3rd Epiphany 2012, Pernicious Self-Pity

3^rd Epiphany

Matthew 8, 1-13

When he came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him. And

Wierex Bible

behold, a man with leprosy approached him, and kneeling down before him said, “Lord, if you are willing, you are able to make me clean.”

Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.”

And immediately he was cleared of his leprosy. And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one. But go and show yourself to the priests and offer to them the gift that Moses commanded as a testimony of your cleansing.”

When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a Roman captain, leader of a hundred soldiers, approached him, pleading with him and saying, “Lord, my boy lies at home, paralyzed, suffering great pain.”

Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”

The centurion answered, saying, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof. Just say a word, and my boy will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. If I say one word to this one—‘Go, ’ he goes, and if I tell another ‘Come,’ he comes. If I tell my servant ‘Do this,’ he does it.

Hearing this, Jesus was amazed and said to those following him, “Amen, the truth I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great power of trust. And I tell you, that many will come from the east and from the west and will take their places at the feast with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of the heavens. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the darkness of [godforsaken] external existence, where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go home.  Let it be done to you as you have believed.” And the boy was healed in that hour.

3^rd Epiphany

January 22, 2012

Matthew 8: 1-13

The small child trusts that the world is a good place. When it gets sick, it suffers in the moment; but deep in its soul, it knows that soon things will get better.

By the time we are adults, things get more complicated. Our illnesses may be chronic. Our hopes may have been dashed so many times that our souls are chronically despondent.

The gospel reading speaks of two souls whose relationship to illness and to the divine world is the opposite of despair. In fact the nature of their relationship, both to their illness, and to the divine world, is so healthy that it makes physical healing possible. For indeed it is the unhealthy soul that is the ultimate cause of bodily illness.

The leper suffers from a chronic disease that destroys the human form. Yet he does not wallow in that pernicious form of egotism we call self-pity. Instead he humbly states to the One Higher that if it is God’s will, he could be cleansed. It is not even a request; it is a simple statement, a testament to his trust that God knows best.

The Roman centurion was actually in a position of great power over this itinerant Jewish healer. Yet he too recognizes his place in the great hierarchy of the universe. Not only is he willing to humbly ask for a healing on behalf of his servant; he is also willing to acknowledge that the Logos, the Word of God, commands great power, even at a distance.

The words at the communion echo those of the centurion. We humbly acknowledge that the dwelling into which Christ is entering is unhealthy; but even greater than our humility is our trust in the power of God to heal our souls. For we know that all true healing comes from God.

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3rd Epiphany 2014, Bear Much Fruit

John 2, 1-11

3^rd Epiphany

On the third day a wedding took place in Cana in Galilee and the mother of Jesus was there. And Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding.

When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”

And Jesus answered her, “Something still weaves between me and you, o Woman. The hour when I can work out of myself alone has not yet come.”

Then his mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

There were six stone jars set up there for the Jewish custom of ceremonial washing, each containing twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with fresh water.”

And they filled them to the brim. And he said, “Now draw some out and take it to the Master of the feast. And they brought it to him.

Now when the Master of the feast tasted the water that had become wine, not knowing where it came from—for only the servants who had drawn the water knew—he called the bridegroom aside and said to him, “Everyone serves the choice wine first, and when the guests have drunk, then the lesser; but you have saved the best until now.”

This, the beginning of the signs of the spirit which Jesus performed among men happened at Cana in Galilee and revealed the creating spiritual power that worked through Him. The disciples’ hearts opened, the power of faith began to stir in them, and they began to trust in him.

3^rd Epiphany

January 26, 2014

John 2: 1-11

Baby ducklings or goslings, when they first come out of their eggs, will view as parent whomever or whatever they first see. If they first see a dog, or a human, this will become their parent. This imprinting seems to illustrate a kind of law in other social spheres; that how things begin imprint a kind of signature on how they will continue.

This wedding at Cana is the first sign Christ works with the earth, with the feminine, with humanity.

