1st Advent 2010, Surrounded by Angels

1^st 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 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.

1^st Advent Sunday

November 28, 2010

Luke 21: 25 -36

A woman who is about to give birth is racked with pain. Wave after wave of contraction sweeps over her, for giving birth is hard labor. It requires endurance and strength. But at the end she and all around her experience the radiant wonder that a tiny human being, surrounded by angels, has arrived on earth.

Today’s reading is a description of the birth pangs of humanity; constriction, anxiety, and doubt wash over us as world events, earth events, sweep over us. They require our strength and endurance. For the outcome is the birth of the Son of Man.

They also require our wakefulness. For this birth is not a physical one. It happens rather in the realm of life that permeates both us and our earth. It happens within perceptive human souls. To perceive this birth, we struggle to stay awake amid the excesses of the season. We are surrounded by angels.

Many are the human beings who, in their hour of extreme need, have raised their souls to the spirit in prayer. And in their soul is born the power and radiance of a paradoxical peace. A calm settles over them, and they feel the nearness of God. They are surrounded by angels.

As David Whyte remarks:

These are hard paths we tread

…..

I know that …

Sulamith Wulfing

storms break over,

…and you will not move

while the voice all around

tears the air

and fills the sky with jagged light.

But sometimes unawares

those sounds seem to descend

as if kneeling down into you

and you listen strangely caught

as the terrible voice moving closer

halts,

and in the silence

now arriving

whispers

Get up, I depend

on you utterly.

Everything you need

you had

the moment before

you were born.[1]

www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1]  David Whyte, “Waking”, in Where Many Rivers Meet

1st Advent 2011, Sphere of Brotherhood

1^st 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 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.

1^st Advent Sunday

Nov 27, 2011

Luke 21:25-36

A woman about to give birth is seized by fearsome convulsions; she feels dragged along by the mighty forces of birth. Yet knowing of the immanent arrival of the child can give her powers of endurance.

Humankind is now being seized by mighty convulsions of change. The dynamic powers of heaven are being shaken, for we are all in the midst of a new birth. The kingdom of the heavens, the realm of divine love, that wants to be born in human hearts, is approaching.

We are feeling the convulsions most especially in the economic sphere because it is the sphere of brotherhood. We hear the cries for human dignity, for equitable standards of living and care for all, not only here, but elsewhere in the world as well. What humanity is laboring to bring to birth is the compassionate Son of Man within our hearts. For the present, we must stand. We must begin the labor of bringing to birth. We must endure. For as Vaclav Havel says:

It is I who must begin.

Once I begin, once I try --

here and now,

right where I am,

…I suddenly discover,

to my surprise, that

I am neither the only one,

nor the first,

nor the most important one

to have set out

upon that road.

Whether all is really lost

or not depends entirely on

whether or not I am lost.[1]

 www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1] Vaclav Havel, “It Is I Who Must Begin”, in Teaching With Fire, ed. by S.M. Intrator and M. Scribner

1st Advent 2012, Tree of Life

1^st Advent

Luke 21:25-36

Roland Tiller

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 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.

1^st Advent

December 2, 2012

Luke 21: 25-36

Yggdrasil, Tree of Life

Although we are approaching the depth of northern midwinter, Christ, oddly perhaps for us in the north, speaks of the coming spring, and the fig tree bursting into leaf. The fig tree in His time was the tree, like the bodhi tree, which represented a broader, enlightened awareness.

This reading images for us the content of a higher awareness: the living Son of Man, radiant and powerful, coming toward us in the realm of the clouds, the biosphere, the realm of life.

This year has been seen as a year in which a shift of awareness is anticipated. There are signs…signs that human beings are moving into an anxious awareness of the wholeness of the living earth, into an heart awareness that humankind is all one family; signs that the kingdom of God is arising in human hearts. The angels are watching closely.

Denise Levertov says

Sometimes the mountain

is hidden from me in veils

of cloud, sometimes

I am hidden from the mountain

in veils of inattention, apathy, fatigue,

when I forget or refuse to go

…to reconfirm

that witnessing presence.[1]

We are urged to pay attention, to stand, awake and at the ready. For He who is the living Spirit of the Earth is drawing near.

www.thechristiancommunity.org 

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[1] “Witness”, by Denise Levertov in Selected Poems

1st Advent 2013, Being Still

1^st 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 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. 

1^st Advent

Dec 1, 2013

Luke 21:25-36

In the midst of turmoil and destruction, somehow, somewhere, a silent light shines. The breaking up of the old, the disturbances are themselves a sign that something new is beginning.

We are entering the season of Advent, which signals the beginning of the liturgical year. It is not an easy time; for something new is trying to be born. In the reading we hear about the coming, the advent of the Son of Man. His is a great light-filled power. We are challenged to raise our sights, to rise up and to remain upright before His face.

