3rd Easter 2019, The Great Gatekeeper

3^rd Easter

John 10: 1-21 adapted from Madsen

“Yes, the truth I say to you: Anyone who does not go into the sheep through the door, but breaks into the fold elsewhere, he is a thief or robber. Only he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep.

To him, the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep respond to his voice. He calls each one by name, according to its nature, and he leads them out into the open.

When he has brought them out, he walks before them, and the sheep follow after him, for they trust his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but rather flee because they do not know the stranger’s voice.”

Thus did Jesus reveal himself to them in pictures, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

Then Jesus went on. “Yes, the truth out of the spirit I say to you. I AM the door to the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the sheep did not listen to them.

I AM the door. Anyone who enters through me will find healing and life. He learns to cross the threshold from here to beyond, and from there to here, and he will find nourishment for his soul. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. But I – I have come that they may have life, and overflowing abundance.

Yongsun Kim

I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who works for wages, and who is no true shepherd, whose sheep are not his own, he sees the wolf coming, abandons the sheep, and flees while the wolf snatches them and scatters them. For he is only a hireling and he cares nothing for the sheep.

I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD. I know who belongs to me, and my own recognize me, just as my Father recognizes me in the depths, and I know the being of the Father; and I offer my life for the sheep.

Other sheep have been entrusted to me who are not of this fold; I must also lead them. They too will listen to my voice, and one day there will be one flock, one Shepherd.

3^rd Easter

May 5, 2019

John 10: 1-21

Some establishments have a person stationed at the door. They give a friendly greeting to whoever belongs there. And if necessary, they keep out the undesirable elements or at least keep an eye on them.

We ourselves also have such a doorkeeper. It is positioned at the boundaries of our selves. It helps us distinguish ‘me’ from ‘not me’. It decides if those who want to enter our lives, our souls, are there for a legitimate purpose, or whether they are ‘thieves and robbers’, that is, those who would steal our treasures: our time, our energy, our resources. A strong and discerning gatekeeper is not long deceived by appearances or empty promises.

William Hunt Holman

This gatekeeper is our ‘I’, our Self. Its task is to pay attention and to make decisions. But sometimes it is distracted, or just plain asleep on the job. And as we all know, its decisions are fallible.

Christ is humankind’s Greater Self. He has nothing but our own truly best interests in mind. He models how all respectful human beings should interact: ‘Here I am, he says. I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in….’ Rev. 3:20

His voice resonates in the deepest part of our being. And he waits respectfully for us to pay attention, and to decide to open. And when we do, he says ‘I will come in… and eat with that person, and they with me.’ He brings our souls guidance, nourishment, and strength. He is the Great Gatekeeper, watching out for us, guiding us all.

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2nd Easter 2019, Breath Is Resurrection

2^nd Easter

John 20: 19-29, adapted from Madsen

Tissot

On the evening of the first day after the Sabbath, the disciples were together with the doors locked for fear of the authorities. Jesus came and stood in their midst and said,

“Peace be with you!”

And while he said this, he showed them his hands and his side.

Full of joy the disciples recognized the Lord. And again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.”And when he said this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive Holy Spirit through which the world will receive healing. From now on you shall work in human destinies with spiritual power so that they shall have the strength to wrest themselves free from the load of sin, and at the same time to bear the consequences of their offenses.”

Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not there with them when Jesus came. Later the disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”But he replied, “If I do not see in his hand the marks of the nails, and do not put my finger in the place where the nails were, and place my hand in his side, I cannot believe it.”

Tissot

Eight days later, the disciples were again gathered in the inner room and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”Then he said to Thomas, “Stretch out your finger and see my hands, and stretch out your hand and put it into my side. Be not rigid in your heart, but rather feel and trust in my power in your heart.”Then Thomas said to him, “You are the Lord of my soul; you are the God whom I serve.”And Jesus said to him, “Have you found my power in yourself because you have seen me? Blessed are those who find my power in their hearts, even when their eye does not yet see me.”

2^nd Easter

April 28, 2019

John 20: 19-29

Our breathing is in two parts: we inhale. We take in not only life-giving oxygen, but also moods, atmospheres, inspirations. And when we exhale, we add our own moods and inspirations to the atmosphere. Our spent breath nourishes the plants.

Sombart

The disciples had been holding their breath in fear and sorrow. The locked door was an image of their hearts, closed in fear. But Christ enters anyway. He breathes on them. After his own ordeal, imprinted into his hands and his side, he exhales an atmosphere of joy and peace. His healing breath, the loving exhalation of his spirit, gives us the strength and power to work in a positive way with destiny. He gives us all the strength to do the work of repair.

Thomas is not wrong to want to experience Christ directly himself. Christ only warns him against being rigid of heart. When Thomas has satisfied his healthy skepticism, he opens his own heart, so that Christ’s healing, loving power can enter.

Since His resurrection, Christ’s power is available in every breath we take. For He inhabits the earth, the air, as His body. As the poet says:

It's not magic; it isn't a trick.

Every breath is a resurrection.*

---

* Gregory Orr, in Concerning the Book that is the Body of the Beloved. Picture from the Egbert Codex – The Incredulity of Thomas.