Woloschina

The mother, the feminine soul, sees the need for more wine; she is aware of the social implications. At this point Christ is a kind of newborn, fresh from His Baptism. His feminine side is still operating from outside himself, through the mother. Yet in trust she leaves up to Him what he will do—‘do whatever he tells you,’ she says. And He draws up pure, fresh, effervescent water from Mother Earth herself. The water is so full of life, so stimulating, that it is indistinguishable from wine.

In time He will integrate the feminine into Himself and will be able to work ‘out of himself alone.’ He himself will become the Vine that reaches deep into the earth. He will change the waters of earth into the wine of His blood. He will pour it out in offering to both to the earth and to all of humanity.  He, today the wedding guest, will tomorrow become the Bridegroom. He will become the King’s Son at the marriage feast. He will wed the Soul of Humanity. Together, He and we will bear much fruit. 

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3rd Epiphany 2013, Not My Will

3^rd Epiphany

Matthew 8, 1-13

When he came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him. And behold, a man with leprosy approached him, and kneeling down before him said, “Lord, if you are willing, you are able to make me clean.”

Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.”

And immediately he was cleared of his leprosy. And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one. But go and show yourself to the priests and offer to them the gift that Moses commanded as a testimony of your cleansing.”

When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a Roman captain, leader of a hundred soldiers, approached him, pleading with him and saying, “Lord, my boy lies at home, paralyzed, suffering great pain.”

Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”

The centurion answered, saying, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof. Just say a word, and my boy will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. If I say one word to this one—‘Go, ’ he goes, and if I tell another ‘Come,’ he comes. If I tell my servant ‘Do this,’ he does it.

Hearing this, Jesus was amazed and said to those following him, “Amen, the truth I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great power of trust. And I tell you, that many will come from the east and from the west and will take their places at the feast with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of the heavens. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the darkness of [godforsaken] external existence, where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go home.  Let it be done to you as you have believed.”

And the boy was healed in that hour.

3^rd Epiphany

January 20, 2013

Matthew 8: 1-13

If one wants to go to a place, one has to take steps to get there. Mere wishing, even strong desire, isn’t enough. One has to get on one’s feet and make one’s way, step by step. One has to walk to the place of the destiny meeting.

In today’s reading, the two men receive the healing they ask for because they each made their way to their destiny meeting with Christ. They walked not only the outer path to Him, but also an inner one. They each found their way to the place of paradox, an inner place where they could be both active and at the same time humbly receptive. The leper is sensitive to the Christ Will—if You are willing… he says. The centurion is humbly devoted to the potency of the Christ Word—just say a word, he says.

Both of them operate out of an archetypal health-bringing attitude; this attitude is to be cultivated in all human suffering— Christ Jesus, the divine human Himself portrayed it in Gethsemane—Not my will, but Thine be done.

For God Himself has a road in mind for humanity to walk—an evolutionary road toward a higher awareness of our divine human purpose. What role we as individuals have to play in the greater picture is not always obvious.

The leper wants healing for himself, so that he can rejoin his community. May we approach Christ to cleanse us of leprous thoughts, of contagious malignity, so that we do not bring our soul illness into the community. The centurion, well ordered into his human community, asks for healing for another. May we so care for those in our community that we too are active in approaching Christ on their behalf. 

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2nd Epiphany 2007, Time to Develop

2^nd Epiphany

Luke 2, 41-52

Christ Among the Doctors, unknown

Every year his [Jesus’] parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they took him with them. Now after they had gone there and fulfilled the custom during the days of the feast, they set off on their way home. But the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know this; they thought he was among the company of the travelers. After a day’s journey they missed him among their friends and relations. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.

After three days they found him in the Temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And those who heard him were amazed at his mature understanding and his answers.

And when they saw him, they were taken aback, and his mother said to him, “My child, why have you done this to us? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.”

And he said to them, “Why did you look for me? Did you not know that I must be and live in that which is my Father’s?”

But they did not understand the meaning of the words he spoke to them. And he went down with them again to Nazareth and followed them willingly in all things.

