2nd Michaelmas, Withstand

2^nd Michaelmas

October 12, 2014

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians 6: 10 – 19

What it comes to in the end is this: grasp the power that streams to you in the experience of Christ in the soul and in the powerful regency of his pure spiritual strength.

Put on the power of God as one puts on full armor, so that you may stand against the well-aimed attacks of the adversary. For our struggle is not to fight against powers of flesh and blood, but against

spirit beings mighty in the stream of time,

against spirit beings powerful in the molding of earth substance,

against cosmic powers whose darkness rules the present time,

against spirits who carry evil into the realms of the spiritual world.

Therefore take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand your ground on the day when evil unfolds its greatest strength, and victoriously withstand it.

Stand firm, then, girded with the truth, like a warrior firmly girded. Connect yourself with all in the world as is justified in the spiritual world, and this connection with the spirit will protect you like a strong breastplate.

And may Peace stream through you, down to your feet, so that on your path you spread peace, as the message that comes from the realm of the angels.

In all your deeds have trust in God. This trust will be like a mighty shield; with it you can quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Take into your thinking the certainty of Christ’s healing deed. It will protect your head like a helmet.

And the spirit, which has become living in you, you shall grasp as one grasps a sharp sword. The sword of the spirit is the working of the Word of God.

May this armor clothe you in all your prayers and supplications, so that in the right moment you raise yourself in prayer to the spirit, and at the same time practice wakefulness in inner loyalty.

Feel yourself united in prayer with all other bearers of the spirit—also with me, Paul, so that the power of the word will be given to me when I am to courageously bring the knowledge of that holy mystery which lives in the message of the gospel.

2^nd Michaelmas

October 12, 2014

In this reading, we are presented with the image of a strong warrior. He stands upright, stands his ground, withstands. He spreads, not destruction, but Christ’s peace, which radiates from him down into the ground, guiding his path.

His power comes from Christ, who is truth itself, the real, true reality beyond illusion, beyond death.

The warrior shields himself with trust in God, his head and thoughts are helmeted with the certainty of Christ’s healing deed on Golgatha, so that we can be sure we survive beyond death.

artist unknown

He grasps and takes hold of the Word of God who is Christ the Creator Himself.

In this posture of defense the warrior protects himself from fear, from doubt, and from hatred. All of these are dark spirit beings of our time. Becoming spirit warriors, we put on the armor of God, the armor of peace, of truth. We clothe ourselves in the certainty of Christ, so that we may withstand the attacks of these beings, who are trying to conquer our souls. We may hear the voice of the spirit warrior in the prayer against fear by Adam Bittleston:

May the events that seek me

Come unto me;

May I receive them

With a quiet mind

Through the Father’s ground of peace

On which we walk.

May the people who seek me

Come unto me;

May I receive them

With an understanding heart

Through the Christ’s stream of love

In which we live.

May the spirits which seek me

Come unto me;

May I receive them

With a clear soul

Through the healing Spirit’s Light

By which we see.[1]

www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1] Adam Bittleston Against Fear, in Meditative Prayers for Today. 
Purchase  here.

Michaelmas, October 5, 2014, Preparation for Love

Michaelmas

Marriage of the Lamb

Oct 5, 2014

Matthew 22, 1-14

And Jesus continued to speak in parables to them:

The kingdom of the heavens arising in human hearts is like a man, a king, who prepared a marriage feast for his son. And he sent out his servants to call the guests who had been invited to the marriage, but they would not come.

Then he again sent out other servants, and said , “Say to those who have been invited, ‘Think, I have prepared my best for the banquet, the sacrificial oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered; everything is ready. Come quickly to the wedding.”

But they were not interested and went off, one going to his field to be his own master, another falling into the hectic pace of his own business. The rest however took hold of the servants, mistreated them and killed them.

Then the king grew angry; he sent out his army, brought the murderers to their destruction and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, “Although the marriage feast is prepared, the invited guests have proved themselves unworthy. Go out therefore to the crossroads of destiny and invite to the wedding whoever you can find.”

And the servants went into the streets and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.

Then the king came in to see the guests, and among them he noticed a man who was not dressed in the wedding garment  which was offered to him. And he said to him, “My friend, you are sharing the meal; how is it you came in here without putting on the wedding garment that was offered to you?”

But the man was speechless.

