other trees. When they are in bud, you can see this and you yourself know that summer is near. Just so, when you see all this, shall you recognize the world transformative events through which the divine kingdom wants to open your inner being from now on, for the kingdom of God is approaching you.

Roland Tiller

The truth I say to you: this humanity living today will not pass away before all this is fulfilled. Heaven and earth will perish; my words, however, will not perish. 

Do not burden your hearts with excess in eating and drinking, so that your hearts do not fall prey to lethargy or intoxication. And beware of all unnecessary worries about your outer subsistence, so that the light of world-days does not come over you unprepared, like a choking snare. For it will come for all who live on the face of the whole earth. So at all times be of wakeful spirit in prayerful thought, so that you may find the strength to escape everything that is to happen, and may stand before the Son of Man.

1^st Advent

December 1, 2018

Luke 21: 25-36

Buddha, Jan de Kok

Although we are approaching the depth of midwinter, the gospel reading, oddly perhaps, speaks of the coming spring. It brings to our mind’s eye the image of the fig tree bursting into leaf. In Christ’s time, the fig tree was like the bodhi tree of enlightenment under which Buddha sat; it was the tree that represented a broader, enlightened awareness.

This reading, however, gives us the content of a higher awareness: the living Son of Man, radiant and powerful, coming toward us in the realm of the clouds, in the biosphere, the realm of life.

This year has been a year in which there have been shifts in awareness. There

Brian Jekel

are signs…signs that human beings are moving into an anxious awareness of the damage to the wholeness of the living earth; into a heart awareness that aches at the catastrophic treatment of other members of the human family. These are signs that the kingdom of God is arising in human hearts. The angels, full of hope, are watching closely.

But, as the poet Denise Levertov says:

Sometimes the mountain

is hidden from me in veils

of cloud, sometimes

I am hidden from the mountain

in veils of inattention, apathy, fatigue,

when I forget or refuse to go

…to reconfirm

that witnessing presence.*

 Now especially, we are urged to pay attention, to stand upright, awake and at the ready. For He who is the living Spirit of the Earth is once again approaching us. 

---

* “Witness”, by Denise Levertov in Selected Poems

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1st Advent Sunday 2015, Alive

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 men 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 [raise] your soul to the spirit, for your deliverance draws near.
 
And he gave them a comparison, saying, ‘Observe [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 Man’s being 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 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
Luke 21:25-36

In the midst of turmoil and destruction, somehow, somewhere, a silent light shines. The breaking up of the old, the disturbances are themselves a sign that something new is beginning.

We are entering the season of Advent, which signals the beginning of the liturgical year. It is not an easy time; for something new is trying to be born. In the reading, we hear about the coming, the advent of the Son of Man. His is a great light-filled power. We are challenged to raise our sights, to rise up and to remain upright before His face.

To do so requires that we find our own still point, our center. It is in inner stillness and silence that the light of what is coming into being can be perceived.  This is a particular challenge at this time of the year. And yet this is where the seasonal prayers would direct our attention—to find the stillness; to listen to the silence of a new beginning. Our material culture tries to shout Him down, wrap Him in a mantle of commercial images, suffocate Him in a blanket of sound. But in the words of the poet:

Now we will count to twelve
and we will all keep still.
.…
If we were not so single-minded
about keeping our lives moving,
and for once could do nothing,
perhaps a huge silence
might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding ourselves
and of threatening ourselves
with death.
Perhaps the earth can teach us
as when everything seems dead in winter
and later proves to be alive.*
 
 *Pablo Neruda, “Keeping Quiet”  in Extravagario, translated by Alastair Reid

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1st Advent 2016, Grace of Beginning

1st 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 men 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 [raise] your soul to the spirit, for your deliverance draws near.

And he gave them a comparison, saying, ‘Observe [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 Man’s being 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.

1st Advent

November 27, 2016

Luke 21:25-36

Today is the new beginning, the sunrise of the new liturgical year. We are told to look for 'the Son of Man, coming in a cloud, in the sphere of life, in dynamic power and great radiant glory.' When the sun rises, it enlightens the overarching darkness. And at the same time, objects that do not absorb the light cast dark shadows.

