4th Michaelmas 2022, The Great Moral Order

 2^nd 3^rd or 4^th Michaelmas Sunday

Revelation 19:11-16 

Giusto de 'Menabuoi, Padua Baptistry

And I saw the heavens opening up.

And behold, a white horse! And the rider who sat upon it is called faithful and true, who judges justly and battles for justice. His eyes are like flames of fire, and his head wears many crowns, inscribed with a name which no one knows but he himself. The cloak that covers him has been dipped in blood, and he is known by the name "Word of God." 

And the warriors of the sky ride behind him upon white steeds, clad in clean, white linen. And he has a sharp-edged sword coming out of his mouth with which to subdue the nations, and he will shepherd them with a staff of iron. He treads on the winepress holding the wine of the wrath of God's will, the ruler of all. 

And written on his robe and on his thigh is the name: King of all kings, Lord of all lords. 

4^th Michaelmas

October 23, 2022

Revelation 19:11–16

To make wine, the grapes have to be crushed. All the long nurturing and tending seems to be turned into its opposite — the grapes are destroyed. Why? Ironically, to preserve them. They undergo a change of form so that they can yet continue to exist on a different level as wine.

Christ in the Winepress, 17th century artist unknown

Our lives also have their harvest times. There are periods when all we have worked for seems to undergo a change, transformed by something that feels to us wrathful and destructive. 

But we must realize that all forms of life are subject, fortunately, to transformation. Indeed, if this were not so, life could not continue. Old forms need to be broken down and destroyed so that new forms can arise. Breaking down ultimately serves the ongoing evolution of life itself.

We can be comforted when we realize that the treading of the winepress of change that may appear to destroy our efforts is driven by the Creating One of God, the White Rider. He came to earth to clothe himself within our human blood.           

He is faithful, loyal not only to God his Father but also to those of us who feel ourselves trodden upon by life’s burdens. For he requires nothing of us to which he himself has not been subjected. He allowed himself to be crushed so that the wine of his redeeming blood could flow. 

And he is true, rightly and completely aligned with the great moral order that underlies true justice. He shepherds us toward the winepress. His harvesting stroke and his treading the winepress with its apparent destruction serve a higher order and purpose. They create a higher kind of life out of what we have so far created and tended. The juice of our lives becomes His wine so that the true value of our lives is preserved. He begets timeless existence so that the true good of our lives may endure.

www.thechristiancommunity.org

 

 

3rd Michaelmas 2022, Heavy with Fruit

 2^nd 3^rd or 4^th Michaelmas

Revelation 12:1-17 

Durer

And a momentous image was unveiled in the world of spirit:
a woman, clothed with the radiant power of the sun, the moon under her feet, her head adorned with the crown of the twelve stars of heaven. And she is with child and cries out in the labor and pain of giving birth. 

And at the same time, a second image was revealed in the heavens: a great fiery-red dragon with seven heads and ten horns. On its heads, it has seven crowns, and its tail is sweeping a third of all the stars in heaven and dashing them onto the earth. And the dragon is standing before the woman about to give birth so that when she bears the child, he can devour it. And she bore a child, a son 'who would shepherd all nations with a rod of iron.' And the woman's child was caught up to God and his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness where she has a place that God keeps ready there so that they can take care of her for days numbering one thousand two hundred sixty. 

And a war flared up in the spirit world. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. And the dragon fought amid his own angels, but he was not strong enough, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. Down came the dragon, the giant, the serpent, the evil one called both Satan and the devil, deceiver of all the world. Onto the earth, he came hurtling down, and all his angels with him. 

Flemish Apocalypse

And I heard a great voice in heaven, saying: 

"Now can begin the deliverance, the power, and the kingdom of our God.

[or, Now can begin the working which proceeds from our God—

the power to heal the world,

the power to transform all being,

the power to draw everything into godly being.]

Arisen is the spiritual leadership of his Christ.

Overthrown is the accuser of our brothers,

He who accused them night and day before the countenance of God.

They have overcome him through the blood and the sacrificial power of the Lamb

And by the divine Word to which they bore witness.

They did not love their own lives too dearly, nor did they fear death.

Therefore, rejoice you heavens

And all who lodge therein!

But woe to the earth and the sea:

For the Adversary has come down to you,

And he seethes with measureless fury,

For he knows that his time is short." 

And when the dragon recognized that he had been cast onto the earth, he began to persecute the woman who had borne the son. Then the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle, so that she could fly into the desert to her appointed place; there she is to be nourished for a cycle of time, for cycles of time, and for half a cycle of time, far from the face of the serpent. 

And the serpent opened his mouth and spewed out a river of water after the woman so she would be swept off her feet by the river. But then the earth came to the woman's assistance; it opened its mouth and swallowed the river which the dragon spewed from his mouth. And the dragon burned with fury against the woman. He stormed away to make war on the rest of the woman's seed, people who keep to the divine world aims and who are united with the destiny and witnessing of Jesus. As I saw this, I was standing on the sandy shore of the sea.