Then the king said to the servants, “Bind him hand and foot and cast him out into the darkness, where human beings wail and gnash their teeth. For the call goes out to many, yet only a few make themselves bearers of the higher life.

Bride of Christ, Danny Hahlbohm

Michaelmas

Oct 5, 2014

Matthew 22: 1 – 14

A wedding is cause for great joy; for the couple have found each other on earth.  They are joining forces for a creative and fruitful union, for something that neither could do alone.

This gospel reading of the wedding of the king’s son is about the relationship between our souls, individually and collectively, and Christ. Christ is the Bridegroom. Our souls are meant to be the Bride. The divine Father invites us to wed Christ his Son.

This means that first of all we must show up. We need to extricate ourselves from the demands of ordinary everyday life and enter the hall of prayer, the hall of the celebration meal.  In order to do so worthily, we are to clothe ourselves in the appropriate soul attire. This attire we receive as grace from the King. We are to receive and clothe ourselves in three garments: We are to drape ourselves in an open reverence and grateful awe of thought. We are to wear an open empathy of heart for all the world. We are to attire ourselves in the promptings of the angels who inspire our thoughtful actions.

Thus clothed we are ready to celebrate the Great Wedding. We step into the hall of light, in the company of other such souls. There our souls are joined with Christ, the King’s Son. We have found Him on earth. We are joining forces with Him for a creative and fruitful union, for something that neither could do alone. St. Francis said in a poem called “A Wedding Gift” :

I hear you singing, dear, inviting me to your [arm] limb.

I am coming , for all that we do is a

preparation for love.

I hear you singing, my Lord, inviting me to your throne.

We are coming, dear, for all the toil you have

blessed us with is a preparation to know and hold the

sacred.

I hear you singing, my soul, but how can it be that

God’s voice has now become my own?

“That’s just a wedding gift for our

Divine Union,”

my Beloved

said. [1]

www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1] St Francis of Assisi “A Wedding Gift” , In Love Poems to God, Daniel Ladinsky, p. 44

10 August/September Trinity 2014, Young One, Arise!

10^th Trinity August September

Luke 7, 11-17

And it came to pass that on the next day Jesus went into a city called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. And as he drew near to the gate of the city, they became aware that a dead man was being carried out—the only born son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd of people from the city accompanied her.

And seeing her the Lord felt her suffering, and said to her, “Weep no more.”

And approaching, he touched the coffin, and pallbearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise!”

The dead man sat up, and began to speak. And Jesus gave him to his mother. Astonishment and awe seized all who were standing there, and they began to praise God and to glorify what was here revealed, saying,

“A prophet powerful in spirit has been raised among us, and God has come down to us, his people.”

Word about him spread out into all of Judea and all of the neighboring regions

10^th August/September Trinity

Franz Dvorak

September 28, 2014

Luke 7: 11 – 17

Every night we go to sleep. We meet with our guardian angel, our higher self and guide. We are cleansed of our fatigue and together we and our angel look at the events of the previous day. We plan for the coming day, what we need to do, how we will need to act. The next day, we rise to our tasks and inspirations.

When we die, we meet with Christ. We are cleansed of our weariness and ills. With him we look at our previous lifetime. We plan for what we need to do and be, how we shall conduct our next life. After a rest, we will hear his voice, “Young one, I say to you, arise!” And we will be given to our mother.

Our fear of dying is sometimes a fear of not having lived the life that we intended before we were born. For we have all come with a unique mission. We would do well to pay attention to those glimmerings of inspiration, those subtle intentions, the angelic promptings that we bring back with us from sleep. For they are our day by day guide for living the life we truly intended. 

The poet’s words express the hopes of our angel:

May the beauty of your life become more visible to you, that you may glimpse your wild divinity.

…May the light of dawn anoint your eyes that you may behold what a miracle a day is.

May the liturgy of twilight shelter all your fears and darkness within the circle of ease.

 …May you find enough stillness and silence to savor the kiss of God on your soul and delight in the eternity that shaped you, that holds you and calls you.[1]

www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1] John O’Donohue, “A Blessing for Beauty”, from Beauty – The Invisible Embrace 

9th August/September Trinity 2014,

9th August/September Trinity

Matthew 6: 25-34

“No one can serve two masters: either he will hate one and love the other, or he will  put up with one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and greed’s demon of riches [mammon].

