2nd Advent 2015, Gentle Kindliness

2nd Advent

Philippians 4:1, 4:4-9

Therefore my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and my crown of glory, stand firm in the power of the Lord.

Rejoice in the nearness of the Lord at all times! And I say it again: Rejoice!

Let a gentle kindliness be evident toward all human beings you encounter. The Lord is near! Let not worry have power over you; let your concerns in all things be known to God by sending your supplication and prayer upward in thankful thoughts. And the peace of God, which transcends anything that the intellect can grasp, will keep your hearts and thoughts safe in the Being of Christ….

And lastly dear brothers I say to you:

all that is true,

all that is worthy of reverence,

all that is good and holy,

all that is lovely to look at and beautiful to hear,

all that has virtue and deserves praise:

let these be the content of your conversations and thoughts. All that you have had handed on to you, what you have heard from me and seen in me—put all this into practice; then the God of Peace will be with you!

2nd Advent

December 6, 2015

Philippians 4:1, 4:4-9

There is an old fable about a contest between the sun and the wind, over which of them could take off the cloak of a traveler on the road.  The wind blew, and blew harder, but the man just pulled his cloak tighter. When it was the sun’s turn, he shone warmer and warmer, until the man took off the cloak himself.

A steady warmth and gentleness often achieve more than forceful bluster. Gentleness lowers defenses. It leaves others free.

We are in the time when Christ is approaching human souls. He is like the sun – gentle and warm, encouraging. We can lower the cloak of our defenses and take in his light and warmth. And we can in turn kindly radiate them out to others. He is the source; we are the means, the channels. So in the words of Paul:

Let a gentle kindliness be evident toward all human beings you encounter. The Lord is near!

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2nd Advent 2007, Guardians of Beauty

2^nd Advent

Philippians 4:1, 4:4-9

Therefore my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and my crown of glory, stand firm in the power of the Lord.

Rejoice in the nearness of the Lord at all times! And I say it again: Rejoice!

Let a gentle kindliness be evident toward all human beings you encounter. The Lord is near! Let not worry have power over you; let your concerns in all things be known to God by sending your supplication and prayer upward in thankful thoughts. And the peace of God, which transcends anything that the intellect can grasp, will keep your hearts and thoughts safe in the Being of Christ….

And lastly dear brothers I say to you:

all that is true,

all that is worthy of reverence,

all that is good and holy,

all that is lovely to look at and beautiful to hear,

all that has virtue and deserves praise:

let these be the content of your conversations and thoughts. All that you have had handed on to you, what you have heard from me and seen in me—put all this into practice; then the God of Peace will be with you!

2^nd Advent Sunday

December 9, 2007

Philippians 4.1 and 4.4-9

If you want to worthily prepare your home for a special guest, first you would de-clutter. You remove the ugly, the useless and outdated from the furnishings. Then you can proceed to add beauty: light a warm fire or fragrant candles, arrange fresh flowers, set the table and prepare refreshments.

On this our second Advent Sunday, we continue our inner preparations for Christ’s coming. We are preparing the house of the soul for the coming of the Guest.

Paul suggests first that we clear out the ugly debris of worry, through prayer. And when that inner housekeeping task is done, we can proceed with positive additions to our own soul space. Paul encourages us to fill our inner house with the aroma of gratitude and the warmth of loving-kindness. He suggests that we beautify the soul with thoughts that celebrate truth; with good and wholesome things to contemplate that evoke reverence; with lovely and praiseworthy virtue.

In this way we truly ready the soul’s house for the coming of Christ, by making our hearts a beautiful and worthy place for the Great Guest, the Prince of Peace.

For in the words of the poet:

We are the guardians of His Beauty.

We are the protectors of the Sun.

There is only one reason

We have followed God into this world:

To encourage laughter, freedom, dance

And love….

We are the companions of His Beauty.

We are the guardians

Of Truth.

Every man, plant and creature in Existence…

Is a servant of our Beloved—

A harbinger of joy,

A harbinger of

Light.[1]

www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1] Hafiz “Guardians of His Beauty,” in The Subject Tonight is Love, by Daniel Ladinsky, p.46.

2nd Advent 2008, Radiate Warmth

2^nd Advent

Philippians 4:1, 4:4-9

Therefore my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and my crown of glory, stand firm in the power of the Lord.

Rejoice in the nearness of the Lord at all times! And I say it again: Rejoice!

Let a gentle kindliness be evident toward all human beings you encounter. The Lord is near! Let not worry have power over you; let your concerns in all things be known to God by sending your supplication and prayer upward in thankful thoughts. And the peace of God, which transcends anything that the intellect can grasp, will keep your hearts and thoughts safe in the Being of Christ….

