5th Sunday After Easter 2022, The Way I Loved

 5^th Sunday after Easter

John 14:1-31  

"Let not your hearts be troubled. Trust in the power that leads you to the Fatherly Ground of the World and Me. In my Father's house, there are many rooms. If it were not so, how could I have said to you, 'I go there to prepare a place for you'? And when I have gone and prepared a place for you, I will come again and take you up into the realm of my Being and working, so that where I work, you also may work. And you know the way where I am going." 

Then Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" 

Ain Vares

Jesus answered, "I myself am the Way—the Truth— and the Life.
No one finds his way to the Father but through me. If you had known my Being, you would have recognized my Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him." 

Then Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father; that would satisfy our deepest yearning." 

Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Does your heart's voice not tell you that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words I say to you are not just my own. But the Father, who lives eternally in Me, continues to do His works in them. Build your faith on the power of my Being that lets you know: I in the Father, the Father in me. Or at least learn to trust through looking at the works themselves that have arisen. 

Truly, truly I say to you, whoever trusts in my Being will also do the works I do—and greater deeds will he do because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask for in unity with me, I will do it so that the Father's deeds may be revealed in the working of the Son. When you turn to Me in prayer in the power of my name, I will be the Creating One in all your works. If you truly love me, you will share in my spiritual goals. And I will ask the Father, and He will send to you another Counselor, who will stand by you forever, even the Spirit of Truth. The earthly world cannot receive this Counselor, for it cannot perceive his working and does not recognize him. But you know him, for he will live with you and will work in you. 

I will not leave you desolate—I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see Me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you will live also. On that day, you will truly know what it means that I am in the Father, and you in Me and I in you. 

Whoever bears my spiritual goals within themselves, and brings them to revelation in their working, is one who truly loves me. And whoever truly loves Me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and will reveal myself to them." 

Then Judas (not the Iscariot) said, "But Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the people who are in the world? 

Jesus replied,

Roland Tiller

"Whoever truly loves Me reveals my Spirit, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and prepare with them a dwelling in the everlasting [or, an eternal dwelling]. Whoever does not love Me cannot reveal my Spirit. And the spirit power of the word that you hear is not from me; it is the speaking of the Father who sent me. 

These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the health-bringing Spirit, the Counselor whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you everything and will bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, nor let them be afraid. 

You heard Me say to you, 'I am going away, and yet I am coming to you.' If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I am. 

I have told you now before it happens so that when it happens, you may find trust. I no longer have much to say to you, for soon, the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over Me. 

But I act in accordance with the Father's purpose, as it was entrusted to Me so that the world may know that I love the Father. Do the same. Arise, let us be on our way.

 

5^th Sunday after Easter

May 22, 2022

John 14:1-31 

The sun is visible to us as a clearly defined, round object in the sky. At the same time, the real sun is actually bigger than that. Far beyond that visible object in the sky, the sun's life-giving light and warmth radiate out in all directions into the universe. It would be accurate to say that we on earth are, in fact living within the sun. We are attached, enlivened by invisible rays, to the heart of our universe.

Our own hearts are a place where the essence of our being both concentrates itself and pours itself out into the world. We shine on whatever we love. We are attached to others with our heartstrings. Our love makes our heartstrings vibrate, sing out warmth, kindness, strength, and light. In love, our hearts grow large, great-hearted, whole-hearted, and radiant. 

Christ, the Spirit Sun, says in effect to us: 

'Let not your hearts be troubled; do not quiver and shrink in fear. Does not your heart's voice tell you that I am in my Father's light, His life, and His love and that the Father shines out in me? The world shall see how I love the Father, how I shine forth, pour out His light, His life, His love. If you love me, you will rejoice…you will love one another, as I love you.' 

He speaks to our hearts. His creating Words pour trust and strength into our hearts. The music of His heartstrings plays great-heartedness, peace, and courage, the song of his love. We are living within His heart. He is teaching us to play His life-giving music. 