“That is why I tell you, do not trouble your heart about what you will eat and drink or with what you will clothe your body. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky: they do not plant, do not harvest, and do not fill barns, and your heavenly Father still feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Can any of you, by being vastly concerned, add one moment to the span of your life?

And why do you worry about clothing? Study how the lilies of the field grow: they do not work, and they do not spin cloth. But I am telling you that not even Solomon in all his glory was ever arrayed as one of these. If that is how God clothes the wild grass of the field, here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, will He not do much more for you, o small in faith?

“So do not worry, saying, ‘What will we drink? What will we wear?’ It is the nations who ask for all these things, and indeed, your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. Ask first for God’s kingdom and its harmonious order, and these other things will be delivered to you as well.

So do not worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow can worry about itself. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

9^th August/September Trinity

September 21, 2014

Matthew 6:25 – 34

Killing Frost

We have come to the equinox, the time of balance between the light and the darkness. From now on, here in the north, the balance will rapidly begin to shift. Temperatures cool; leaves fall; frost and winter kill set in. [In the southern hemisphere it is the opposite – the warmth, the budding life of spring.]

Today’s reading is a warning to us. At this time of the year we are not to follow nature’s course. We are not to become dark and cold. We are not to let the killing force in us, our critical side, gain the upper hand. Instead, we are to warm the analytical side of our soul with compassion and love.

We are not to let our fears of what is to come extend beyond today. The greatest fear of all is that there is nothing beyond us, that we are alone in the universe. Instead, we are warm our freezing anxieties and fears by concentrating on the wondrous harmony of the greater ecology of God’s creation, and our own place in it. For every night in sleep we visit God’s home. We receive the night’s measure, our gifts of strength and inspiration to cope with the coming day. To extend our fears anxiously into the future is to salt the fields of our own souls, to render them infertile. God’s generously pours out gifts for us, given to us day by day, night by night. As the poet says:

…An empty heart, a tormented mind,

Unkindness, jealousy and fear

Are always the testimony

You have been completely fooled!

….Come, join the honest company

Of the King's beggars -

….

Who need Divine Love every night.

Come, join the courageous

Who have no choice

But to bet their entire world

That indeed,

Indeed, God is Real.

…. Everything,

Everything in Existence

Does point to God.[1]

www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1] Hafiz, "A Golden Compass."

  

5th August Trinity 2014, Rush of Light

5th Trinity August

Brian Jekel

Luke 18, 35-43

It happened as he approached Jericho: a certain blind man was sitting by the road begging. Hearing the crowd going by, he wanted to know what was happening, and they told him Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. He cried out in a loud voice: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Those leading the way threatened him and wanted him to be quiet. But he cried all the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Jesus stopped and had him led to him. And Jesus said to him, “What do you want that I should do for you?”

He said to him, “Lord, that I may look up and see again.”

And Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight. Through your faith and your trust, the power for healing has been awakened in you.” ( your faith has healed you.)

In that moment his eyes were opened. He followed Him and thus revealed the working of the divine within the human being--and all who saw it praised God.

5^th August Trinity

August 24, 2014

Luke 18: 35-43

Light itself is invisible. Light only reveals itself in its working with darkness. Permeating darkness, light creates color. Color is a manifestation of the creative work, the deeds of light.

The blind man in today’s reading wants to look up and see again. He as the one who calls himself the Light of the World to be merciful to him, to interact with his darkness, so that together they may create. We can imagine that already the man’s courage to ask, to refuse to be shushed, has an inner color we could picture as a strong red. He has the clear green hope of healing. Christ verifies that a deep level of trust lives in him, which we can see as a deep blue. Indeed, the Light of the World is already working in him. Christ’s proximity already works to create the inner colors that light up in the soul’s darkness.

Though we may be blind to him, Christ is always near. We hear his words whenever we hear the gospels, whenever we listen to the inspirations of conscience. The light of his presence works with us to create the inner colors of the soul – the blue of trust, the red of courage, the green of hope. For the light shines in the darkness, and although we may not grasp it, we can receive it, bear it, gestate it, so that the soul gives birth to the Light’s colors. We can invite God to enter us, to work in us.

In the words of John O’Donohue:

… when we come to search for God,

Let us first be robed in night,

Put on the mind of morning

To feel the rush of light

Spread slowly inside

The color and stillness

Of a found word.[1]

www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1] John O’Donohue, “For Light”, in To Bless the Space Between Us.