And lastly dear brothers I say to you:

all that is true,

all that is worthy of reverence,

all that is good and holy,

all that is lovely to look at and beautiful to hear,

all that has virtue and deserves praise:

let these be the content of your conversations and thoughts. All that you have had handed on to you, what you have heard from me and seen in me—put all this into practice; then the God of Peace will be with you!

2^nd Advent Sunday

December 7, 2008

Philippians 4:1 and 4:4-9

When we are cold, we seek a heat source. We do so because, of course, warm objects, warmth itself, radiates itself outward. And one can receive it, absorb it. Snakes need to receive their warmth from the sun before they can begin to move. We human beings, on the other hand, are warm-blooded. We can generate and maintain our own heat, although we may need help from time to time from warm surroundings. A room full of people gets warm.

There is also the matter of inner warmth, warmth of soul. We are also capable of generating soul warmth, and radiating it outward, so that others, too, are warmed. In this reading, Paul encourages us to generate soul warmth. This warmth is intimately connected with the quality of mood. He encourages us to generate the warm mood of joy in the place of fear; a warmth of kindness instead of the pinch of concern; a radiance of gratitude in place of the cramp of worry.

In these times, we may feel we are having trouble keeping our souls warm. We need help in maintaining inner warmth. We are able to do so when we turn to the Christ Sun; His radiance warms human hearts. Through the nearness of His eternal presence, our souls can warm and expand. Through His warmth, our souls can radiate warmth and light, in joyful kindness and gratitude.

Maulsby Kimball

Hafiz wrote a poem about the moon, whom we can think of here as an image of the soul. The moon says:

The Sun has been my faithful lover

For millions of years.

Whenever I offer my [self] …to him,

Brilliant light pours from his heart

Thousands then notice my happiness

And delight in…my beauty.

…Is it true that our destiny

Is to turn into Light

Itself?[1]

The soul can turn to the Christ Sun. He helps generate the radiance of the soul’s beauty and happiness. He helps her generate her warmth and light.

www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1] Hafiz, “Faithful Lover”, in The Gift, by Daniel Ladinsky, p. 159.

2nd Advent 2009, Sow Gratitude

2^nd Advent

Philippians 4:1, 4:4-9

Therefore my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and my crown of glory, stand firm in the power of the Lord.

Rejoice in the nearness of the Lord at all times! And I say it again: Rejoice!

Let a gentle kindliness be evident toward all human beings you encounter. The Lord is near! Let not worry have power over you; let your concerns in all things be known to God by sending your supplication and prayer upward in thankful thoughts. And the peace of God, which transcends anything that the intellect can grasp, will keep your hearts and thoughts safe in the Being of Christ….

And lastly dear brothers I say to you:

all that is true,

all that is worthy of reverence,

all that is good and holy,

all that is lovely to look at and beautiful to hear,

all that has virtue and deserves praise:

let these be the content of your conversations and thoughts. All that you have had handed on to you, what you have heard from me and seen in me—put all this into practice; then the God of Peace will be with you!

2^nd Advent

Dec 6, 2009

Paul to the Philippians, 4:1 and 4:9

In winter fields, the farmer sows winter crops. It’s amazing to think that anything can grow at all. But indeed, even if nothing is sown, nonetheless the weeds will grow.

In today’s reading Paul is urging us to sow our winter crops of soul: Joy in God’s nearness, for the Spirit Sun is always shining. Rumi said somewhat pointedly:

Your depression is connected to your insolence

and refusal to praise….

The sun goes out whenever the cloud of not-praising comes near.[1]

Therefore we shall sow joy! Plant gratitude and harvest peace. Plant truth and goodness and reverence. Plant beauty and virtue. For the Prince of Peace, who is here and is coming, hopes to receive from us an abundant and radiant winter soul harvest.

And so in the words of John O’Donohue,

As stillness in stone to silence is wed

May your heart be somewhere a God might dwell….

As the breath of light awakens colour

May the dawn anoint your eyes with wonder.

As spring rain softens the earth with surprise

May your winter places be kissed by light.

As the ocean dreams to the joy of dance

May the grace of change bring you elegance.

As clay anchors a tree in light and wind

May your outer life grow from peace within

As twilight fills night with bright horizons

May Beauty await you at home beyond.[2]

www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1]

Rumi, “Praising Manners”, translated by R. Bly from Night and Sleep, (Somerville MA, Yellow Moon, 1981)

quoted in The Maiden King, Bly and Woodman, pg 76

[2] John O’Donohue, A Beauty Blessing, from Beauty, p. 249.

2nd Advent 2010, Clear the Attic

2^nd Advent

Philippians 4:1, 4:4-9

Therefore my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and my crown of glory, stand firm in the power of the Lord.

Rejoice in the nearness of the Lord at all times! And I say it again: Rejoice!