To do so requires that we find our own still point, our center. It is in inner stillness and silence that the light of what is coming into being can be perceived.  This is a particular challenge at this time of the year. And yet this is where the seasonal prayers would direct our attention—to find the stillness; to listen to the silence of a new beginning. Our material culture tries to shout Him down, suffocate Him in a blanket of sound, wrap Him in a mantle of commercial images.  But in the words of the poet:

Now we will count to twelve

and we will all keep still.

.…

If we were not so single-minded

about keeping our lives moving,

and for once could do nothing,

perhaps a huge silence

might interrupt this sadness

of never understanding ourselves

and of threatening ourselves

with death.

Perhaps the earth can teach us

as when everything seems dead in winter

and later proves to be alive.[1]

www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1]  Pablo Neruda, “Keeping Quiet”  in Extravagaria, translated by Alastair Reid

5th November Trinity 2007, Waters of Life

4^th  or  5^th November Trinity

The end of Revelation 22: 12-21

“Watch, I am coming soon, and I will have my rewards with me so as to give to each person what his deeds amount to. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the goal.”

Blessed are those who cleanse their garments so that they will have power in the realm of the Tree of Life, which overcomes death, and may go through the gates into the Holy City. Outside shall remain those who are bound to low senses, those who serve evil powers, who walk impure paths of soul, who spread death around them, who give themselves up to demonic forces, and who, through their ways and deeds, falsify their true being.

“I, Jesus, sent my angel to report these things to your assembled communities. I AM the root and stock of David, the star who unfolds his brightness in the morning”.

And the Spirit and the Bride, the Holy City, say, “Come!

Water of Life, Blake

And may he who hears also say, “Come!” And may the thirsty come, and may everyone who wants it get to drink the Water of Life freely, as grace.

Everyone who hears can find his inmost being strengthened in the prophetic words of this book. Whoever does not yet sense its greatness and truth, God will lead him to full knowledge through the trials of destiny which are written in this book.

And whoever diminishes the words of this prophecy, God will remove from him his share in the Tree of Life that overcomes death, and his share in the Holy City written about in this book.

He who lends these words their power says:

“Yes, I am coming quickly!”

Yea, so be it. Amen:

Come, Jesus our Lord

The grace of the Lord Jesus, be with you all!

5^th Sunday November Trinity

November 29, 2007

The end of the Book of Revelation, 22:112-21

In this festive season, we may attend celebrations which inspire us to wear our holiday best. Clean fresh festive garments help elevate us to the level of celebration.

“Blessed are those who cleanse their garments so that they will have power in the realm of the Tree of Life that overcomes death, and may go through the gates into the Holy City.” [1]

We have God-given powers of soul, soul garments, which have become sullied through coarse earthly work and pleasures. We are fortunate if through grace we can cleanse these soul garments and purify them so that we are fit to present ourselves in the realm of the Tree of Life at the gates of the Holy City.

We purify our soul garments by developing our use of the senses in such a way that they reveal the divine in the world. We strive to keep ourselves from being enslaved to mere earthly pleasures that are connected with demonic beings; from being enslaved to forces of destruction and lies.

 

Through our cleansing of the soul garments, our true being shines forth. Through our cleansing of soul we fit ourselves to be at the foot of Him who is the Tree of Life, He who is rooted in a divine-human ancestral line and is crowned with the morning star. There we find ourselves graced to be partaking of the effervescence of His Waters of Life.

Joy fulfiller…our spirits refresh as well:

So that God’s fruits of grace…we enjoy.[2]

We find ourselves graced to be at the great gathering, entering the bridal Holy City of God.

www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1] Rev. 21:14.

[2] Catharina Regina von Greiffenberg, “On the Fruit-Providing Autumn Season”, in Women in Praise of the Sacred, ed. by Jane Hirschfield, p. 153.

5th November Trinity 2012, The Joyous Wedding

4^th  or  5^th November Trinity

The end of Revelation 22: 12-21

“Watch, I am coming soon, and I will have my rewards with me so as to give to each person what his deeds amount to. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the goal.”

Blessed are those who cleanse their garments so that they will have power in the realm of the Tree of Life, which overcomes death, and may go through the gates into the Holy City. Outside shall remain those who are bound to low senses, those who serve evil powers, who walk impure paths of soul, who spread death around them, who give themselves up to demonic forces, and who, through their ways and deeds, falsify their true being.

“I, Jesus, sent my angel to report these things to your assembled communities. I AM the root and stock of David, the star who unfolds his brightness in the morning”.

And the Spirit and the Bride, the Holy City, say, “Come!

And may he who hears also say, “Come!” And may the thirsty come, and may everyone who wants it get to drink the Water of Life freely, as grace.

Everyone who hears can find his inmost being strengthened in the prophetic words of this book. Whoever does not yet sense its greatness and truth, God will lead him to full knowledge through the trials of destiny which are written in this book.

And whoever diminishes the words of this prophecy, God will remove from him his share in the Tree of Life that overcomes death, and his share in the Holy City written about in this book.

He who lends these words their power says:

“Yes, I am coming quickly!”