Catherine of Sienna, one who loved Christ, says: 

God's art is mine. I did not want his divine talent.

It simply grew in my heart from

the way I

loved.* 

 

*"Until Your Own Dawn," by Catherine of Sienna, in Love Poems from God, by Daniel Ladinsky, p. 208

6th Easter 2019, Grace-Moments

6^th Easter

John 14: 1-31 adapted from Madsen

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Trust in the power that leads you to the Fatherly Ground of the World and to me. In my Father’s house, there are many rooms. If it were not so, how could I have said to you, ‘I go there to prepare a place for you’?  And when I have gone and prepared a place for you, I will come again and take you up into the realm of my being and working, so that where I work, you also may work. And you know the way where I am going.” 

Then Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”

Jesus answered, “I myself am the Way—the Truth— and the Life. No one finds his way to the Father but through me. If you had really known my Being, you would have recognized my Father as well. From now on you do know him and have seen Him.”

Then Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father; that would satisfy our deepest yearning.”

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long and yet you do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Does your heart’s voice not tell you that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. But the Father, who lives eternally in me, continues to do his works in them. Build your faith on the power of my Being that lets you know: I in the Father, the Father in me. Or at least learn to trust through looking at the works themselves that have arisen. 

Truly, truly I say to you, whoever trusts in my Being will also do the works that I do --and greater deeds will he do, because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask for in unity with me, I will do it, so that the deeds of the Father may be revealed in the working of the Son. When you turn to me in prayer in the power of my name, I will be the Creating One in all your works. If you truly love me, you will share in my spiritual goals. And I will ask the Father and He will send to you another Counselor, who will stand by you for ever, even the Spirit of Truth. The earthly world cannot receive this Counselor, for it cannot perceive his working and does not recognize him. But you know him, for he will live with you and will work in you.

I will not leave you desolate—I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you will live also. On that day, you will truly know what it means that I am in the Father, and you in me, and I in you.

Whoever bears my spiritual goals within himself, and brings them to revelation in his working, is one who truly loves me. And whoever truly loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will reveal myself to him.”

Then Judas, (not the Iscariot) said, “But Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the people who are in the world?

Jesus replied, “Whoever truly loves me reveals my Spirit, and my Father will

love him and we will come to him and prepare with him a dwelling in the everlasting [an eternal dwelling]. Whoever does not love me cannot reveal my Spirit. And the spirit power of the word that you hear is not from me; it is the speaking of the Father who sent me.

These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the health-bringing Spirit, the Counselor whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you everything and will bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled nor let them be afraid.

You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and yet I am coming to you’. If you loved me you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I am.

I have told you now before it happens, so that when it happens you may find trust. I no longer have much to say to you, for soon the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me.

But I act in accordance with the Father’s purpose, as it was entrusted to me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Do the same. Arise, let us be on our way.

6^th Easter

May 26, 2019

John 14: 1-31

Charon Ferrying the Dead, Alexander Lytovchenko

There can be many things in life that trouble us—economic insecurity, difficult individuals, illness. All of these things are minor key versions of the one big trouble, our deepest and most innate worry—the fear of death. For in death what we really fear is loss of our own self, and loss of dear ones.

This was indeed a valid fear in the time before Christ’s coming. For it was a true threat—humankind was losing its share in ongoing life. But since Christ’s death and resurrection, we need not fear being extinguished by death. For He has already died our death for us and has prepared a place for each of us to be in the afterworld. “Because I live,” He says, “you will live also,’ John 14:19

Yongsun Kim

We need only, again and again, try to follow his pathway of life.  He gives us the pathway on earth by which to follow Him: our love for Him will guide us.  He says, ‘Whoever bears my spiritual goals within himself and brings them to revelation in his working is the one who truly loves me.’ John 14:21

What are His goals?—that we come to trust in His power in our hearts; that we come to live our lives as an expression of our love for Him; that in loving trust we come to live in Him, the giver of Peace. In loving trust our hearts are peace-filled, even in the face of loss, of illness, or even of death. As Wendell Berry who lives close to the heart of nature says:

When despair grows in me

and I wake in the middle of the night at the least sound

in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,

….I come into the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief. I come into the presence of still water.

