New Year's Day 2021, The Middle of the Beginning

New Year's Day

John 1:1-18
 
In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a God.
He was in the beginning with God.

Friedrich Ogilvie, In the Beginning

All things came into being through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.
In him was life, and the life was the light of human beings.
And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not [has not overcome it].
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
The same came for [or, as] a witness, to bear witness to the light, that through him all might believe.
He was not the light but a witness of the light; for the true light that enlightens everyone was to come into the world.
He was in the world, and the world came into being through him, and the world knew him not.
He came to humans as individuals, but individuals received him not.        
But those who received him could reveal themselves as children of God.
Those who trusted in his name were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of human will, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and dwelled among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory (as) of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
John bore witness of Him and proclaimed clearly: this was he of whom I said: He will come after me who was before me, for he was the first.
For out of his fullness have we all received grace upon grace.
For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ.
Hitherto no one has beheld God with their eyes. The only begotten Son (God) who was within the Father Ground of the World has become the leader of human beings into this seeing.
 
New Year's Day
January 1, 2021
Cynthia Hindes
 

An apple tree follows the seasons. It blossoms in spring, fruits in the fall, rests in the winter. But citrus trees are different. On citrus trees, you will find blossoms among the fruit hanging in winter. The tree starts anew before the old is finished. As if to ensure continuity, new fruit is set before the old falls away.
 
The world of the angels is similar. They bring their new impulses for the future before the old is finished. We find the beginnings of things not at the end when things are winding down, but already amid the greatest activity.
 
Today, New Years' Day, is the 8^th day in the cycle of the twelve days of Christmas. It is the middle, the time for new beginnings to blossom. It is time for new impulses to set fruit. It is time for new inspirations.
 
In the beginning, was the Word. He was in the middle of God. He issued forth as an impulse to live. His will is to shine, step forth into the darkness, enlighten, enkindle, and enliven the dark.
 
And he was seen, perceived, witnessed by a human being—John; two Johns in fact: John the Baptist and John the Evangelist. They were like a pair of eyes that beheld the light of the Son God's life, He who came to earth in the middle of time.
 
Coming to earth at the midpoint in time, the Son God brought a new beginning. He brought the possibility that God could be seen with human eyes. The light of the Son God opened our eyes so that we could see not only Him but also the Great Father of All out of which He—and we—have come. It was a new beginning for all of humanity.
 
During the Holy Nights, he has come again. The Word is speaking. We, and time, blossom again. We have become gravid with possibility. Now at this high hour, we can see and become aware, discern that:
 
The hour is striking so close above me,
So clear and sharp
That all my senses ring with it.
I feel it now: there's a power in me
To grasp and give shape to my world.
 
I know that nothing has ever been real
Without my beholding it.
All becoming has needed me.
My looking ripens things
And they come toward me to meet and be met.*
 
May we see and discern the beginning we are in the midst of. May we greet it in devotion, in faith, and love. May we bring it to birth and ripen it.
 
*Rilke, The Book of Hours, Macy and Barrows, page 47
www.thechristiancommunity.org

New Year's Eve, 2017, Coming Toward Me

John 1: 1-18

 
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a God. 
He was in the beginning with God. 
All things came into being through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. 
In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 
And the light shines in the darkness and the darkness comprehended it not [has not overcome it]. 
There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 
The same came [as] for a witness, to bear witness to the light, that through him all might believe. 
He was not the light, but a witness of the light, for the true light that enlightens every man, was to come into the world. 
He was in the world, and the world came into being through him, and the world knew him not. 
He came to men as individuals but individual men received him not.           
But those who received him could reveal themselves as children of God. 
Those who trusted in his name were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 
And the Word became flesh and dwelled among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory (as) of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 
John bore witness of him and proclaimed clearly: this was he of whom I said: He will come after me who was before me, for he was the first. 
For out of his fullness have we all received grace upon grace. 
For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ. 
Hitherto no man has beheld God with his eyes. The only begotten Son (God) who was within the Father Ground of the World, he has become the leader of men into this seeing.
 
New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2017
John 1:1-18
 
Stepping across a threshold into a brightly lighted space temporarily blinds us. Overwhelmed at first, we are only painfully aware of the change. But slowly our eyes adjust. Objects begin to emerge out of the dazzling brightness. Then we can begin to navigate in this lighted space. We can begin to become active participants there.
 
