1st Advent 2016, Grace of Beginning

1st Advent

Luke 21:25-36

And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars; and upon the earth, the nations will be constricted with anxiety and doubt with the advent of these spiritual revelations, as before a roaring sea and waves. And men will lose their inner strength of soul out of fear and foreboding of what is coming over the living earth: for the dynamic powers of heaven will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud, in the sphere of life, with dynamic power and great radiant glory.

And when these things begin to happen, stand upright and lift up [raise] your soul to the spirit, for your deliverance draws near.

And he gave them a comparison, saying, ‘Observe [behold] the fig-tree and all the trees when they burst into leaf. Seeing this, you know yourselves that summer is near. So also when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

Amen, the truth I say to you: this present age of Man’s being shall not pass away until all has happened.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Guard yourselves lest the perceptive power of your hearts be smothered by an excess of food and drink and by over-concern with the cares and worries of life, and the light of these spirit events break upon you suddenly like a snare…for it will come upon all who dwell upon the face of the whole earth. So be awake in the spirit at all times, praying, so that you may have the strength to live through all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.

1st Advent

November 27, 2016

Luke 21:25-36

Today is the new beginning, the sunrise of the new liturgical year. We are told to look for 'the Son of Man, coming in a cloud, in the sphere of life, in dynamic power and great radiant glory.' When the sun rises, it enlightens the overarching darkness. And at the same time, objects that do not absorb the light cast dark shadows.

In our own lives, we also stand at a new beginning. The Son of Man is rising. We are to stand upright before His countenance. We are to absorb His light, become 'enlightened'. It helps if we can banish that in us which casts inner shadows – too much food and drink, over-concern and worry, fear and foreboding. These things reject the light; they reject the life and the power of the Coming One.

Instead, we are encouraged to pray wakefully. We can pray that we begin to see through the illusions that ignorance creates. We can ask that the Kingdom of the Coming One's Father extend itself through our own deeds and moral conduct. We can pray that our mercy toward others becomes restorative justice. We can pray that we are ready to begin again. In the words of John O'Donohue:

In out-of-the-way places of the heart,

Where your thoughts never think to wander,

This beginning has been quietly forming,

Waiting until you were ready to emerge.

Though your destination is not clear

You can trust the promise of this opening;

Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning…*

*John O'Donohue, For a New Beginning

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4th November Trinity 2014, Creating All Anew

4th November Trinity

Revelations 21: 1-27

And I beheld the events in the spirit out of which a new heaven and a new earth proceeded. For the earlier heaven and the earlier earth were gone, and the billowing ocean is no more. And further I saw the Holy City, untouched by the earthly, coming forth out of the being of God, descending out of the spiritual worlds: the New Jerusalem. She appeared in her beauty like a bride who has adorned herself for the bridegroom. And I heard a powerful voice coming from the throne that said: “Behold the Dwelling of God in the midst of humanity. For He will indeed dwell in your midst, and the people will be His people. God himself will be with them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eye. There will be no more [bodily pain, nor soul pain, nor any other burdens of the inmost being] death, nor sorrow, nor weeping [uproar] nor any other sound of pain, for the old world is gone.” And He who was seated on the throne said: “Behold: I am creating all anew.”

And He said, “Write, for it is these words that shall make faith and knowledge into true reality.” And He said to me: “It is accomplished! I AM the Alpha and the Omega, World Beginning and World Goal. To the thirsty I will give from the springs of the waters of life, outside the workings of destiny, as grace. He who overcomes, he shall inherit all this. ‘I will be His God, and to me He will be like a son.’

“Those however who were cowardly [the spineless], and who had no trust [the faithless, unbelieving], who were servants of evil and perverted the image of Man [the despicable, vile, foul], who wanted to destroy the sacred [murderers], who went along impure paths of soul [sexually immoral, whoremongers], who worked with forces of evil [witches, practitioners of the magic arts], who bound themselves to evil beings [idolaters, idol-worshippers]—and all who served the Lie [liars of every kind]—their share will be on the lake which burns as with fire and sulfur; that is the second death, the death of the soul [the death after death].”

And there came to me one of the seven angels who have the seven bowls filled with the last seven plagues of the world; and he spoke with me and said, “Come, I will show you the eternal Feminine, the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”  And he carried me in spirit-form up to a great high mountain, and let me see how the Holy City, Jerusalem, the City of Peace, descended out of the spiritual worlds, coming forth from the being of God, wrapped in the most intimate splendor of the revelation of God.

Her shining [gleaming] is like that of a precious gemstone, like the stone jasper, clear as crystal.Her walls are of mighty size and height; she has twelve gates and at the gates stand twelve angels. On the gates are written the names of the twelve sons of Israel; three gates from the East, three gates from the North, three gates from the South, and three gates from the West. And the wall of the City rests on twelve sacred foundations, and the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb work in them.  And he who spoke with me carried a golden measuring rod, in order to measure the City and her gates and her walls. And the City is spread out in a square; her length is the same as her width. And he measured the City with the measuring rod. It measured twelve thousand miles; the length and breadth and height were alike. And he measured her walls at one hundred forty-four cubits [ells], the measure of a man, which now the angel was using.

The covering of her walls was of jasper, and the City herself of purified gold, clear as glass. And the sacred foundation of the wall were adorned with every precious stone:

the first, a jasper,

the second, a sapphire,

the third, a chalcedony,

the fourth, emerald,

the fifth sardonyx,

the sixth, carnelian,

the seventh, chrysolite,

the eighth, beryl,

the ninth, topaz,

the tenth, chrysoprase

the eleventh, hyacinth,

the twelfth, an amethyst.

The twelve gates were twelve pearls, and each of the gates made of a single pearl. And the city was of purified gold, like a transparent crystal. I did not see a temple in the City, for the Lord God, Ruler of All, is her sanctuary, and the Lamb. And the City needs neither sun nor moon, for she shines from within; for the shining revelation of God is streaming brightness in her, and her light is the Lamb. And all nations shall walk in her light, and the rulers of the earth will carry their spiritual treasures into her. And her gates will never be closed by day, for there, night will be no more.  And all the shining treasures of the revelations of the world, and all the spiritual worth of the nations and all achievements of the soul will be brought into her.  And nothing can enter which is not spiritualized [consecrated], nothing which perverts the image of Man, nothing which remains under the power of the Lie, but rather only those who are written into the Book of Life of the Lamb.

4^th November Trinity

November 23, 2014

Revelations 21: 1-27

We have arrived at a kind of seam in the cycle of the year. This is the last Sunday of the liturgical year; next Sunday starts a new beginning. The reading offers both comfort and joy. At the end of the cycles of time, God will collect all our tears of suffering. Like the Prodigal son returning we will be showered with the grace of the living waters, filled with God’s living essence. And the meaning of all our lives will be revealed to us. For we will see the Great City of Peace, built out of human suffering. Our tears will be transformed into gates of pearl. Suffering becomes the gateway. The interior of the city will also be built by human virtue, ‘all the spiritual worth of nations and all achievements of the soul.’ Rev. 21:26 And it will be illuminated by the transparent gold of the Light of Christ.

We have come to the end of the year’s cycle. But the end also always signals a new beginning. For Christ is always ‘creating all anew.’  Rev. 21:5 A mighty vista of our future home has been revealed to us. And here we are graced with yet another cycle, another year in which to continue to work to build the divine city, the city in which we will all dwell at the end of time. 

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