1st Epiphany 2022, Hidden Ladder

1^st Epiphany

Matthew 2:1-12 

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea—during the time of King Herod—behold: wise priest-kings from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, "Where is the one born here, King of the Jews? We have seen his star rise in the east and have come to worship him."               

When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. And he assembled all the high priests and scribes of the people and inquired of them in what place the Christ was to be born. And they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it was written by the prophet: 

Gertraud Kiedaisch

And you Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

Are by no means the least among the rulers of Judah;

For out of you shall come forth the ruler

Who will be shepherd over my people, the true Israel." 

Then Herod, secretly calling the Magi together again, inquired from them the exact time when the star had appeared. He directed them to Bethlehem and said, "Go there and search carefully for the child, and when you find him, report to me, that I too may go and bow down before him." 

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and behold, the star that they had seen rising went before them and led them in its course over the cities until it stood over the place where the child was. Seeing the star, they were filled with [or, there awakened in them] an exceedingly great and holy joy. 

Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary, his mother; they fell down before him and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and offered him their gifts: gold and frankincense and myrrh. 

And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their country by another way.

1^st Epiphany Sunday

January 9, 2022

Matthew 2:1-12 

Humankind has always seen the stars as grouped together in constellations. Especially in ancient times, mighty pictures arose in people's souls when they gazed into the night sky.

 

For every child, there is a star in the heavens. It is the place from whence the child comes, a place that safeguards the soul's true name. The child brings it to earth, a shining thing in the treasure chest of the heart. Sometimes parents catch a glimpse of this true name, even before the child is born. 

In the gospel reading, a Child is born; a great star appears in the heavens. Upon this star are written His many names: Wonderful, Counselor, the everlasting Lord, the Prince of Peace. In legend, traveling day and night for thirteen days, the three Magi constellate themselves like slow-moving planets around the Child and His Mother. They cross paths with Herod's death star. But in constant devotion the One whose name is also Truth, they themselves, along with the Child, are safe. 

We, too, led by our hearts, have chosen to gather ourselves around the Christ star. St. John of the Cross writes:

 

Of a dark night, kindled in love…

I went out without being observed….

In darkness and confident, I laid hold

of the hidden ladder…..

I moved sightless without light or guide,

save that which burned in my heart.

Heartlight guided me more surely

than the light of glaring day to the place

where He—yes, I knew— was awaiting me.* 

Each human heart moves toward Christ. We have come together on earth, guided by heartlight, to form his community. Together we are an earthly reflection of His star in the heavens. For our true names, carried in our hearts, are connected with Christ, the star of love.

 www.thechristiancommunity.org 

---

* St. John of the Cross, “Dark Night”, in Love’s Immensity, Mystics on the Endless Life, Scott Cairns, p. 128.

 

 

Christmas II, Dawn

Luke 2: 1-20 (adapted)

Now is proclaimed the [middle of the Gospel[s], according to Luke in the second chapter.

Now it came to pass in those days that a proclamation went out from Caesar Augustus that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone set out to be enrolled, each to the town of his ancestors.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he belonged to the house and lineage of David. He went to be enrolled with Mary his betrothed. And Mary was with child. And it came to pass that while they were there, the time was fulfilled for her to be delivered. And she bore her son, her first-born. And she wrapped him in linen and placed him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks in the night. And an angel of the Lord came upon them [appeared before them] and the light of the revelation of God shone about them. And great fear came upon them [they felt the fear of fears].

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for I announce to you a great joy, which shall be for all men on earth: today is born unto you the Bringer of Healing, in the city of David, Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign for you: you will find a little child wrapped in linen, lying in a manger.”

And suddenly around the angel was the fullness of the heavenly angelic hosts: their song of praise sounded forth to the highest:

God’s Spirit reveals itself in the heights

And brings peace to men of earth

         In whose hearts good will dwells!

And as the angels withdrew from them into the heavens, the shepherds said to one another: “Let us go to Bethlehem to see the fulfillment of the Word that has happened here, which the Lord let be proclaimed.”

And they came hastening and found both Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger. And when they had seen, they made known the Word that was spoken to them concerning this child. [or, When they saw that, they understood what had been told them concerning this child.] And all who heard it were astonished about what the shepherds said.

But Mary treasured [preserved] all these words, pondering them [turning them over] in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God to everyone for everything they had heard and seen, which was just as it had been announced to them.