And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting for their light. For a time

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.*

Nature can give us grace-moments of peace. But Christ gives us the way to the truth of human life - he gives us a peace that comes from another world.

---

*Wendell Berry, “The Peace of Wild Things,” in The Selected Poems of Wendell Berry

Visit our Website!

6th Easter 2018, We the Possible

6th EasterJohn 14: 1-31

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Trust in the power that leads you to the Fatherly Ground of the World and to me. In my Father’s house, there are many rooms. If it were not so, how could I have said to you, ‘I go there to prepare a place for you’? And when I have gone and prepared a place for you, I will come again and take you up into the realm of my being and working so that where I work, you also may work. And you know the way where I am going.”Then Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”Jesus answered, “I myself am the Way—the Truth— and the Life. No one finds his way to the Father but through me. If you had really known my Being, you would have recognized my Father as well. From now on you do know him and have seen Him.”Then Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father; that would satisfy our deepest yearning.”Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long and yet you do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Does your heart’s voice not tell you that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. But the Father, who lives eternally in me, continues to do his works in them. Build your faith on the power of my Being that lets you know: I in the Father, the Father in me. Or at least learn to trust through looking at the works themselves that have arisen.Truly, truly I say to you, whoever trusts in my Being will also do the works that I do --and greater deeds will he do because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask for in unity with me, I will do it, so that the deeds of the Father may be revealed in the working of the Son. When you turn to me in prayer in the power of my name, I will be the Creating One in all your works. If you truly love me, you will share in my spiritual goals. And I will ask the Father and He will send to you another Counselor, who will stand by you forever, even the Spirit of Truth. The earthly world cannot receive this Counselor, for it cannot perceive his working and does not recognize him. But you know him, for he will live with you and will work in you.I will not leave you desolate—I

will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you will live also. On that day, you will truly know what it means that I am in the Father, and you in me, and I in you.Whoever bears my spiritual goals within himself, and brings them to revelation in his working, is one who truly loves me. And whoever truly loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will reveal myself to him.”Then Judas, (not the Iscariot) said, “But Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the people who are in the world?Jesus replied, “Whoever truly loves me reveals my Spirit, and my Father will love him and we will come to him and prepare with him a dwelling in the everlasting [an eternal dwelling]. Whoever does not love me cannot reveal my Spirit. And the spirit power of the word that you hear is not from me; it is the speaking of the Father who sent me.These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the health-bringing Spirit, the Counselor whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you everything and will bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled nor let them be afraid.You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and yet I am coming to you’. If you loved me you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I am.I have told you now before it happens, so that when it happens you may find trust. I no longer have much to say to you, for soon the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me.But I act in accordance with the Father’s purpose, as it was entrusted to me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Do the same. Arise, let us be on our way.

Raffael, Disputa, detail

6th EasterMay 6, 2018John 14: 1-31
Long ago the Father poured out His being in love. This outpouring of His being created the Living Universe. We could perhaps say that the earth is the Father’s body. As in all bodies, the old breaks down, so that the new can arise. On earth, however, the new is not merely a copy of the old. It is an ongoing creation of the truly new, the never-before. This evolving pathway of the earth, the Way, is maintained by the Son God, the Christ. Without His ongoing love and sacrifice, the earth and humankind would long ago have died out.There is a plan, unimaginably complex yet accessible, for the continuing of the creation of the new. There is a goal. This goal is harbored by the Spirit God, the Spirit of Truth. He counsels us secretly in the ways of the living future. He is our Light on the Way. He inspires us to develop ourselves and the earth into what we are meant to become. He helps us to manifest the goal, the goal of the Father’s life, the Son’s love, the Healing Spirit’s wisdom. For we are the point of departure for the new creation.


