2nd Easter 2017, Obey Thy Heart

2nd Easter

Artist unknown

Apr 3, 2016

John 20: 19-29

On the evening of the first day after the Sabbath, the disciples were together with the doors locked for fear of the authorities. Jesus came and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you!”

And while he said this, he showed them his hands and his side.

Full of joy the disciples recognized the Lord. And again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.”

And when he said this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive Holy Spirit through which the world will receive healing. From now on you shall work in human destinies with spiritual power, so that they shall have the strength to wrest themselves free from the load of sin, and at the same time to bear the consequences of their offences.”

Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not there with them when Jesus came. Later the disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”

But he replied, “If I do not see in his hand the marks of the nails, and do not put my finger in the place where the nails were, and place my hand in his side, I cannot believe it.”

Eight days later, the disciples were again gathered in the inner room and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”

Then he said to Thomas, “Stretch out your finger and see my hands, and stretch out your hand and put it into my side. Be not rigid in your heart, but rather feel and trust in my power in your heart.”

Then Thomas said to him, “You are the Lord of my soul; you are the God whom I serve.”

And Jesus said to him, “Have you found my power in yourself because you have seen me? Blessed are those who find my power in their hearts, even when their eye does not yet see me.”

Rembrandt, WikiCommons

2nd Easter

Apr 3, 2016

John 20: 19-29

In some cultures, it is customary that the birthday celebrant him or herself is the one to give out gifts to those celebrating with him. 

And so it is with The Risen One. After giving birth to his Resurrection Body on Easter, he proceeds to give his disciples a gift. He breathes the healing spirit of love into them. They are to work with this healing spiritual power in a way that strengthens others. 

To those who err, who fail, the disciples are to give strength, so that they can wrestle themselves out from under the burden of sin. They are to give them strength so that they can bear the consequences of their offenses. In Christ’s eyes sin is our failure to hit the target; it comes from our aiming too high, or falling short, or veering away from our true moral goals. And with the healing spirit, Christ came to help.

Thomas was not there the first Easter Sunday; the gospels do not say why. Was he perhaps afraid, and still in hiding? In any case, he apparently had the habit of fact-checking. Like many of us, he wanted to be sure, to have the evidence of his own senses rather than to believe the impossible on mere hearsay. And the Risen One gladly grants his request. It is as though He understands the value of a healthy skepticism. Reach out and see…

But at the same time, Christ warns against a heart that is rigid and untrusting; a heart that could say, despite evidence to the contrary, that it is still impossible. Such a heart cannot enter into relationship with Christ. In fact, for all his holding back, Thomas achieves a high degree of recognition and knowledge. Peter recognized the promised Messiah in Jesus; in the Risen One, Thomas recognizes Lord and God. As Emerson said,

Give all to love;

Obey thy heart;

…

’T is a brave master;

Let it have scope:

Follow it utterly,

Hope beyond hope:

…

Souls above doubt,

Valor unbending,

It will reward,—

They shall return

More than they were,

And ever ascending.*

*Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Give All to Love”

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1st August Trinity 2010, Give All to Love

Mark 8, 27-Mark 9-1 (Peter’s Confession)

1^st August Trinity

And Jesus went on with his disciples into the region of Caesarea Philippi (in the north of the land at the source of the Jordan where the Roman Caesar was worshipped as a divine being). And on the way there he asked the disciples (and said to them), “Who do people say that I am?”

They said to him, “Some say that you are John the Baptist; others say Elijah, still others that you are one of the prophets.”

Then he asked them, “And you, who do you say that I am?’

Then Peter answered, “You are the Christ.”

And Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

 

And he began to teach them: “The Son of Man must suffer much and will be rejected by the leaders of the people, by the elders and the teachers of the law, and he will be killed and after three days he will rise again.” Freely and openly he told them this.

Then Peter took him aside and began to urge him not to let this happen. He, however, turned around, looked at his disciples, and reprimanded Peter, saying to him, “Withdraw from me; now the adversary is speaking through you! Your thinking is not divine but merely human in nature.”