Christmas II, Dawn

December 25, 2019

Luke 2: 1-20

A rose begins a tight-closed bud. Gradually it unfurls, bestowing its beauty and fragrance to the world.

The poet asks:

How

did the rose

ever open its heart

and give the world all of its beauty?

It felt the encouragement of the light against its being.*

The old Christmas hymn speaks of Christ as a rose, ever blooming, which comes in the cold of mankind’s winter. Encouraged by the light of the Father, Christ the Rose blossomed upon the tree of Jesse. His beauty and fragrance filled the world. Now he speaks. He has become the Father’s light-filled, creating Word. The poet says:

They can be like a sun, words.

They can do for the heart

What light can

for a field.**

Honthorst

Once again Christ approaches the fields of earth. His light dawns gently at first. We ask to be touched by His warmth and light. It is our hope that the light of his creating Word touch our lips, warm our hearts; so that our souls may open and receive him; so that our souls may bestow His beauty and fragrance.  “Become”, he says.

This is a moment of such gentle fullness. There is so much beauty to give to the world; so much love to give; so much encouragement. The rose of the heart opens because it feels the encouragement of the light against its being.

* Hafiz, “How Did the Rose”, in Love Poems to God, Daniel Ladinsky, p. 161

** St. John of the Cross, “They Can Be Like the Sun”, Ibid, p. 324

5th Easter 2019, Master of the Game

5^th Easter

John 16, 1-33, adapted from Madsen

“All these words I have spoken to you so that you will not go astray [because you discover what destiny falls to you through being connected with me]. For they will exclude you from their communities, and the hour will come when those who kill you will think they are offering service to God. They will do all this because they have not known my Father or me. All these words I have spoken to you so that when the time comes you will remember that I told you about it. In the beginning, I did not need to say such things for I was with you. But now I am going away to him who sent me; yet, none of you asks me “Where are you going?”  Now that I have said these things to you, sorrow enters your heart.

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is for your salvation and healing that I leave you, for if I did not go away, the Comforter, the giver of spirit courage, [who will stand by you in all trials, the Spirit upon whom you can call for assistance at any moment,] would not come to you. When I now  go away, I will send him to you. When he comes he will call mankind to account for the decline into sin, for the working of man’s higher being and for the great world separation; for the decline into sinfulness, because they did not fill themselves with my power; for the working of Man’s higher being, because I go to the Father and you see me no more; for the great world-separation, because the decision has already been made about the ruler of this world.

I have yet much more to say to you, but you cannot bear it now. But when the Spirit of Truth comes, he will be your guide on the way to the Truth that Embraces All. he will not speak out of himself, but what he hears he will speak, and he will proclaim to you what is to come.  he will reveal me, for what he draws out of my being he will proclaim to you. Everything that the Father has is also mine. That is why I can say, ‘He will draw upon my being and proclaim to you’.

Yet a short time you will see me no more, and again a short time and you will see me.”

Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying ‘Yet a short time you will see me no more, and again a short time and you will see me’, and ‘I am going to the Father’? They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a short time’? We do not understand his words.”

Bible moralisèe The Creation of Eve and The Birth of Ecclesia, 

Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him and he said, “You are wondering that I said, ‘A short time and you will see me no more, and again a short time and you will see me.’  Yes, the truth I tell you, you will weep and lament while other people will rejoice. You will be filled with sorrow, but this your grief will be turned into joy. A woman giving birth must bear pain, for her difficult hour has come. But when the child is born, she no longer considers the anguish because of her joy that a human being has been born into the world.

So it is with you. Now is your time of grief. But this your grief will become the power of Spirit-Birth, for I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and no one can take that joy from you. On that day, you will no longer need to ask me anything.

Yes, I say to you; from now on what you ask of the Father in my name, He will give to you. Until now, you have not been able to pray in my name. Pray from the heart, and it will be given to your heart so that your joy may be full.

All this I have given to your souls in imagery. But the hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in pictures but will tell you plainly about the Father, [so that you can grasp it in full, knowing consciousness]. On that day, you will ask out of my power and in my name. And no longer will I ask the Father on your behalf. For the Father himself loves you because you have loved me, and have known in your hearts that I have come forth from the Father. I have come forth from the Father and I have come into this world. I am leaving the [sense] world again and going to the Father, [of which you say that it is the world of death].”

Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking in clear thought and without imagery. Now we know that all things are revealed to you and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. By this, we believe that you came from God.”

Jesus answered, “Do you now feel my power in your heart? Behold, the time is coming and has already come, when you will be scattered, each to his own loneliness. You will then also leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is eternally united with me.

All this I have spoken to you so that in me you may find peace. In this world, you will have great fear and hardship. But take courage. I have overcome the world.”

5^th Easter

May 19, 2019

John 16: 1 – 33

Devil's Mirror

There is a fairy tale that tells how the devil made a great world mirror, in which everything was distorted unrecognizably into its opposite. This mirror shattered into billions of pieces, and specks flew into people’s eyes. It made them see the wrong side of things. If the specks penetrated into their hearts, their hearts turned to ice.*

In today’s reading from before his resurrection, Christ feels compassion for the disciple’s hearts; for his impending crucifixion will activate such the mirror shards and, for a while, things will not appear to them as they truly are. But He also promises that this condition will be temporary. For, after a short time, He will send a Healer who will remove the specks and show them the Truth. Their vision will be healed of its ills. Although each of them will only see from a certain angle, from a partial perspective, they will indeed see truly.

We human beings are all partial. We are on a path of evolution toward greater wholeness, toward alignment with the greater and great levels of Truth. Moments of suffering and moments of enlightenment follow each other in greater spirals. For, in the words of St. John of the Cross,

If

you were playing chess with someone who

had infinite power and infinite knowledge

and wanted to make you a

master of the game,

where would all the chess

pieces be at every

moment?

Indeed, not only where he wanted them,

but where all were best for your

development;

and that is every situation

of one’s

life.**

*Hans Christian Anderson, “The Snow Queen”.

**St. John of the Cross, “Development", in Love Poems from God, Daniel Ladinsky, p. 322.

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4th Epiphany 2018, Beloved's Arms

4^th Epiphany
Luke 13: 10-17

Once he was teaching in a synagogue

on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit weakening her for eighteen years: she was bent over and could not stand upright [lift her head all the way up]. When Jesus saw her, he called her to him and said to her, “Woman, you are released from your illness!”

He laid his hands upon her, and at once she was able to straighten up. And she praised the power of God. Then the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days for doing work; on those days you can come and let yourselves be healed—but not on the Sabbath.”

But the Lord replied, “You hypocrites! Does not every one of you untie his ox or his ass from the manger on the Sabbath and lead it away to the water trough? But this daughter of Abraham, who was held bound by the dark might of Satan for eighteen years, wasn’t supposed to be released from her bondage on the day of the Sabbath?”

All his opponents were put to shame by these words, and the people rejoiced over all the signs of spiritual power that happened through him.

4^th Epiphany
January 28, 2018
Luke 13: 10-17

Plants unfold according to their own time. They bud, blossom, fruit when their time is ripe. In commercial settings, much is done to control that flowers bloom according to a market schedule. But commercially grown flowers often lack a certain thriving fullness, a radiance that naturally grown ones have.

The ill woman in the gospel rises, unfolds, blossoms in the healing light of the Christ sun. It took eighteen years for the fullness of the moment to arrive.  The synagogue leader complains that this has not been properly scheduled. But grace, love that heals, arrives in its own time. The only appropriate response is gratitude. We may feel that we want grace to arrive on our own timetable. But the reading makes it clear that control is vastly inferior to the working of grace.

St John of the Cross asks a question of God and God gives an expansive answer:

“What is grace” I asked God.

 And He said,
“All that happens.”
Then He added, when I looked perplexed,
“Could not lovers
say that every moment in their Beloved’s arms
was grace?
Existence is my arms,
though I well understand how one can turn
away from
me
until the heart has
wisdom.”

Grace, love, existence itself—so much to be grateful for.

 Visit our new website!

---

*St John of the Cross, “WHAT IS GRACE”, in Love Poems from God: by Daniel Ladinsky, p. 321

Christmas Day,

Christmas III

John 21: 15-25

Now is proclaimed the end of the entire gospel according to John in the 21st chapter:

After they had held their meal together, Jesus said to Simon Peter: “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than the others here?

Peter answered, “Lord you know that I am your friend”.

Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”

And he said to him again, a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?

Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I am devoted to you.”