As Maya Angelou says:We, this people, on this small and drifting planetWhose hands can strike with such abandonThat in a twinkling, life is sapped from the livingYet those same hands can touch with such healing, irresistible tenderness


….When we come to itWe, this people, on this wayward, floating bodyCreated on this earth, of this earthHave the power to fashion for this earthA climate where every man and every womanCan live freely without sanctimonious pietyWithout crippling fear


When we come to itWe must confess that we are the possibleWe are the miraculous, the true wonder of this worldThat is when, and only whenWe come to it.*

*Maya Angelou, “A Brave and Startling Truth”

Visit our new website!

6th Easter 2017, Renewing Life

6th Easter

John 14: 1-31  

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Trust in the power that leads you to the Fatherly Ground of the World and to me. In my Father’s house, there are many rooms. If it were not so, how could I have said to you, ‘I go there to prepare a place for you’?  And when I have gone and prepared a place for you, I will come again and take you up into the realm of my being and working, so that where I work, you also may work. And you know the way where I am going.”

Then Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”

Jesus answered, “I myself am the Way—the Truth— and the Life. No one finds his way to the Father but through me. If you had really known my Being, you would have recognized my Father as well. From now on you do know him and have seen Him.”

Then Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father; that would satisfy our deepest yearning.”

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long and yet you do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Does your heart’s voice not tell you that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. But the Father, who lives eternally in me, continues to do his works in them. Build your faith on the power of my Being that lets you know: I in the Father, the Father in me. Or at least learn to trust through looking at the works themselves that have arisen.

Truly, truly I say to you, whoever trusts in my Being will also do the works that I do --and greater deeds will he do, because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask for in unity with me, I will do it, so that the deeds of the Father may be revealed in the working of the Son. When you turn to me in prayer in the power of my name, I will be the Creating One in all your works. If you truly love me, you will share in my spiritual goals. And I will ask the Father and He will send to you another Counselor, who will stand by you forever, even the Spirit of Truth. The earthly world cannot receive this Counselor, for it cannot perceive his working and does not recognize him. But you know him, for he will live with you and will work in you.

I will not leave you desolate—I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you will live also. On that day, you will truly know what it means that I am in the Father, and you in me, and I in you.

Whoever bears my spiritual goals within himself, and brings them to revelation in his working, is one who truly loves me. And whoever truly loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will reveal myself to him.”

Then Judas, (not the Iscariot) said, “But Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the people who are in the world?

Dore

Jesus replied, “Whoever truly loves me reveals my Spirit, and my Father will love him and we will come to him and prepare with him a dwelling in the everlasting [an eternal dwelling]. Whoever does not love me cannot reveal my Spirit. And the spirit power of the word that you hear is not from me; it is the speaking of the Father who sent me.

These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the health-bringing Spirit, the Counselor whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you everything and will bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled nor let them be afraid.

You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and yet I am coming to you’. If you loved me you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I am.

I have told you now before it happens, so that when it happens you may find trust. I no longer have much to say to you, for soon the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me.

But I act in accordance with the Father’s purpose, as it was entrusted to me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Do the same. Arise, let us be on our way.

6th Easter

May 21, 2017

John 14: 1-31  

Plants germinate, sprout and grow. They blossom and set seed. They die. And from the seed new life grows.

Our souls are living beings; they grow and change. They expand and contract and transform. It is a question whether they die with the body, or rise to another kind of life after the body dies.

Christ lived, died and rose again so that we, too, could continue to live after the body dies. It is our living connection with him, our living within His eternally living Being, that enables us to live after we die. It is His life in our souls that enables us to continue to grow and change and transform here on earth. It is our conscious connection with Him that is the seed that enables us to die and yet to rise into life after death. Through His eternally renewing life, we live after we die, and into new lives. 