Momsa

And he called the crowd together, including his disciples and said to them, “Whoever would follow me must practice self-denial and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever is concerned about the salvation of his own soul will lose it; but whoever gives his life for my sake and the sake of the gospel, his soul will find power and healing. For what use is it to a human being to gain the whole world if through that he damages his soul, which falls victim to the power of an empty darkness? What then can a man give as ransom for his soul? In this present humanity, which denies the spirit and lives in error, whoever is ashamed of me and my words, of him the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the shining revelation of the Father among his holy angels.“

And he said to them, “The truth I say to you, among those who are standing here there are some who will not taste death before they behold the kingdom of God arising in human beings, revealing itself in the power and magnificence of the spirit.”

1^st August Trinity

July 25, 2010

Mark 8:27 – 9:1

The Sun in its course of the year has entered the constellation of Leo. It is the constellation of the heart, the house of the awakening of courage and love.

In today’s reading, Christ asks His disciples who they think He is. And Peter’s heart awakens: ‘You are the Christ!’ Then Christ proceeds to teach them about His coming suffering and death. He, the lion of Judah, is trying to show them that He is willing to undergo a human destiny. He, the lion, will become the lamb, sacrificed in love for the sake of humanity’s heart. He is trying to lay the groundwork for courage in the destiny that we will all share.

But Peter’s very natural reaction is to deny and reject the possibility that the Messiah will have to suffer and die. Christ is quick to point out that Peter’s fear-based thinking provides an opening for the adversary’s power. He says that through thoughts and actions based on fear, we will fail to measure up to our divine potential. We will fail to fully embrace our destiny.

Cranach the Elder

Through His own example, Christ encourages us to take up our own lives with courage, whatever life brings us. We are to stand firm and meet courageously life’s adversities. For suffering is a portal. Through His own suffering and death, Christ has opened this portal for us in the direction of the Father and His angels. He is, as He Himself says, the gateway. (John 10:9)

Fear keeps the gate locked, giving the adversary access to us. With Christ in our thoughts, with Christ in our hearts, we will find the courage to face our difficulties. With Christ in our hearts we may even find the courage to love our destiny. Through Christ we find the way back home to the Father.

In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson:

Give all to love;

Obey thy heart;

’T is a brave master;

….Let it have scope:

Follow it utterly,

Hope beyond hope:

….But it is a god,

Knows its own path

And the outlets of the sky.[1]

www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1] “Give All to Love”, by Ralph Waldo Emerson

2nd Passiontide 2009, Meadows of Heaven

2^nd Passiontide 

Speyerer

John 6: 1-25

After this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee near Tiberius and a great crowd of people followed him because they had seen the signs of the spirit, which he had performed on those who were ill.

Then Jesus went up on the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. The Jewish Passover Feast was near.

When Jesus raised his eyes to the world of the spirit, and beheld how crowds of people were coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that all these people may eat?”

He asked this to test his understanding and presence of mind, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “200 denarii [seven months wages] would not buy enough bread for them each to have only a little.”

Kenneth Dowdy

Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up: “A boy is here with five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are these among so many?”

Jesus said, “Let the people sit down in groups.” There was plenty of green grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and gave to those who were seated, likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.

Now when they were satisfied, he said to his disciples, “Gather up the fragments, that nothing be lost.” So, they gathered them, and they filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. Seeing the sign that he had done, the people said, “Truly, this is the prophet who is to come into the world.”

When Jesus became aware that they intended to come and make him king by force, he withdrew again to the mountain alone by himself.

Woloschina

2nd Passiontide

March 22, 2009

John 6: 1 – 15

These difficult economic times are creating an odd opportunity: instead of eating out, many are finding it necessary to cook at home. The opportunity in this is the possibility of infusing the food we create with the love that we feel for ourselves and our families. And it is this element of love that is the true nourishment for body and soul.

In today’s gospel reading Christ pointedly asks, ‘Where shall we buy bread that all these people may eat?’ And Philip answers that seven months’ wages would not be enough. I think Christ was trying to point to the inadequacy of trying to nourish human bodies and souls with money alone.