In our own lives, we also stand at a new beginning. The Son of Man is rising. We are to stand upright before His countenance. We are to absorb His light, become 'enlightened'. It helps if we can banish that in us which casts inner shadows – too much food and drink, over-concern and worry, fear and foreboding. These things reject the light; they reject the life and the power of the Coming One.

Instead, we are encouraged to pray wakefully. We can pray that we begin to see through the illusions that ignorance creates. We can ask that the Kingdom of the Coming One's Father extend itself through our own deeds and moral conduct. We can pray that our mercy toward others becomes restorative justice. We can pray that we are ready to begin again. In the words of John O'Donohue:

In out-of-the-way places of the heart,

Where your thoughts never think to wander,

This beginning has been quietly forming,

Waiting until you were ready to emerge.

Though your destination is not clear

You can trust the promise of this opening;

Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning…*

*John O'Donohue, For a New Beginning

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First Advent 2015, Strengthening Transformation

1st 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 men 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 [raise] your soul to the spirit, for your deliverance draws near.

And he gave them a comparison, saying, ‘Observe [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 Man’s being 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

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.

1st Advent

November 29, 2015

Luke 21:25-36

Living things are always changing. The plants change form from seed to shoot to leaves, from leaves to blossom and fruit and seed. The living light of the sun is in constantly changing flux. These changes affect our experience.

Roland Tiller

Every year at this time, Christ slowly descends once again toward the opportunity for an intimate connection with humankind. Because He is Life itself, His approach stimulates change, change in the cosmos, change in our souls. One natural reaction to great change is anxiety.

The gospel encourages us to recognize in advance that our anxiety is caused in fact by the approach of Christ, the giver of Life, the refresher of our life’s true meaning. He is the giver of transformative change. We are encouraged not to just smother our unease with excess of food and drink. Rather we are encouraged to practice a state of vigilant, strengthening prayer.

Christ is seeking an encounter with our wakeful spirits, to take place during the days and nights of Christmas. We may pray that

…we be strengthened from the founts of will that bear us toward freedom;

 that we be illumined from the founts of wisdom that warm the inmost heart;

 that we feel peace from the founts of love which bless human work. [1]

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---

[1] Adapted from the Intercessory Prayer in MeditativePrayers for Today, Adam Bittleston

1st Advent 2014, Insistent Grace

1st 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 men 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 [raise] your soul to the spirit, for your deliverance draws near.

And he gave them a comparison, saying, ‘Observe [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 Man’s being 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 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.

1st Advent

Luke 21:25-36

When a seed is planted, the first thing to happen is a kind of cataclysm, a disintegration. It swells; the hull cracks; the seed itself splits apart as the sprouts break forth, one diving down to root itself in the earth, the other rising into the light.

This is what life does. Real life, real progress and evolution break us apart. They change us, sometimes fundamentally. Life pushes us out of our comfortable place of the merely potential into the uncomfortable stretching and growing toward fulfillment.

At this time of the year, humanity is God’s Bride. He has impregnated us with His hope for us; with His trust in us; with His love for us. We are to grow and carry His Spirit-Child within us, His Son who will be born into our hearts at Christmas. Like any other fruitfulness, this brings us both joy and discomfort. The poet describes how it is for us:

There is a grace approaching

Thomas Cooper Gotch

it is the completion of our birth.

It does not come in time,

but in timelessness

when the mind sinks into the heart

and we remember.

It is an insistent grace that draws us

to the edge and beckons us surrender

safe territory and enter our enormity.

We know we must pass

beyond knowing

and fear the shedding.

But we are pulled upward

none-the-less

through forgotten ghosts

and unexpected angels,

luminous.

And there is nothing left to say

but we are That.

And that is what we sing about.[1]

---

[1]  Stephen Levine , “Millennium blessing”  in Breaking the Drought