3rd Advent 2016, Vision of Color

3^rd Advent

1 Thessalonians, 5, 1-8, 23, 24

About time spans and right moments, dear brothers, I have no need to write to you. You know very well yourselves that the Breaking of the Day of Christ comes like a thief in the night. When people say, ‘Now peace reigns and all stands secure, then suddenly catastrophe breaks upon them, like the birth pangs of a woman with child, and there will be no escape for them.

You, however, dear brothers, are not to remain in darkness, so that the breaking of day will not surprise you like a thief. For you are sons of light and sons of the day. Our being is not filled with night and darkness. So let us not sleep like the others, but rather cultivate an alert and sober state of mind. Those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who are drunk are likewise of nightly nature. But since we belong to the brightness of day, let us be sober, clothed with the breastplate of faith and love, our head armed [protected] with the hope of healing...May God himself, however, the source of all Peace, hallow and heal your whole being. May your complete and undivided being,

Spirit

Soul, and

Body

remain pure and unclouded at the coming in the spirit of Jesus Christ, our Lord. You may trust in him who calls you. He it is who also lets you reach the goal.

David Parker

3^rd Advent

Dec 11, 2016

1 Thessalonians, 5, 1-8, 23, 24

When sunlight passes through a clear crystal, its hidden colors are revealed. They shine forth in a certain order: the boldness of red, the radiance of yellow, the depth of blue. And there are also the more subtle colors, harder to see – luminous turquoise and delicate violet – that seem to fade in and out of visibility.

The Spirit Sun is approaching our souls. We are to make ourselves clear and unclouded, like a crystal. In this way, His Light can shine into us. It can refract within our souls as courage, radiance and inner depth. Other more delicate qualities can begin to emerge.

And like a crystal, we can radiate these soul colors out into the world. Bold radiance, combined with depth and delicacy. So in the words of John O'Donohue:

Let us bless

The imagination of the Earth.

…

And how light knew to nurse

The growth until the face of the Earth

Brightened beneath a vision of color.*

 John O'Donohue,  "In Praise of the Earth," in To Bless the Space Between Us

Visit our Website!

2nd Advent 2016, Beautiful to Hear

2nd Advent

Philippians 4:1, 4:4-9

Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and my crown of glory, stand firm in the power of the Lord.

Rejoice in the nearness of the Lord at all times! And I say it again: Rejoice!

Let a gentle kindliness be evident toward all human beings you encounter. The Lord is near! Let not worry have power over you; let your concerns in all things be known to God by sending your supplication and prayer upward in thankful thoughts. And the peace of God, which transcends anything that the intellect can grasp, will keep your hearts and thoughts safe in the Being of Christ….

And lastly dear brothers I say to you:

all that is true,

all that is worthy of reverence,

all that is good and holy,

all that is lovely to look at and beautiful to hear,

all that has virtue and deserves praise:

let these be the content of your conversations and thoughts. All that you have had handed on to you, what you have heard from me and seen in me—put all this into practice; then the God of Peace will be with you!

Holman Hunt

2nd Advent

December 3, 2016

Philippians 4:1, 4:4-9

Most of us have had the experience: whenever we pay particular attention to a theme or quality or thing, we begin to see it everywhere. Our heightened attention allows it to reveal itself in multiple ways and in unexpected places.

In this reading, Paul urges us to focus our attention on what is true, on what is beautiful, on what is good. We are to think about them, converse on them. We can focus our attention on truth in science, both natural and spiritual. We can find beauty in art and in nature. We can generate goodness in religious practice, in compassion, and through our own conscience. Immersion in truth, beauty and goodness will nourish and strengthen our souls.

By focusing our attention on truth, on beauty and goodness, we weave a mantle of protection around our souls. Worry is transformed into prayer steeped in gratitude. Peace descends as we realize that no matter what happens, we are safe in the Being of Christ. For He is Truth itself, beauty itself, goodness itself. 

In the words of Hafiz:

This is the time

For you to compute the impossibility

That there is anything

But Grace.

Now is the season to know

That everything you do

Is sacred.*

*"Now is the Time" in The Gift - versions of Hafiz, by Daniel Ladinsky

Visit our website!

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

Visit our website!