6th Easter 2016, The Greatest Achievement

6th Easter

John 14: 1-31  

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Trust in the power that leads you to the Fatherly Ground of the World and to me. In my Father’s house, there are many rooms. If it were not so, how could I have said to you, ‘I go there to prepare a place for you’?  And when I have gone and prepared a place for you, I will come again and take you up into the realm of my being and working, so that where I work, you also may work. And you know the way where I am going.”

Then Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”Jesus answered, “I myself am the Way—the Truth— and the Life. No one finds his way to the Father but through me. If you had really known my Being, you would have recognized my Father as well. From now on you do know him and have seen Him.”

Then Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father; that would satisfy our deepest yearning.”Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long and yet you do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Does your heart’s voice not tell you that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. But the Father, who lives eternally in me, continues to do his works in them. Build your faith on the power of my Being that lets you know: I in the Father, the Father in me. Or at least learn to trust through looking at the works themselves that have arisen.

Truly, truly I say to you, whoever trusts in my Being will also do the works that I do --and greater deeds will he do, because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask for in unity with me, I will do it, so that the deeds of the Father may be revealed in the working of the Son. When you turn to me in prayer in the power of my name, I will be the Creating One in all your works. If you truly love me, you will share in my spiritual goals. And I will ask the Father and He will send to you another Counselor, who will stand by you forever, even the Spirit of Truth. The earthly world cannot receive this Counselor, for it cannot perceive his working and does not recognize him. But you know him, for he will live with you and will work in you.

I will not leave you desolate—I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you will live also. On that day, you will truly know what it means that I am in the Father, and you in me, and I in you.

Whoever bears my spiritual goals within himself, and brings them to revelation in his working, is one who truly loves me. And whoever truly loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will reveal myself to him.”

Then Judas, (not the Iscariot) said, “But Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the people who are in the world?

Jesus replied, “Whoever truly loves me reveals my Spirit, and my Father will love him and we will come to him and prepare with him a dwelling in the everlasting [an eternal dwelling]. Whoever does not love me cannot reveal my Spirit. And the spirit power of the word that you hear is not from me; it is the speaking of the Father who sent me.

These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the health-bringing Spirit, the Counselor whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you everything and will bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled nor let them be afraid.

You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and yet I am coming to you’. If you loved me you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I am.

I have told you now before it happens, so that when it happens you may find trust. I no longer have much to say to you, for soon the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me.

But I act in accordance with the Father’s purpose, as it was entrusted to me so that the world may know that I love the Father. Do the same. Arise, let us be on our way.

6^th Easter

Olive Ascher

May 1, 2016

John 14: 1-31  

The birth of a child is accompanied by suffering. The labor of bringing forth new life is painful. The transition itself is painful. Yet when the child is born, the pain recedes, even from memory, and is replaced by joy.

Our lives continue to be filled with moments or phases of transition. The new is brooded for a while, as an idea, a hope, an impulse. There is a laboring to achieve a new state, perhaps with the sadness of letting go of the old.

Christ himself underwent many transitions. Step by painful step he descended from divine levels of power to becoming a human being. In the beginning, He suffered the pangs of hunger and temptation in the desert.  He was subject to the enmity of the leadership and the lack of understanding of his friends. He

Grunewald

endured the lonely anguish of death, a transition which no god had ever undertaken before. He brought forth a new kind of body, a warm, light-filled harmonious resurrection body. This was the greatest achievement of a human being, achieved under unimaginable suffering. The Risen One became the meaning of the earth.

Christ is always with us in all our transitions, all of our greater and lesser deaths, all of our struggle to bring forth something new. For as he says in our funeral service: I am the new birth in death; I am the life in dying. For in dying we enter his light-filled realm of life. So let us arise and be on our way.

6th Easter 2015, Trust in the Power

6th Easter

John 14: 1-31  

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Trust in the power that leads you to the Fatherly Ground of the World and to me. In my Father’s house there are many rooms. If it were not so, how could I have said to you, ‘I go there to prepare a place for you’?  And when I have gone and prepared a place for you, I will come again and take you up into the realm of my being and working, so that where I work, you also may work. And you know the way where I am going.”

