5th Easter
John 16, 1-33, adapted from Madsen
“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
Comforter, the giver of spirit courage, [who will stand by you in all trials, 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 mankind to account for the
decline into sin, for the working of man’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 Man’s 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’.
Yet a short time you will see me no more, and again
a short time and you will see me.”
Then some of his disciples said to one another,
“What does he mean by saying ‘Yet a short time 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.”
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| Bible moralisèe The Creation of Eve and The Birth of Ecclesia, |
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 his 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.”
5th Easter
May 19, 2019
John 16: 1 – 33
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| Devil's Mirror |
In today’s reading from before his resurrection, Christ
feels compassion for the disciple’s hearts; for his impending crucifixion will
activate such the mirror shards and, for a while, things will not appear to
them as they truly are. But He also promises that this condition will be
temporary. For, after a short time, He will send a Healer who will remove the
specks and show them the Truth. Their vision will be healed of its ills.
Although each of them will only see from a certain angle, from a partial
perspective, they will indeed see truly.
We human beings are all partial. We are on a path of
evolution toward greater wholeness, toward alignment with the greater and great
levels of Truth. Moments of suffering and moments of enlightenment follow each
other in greater spirals. For, in the words of St. John
If
you were playing chess with someone
who
had infinite power and infinite
knowledge
and wanted to make you a
master of the game,
where would all the chess
pieces be at every
moment?
Indeed, not only where he wanted
them,
but where all were best for your
development;
and that is every situation
of one’s
life.**
*Hans Christian Anderson, “The Snow Queen”.
**St. John of the Cross, “Development", in Love Poems
from God, Daniel Ladinsky, p. 322.