To thrive, we need so much more. We need the ordering element of sitting down in groups together. We desperately need the soul mood of gratitude for that which we do have, however little it may seem. And we need to contribute to the atmosphere of generosity, of magnanimous giving, as much as people want, as much as God wants.

In the Gospel, the people are seated on a grassy meadow. It is evening. The stars come out. Longfellow said,

Alex Ruiz

Silent, one by one,

in the infinite meadows of heavens,

blossomed the lovely stars,

the forget-me-nots of angels.[1]

And Emerson said: “If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore; and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God which had been shown! But every night come out these envoys of beauty, and light the universe with their admonishing smile.” [2]

Night sky as meadow and city. The twelve basketsful gathered in the gospel were the leftover abundance of the star bread from the city of the Father.

With gathering, with gratitude and with greatness of heart, we can access what truly nourishes us: the life-giving love from the stars. For God’s nature and the nature of His Son is overflowing abundance itself. But we must first take our place in the greater, healthy order of things. We must open our hearts in gratitude and generosity, toward God, toward our fellow human beings, and toward the kingdoms below us.

www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1] Longfellow: Evangeline

[2] Emerson, Nature, Chapter 1.

3rd February Trinity 2014, Obey Thy Heart

3^rd February Trinity

Luke 12: 35-48

“Be dressed and ready for service and keep your lamps burning. Be like men who are expecting their master back from the marriage feast, so that they can open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. Blessed are the servants whom the master finds awake when he comes! Yes, I tell you, he will put on an apron himself and show them to the table and serve them. And if he does not come until the second or third watch of the night, and yet finds them awake: Blessed are the servants! You know: If the master of the house knew at what hour the thief would come, he would not let his house be looted. So be ready: the Son of Man comes at an hour that you had not thought.”

Then Peter said, “Lord, are you telling us this parable, or is it for all human beings?”

And the Lord answered, “Imagine a faithful and competent steward whom his master appoints to be in charge of the whole staff, to give to each one what he is entitled to. Blessed is that servant if the master comes and finds him carrying out his duties.  I tell you, he will entrust him with all his goods. But if the servant says in his heart, ‘My master will not be coming all that soon,” and begins to mistreat the other servants and the maids, himself all the while eating and drinking and becoming intoxicated, then the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him, and at an hour that he does not know. The master will virtually tear him to pieces; he will treat him as those deserve who have not proved faithful.

A servant who knows his master’s will but does not act according to it and so does not carry out his will, deserves the severest punishment. If he does not know the master’s will and then does something that deserves punishment, he will escape more lightly. From one who has many gifts, much will also be expected; and from one who has been entrusted with much, much more will also be demanded.

3^rd February Trinity

February 23, 2014

Luke 12: 35 – 48

The world of the angels is ordered in a hierarchy. Each order of angels serves the one above, and all ultimately serve God in love. Demonic beings were once angels who refused to serve.

Today’s reading is a story of good and poor servants. They can be seen parts of a single human being. There is a part of us which, like the angels, wants to serve the Master faithfully, even in his apparent absence. And there is another part of us that would like to devote itself to instinctual or even destructive behaviors. Christ makes it clear that succumbing to the latter will eventually destroy our integrity and tear us to pieces. Doing so consciously and willfully hastens the process.

Christ is the Master of the House. We are the stewards in charge of the house of the body. We are to become competent over our own impulses and behaviors. Part of that competence involves giving to our array of inner ‘staff’, as Christ says, ‘what each one is entitled to.’ (Luke 12:42) They too are servants. We are neither to beat them nor starve them. All of our inner parts need sufficient nourishment and just treatment in order to fulfill their tasks. The chief steward is not to become intoxicated with its own importance. The steward task is to maintain order in the house while watching for the Master of Love, the Master of the Heart, to return. Ralph Waldo Emerson says:

Give all to love;

Obey thy heart;

.…

’T is a brave master;

Let it have scope:

Follow it utterly,

Hope beyond hope:

It was never for the mean;

It requireth courage stout.

Souls above doubt,

Valor unbending,

It will reward,….[1]

www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1] Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Give All to Love”