Then Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”

Jesus answered, “I myself am the Way—the Truth— and the Life. No one finds his way to the Father but through me. If you had really known my Being, you would have recognized my Father as well. From now on you do know him and have seen Him.”

Then Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father; that would satisfy our deepest yearning.”

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long and yet you do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Does your heart’s voice not tell you that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. But the Father, who lives eternally in me, continues to do his works in them. Build your faith on the power of my Being that lets you know: I in the Father, the Father in me. Or at least learn to trust through looking at the works themselves that have arisen.

Truly, truly I say to you, whoever trusts in my Being will also do the works that I do --and greater deeds will he do, because I go to the  Father. Whatever you ask for in unity with me, I will do it, so that the deeds of the Father may be revealed in the working of the Son. When you turn to me in prayer in the power of my name, I will be the Creating One in all your works. If you truly love me, you will share in my spiritual goals. And I will ask the Father and He will send to you another Counselor, who will stand by you forever, even the Spirit of Truth. The earthly world cannot receive this Counselor, for it cannot perceive his working and does not recognize him. But you know him, for he will live with you and will work in you.

I will not leave you desolate—I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you will live also. On that day you will truly know what it means that I am in the Father, and you in me, and I in you.

Whoever bears my spiritual goals within himself, and brings them to revelation in his working, is one who truly loves me. And whoever truly loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will reveal myself to him.”

Then Judas, (not the Iscariot) said, “But Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the people who are in the world?

Jesus replied, “Whoever truly loves me reveals my Spirit, and my Father will love him and we will come to him and prepare with him a dwelling in the everlasting [an eternal dwelling]. Whoever does not love me cannot reveal my Spirit. And the spirit power of the word that you hear is not from me; it is the speaking of the Father who sent me.

These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the health-bringing Spirit, the Counselor whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you everything and will bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled nor let them be afraid.

You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and yet I am coming to you’. If you loved me you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I am.

I have told you now, before it happens, so that when it happens you may find trust. I no longer have much to say to you, for soon the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me.

But I act in accordance with the Father’s purpose, as it was entrusted to me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Do the same. Arise, let us be on our way.

6th Easter

John 14: 1-31  

May 10, 2015

Christ says: Trust in the power that leads you to the Father and to me.” What is this power that leads us to them? It is the power of trust itself. Trust means that our souls can place themselves confidently within a greater context than our own wishes and desires. With trust our souls can expand into the matrix of all that we know and have experienced, firsthand or otherwise. We can even trust and grow into what we do not yet know.

Red Thread of Destiny

If we look back on our lives, we can often see a red thread of guidance running through it, a through-line. This guidance has brought us to where we are today, to who and what we are. Things may not have turned out as we would have wished or expected. Nevertheless we have met people important to us. Our lives have taken meaningful, if sometimes painful, turns. There must have been a roadmap of intentions for us.

Christ has provided each of us with a personal guide who never sleeps, who never leaves us  -  our guardian angel. The whisperings of our angel inspire the turnings of our lives. We are free to hearken, or not.

In any case, Christ holds within his heart the red threads of the destinies of each and every human being. These red threads are leading us gradually to a greater and more conscious relationship with Him. They are leading us home, to Himself and to our Father’s house.

6th Easter 2007, Voices

6^th Easter

John 14: 1-31  

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Trust in the power that leads you to the Fatherly Ground of the World and to me. In my Father’s house there are many rooms. If it were not so, how could I have said to you, ‘I go there to prepare a place for you’?  And when I have gone and prepared a place for you, I will come again and take you up into the realm of my being and working, so that where I work, you also may work. And you know the way where I am going.”

Then Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”

Jesus answered, “I myself am the Way—the Truth— and the Life. No one finds his way to the Father but through me. If you had really known my Being, you would have recognized my Father as well. From now on you do know him and have seen Him.”

Then Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father; that would satisfy our deepest yearning.”