In this gospel reading, we are presented at first with an overwhelming grandiosity. The Word sounds forth out of the silence, creating. A light of lightning brightness, the light of life, radiates out into the darkness. At first, we human beings are uncomprehending, dazzled perhaps by too much light. But gradually details begin to emerge. There comes a man called John who bears witness, who talks to us about what we can barely make out. He is a guide. He helps us to make sense of the overpowering brightness coming toward us from across the threshold. He helps our eyes to see by reporting to us how things are related. He

shows us that all the numerous graces of our lives, our privileges, our richness, our inner wealth, comes from this light-filled fullness beyond. He encourages us to look around at this light-filled space. And to notice that once inside it, there will be a guide. That once we cross over into the realm of light, the One who created the light will guide us in apprehending what we see. Under His leadership, we will navigate the space. With His help, we will find our place and our task. For the Creator Spirit is also the Revealer. As we cross the threshold into a new time, we can say:
 
The hour is striking so close above me,
so clear and sharp,
that all my senses ring with it.
I feel it now: there’s a power in me
to grasp and give shape to my world.
 
I know that nothing has ever been real
without my beholding it.
All becoming has needed me.
My looking ripens things
and they come toward me, to meet and be met.*
 
Yea, so be it.
* Rilke’s Book of Hours, Macy and Barrows, page 47

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New Year's Day, I Arise Today

Holy Nights

John 1: 1-18

Pantocrator, Monreale, Palermo

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a God.

This was in the beginning with God.

Everything came into being through the Word, and without it was not anything made that was made.

In the Word was life, and the life was the light of humankind.

And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God whose name was John.

He came as a witness, to bear witness to the light, so that through him all may find faith. He was not the light, but a witness to the light, for the true light that enlightens every human being was coming into the world. It was in the world, and the world came into being through it, but the world had not recognized it.

The Transfiguration, Fra Angelico

Into those who had recognized it the light had come, but those individuals did not take it in. But all who did take it in received authority to become children of God. Those who trusted in its name are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of the human beings, but are born of God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among (in) us.

And we beheld its revelation, the revelation of the only begotten son of the Father, full of grace and truth.

John bore witness to Him and cried out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘After me comes one who was before me, for he is the very first’.” For out of his fullness we have received grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth have come about through Jesus Christ.

Until now human senses never beheld God. The only begotten Son, who was within the Father, has become the guide to this beholding.[1]

---

[1] Translation inspired by Craig Wiggins

New Year’s Day

January 1, 2014

John 1:1-18

Every day the sun rises, and gives us back to ourselves. We begin each new day fresh; a new beginning.

Each year also gives us new possibilities. The twelve days of Christmas are a time set apart, for celebration, for thanksgiving, for contemplation. They can be a time to assess the year just past and a time to peer into the future. And in the midst of these twelve days we are given a New Year. It is as if the angels say to us: now, in the middle of everything, between past and future, start your new beginning. Begin afresh. For here and now is where it begins.

John O’Donohue sings of the possibilities:

Somewhere, out at the edges, the night

Is turning and the waves of darkness

Begin to brighten the shore of dawn

The heavy dark falls back to earth

And the freed air goes wild with light,

The heart fills with fresh bright breath

And thoughts stir to give birth to color. 

I arise today

In the name of Silence

Womb of the Word,

In the name of Stillness

Home of Belonging

In the name of the Solitude

Of the Soul and the Earth

Healing Angel, Iris Sullivan

I arise today

Blessed by all things,
Wings of breath,
Delight of eyes,
Wonder of whisper,
Intimacy of touch,
Eternity of soul,
Urgency of thought,
Miracle of health,
Embrace of God.

May I live this day

Compassionate of heart,

Clear in word,

Gracious in awareness,

Courageous in thought

Generous in love.[1]

www.thechristiancommunity.org

---

[1] John O’Donohue, “Matins’, in To Bless the Space Between Us.

New Year's Day 2007, Beginnings and Goals

The Gospel of John, 1:1-18

tr. Adam Bittleston

In the very beginning was the Word,

And the Word was with God,

And the Word was God.

He was with God in the very beginning.

All things came into being through Him,

And without Him came into being nothing

That has come into being.

In him was Life,

And the Life was the Light of mankind.

The Light sines in the Darkness,

And the Darkness did not grasp it.

There came to be a man, sent from God,

His name Ioannes.

He came for testimony,

That he should testify of the Light,

That all might have faith through him.

He was not the Light,

But came to testify of the Light.

For the Light that in truth endures,

That illumines every man,

Was coming into the World.

He was in the World,

And the World came into being through Him

Yet the World did not know Him.

He came to the separate,

Yet the separate men did not receive Him.

