2nd Advent 2020, May We Be Strengthened

 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th Advent

Mark 13:24-37 (Madsen)

Collot d'Herbois

In the days after those hardships, the sun will be darkened, the moon will no longer give its light, the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers of the heavenly spheres will be thrown off course. Then the coming of the Son of Man will be visible in the realm of the clouds, invested with power, illumined by the light of the revelation of the world of spirit. And he will send out the angels to gather in all those who feel themselves united with him, from all four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

Learn from the parable of the fig tree: When the sap rises through its branches, and it puts forth leaves, then you see that summer is near. So also when you see these things coming about, you shall be aware that the revelation of the Son of Man is near, at the very door. Yes, I say to you: Even before the time of human beings now living shall have come to an end, all this will begin. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. No one knows anything about that day or that hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

Be observant and be awake, for you do not know when the time will be. It is like when a man goes on a journey and leaves his house. He gives his servants authority, gives each one his task, and tells the doorkeeper to be alert. So you, too, be alert. You do not know when the master of the house will come, whether in the evening or at midnight or at cockcrow in the morning. Take care that he does not find you sleeping if he comes suddenly. And what I say to you applies to all human beings: Be alert!

2^nd Advent
December 6, 2020
Mark 13:24-37
 

Living things are always changing. The plants change form from seed to shoot to leaves, from leaves to blossom and fruit and seed. The living light of the sun is in constantly changing flux. These changes affect our experience.
 
Every year at this time, Christ slowly descends once again toward the opportunity for an intimate connection with humankind. Because He is Life itself, His approach stimulates change, change in the cosmos, change in our souls. One natural reaction to great change is anxiety.
 

The gospel encourages us to recognize in advance that our anxiety is caused in fact by the approach of Christ, the giver of Life, the refresher of our life’s true meaning. He is the giver of transformative change. We are encouraged not to just smother our unease with excess of food and drink. Rather we are encouraged to practice a state of vigilant, strengthening prayer.
 
Christ is seeking an encounter with our wakeful spirits, to take place during the days and nights of Christmas. We may pray that
 
…we be strengthened from the founts of will that bear us toward freedom;
 that we be illumined from the founts of wisdom that warm the inmost heart;
 that we feel peace from the founts of love which bless human work.*
 
*Adapted from the Intercessory Prayer in Meditative Prayers for Today, Adam Bittleston. Available here.

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2nd St. Johnstide 2017, Heal the World

Ghirlandaio

St. Johnstide

Luke 3: 7-18

John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You are sons of the serpent yet! Who led you to believe that you can avoid the decline of the old ways of the soul? Produce true fruits in keeping with a change of heart and mind. And do not begin excusing yourselves by saying, “We have Abraham as our father.” For I tell you that God can raise up sons for Abraham out of these stones. The ax is already poised at the root of the trees, so every tree that does not produce good fruit is felled and thrown into the fire.”

“What should we do then?” the crowd asked.

John answered, “Let the man with two tunics share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.”

Tax collectors also came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”

“Do not collect any more than you are authorized to do,” he told them.

               

Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”

He replied, “Do not intimidate and do not accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”

The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ, the Messiah.

John answered them all, “I wash you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will wash you with the breath of the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, while he burns up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

And with many and various exhortations John preached the good news to the people.

2^nd St. Johnstide

feldspar

July 2, 2017

Luke 3: 7-18

Although there is a constant invisible core, living things change. They continually change and evolve their outer form. Only stones remain inert.

John the Baptist encourages us to change, that is, to remain alive. He wants our hearts not to be backward looking, stuck in the past. Otherwise, our hearts turn to stone. Rather, we are to be open to renewal and change. When asked, he encourages us to find new ways to help others, to take no more than our fair share. We are to avoid suppressing others or lying. We are to be content, reconciled with our karma and our place in life.

These practices purify the soul of its egocentricity. They prepare the soul for its great moment, for its Baptism in fire. This fire is fanned with the healing breath of the Holy Spirit of love. This breath of the Spirit is the love that enables us to change and evolve. This is the love that will ultimately heal the world. 

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2nd Epiphany 2016, God of Transformations

2^nd Epiphany

Jesus Among the Doctors, Durer

January 17, 2016

Luke 2, 41 - 5

Every year his [Jesus’] parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they took him with them. Now after they had gone there and fulfilled the custom during the days of the feast, they set off on their way home. But the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know this; they thought he was among the company of the travelers. After a day’s journey they missed him among their friends and relations. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.

Tissot

After three days they found him in the Temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And those who heard him were amazed at his mature understanding and his answers.

And when they saw him, they were taken aback, and his mother said to him, “My child, why have you done this to us? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.”

And he said to them, “Why did you look for me? Did you not know that I must be and live in that which is my Father’s?”

But they did not understand the meaning of the words he spoke to them. And he went down with them again to Nazareth and followed them willingly in all things.

And his mother carefully kept all these things living in her heart. And Jesus progressed in wisdom, in maturity and grace [favor] in the sight of God and man.

2^nd Epiphany

January 17, 2016

Luke 2, 41 - 5

Twelve is a number of completion. The thirteenth begins a new cycle. We might think of January as the thirteenth month of the past year, a month that both looks back and looks ahead.

In their forty years of wandering the desert, the Hebrew people had something that remained the same – the commandments, written in stone. Their God was a God of Anchoring Permanence, who accompanied them in all their changing circumstances.

Durer, inset

With Jesus things began to change. At twelve he undergoes a process in the temple that changes him so radically that his parents barely recognize him; they cannot understand what he is saying. This is the development of a God of Transformations, a God of Change. He will continually change and transform in his life on earth. And like John his predecessor, He will encourage his followers also to change their hearts and minds. At the same time, his is not a rebellious overthrow of the past; he still honors what was written in stone. Instead he will amplify the meaning of the commandments, giving them even greater depth and nuance, greater meaning.

Our lives too have a mixture of permanence and change. We can remember and honor the immutable. And at the same time we can develop the flexibility and fluidity to operate with nuance in the midst of change. Christ is the great teacher of transformation. He gives us the strength and the flexibility for all the changing conditions of our lives. And like the mother, we are to keep all these things living in our hearts. 

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