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Easter Sunday 2019, Walks Before You

Ingeborg Psalter

Easter Sunday
Mark 16: 1-18 (adapted from Madsen)

And when the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint Him. And very early on the first day of the week, they went to the tomb just as the sun was rising. And they said to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?”
And looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back—and it was very large. And they went into the tomb. There they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clad in a white robe; and they were beside themselves with amazement. And he said to them, “Do not be startled; you seek Jesus of Nazareth the Crucified One. He is risen; He is not here; see, there is the place where they laid Him [his body]. But go and say to his disciples and Peter “He will lead you to Galilee. There you will see Him as He promised you.”
And they went out and fled from the tomb in great haste, for trembling and astonishment had come upon them; and being awestruck, they were unable to say anything to anyone about what they had experienced.
When He had risen early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene f

Woloschina

rom whom He had driven out seven demons. And she went and told those who had walked with Him, as they mourned and wept. But when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, their hearts could not grasp it.
After this, He appeared in another form to two of them on the way as they were walking over the fields. And they went back and told the rest, but they could not open their hearts to their words either.
Afterwards, He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were celebrating the meal. He reproached them for their lack of openness and for their hardness of heart because they had not wanted to believe those who had seen Him, the Risen One.
And He said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim

the new message from the realm of the angels to the whole of creation. Whoever unites his heart with it [believes] and is immersed in me [baptized] will attain the salvation. But whoever closes himself against it [does not let the power of selflessness into his heart, or, does not let the power of My Self into his heart] will meet his downfall. And spiritual powers [these signs] will stand by those who [believe]unite themselves with it and will attend their path: Through the power of my being [in my name] they will drive out demons; they will speak a new language; serpents they will make upright, and poisons they are given to drink will not harm them. They will lay their hands on the sick and give healing forces to them.

Easter
April 21, 2019
Mark 16: 1-18

A few weeks ago the bowl of the crescent new moon could be seen in the western sky. The faint outlines of the old moon could be seen in its arms. Night by night its cup slowly filled with light until it became full of the reflected light of the sun. For us in the north, in the days to come, the sunlight will continue to increase.

Christ, the great Sun-Being, came to earth and settled into the body of Jesus.  There He shone for three years. And then He died. Jesus body became the dark of the moon, when earth, moon and sun are aligned. And He irradiated death with the light of life.

On

Gruenewald

 Easter morning the three women arrive at the tomb to see, not an empty corpse, but an angel. The angel tells them that Christ Jesus, whom they love, has gone ahead of them to the beautiful life-saturated land around the sea of Galilee.

In Christ, with His death, a new crescent moon has been born. He holds the old moon, our old earth, in his arms. His light will gradually grow until it is full.

We are a part of this process. The new crescent moon of our souls has been born again. Christ has once again entered our rejoicing pulse of life. Gradually, cycle after cycle, our souls will fill with the loving light of the Christ Sun. The sun of Christ’s light will be reflected in us. And one day, when all is aligned, humanity will have become a new order of angels. And we will be the ones to say to the kingdoms of earth: He is risen; he walks before you, leading you into life.

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4th Passiontide, Palm Sunday 2019, Bright Wedge of Freedom

4^th Passiontide

Palm Sunday

Matthew 21: 1-11 (adapted from Madsen)

And they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage by

Hippolyte Flandrin

the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus sent two disciples ahead and said to them, “Go to the village which you see before you and at once you will find a donkey tied there and her foal with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will let you take them right away.”

This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

‘Say to the daughter of Zion,

Behold, your king comes to you in majesty.

Gentle is He, and He rides on a donkey and on a foal of the beast of burden.’

The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the foal, placed their garments on them, and Jesus sat on them.

           

Many out of the large crowd spread their clothes on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of them and followed Him shouted:

Hosanna to the Son of David!

Blessed is he who comes in the Name and Power of the Lord!

Hosannah in the highest! [Sing to Him in the highest heights!]

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is he?” The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

4^th Passiontide,

Palm Sunday

April 14, 2019

Matthew 21: 1-11

Vessels such as bowls are made, obviously, to carry content. The content is on the inside, and the vessel surrounds it. At the same time, there is a further aspect; the person carrying the bowl carries both the bowl and its

contents.

Christ Jesus enters Jerusalem carried by a beast of burden and its foal. This animal is a symbol of our physical body. The body bears the weight of our destiny and of our deeds. In the picture language of this reading, Jesus’ body is the vessel for Christ’s spirit of love. Christ is the content of the vessel of the body of Jesus. And at the same time, Christ is both inside and outside. Christ Jesus rides above the bodily beast of burden. And he guides it regally toward its own suffering and death, and toward its resurrection.

We too are spiritual beings carried within a bodily vessel. Our body as a beast of destiny’s burden carries us, too, ultimately toward the end of earthly life that we all must approach.

But our hearts can connect with Christ. He can be the content of our souls, the ‘small, bright wedge of freedom in your own heart’, as the poet* says. And at the same time, He can be both content and the One carrying the vessel. Our heart’s connection with Christ gives us One who rides with us, guides us. He is riding both the old beast of destiny’s burden and the young foal which will carry us into the future. He accompanies us on our journey with His strength and love and power of resurrection.

* David Whyte, “The Journey”.

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