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long and yet you do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Does your heart’s voice not tell you that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. But the Father, who lives eternally in me, continues to do his works in them. Build your faith on the power of my Being that lets you know: I in the Father, the Father in me. Or at least learn to trust through looking at the works themselves that have arisen.

Truly, truly I say to you, whoever trusts in my Being will also do the works that I do --and greater deeds will he do, because I go to the  Father. Whatever you ask for in unity with me, I will do it, so that the deeds of the Father may be revealed in the working of the Son. When you turn to me in prayer in the power of my name, I will be the Creating One in all your works. If you truly love me, you will share in my spiritual goals. And I will ask the Father and He will send to you another Counselor, who will stand by you for ever, even the Spirit of Truth. The earthly world cannot receive this Counselor, for it cannot perceive his working and does not recognize him. But you know him, for he will live with you and will work in you.

I will not leave you desolate—I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you will live also. On that day you will truly know what it means that I am in the Father, and you in me, and I in you.

Whoever bears my spiritual goals within himself, and brings them to revelation in his working, is one who truly loves me. And whoever truly loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will reveal myself to him.”

Then Judas, (not the Iscariot) said, “But Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the people who are in the world?

Jesus replied, “Whoever truly loves me reveals my Spirit, and my Father will love him and we will come to him and prepare with him a dwelling in the everlasting [an eternal dwelling]. Whoever does not love me cannot reveal my Spirit. And the spirit power of the word that you hear is not from me; it is the speaking of the Father who sent me.

Mengs

These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the health-bringing Spirit, the Counselor whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you everything and will bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled nor let them be afraid.

You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and yet I am coming to you’. If you loved me you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I am.

I have told you now, before it happens, so that when it happens you may find trust. I no longer have much to say to you, for soon the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me.

But I act in accordance with the Father’s purpose, as it was entrusted to me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Do the same. Arise, let us be on our way.

6^th Sunday after Easter

May 13, 2007

John 14: 1-31

This week the air here was filled with wildfire smoke; but at the same time with the voices of many birds. Each bird has its distinctive song. It has been said that birdsong, each note shaping the living atmosphere, keeps the air alive.

When we stop to listen, we realize that the world is full of voices. One of the quieter, more subtle voices is the inner voice of the heart. Our heart’s voice is distinctive. It can sing; it can lament; it can comfort and inform. And our heart’s voice is in conversation with other voices.

In conversation with his disciples, Christ, the voice of the Father’s heart, prompts: “Does your heart’s voice not tell you that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?” John 14:10 He reminds them of what their heart’s voice has told them.

His voice is the voice of the great Fire-Bird of the sun, eternally consumed, eternally rising again. Christ, who is eternally emerging from the Father’s heart, sings out the Father’s love for us; he sings of the dove of Truth that He will send from the Father’s heart to guide us; He sings of His continuing presence.

Despite the smoke and consuming fire in our lives, in our heart we can hear the voice of Christ, reminding us of our spiritual home.  He is singing to us of the goals of our lives, assuring us that we are not alone. His voice in our hearts shapes the atmosphere in which we live.

Catherine of Sienna could hear the Voice:

My perfect Lord sang,

“Less likely is God to condemn my hand’s action

than to condemn any

soul.”

How could that be possible,

My heart thought?

And the Christ, knowing all minds, replied,

“Forgiveness is the foundation of God’s

being”.[1]

www.thechristiancommunity.org

---

[1] “The Foundation of God”, Catherine of Siena (1347-1380), in Love Poems from God, Daniel Ladinsky, p. 196.

6th Easter 2008, Door Never Locked

6^th Easter

John 14: 1-31  

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Trust in the power that leads you to the Fatherly Ground of the World and to me. In my Father’s house there are many rooms. If it were not so, how could I have said to you, ‘I go there to prepare a place for you’?  And when I have gone and prepared a place for you, I will come again and take you up into the realm of my being and working, so that where I work, you also may work. And you know the way where I am going.”