And his mother carefully kept all these things living in her heart. And Jesus progressed in wisdom, in maturity and grace [favor] in the sight of God and man.

2^nd Epiphany

January 14, 2007

Luke 2: 41-52

Whenever we travel, we experience many new things. Encountering the new is stimulating. Sometimes what we encounter strikes such a deep chord of resonance in us that it is life-altering. When we return home we are someone different.

Pinturicchio

In the Gospel reading, the twelve-year-old Jesus travels to Jerusalem for the Passover. For Him the journey is profoundly life-altering. He recognizes the temple as His spiritual home. There is a deep resonance, not only for Him, but also for those who are there. They notice that here is someone remarkable.

Yet from this peak experience, he goes down again to His much humbler home in Nazareth, with his devoted parents who clearly don’t understand what has happened to Him.

One can think of this scene as a picture for what sometimes happens in a human life. And we can see the players as parts of a single human being: the young boy as that eternal part of ourselves which is nevertheless ever evolving; the mother as our own soul, who worries, searches, seeks to understand, remembers and ponders; Joseph as the father in us who does his best to guide and protect, only to find control slipping out of his hands; and God, the divinity who calmly observes our development and bestows his blessings.

The story could have been different: Jesus could have been so overtaken by His reception in Jerusalem and the depth of His own conviction of calling that He could have been tempted, as many a youth has, to break away from his family and remain there. But it would have been too soon. Some deep wisdom, His love for his parents, some practice of self-submission guides Him back home where He can quietly ripen in the cocoon of Nazareth.

Not all early promise needs to manifest fully right away. Things need their time to develop. God will guide our eternally young selves in the ways we need to go on our journeys. And when we return to our true home, we too will be different, having progressed in wisdom, in maturity and in grace. 

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2nd Epiphany 2008, North Star

2^nd Epiphany

Borgnone

Luke 2, 41-52

Every year his [Jesus’] parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they took him with them. Now after they had gone there and fulfilled the custom during the days of the feast, they set off on their way home. But the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know this; they thought he was among the company of the travelers. After a day’s journey they missed him among their friends and relations. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.

After three days they found him in the Temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And those who heard him were amazed at his mature understanding and his answers.

And when they saw him, they were taken aback, and his mother said to him, “My child, why have you done this to us? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.”

And he said to them, “Why did you look for me? Did you not know that I must be and live in that which is my Father’s?”

But they did not understand the meaning of the words he spoke to them. And he went down with them again to Nazareth and followed them willingly in all things.

And his mother carefully kept all these things living in her heart. And Jesus progressed in wisdom, in maturity and grace [favor] in the sight of God and man.

2^nd Epiphany Sunday

January 13, 2008

Luke 2:41-52

From a seed a little green shoot rises up. And shoots multiply themselves until a form appears, a plant, a bush, a tree. But one day something new appears – a green bud opens to reveal, not another set of leaves, but a blossom. It is altogether different from what went before. It is a preparation for fruitfulness.

Something like this happens in the early teen years. Parents awaken to a stranger in the house – someone new and unpredictable; someone with their own agenda. The bud has opened.

This dynamic continues throughout our lives. For a while things hum along with more of the same. But eventually something new makes itself known – perhaps a new phase requiring us to master different tasks; perhaps a loss that opens the way for the discovery of a new gift or purpose. And frequently we don’t understand until later that it is the basis for our fruitfulness.

Christ Jesus is our guiding star in all of this. He Himself, as a human being, went through great changes and great losses. He is our North Star, the One on whom we can fix our gaze while all else is furiously changing. He helps us find that which is our Father’s.

One of the early desert mothers said:

Observe the trees. Just as they

must  endure the winter’s storms

before they can bear fruit, so it is

with us. This troubled age is our own

destructive storm. Enduring

its trials and temptations, we obtain

our inheritance, our flowering, this new

fruitfulness, and also enter heaven’s kingdom.[1]

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[1] Mother Theodora of Egypt (c. 340 – 410 AD.) “Sayings”, in Love’s Immensity, Mystics on the Endless Life, Scott Cairns, p. 42.