Let a gentle kindliness be evident toward all human beings you encounter. The Lord is near! Let not worry have power over you; let your concerns in all things be known to God by sending your supplication and prayer upward in thankful thoughts. And the peace of God, which transcends anything that the intellect can grasp, will keep your hearts and thoughts safe in the Being of Christ….

And lastly dear brothers I say to you:

all that is true,

all that is worthy of reverence,

all that is good and holy,

all that is lovely to look at and beautiful to hear,

all that has virtue and deserves praise:

let these be the content of your conversations and thoughts. All that you have had handed on to you, what you have heard from me and seen in me—put all this into practice; then the God of Peace will be with you!

2^nd Advent Sunday

Dec. 5, 2010

Philippians 4:1 and 4:9

An old-fashioned house has three or four stories. The lowest is the basement. The furnace is there. The second and third floors are the living spaces. This is where most of the life of the home plays out. And the top story is the attic. This is where we have carried up and stored an assortment of old things; some things, like albums, we treasure; some are seasonally useful, like the winter quilts; other things are simply decrepit junk. Properly cared for, an attic can become a repository for the future.

This picture of the house is analogous to our human constitution. Our lower regions of metabolism are the furnace, keeping us warm; our middle realm, the realm of the feeling heart, is where we live out our day-to-day loves and hates. And our head is the repository. Like an attic, it doesn’t fill up by itself—we carry things up there, place them there; we order them and store them. It contains our memories and thoughts from the past.

From time to time, it is appropriate to sort through an attic. What is still useful and meaningful we can keep. What we can no longer use, we can give away. And the junk we simply get rid of. And so too with our mental state, the attic of our thoughts and memories.

In today’s reading, Paul urges us to clear out the attic. He urges us not to clutter up our head space with worried thoughts. He urges us that, rather than hoarding our good fortune with thoughts of entitlement, we instead send our thoughts of gratitude to the angels and to God. He urges us to pass on kindly thoughts to those around us.

Above all, he urges us exercise our own freedom of thought, to bring what is truly needful for the future into ourselves. For what exists in the living spaces of our hearts, and what is stored in the attics of the mind, we ourselves have placed there. He encourages us to fill our hearts and heads with what is true, what is good, what is beautiful.

We are in the season when we hope and expect the Coming One. We are preparing to receive the Christ Child into the warm and peaceful living space of the heart. And so we are sorting out the attic, getting rid of the clutter. We want to blanket Him in quilts of reverence and love. We want to offer Him the albums of our most treasured memories. And so we prepare our inner heart-home with loveliness, with beauty and with goodness, in anticipation of the Guest who is on the way.  

www.thechristiancommunity.org

2nd Advent 2011, Soul Bridge

2^nd Advent

Philippians 4:1, 4:4-9

Therefore my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and my crown of glory, stand firm in the power of the Lord.

Rejoice in the nearness of the Lord at all times! And I say it again: Rejoice!

Let a gentle kindliness be evident toward all human beings you encounter. The Lord is near! Let not worry have power over you; let your concerns in all things be known to God by sending your supplication and prayer upward in thankful thoughts. And the peace of God, which transcends anything that the intellect can grasp, will keep your hearts and thoughts safe in the Being of Christ….

Sulamith Wulfing

And lastly dear brothers I say to you:

all that is true,

all that is worthy of reverence,

all that is good and holy,

all that is lovely to look at and beautiful to hear,

all that has virtue and deserves praise:

let these be the content of your conversations and thoughts. All that you have had handed on to you, what you have heard from me and seen in me—put all this into practice; then the God of Peace will be with you!

2^nd Advent Sunday

December 4, 2011

Philippians 4:1 and 4:9

Rainbows appear amid storms. They inspire within us an awed delight, for the great arch bridges heaven and earth. God set the rainbow in the sky after the great Flood, as a promise that he would never again destroy the earth by water.

 

The seasonal prayer heard during the Act of Consecration of Man during Advent speaks of a bow of color that spans the sky. It is a picture of God’s Word.

In the Gospel reading, Paul’s letter provides us with another rainbow—a rainbow of qualities. These are qualities of our human souls, qualities that shine with the radiance of the rainbow bridge: gentle kindliness, truth, reverence, goodness, wholeness, beauty and praiseworthy virtue. They form a rainbow that the human soul engenders.

This soul rainbow is the bridge that the Christ being seeks as He once again draws near. It is His bridge into our hearts, His bridge onto the earth. When we cultivate the building of the soul’s rainbow bridge, then the God of Peace will be with us.

So as the poet says,

May the light of your soul bless your work

with love and warmth of heart

May you see in what you do the beauty of your soul.

May the sacredness of your work bring light and renewal to those

who work with you

and to those who see and receive your work.[1]

www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1] John O’Donohue, “The Light of Your Soul” in To Bless the Space Between Us, p. 146. 