Then Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”

Jesus answered, “I myself am the Way—the Truth— and the Life. No one finds his way to the Father but through me. If you had really known my Being, you would have recognized my Father as well. From now on you do know him and have seen Him.”

Then Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father; that would satisfy our deepest yearning.”

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long and yet you do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Does your heart’s voice not tell you that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. But the Father, who lives eternally in me, continues to do his works in them. Build your faith on the power of my Being that lets you know: I in the Father, the Father in me. Or at least learn to trust through looking at the works themselves that have arisen.

Ascension, Sombart

Truly, truly I say to you, whoever trusts in my Being will also do the works that I do --and greater deeds will he do, because I go to the  Father. Whatever you ask for in unity with me, I will do it, so that the deeds of the Father may be revealed in the working of the Son. When you turn to me in prayer in the power of my name, I will be the Creating One in all your works. If you truly love me, you will share in my spiritual goals. And I will ask the Father and He will send to you another Counselor, who will stand by you for ever, even the Spirit of Truth. The earthly world cannot receive this Counselor, for it cannot perceive his working and does not recognize him. But you know him, for he will live with you and will work in you.

I will not leave you desolate—I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you will live also. On that day you will truly know what it means that I am in the Father, and you in me, and I in you.

Whoever bears my spiritual goals within himself, and brings them to revelation in his working, is one who truly loves me. And whoever truly loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will reveal myself to him.”

Then Judas, (not the Iscariot) said, “But Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the people who are in the world?

Jesus replied, “Whoever truly loves me reveals my Spirit, and my Father will love him and we will come to him and prepare with him a dwelling in the everlasting [an eternal dwelling]. Whoever does not love me cannot reveal my Spirit. And the spirit power of the word that you hear is not from me; it is the speaking of the Father who sent me.

These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the health-bringing Spirit, the Counselor whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you everything and will bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled nor let them be afraid.

You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and yet I am coming to you’. If you loved me you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I am.

I have told you now, before it happens, so that when it happens you may find trust. I no longer have much to say to you, for soon the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me.

But I act in accordance with the Father’s purpose, as it was entrusted to me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Do the same. Arise, let us be on our way.

6^th Easter Sunday

Cedar Pollen, Japan

April 27, 2008

John 14: 1-31

This is the time when the pollen begins to rise from its home in the blossom. Great clouds of it float high into the air, to be kissed by the life energy that streams down from the sun. It returns to earth gravid with new life.

We are days away from Ascension, when Christ expands His being again out into the cosmos. And in the Gospel reading He tries to prepare His disciples for a leave-taking, for His going, as He calls it, to the Father. He goes, He says, to prepare a place where each of us can live with Him and with our Father. He promises not to leave us orphaned. For just as the pollen returns to earth full of new life, so does Christ’s working return shortly to earth, in the form of an enlivened Spirit, an inner Counselor of Truth who will always be with us.

Perhaps the room for each of us in the Father’s house is not just in some distant heaven, to be occupied after our death. Perhaps the Father’s house is also the temple of the human body. Perhaps the room in the Father’s house, prepared by the Father and the Son, is the interior of the human heart. In this heart space there is room inside for many, for family, for friends and strangers – possibly even for the infinite.

In the Sunday Service for the Children, we hear: Christ died; He becomes alive again within those who give Him a dwelling in their hearts.

He becomes alive in those who give Him a dwelling place in their hearts. The interior of the heart becomes the room in the Father’s house through Christ’s indwelling. For His Spirit has returned to earth, gravid with New Life. His Spirit can live in infinity of the open heart space, now, and into all the future.

The poet Rumi says:

Wherever Jesus lives, the great hearted gather.

We are a door that is never locked.[1]

The hearts in which He dwells are generous, magnanimous, open. It is through His indwelling that He prepares rooms for us in the realm of His being and working. Such open hearts become the Door through which He enters and works on, out into the world.

www.thechristiancommunity.org

---

[1] Rumi, The Essential Rumi, Coleman Barks, p. 201.