Jesus said to him, “Shepherd my young sheep.”

He asked him a third time, “Simon, Son of John, Are you my friend?”

Peter was heartbroken that he could say to him the third time, ‘Are you my friend’, and he answered, “Lord, you know all things; therefore, you know that I am devoted to you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. Amen, the truth I say to you, when you were younger you girded yourself and walked wherever you wished. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands and

Another will gird you and lead you where you do not wish to go.”

He told him this to indicate the kind of death by which he would bring the divine to revelation. Then he said to him, “Follow me.”

But Peter, turning, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved, following him. He was the one who had leaned upon his breast at the supper and had asked, “Lord, who is it who betrays you?”  When Peter now saw him, his asked, “Lord, what of this man, what is his task?”

Jesus said to him: If is my will that he remain until my coming, that does not affect your path. Follow me…”

From this day the story spread among the brethren that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, “If it is my will that he remain until my coming, that does not affect your path.”

This is the disciple who here bears witness to these things and who has written all this. And we know that his testimony is true. There are also many other things that Jesus did. If they were to be written down one by one, I do not think that the world itself could contain the books that would have to be written.

Christmas III

Dec 25, 2016

John 21: 15-25

David Newbatt

At midnight, we heard about the great tree of Jesus's ancestry, rooted forty-two generations in the past and Joseph's protecting of the flower of that life. And then earlier this morning we heard the story of His birth, surrounded by the radiance of the heavenly Father's angels, reflected in the joyous hearts of the shepherds. This story wants to be re-enacted today, in the present, in every human heart.

And so now we hear the story of Christ and Peter, from the very end of all the Gospels. It is a story that points the way from the past, into the future. 

At the first Christmas, the Father's Love and Creative Power began the process of becoming human. He chose the body in which he would dwell. In this last reading of the day, from the end of John's Gospel, we hear the Risen Christ's threefold question to Peter: 'Do you love me?' We hear the high hope that Christ has for humanity. His hope is that He, the Being of Love, will become active in each of us. This is a hope that is still ever-present and faithfully carried in Christ's heart. For He has chosen the earthly bodies in which he would abide. 

The choice to respond is ours. His work of healing is a long range one. It carries us into the future, drenched with hope and grace. Later, another St. John, St. John of the Cross, converses with Christ:

"What is grace” I asked God.

 And He said,

 “All that happens.”

 Then He added, when I looked perplexed,

 “Could not lovers

say that every moment in their Beloved’s arms

was grace?

Existence is my arms,

though I well understand how one can turn

away from

me

until the heart has

wisdom.”*

*St. John of the Cross, "WHAT IS GRACE," in Love Poems from God, by Daniel Ladinsky, p. 321

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5th Easter 2010, Playing Chess

5^th Easter John 16, 1-33

“All these words I have spoken to you so that you will not be offended because you discover what destiny falls to you through being connected with me. For they will exclude you from their communities, and the hour will come when those who rob you of your earthly existence and kill you will think they are offering service to the progress of the world. They will do so because they cannot raise their knowing to knowledge of the Father, nor to knowledge of my being and working. All these words I have spoken to you so that when the time comes you will remember that I said them to you. I did not speak to you in this way in the beginning because I was with you. But now I am going away to him who sent me; yet, none of you has yet the strength and courage to ask me about the realm into which I now enter. Your hearts are full of grief and therefore closed to the things I have said to you.

Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is for your salvation and healing that I go

Unknown

away, for if I did not go away, the Comforter, who will stand by you in all trials, the Spirit upon whom you can call for assistance at any moment, would not come to you. But because I go, I will be able to send him to you. When he comes, he will bring to the world a consciousness of how the nature of the sickness of sin works, of how people can be reconnected with the divine world in which there is no sin, and of how the decision about human error can be brought about. Sin is human beings not really being able to trust in my being and in that which works out of my being within them. The balancing of sin holds sway in my going to the Father and in not remaining limited to appearing outwardly. Judgment works in the decision that has already been made about the prince of outer world.

I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But only when the Spirit comes, through whom the Truth can reveal itself to the world, will he lead you to the Truth that Embraces All. For he will not speak only out of himself, but he will speak what he hears in the realm of the Spirit, as the speaking of the eternal reality, and he will tell you what is yet to come. Thus will he reveal me among men, for out of what he takes from my being he will proclaim to you. In the realm in which my Father works, there I also live. That is why I can say, ‘He will take from my being and proclaim to you’.