But those who received Him—

To them He gave full power

To become children of God,

Those who have faith in His name.

They have their being

Not from the bloodsteams,

Not from the will of the flesh,

Not from the will of a man,

But from God.

And the Word became flesh,

And made his dwelling among us,

And we saw His glory,

Glory of one born from the Father alone,

With abundance of grace and truth.

Ioannes testified of Him, proclaiming,

That is He of whom I said:

He Who comes after me

Takes His place above me

Because He was before me.

From the abundance of His Being

We have all received

Grace upon grace.

The Law was given through Moses;

Grace and truth came into being

Through Jesus Christ.

God no-one has beheld ever;

The son Who is born of Him alone

And Who has His Being

At the Father’s breast,

Has come to lead our seeing.

New Year’s Day

January 1, 2007

John 1: 1-18

  

Sulamith Wulfing

While in the midst of the Twelve Days and Nights of the Christmas season, we are celebrating the birth of the New Year. We may have the feeling that we are not yet ready – why can’t all these holidays distribute themselves a bit more evenly? It is because they are not just arbitrary markers on calendar squares; they are actual spiritual places where certain real events occur. Living systems are not methodical. If we observe life closely, we can notice that the new always begins to announce itself, not at the end of the old, but in the middle. For example, a child’s adult teeth begin to erupt when the child is still very young, although the processes of both teething and adulthood won’t be completed for many years. Nevertheless, God starts with the end in mind.

And so in the midst of the true celebration of the Christmas season, as we move from the simplicity of the shepherds toward the maturity of kings, a New Year begins for us. It begins under the twelve-fold star of Him who is Himself the author of all beginnings and goals. We are all on our way to becoming what God intended us to be. His Word from the future echoes in our soul’s ear: Become….  “For I am the Alpha and the Omega, the very beginning and the ultimate purpose of the world…. See, I make all things new! [1]

---

[1] Rev. 21: 5, 6.

New Year's Day 2008, New Seeing

The Gospel of John, 1:1-18

transl. Adam Bittleston

In the very beginning was the Word,

And the Word was with God,

And the Word was God.

He was with God in the very beginning.

All things came into being through Him,

And without Him came into being nothing

That has come into being.

In him was Life,

And the Life was the Light of mankind.

The Light sines in the Darkness,

And the Darkness did not grasp it.

John the Baptist, Leonardo da Vinci

There came to be a man, sent from God,

His name Ioannes.

He came for testimony,

That he should testify of the Light,

That all might have faith through him.

He was not the Light,

But came to testify of the Light.

For the Light that in truth endures,

That illumines every man,

Was coming into the World.

He was in the World,

And the World came into being through Him

Yet the World did not know Him.

He came to the separate,

Yet the separate men did not receive Him.

But those who received Him—

To them He gave full power

To become children of God,

Those who have faith in His name.

They have their being

Not from the bloodsteams,

Not from the will of the flesh,

Not from the will of a man,

But from God.

And the Word became flesh,

And made his dwelling among us,

And we saw His glory,

Glory of one born from the Father alone,

With abundance of grace and truth.

Ioannes testified of Him, proclaiming,

That is He of whom I said:

He Who comes after me

Takes His place above me

Because He was before me.

From the abundance of His Being

We have all received

Grace upon grace.

The Law was given through Moses;

Grace and truth came into being

Through Jesus Christ.

God no-one has beheld ever;

The Son Who is born of Him alone

And Who has His Being

At the Father’s breast,

Has come to lead our seeing. 

Holy Nights, New Year’s Day

January 1, 2008

John 1: 1-18

In the beginning, at the first creation in Genesis, God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light, separating itself out from the dark and formless void. Light is the forefront of all existence. After the light is created, come the waters of life, and the separation of the living waters of the heavens from what will become the watery earth below. The first creation was achieved through separation, by division and elaboration. And after a long human history, human beings become blind and God himself seems to disappear from the picture.

Roland Tiller

With the advent of Christ, the creating Word of God speaks again, and a second, new creation begins. What was sundered in the beginning becomes reconnected. The light and the living waters come together again, and a divine human being is created. He is a bright fountain of living light; in Him is a life that is the true first light itself. And the Light reveals—itself, as a God in a human form that we can see.

God enters the picture of the world again. He is a God whose truth is overflowing love. It is this human God, this divine human being, who would rouse us from the sleep of earth, from the illusions and deceptions of the sense-bound world. He would shine upon our day and open our eyes. Through Him, our blindness toward God will be healed. In this way, the abyss that had opened up between God and Man is bridged.