3^rd Michaelmas 

October 16, 2022

Revelation 12:1–17 

The trees are now heavy with the last fruits. This fruit protects and nourishes a seed. In the seed, there lies future life. 

Benjamin West

In the distant past, a great heavenly mother was heavy with the fruit of a new creation. She labored to bring forth a son, a particular Man-Child. The fruit of her labor was threatened by a devouring adversary. But the Man-Child was rescued, withdrawn to God’s throne. He emerged later as the Anointed One, the Christ, who became the leader of all humankind into the future. 

The heavenly mother brought forth other offspring — us. Our souls, too, are endangered now on earth by the same adversary. He threatens to devour us with fear, with hatred, with war. He wants to destroy the future self that our souls are now laboring to bring forth. 

But just as the Archangel Michael once overcame the dragon in the heavens, so now does he continue to help us contain the dragon on earth. The earnestness of our situation shines forth from Michael’s eyes. Keeping our gaze fixed on Michael’s countenance, we see the adversary held under his foot. Keeping our gaze fixed on his countenance, we see him beckoning to us to follow him. He stands guard as a priestly warrior at the gateway before the place that we enter in order to consecrate our highest, truest, and future selves to Christ. Michael’s eyes are a portal. Through his eyes shines the earnest, gentle light of Christ. 

In the Act of Consecration, we enter through Michael’s earnest eyes into the hall of Christ. We come into the presence of the gentle, luminous shepherd king with the upright iron staff.  He sits at the table of the altar, offering us himself as nourishment and strength. We are gathered to offer him the purity of our noblest thoughts, the warmth of our heart’s love, and the strength of our dedicated devotion. In consecrating, commending, and dedicating our best to Christ, we are offering him the fruits of soul that surround the kernel of the eternal self. In consecrating our souls to Christ, we are bringing to birth the new Man-Child within, He who is the future of all humankind.

www.thechristiancommunity.org

 

2nd Michaelmas 2022, Pure Spiritual Strength

Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, 6:10-20 

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 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. 

Arild Rosenkrantz

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. To this end, direct your spirit-strength in all your efforts of soul and your intercessions for all who would know Christ’s healing power. 

Feel yourself united in prayer with all other bearers of the Spirit. Take me into your prayers so that when I open my mouth, the strength of the word will be given to me.  Then I can courageously and openly bring the knowledge of that holy mystery that lives in the message of the Gospel, for which I am a priestly messenger enchained. Out of the Gospel itself, there streams to me the free strength to speak with the courage I need.

 2^nd Michaelmas

October 9, 2022

Ephesians 6:10-19 

“Grasp what streams to you in the experience of Christ in the soul, in the powerful regency of his pure spiritual strength.” 

When do we experience Christ in the soul? Some may wonder if that has ever happened to them. But we have all had Christ moments: 

Annael

We experience Christ in those moments when our intentions move us toward healing, toward wholeness and integration; when our intentions seem to be impelling us toward our own future development. Sometimes we only recognize such moment with hindsight. But they are moments when we sense the rightness of our path, that despite pain and confusion, we are moving in the right direction. These moments create in our soul a dynamic peace of will.               

We experience Christ in moments when our feelings are those of courage, of love, and of hope. These moments are Christ working in our soul. They create in our soul a warm and expansive feeling of peace through his love blossoming in us. 

We experience Christ in those moments when our thinking is clear, ordered, insightful, even inspired. These moments create in our soul peace-giving thoughts of trust and faith in ourselves and in the world. 

When our thinking is full of trust in the divine order, supported by our love for Christ and hopes for our future together with him; when our intentions, our motive force moves us toward healing, wholeness, integration, we are moving toward becoming the human being of the future who has chosen to evolve into what God intended for human beings to be—the human being who has evolved into the image and likeness of the Trinity. 

In the Act of Consecration we warmly, intentionally and consciously offer the contents our souls to the Divine. We pray: 

May my will turn toward healing

May this will toward healing arise from my love for Christ

And may I live with the Father consciously through Christ, my thinking enlivened and irradiated by his Spirit. 

This is the requirement that we must fulfill, the toll we must pay in order to enter into the Kingdom of Peace. We offer our souls’ best, which is him in us, 

  

so that our soul’s bodies may worthily receive his bright Body

  so that our soul’s life may stream with his Lifeblood

  so that our souls themselves may receive the Peace he wants to give us. 

Then will our souls feel, think, and will peace. Then will we be able to stream peace from above, all the way down through us to our feet, so that we walk with Christ in peace, along his ever-evolving path of peace. 

“Grasp what streams to you in the experience of Christ in the soul, in the powerful regency of his pure spiritual strength.” 

 

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