In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”

Some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more’, and then, ‘after a little while you will see me’, and ‘because I am going to the Father’? They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not understand what he is saying.”

Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “You are wondering what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.’  Amen, amen, the truth I say to you, you will weep and deeply mourn, and the world will rejoice in this. You will be filled with sorrow, but this your sorrow will be turned into unceasing joy. A woman giving birth must bear pain, for her difficult hour has come. But when the child is born, she no longer considers the anguish because of her joy that a child has been born into the world.

So it is with you. Now is your time of grief. But this your grief will become the power of Spirit-Birth, for I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. On that day, you will be so deeply united with me that you will no longer need to ask me anything.

Amen, amen, I tell you the truth; from now on what you ask of the Father in my name, He will give to you. Until now, you have not been able to ask anything in my name. Ask and you shall receive, and your joy will be complete.

Pray from the heart, and it will be given to your heart so that your joy may be fulfilled.

All this I have given to your souls in imagery. But the hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in pictures, but will tell you openly and unveiled about my Father, so that you can grasp it in full, knowing consciousness. So will I proclaim to you the being of the Father. On that day, you will ask out of my power and in my name. And no longer will I ask the Father on your behalf. For the Father himself will love you because you have loved me, and have known in your hearts that I have come forth from the Father. I have come forth from the Father and I have come into this world.

I leave the sense world again and return to the world of the Father, of which you say that it is the world of death.”

Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking in clear thought and without imagery. Now we know that all things are revealed to you and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.”

Jesus answered, “Do you now feel my power in your heart? Behold, the time is coming, and has already come, when you will be scattered, each to his own loneliness. You will then also leave me alone. But I am not alone, for the Father is eternally united with me.

All this I have spoken to you so that in me you may find peace. In this world, you will have great fear and hardship. But take courage. I have overcome the world.”

5^th Easter

May 2, 2010

John 16: 1 – 33

There is a fairy tale that tells how the devil made a great world mirror, in which everything was distorted unrecognizably into its opposite. This mirror shattered into billions of pieces, and specks flew into people’s eyes. It made them see the wrong side of things. If the specks penetrated into their hearts, they turned to ice. [1]

In today’s reading Christ feels compassion for the disciple’s hearts; for his impending crucifixion will activate such the mirror shards and, for a while, things will not appear to them as they truly are. But He also promises that this condition will be temporary. For after a short time, He will send a Healer who will remove the specks, and show them the Truth. Their vision will be healed of its ills. Although each of them will only see from a partial perspective, from a certain angle, they will indeed see truly.

We human beings are all partial. We are on a path of evolution toward greater wholeness, toward alignment with the greater and great levels of Truth. Moments of suffering and moments of enlightenment follow each other in greater spirals. For, in the words of St. John of the Cross,

If

you were playing chess with someone who

had infinite power and infinite knowledge

and wanted to make you a

master of the game,

where would all the chess

pieces be at every

moment?

Indeed, not only where he wanted them,

but where all were best for your

development;

and that is every situation

of one’s

life.[2]

www.thechristiancommunity.org

---

[1] Hans Christian Anderson, “The Snow Queen”.

[2] St. John of the Cross, “Development:, in Love Poems from God, Daniel Ladinsky, p. 322.

2nd February 2010, Abundant Harvest

Van Gogh

2^nd February Trinity

Luke 8:14-18

And as a great crowd had gathered, and ever more people streamed to him out of the cities, he spoke in a parable:

A sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some seed fell on the path. It was trodden upon, and the birds of the sky (air) ate it up. Other seed fell upon the rocks, and as it sprouted, it (the sprouting green) withered, because it had no moisture. Still other seed fell under the thorns; the thorns grew with it and choked what came up. And some fell upon good soil, grew, and brought forth fruit a hundredfold. When he had said these things, he called out:

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

His disciples asked him what this parable might mean. And he said:

To you it has been given the gift of being able to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of God; but to the others it is given in pictures and parables, for they see and do not yet see, and hear, although they do not yet understand with their thinking. The meaning of the parable is this:

The seed is the Word of God. That which fell upon the path are those who hear it; afterwards the tempter comes and tears the Word out of their hearts, so that they cannot find healing through the trusting power of faith working in them.