2nd Advent 2012, Rainbow Within

2^nd Advent

Philippians 4:1, 4:4-9

Therefore my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and my crown of glory, stand firm in the power of the Lord.

Rejoice in the nearness of the Lord at all times! And I say it again: Rejoice!

Let a gentle kindliness be evident toward all human beings you encounter. The Lord is near! Let not worry have power over you; let your concerns in all things be known to God by sending your supplication and prayer upward in thankful thoughts. And the peace of God, which transcends anything that the intellect can grasp, will keep your hearts and thoughts safe in the Being of Christ….

Crystal, Sulamith Wulfing

And lastly dear brothers I say to you:

all that is true,

all that is worthy of reverence,

all that is good and holy,

all that is lovely to look at and beautiful to hear,

all that has virtue and deserves praise:

let these be the content of your conversations and thoughts. All that you have had handed on to you, what you have heard from me and seen in me—put all this into practice; then the God of Peace will be with you!

2^nd Advent

December 9, 2012

Philippians 4:1 and 4:4-9

The Moon Has Risen, Mili Weber

We are entering a time of the year when the souls to be born in the coming year are gathering near the gateway of birth. They are still carried in the arms of the angels, who will show them a vision of their future life. Yet no matter what their future, as they enter earthly life, they will be supported and strengthened by the living Christ, working here on earth.

Today’s reading holds out to us something of this pre-earthly radiance, a radiance which we have all passed through on our way to earth. And the reading helps us to remember the warmth of our intention to unite ourselves with Christ’s working here on the earth.

Particularly now at Advent, our souls are pregnant with the possibility of giving birth to Christ within. It is His love for us that impregnates us with the possibility of giving birth to the Being of Love. The pure light of His being can become a rainbow in us: shining with the colors of awe, truth and goodness; radiant with the hues of integrity, beauty and virtue, which overflow as joyous praise.

In growing this rainbow within, we become those in whom good will dwells; those through whom the God of Peace is born.

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www.christiancommunity.org

2nd Advent 2013, Gentle Kindliness

2^nd Advent

Philippians 4:1, 4:4-9

Therefore my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and my crown of glory, stand firm in the power of the Lord.

Rejoice in the nearness of the Lord at all times! And I say it again: Rejoice!

Let a gentle kindliness be evident toward all human beings you encounter. The Lord is near! Let not worry have power over you; let your concerns in all things be known to God by sending your supplication and prayer upward in thankful thoughts. And the peace of God, which transcends anything that the intellect can grasp, will keep your hearts and thoughts safe in the Being of Christ….

And lastly dear brothers I say to you:

all that is true,

all that is worthy of reverence,

all that is good and holy,

all that is lovely to look at and beautiful to hear,

all that has virtue and deserves praise:

let these be the content of your conversations and thoughts. All that you have had handed on to you, what you have heard from me and seen in me—put all this into practice; then the God of Peace will be with you!

2^nd Advent Sunday

December 8, 2013

Philippians 4:1, 4:4 – 9

The reading today encourages us to rejoice in the nearness of the Lord. It can be hard to sense His approach, His presence in these troubled times. Yet somehow we are to find Him. There is an old story on this theme.

Once a synagogue had fallen on hard times. Only five members were left, all over 60 years old. In the mountains nearby there lived a retired rabbi. It occurred to the five to ask the rabbi if he could offer any advice that might save the group. One of the members and the rabbi spoke at length but when asked for advice, the rabbi simply responded by saying, "I have no advice to give. The only thing I can tell you is, the messiah is one of you." This member, returning, told the four members what the rabbi had said. 

In the months that followed, the old members pondered the words of the rabbi. "The Messiah is one of us?" they each asked themselves. As they thought about this possibility, they all began to treat each other with extraordinary respect on the off-chance that, one among them might be the Messiah ... and on the off-chance that each member himself might be the Messiah, they also began to treat themselves with extraordinary care. As time went by, people visiting the synagogue noticed the aura of respect and gentle kindness that surrounded the five old members of the small group. Hardly knowing why, more people began to come back to worship at the old synagogue. They began to bring their friends, and their friends brought more friends. 

Within a few years, the small group had once again become a thriving congregation, thanks to the rabbi's gift![1] 

We are in fact, each and every one of us Messiahs, Anointed Ones of God. The Lord is as near as our neighbor, as near as our own heart. Therefore we will 'Let a gentle kindliness be evident toward all human beings we encounter. The Lord is near…. and the God of peace will be with us.'

www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1] The Rabbi's Gift, author unknown. There are several versions of this story. One was published by M. Scott Peck in A Different Drummer. This Jewish version is  available on http://www.community4me.com/rabbisgift.html