The creative Word of God speaks again, an invitation: “Come, follow Me across the abyss into a new way of seeing.”

And one day we all will say in the words of the mystic:

I saw a fullness, and a singeing

brightness with which I then

felt myself to be so filled

that words now fail to serve,….

I would not say I saw a bodily form,

but He was as He is in Heaven,

which is to say of such exquisite

beauty that I have no means

to speak it, save to say

He is the Beauty, the All Good.[1]

www.thechristiancommunity.org

---

[1] Blessed Angela of Foligno (c. 1248-1309) “A Vision” in Love’s Immensity, Scott Cairns, p. 87.

New Year's Day 2009, Glowing Seeds

Holy Nights

John 1: 1-18

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a God.

This was in the beginning with God.

Everything came into being through the Word, and without it was not anything made that was made.

In the Word was life, and the life was the light of humankind.

And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God whose name was John.

He came as a witness, to bear witness to the light, so that through him all may find faith. He was not the light, but a witness to the light, for the true light that enlightens every human being was coming into the world. It was in the world, and the world came into being through it, but the world had not recognized it.

Into those who had recognized it the light had come, but those individuals did not take it in. But all who did take it in received authority to become children of God. Those who trusted in its name are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of the human beings, but are born of God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among (in) us.

And we beheld its revelation, the revelation of the only begotten son of the Father, full of grace and truth.

John bore witness to Him and cried out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘After me comes one who was before me, for he is the very first’.” For out of his fullness we have received grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth have come about through Jesus Christ.

Until now human senses never beheld God. The only begotten Son, who was within the Father, has become the guide to this beholding.[1]

---

[1] Translation inspired by Craig Wiggins

New Year’s Day

January 1, 2009

John 1: 1 – 18

It is cold midwinter. The end of last year’s growth, the seeds, lie in the dark earth. Yet, if we only had the proper eyes, we could begin to see tiny flames flickering in and around them. For although it will take some time to manifest, new life is already beginning to quicken in the womb of Mother Earth. The seeds that will become the flowers and the grain of our food are already beginning to shine.

The impulse for this change comes from the divine world, from the world of the great beings who form the archetypes of all that lives. They generate, grow and ripen in the heart and mind of God. Eventually these archetypes make their way earthward. And just in this midwinter season, now the living beings of the plants are sending their living forms all the way down into the mineral world, to awaken last year’s seeds into this years’ plants.

In human souls, too, the same process is taking place. During the Holy Nights, the soul, with all the seeds of its past and future, awaits its impregnation. Into human hearts, new forces and impulses for life are streaming downward, as Christ, the archetype of the Divine Human Being, once more enters the realm of earth. With Him He brings His father’s Light, His Father’s life, His Father’s love.

Through God’s grace during these Holy Days and Nights, we have the opportunity to begin life anew. The soul is encouraged to become a womb to receive the Father’s light. It is encouraged to generate the flames of the Father’s eternal life. It is encouraged to give birth to the Father’s love. Three flames—the flame of the light of truth in our thinking, the flame of life’s beauty in our feeling, the flame of love’s offering in our will, are beginning to shine forth in us. May they grow and mature. May they become the truth of spirit-sun, the beauty of spirit-flowers, the goodness of spirit-grain. May they pour forth from our hearts, out into all the world.

For, as St. Francis said,

There are beautiful wild forces within us.

Let them turn the mills inside,

and fill

sacks

that feed even

heaven.[1]

www.thechristiancommunity.org

---

[1] St. Francis of Assisi, “Wild Forces”, in Love Poems from God, Daniel Ladinsky, p. 47.

New Year's Day 2010, Training Wheels

Holy Nights

John 1: 1-18

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a God.

This was in the beginning with God.

Everything came into being through the Word, and without it was not anything made that was made.

In the Word was life, and the life was the light of humankind.

And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God whose name was John.

He came as a witness, to bear witness to the light, so that through him all may find faith. He was not the light, but a witness to the light, for the true light that enlightens every human being was coming into the world. It was in the world, and the world came into being through it, but the world had not recognized it.

Into those who had recognized it the light had come, but those individuals did not take it in. But all who did take it in received authority to become children of God. Those who trusted in its name are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of the human beings, but are born of God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among (in) us.

And we beheld its revelation, the revelation of the only begotten son of the Father, full of grace and truth.

John bore witness to Him and cried out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘After me comes one who was before me, for he is the very first’.” For out of his fullness we have received grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth have come about through Jesus Christ.