Yea, so be it. Amen:

Come, Jesus our Lord

The grace of the Lord Jesus, be with you all!

5^th November Trinity

November 25, 2012

Revelation 22:12-21

When we receive a wedding invitation, first of all, we rejoice for the bride and

Roland Tiller

groom. They have found love in one another and are joining forces. Then we must decide whether we will attend; and what we shall wear.

This ending of the Revelation to John extends to us a wedding invitation. ‘Come!” it says. The invitation comes from the Spirit Bridegroom, whose very being is love, and the bride, the Holy City, the community of all those who have joined their lives to the Holy Spirit.

“‘Come!” they say. Join us in the great and joyous wedding of the God of Love and the Soul of Humanity. Drink the Waters of Life with us. Gather strength for what is always coming towards you from the future. Join us in preparing for what follows the wedding—the gracious birth—the arrival of the Son of Man.

We all receive the invitation, a standing invitation that arrives daily, weekly, yearly. Daily as an invitation to quiet prayer and contemplation; weekly as an invitation to the divine service that dedicates the souls of individuals and the soul of the community itself as an offering to the divine—the Act of Consecration of Man. And every year, at this time, the invitation is renewed as we are reminded of the great goal of humanity’s existence—union with God.

In answering these invitations, we are attiring ourselves for the wedding, in soul garments clean and radiant. We are preparing ourselves for the wedding and the New Birth of the One who calls Himself the initiator and the goal.

www.thechristiancommunity.org

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5th November Trinity 2013, the New Earth

5th November Trinity

Revelation 21:9 - 27

And there came to me one of the seven angels who have the seven bowls filled with the last seven plagues of the world; and he spoke with me and said, “Come, I will show you the eternal Feminine, the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

The New Jerusalem

And he carried me in spirit-form up to a great high mountain, and let me see how the Holy City, Jerusalem, the City of Peace, descended out of the spiritual worlds, coming forth from the being of God, wrapped in the most intimate splendor of the revelation of God.

Her shining is like that of a precious gemstone, like the stone jasper, clear as crystal.

Her walls are of mighty size and height; she has twelve gates and at the gates stand twelve angels. On the gates are written the names of the twelve sons of Israel; three gates from the East, three gates from the North, three gates from the South, and three gates from the West.

And the wall of the City rests on twelve sacred foundations, and the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb work in them.

And he who spoke with me carried a golden measuring rod, in order to measure the City and her gates and her walls.

And the City is spread out in a square; her length is the same as her width. And he measured the City with the measuring rod. It measured twelve thousand miles; the length and breadth and height were alike. And he measured her walls at one hundred forty-four cubits [ells], the measure of a man, which now the angel was using.

The covering of her walls was of jasper, and the City herself of purified gold, clear as glass. And the sacred foundation of the wall were adorned with every precious stone:

Topaz

the first, a jasper,

the second, a sapphire,

the third, a chalcedony,

the fourth, emerald,

the fifth sardonyx,

the sixth, carnelian,

the seventh, chrysolite,

the eighth, beryl,

the ninth, topaz,

the tenth, chrysoprase

the eleventh, hyacinth,

the twelfth, an amethyst.

The twelve gates were twelve pearls, and each of the gates made of a single pearl. And the city was of purified gold, like a transparent crystal.

I did not see a temple in the City, for the Lord God, Ruler of All, is her sanctuary, and the Lamb.

And the City needs neither sun nor moon, for she shines from within; for the shining revelation of God is streaming brightness in her, and her light is the Lamb.

And all nations shall walk in her light, and the rulers of the earth will carry their spiritual treasures into her. And her gates will never be closed by day, for there, night will be no more.

And all the shining treasures of the revelations of the world, and all the spiritual worth of the nations will be brought into her.

And nothing can enter which is not spiritualized, nothing which perverts the image of Man, nothing which remains under the power of the Lie, but rather only those who are written into the Book of Life of the Lamb. 

5th November Trinity

November 24, 2013

Revelation 21:9 – 27

Today’s reading describes a beautiful bejeweled city. Who has built this city? One hint is that it is laid out according to the measure of a human being.

This city’s foundations are layered and named after the twelve apostles. For together the twelve apostles represent all the potential virtues of humanity, gifted to us from the stars. The sun-gold of the heart is here transparent. The twelve gateways are formed of pearl, which is the lustrous outcome of suffering endured.

This future city will have been built by human beings, out of the treasure house of all human work, of all noble thought and feeling. It is the city that humanity as a whole is even now in the process of building. We are laying the gem-like foundations with the development of our virtues. We are fashioning the gateways with our suffering. We are ensuring the transparent sun-gold light by offering our heart’s best to Christ.

We are building our future home. All of this is being harbored in the heart of God. And when time is ripe it will emerge from God’s heart as the place where heaven and earth are joined, the new earth. It is the place where humanity and the divine dwell together, within one another. 

www.thechristiancommunity.org