Those on the rock are those who, when they hear the Word, take it up with joy; but they remain without root. For a while the power of their faith works in them, but in times of trial they fall away.

What fell under the thorns are those who hear the Word from the spirit, and as they go on their way, the sorrows and the riches and the joys of life choke it, and they bring no fruit to maturity.

And the seed which fell in the good soil are those who hear the Word, and take it up into their hearts, feel its beauty, become noble and worthy and patiently keep it alive, tending it there until it brings forth fruit.

No one lights a light and hides it under a vessel or under a bench; instead he places it on a lamp stand so that all who come in see the light. For nothing is hidden which shall not be revealed, and nothing is secret which shall not be known and proclaimed.

So attend to how you listen. For he who has enlivened in himself the power to bear the spirit, to him more will be given. He however who does not have this power, from him will be taken that which he thinks he has.

2^nd February Trinity

February 14, 2010

Luke 8: 14 – 18

  

To create a garden, we have to first break open the soil; we enrich it with compost. Then we plant the seeds, each in their proper season. We water them daily, protecting them from scorching heat, from freezing cold, from drought. We remove the competing weeds. And in time there is an abundant harvest.

This same process applies to the garden of the heart. Sometimes the ground of the heart is broken open through life’s wounding. Otherwise, we undertake to break open the ground of the heart through focusing our listening attention, digging our own hearts open, going deeper. And we enrich the ground of the heart with the compost of all our life experience. Through reading, study and the sacraments, we sow the seed-words of God in the heart’s ground. And when God’s words take heart-root, we attend to them, noticing their beauty. We care for them diligently, daily, removing obstacles to their growth. We protect them from the fierce heat of anger, from the flooding of greed, from the weeds of envy and pride. Through patience and attention, our inner garden grows elevated. It bears a rich harvest. It becomes a fitting place for the Divine Word Himself, the Son of God, to come and to live. And when He does, we will have an abundant heart harvest to offer him.

Thus in the words of St. John of the Cross, we will say,

Within my flowering breast

Which only for Himself I save

He sank into His rest

And all my gifts I gave….[1]

www.thechristiancommunity.org

---

[1] St. John of the Cross, “The Canticle”, quoted in Beauty, by John O’Donohue, p. 236.

4th Epiphany 2011, Grace Arrives

4^th Epiphany

Luke 13: 10-17

Once he was teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit weakening her for eighteen years: she was bent over and could not stand upright [lift her head all the way up]. When Jesus saw her, he called her to him and said to her, “Woman, you are released from your illness!”

He laid his hands upon her, and at once she was able to straighten up. And she praised the power of God. Then the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days for doing work; on those days you can come and let yourselves be healed—but not on the Sabbath.”

But the Lord replied, “You hypocrites! Does not every one of you untie his ox or his ass from the manger on the Sabbath and lead it away to the water trough? But this daughter of Abraham, who was held bound by the dark might of Satan for eighteen years, wasn’t supposed to be released from her bondage on the day of the Sabbath?”

All his opponents were put to shame by these words, and the people rejoiced over all the signs of spiritual power that happened through him.

4^th Epiphany

January 30, 2011

Luke 13: 10-17

Plants unfold according to their own time. They bud, blossom, fruit when their time is ripe. In commercial settings, much is done to control that flowers bloom according to a market schedule. But commercially grown flowers often lack a certain thriving fullness, a radiance that naturally grown ones have.

The ill woman in the gospel rises, unfolds, blossoms in the healing light of the Christ sun. It took eighteen years for the fullness of the moment to arrive.  The synagogue leader complains that this has not been properly scheduled. But grace, love that heals, arrives in its own time. The only appropriate response is gratitude. We may feel that we want grace to arrive on our own timetable. But the reading makes it clear that control is vastly inferior to the working of grace.

St John of the Cross asks a question of God; and God gives an expansive answer:

“What is grace” I asked God.

 And He said,

“All that happens.”

Then He added, when I looked perplexed,

“Could not lovers

say that every moment in their Beloved’s arms

was grace?

Existence is my arms,

though I well understand how one can turn

away from

me

until the heart has

wisdom.”[1]

Grace, love, existence itself—so much to be grateful for.

www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1] St John of the Cross, “WHAT IS GRACE”, in Love Poems from God: by Daniel Ladinsky, p. 321