Until now human senses never beheld God. The only begotten Son, who was within the Father, has become the guide to this beholding.[1]

---

[1] Translation inspired by Craig Wiggins

New Year’s Day

January 1, 2010

John 1: 1 – 18

Maulsby Kimball

In the beginning God created a living radiance. This radiance took form in sun moon and stars. In the beginning God created the human being, giving us eyes with which to see the light.

In the beginning God shepherded us with the Law, with specific codes of conduct, designed to mold and shape our souls and spirits rightly toward God and toward our fellow human beings.

And then He began again. He sent His beloved Son, whose very essence and being is Love. Seeing God’s Son, the way He talked, the way He healed, the way His actions were connected back to His Father, human beings can also experience the light, the life, the love of the Father Himself. Through the Son, we are given eyes of the soul, opened by love, with which to see God.

Seeing the Son is grace; taking His essence into our hearts lets us experience the truth of our own being: that love in us is a living, radiant creative force. In the words of Hafiz,

Now is the time to understand

That all your ideas of right and wrong

Were just a child’s training wheels

To be laid aside

When you can finally live

with veracity and love.

Now is the time for the world to know

That every thought and action is sacred.

That this is the time

For you to compute the impossibility

that there is anything

But Grace.

Now is the season to know

That everything you do

Is Sacred.[1]

www.thechristiancommunity.org

---

[1] Hafiz, “Now is the Time”, in The Gift, versions of Hafiz, by Daniel Ladinsky

New Year's Day 2012, Flame of Compassion

The Gospel of John, 1:1-18

transl. Adam Bittleston

In the very beginning was the Word,

And the Word was with God,

And the Word was God.

He was with God in the very beginning.

All things came into being through Him,

And without Him came into being nothing

That has come into being.

In him was Life,

Roland Tiller

And the Life was the Light of mankind.

The Light sines in the Darkness,

And the Darkness did not grasp it.

There came to be a man, sent from God,

His name Ioannes.

He came for testimony,

That he should testify of the Light,

That all might have faith through him.

He was not the Light,

But came to testify of the Light.

For the Light that in truth endures,

That illumines every man,

Was coming into the World.

He was in the World,

And the World came into being through Him

Yet the World did not know Him.

He came to the separate,

Yet the separate men did not receive Him.

But those who received Him—

To them He gave full power

To become children of God,

Those who have faith in His name.

They have their being

Not from the bloodsteams,

Not from the will of the flesh,

Not from the will of a man,

But from God.

And the Word became flesh,

And made his dwelling among us,

And we saw His glory,

Glory of one born from the Father alone,

With abundance of grace and truth.

Ioannes testified of Him, proclaiming,

That is He of whom I said:

He Who comes after me

Takes His place above me

Because He was before me.

From the abundance of His Being

We have all received

Grace upon grace.

The Law was given through Moses;

Grace and truth came into being

Through Jesus Christ.

God no-one has beheld ever;

The son Who is born of Him alone

And Who has His Being

At the Father’s breast,

Has come to lead our seeing.

Holy Nights

January 1, 2012

John 1: 1-18

Words contain a great mystery. They are handed down to us by our parents. Words are a legacy of the memory of how the world is structured, structured with beings, with actions, with qualities. Words are also the garments of thoughts. Thoughts not only reflect the past; they can also create the future.

This creating power of the Word manifested in the ancient past as the creation of the world. The Word’s first creation: Let there be light. The Word became light.

The creative Word is still resounding as a sounding power, creating the future. Now it says: ‘Let there be love’. But unlike the first creation, this resounding of the Word requires our human cooperation. Human beings must hear it; human beings must take its creative power into themselves.

Christ Jesus is the prototype of the human being who takes into Himself the divine force of creating love and shines it forth as a revelation. Through Christ, through Christ living in us, working in us, God’s grace shines forth into the world. Through Christ living and working in us, the truth of human creation reveals itself: ‘I have said you are ‘gods’[1]. The poet expresses it thus:

You were there in the beginning

you heard the story, you heard the merciless

and tender words telling you where you had to go.

….

you couldn't live

so close to the live flame of that compassion

you had to go out in the world and make it your own

so you could come back with

that flame in your voice, saying listen...

this warmth, this unbearable light, this fearful love...

It is all here, it is all here.[2]

www.thechristiancommunity.org

---

[1] John 10:34-37 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”’?  If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside—what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’?

Jesus’ reference is to Psalm 82: ‘God presides in the great assembly; he renders judgment among the “gods”…. “I said, ‘You are “gods”; you are all sons of the Most High.’

[2] David Whyte “In the Beginning” in Fire in the Earth