2nd Epiphany 2009, Embedded in a Whole

2^nd Epiphany

Luke 2, 41-52

Every year his [Jesus’] parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they took him with them. Now after they had gone there and fulfilled the custom during the days of the feast, they set off on their way home. But the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know this; they thought he was among the company of the travelers. After a day’s journey they missed him among their friends and relations. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.

After three days they found him in the Temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And those who heard him were amazed at his mature understanding and his answers.

And when they saw him, they were taken aback, and his mother said to him, “My child, why have you done this to us? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.”

And he said to them, “Why did you look for me? Did you not know that I must be and live in that which is my Father’s?”

But they did not understand the meaning of the words he spoke to them. And he went down with them again to Nazareth and followed them willingly in all things.

And his mother carefully kept all these things living in her heart. And Jesus progressed in wisdom, in maturity and grace [favor] in the sight of God and man.

2^nd Epiphany Sunday

January 18, 2009

Luke 2: 41 – 52

It is such an everyday occurrence that it fails perhaps to amaze: after sending out green leaf after green leaf, suddenly something new appears—a complete change of form and color into blossom; and further on, a change into fruit. Nothing in the leaf predicts these changes.

Human lives too often undergo astounding transformations. The child who year after year just grows bigger suddenly transforms into a stranger. Or years of doing the same thing as an adult result in a change of career. Or a chance encounter turns the direction of a life.

This archetypal pattern was taken up by the young Jesus and guided into

three channels.

As an infant he had received from the three Magi three inner gifts: the radiant gold of wisdom; religious devotion in fragrant frankincense, and the healing capacity in self-sacrifice in bitter-sweet myrrh.

Through the youth’s own inner efforts, these gifts progress into the all-embracing world knowledge of his people. His reverence develops into devotion to both his Heavenly Father and his earthly parents. And despite the glorious revelation of his nature in the Temple, his capacity for mature and wise self-sacrifice returns him to his humble home in quiet beauty and grace.

He achieves wisdom, maturity and grace through his active struggle to balance the inner demands of a changing soul with the requirements of earthly life. 

There are times in our lives when we humbly and patiently send out our green leaves, building a sustaining inner and outer structure. Then comes the moment of blossoming revelation, when our work shows its true purpose, embedded in a greater whole. We  continue then to develop fruitfulness, not so much for ourselves, as for nourishing and sustaining others, for life itself.

Wisdom, maturity and grace are the fruits of the soul’s work, the signs of an individual in alignment with both self and the world. One day this young man, by dint of his own work on himself to produce wisdom, maturity, and grace, would be qualified to say, “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit… You shall recognize them by their fruits.” Matthew 7:18-20

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2nd Epiphany 2010, Turbulence of Change

2^nd Epiphany

Luke 2, 41-52

Ferrari

Every year his [Jesus’] parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they took him with them. Now after they had gone there and fulfilled the custom during the days of the feast, they set off on their way home. But the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know this; they thought he was among the company of the travelers. After a day’s journey they missed him among their friends and relations. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.

After three days they found him in the Temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And those who heard him were amazed at his mature understanding and his answers.

And when they saw him, they were taken aback, and his mother said to him, “My child, why have you done this to us? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.”

And he said to them, “Why did you look for me? Did you not know that I must be and live in that which is my Father’s?”

But they did not understand the meaning of the words he spoke to them. And he went down with them again to Nazareth and followed them willingly in all things.

And his mother carefully kept all these things living in her heart. And Jesus progressed in wisdom, in maturity and grace [favor] in the sight of God and man.

2^nd Epiphany

January 17, 2010

Luke 2, 41 – 52

Over time a plant changes its form: from seed to shoot; shoots become the fullness of leaves; leaves transform into flowers and fruits.

We too undergo changes of form: from infant to toddler, from child to youth. The transformation in adolescence is a huge one. The change of form is accompanied by the awakening of new possibilities. As the body undergoes a major overhaul, our own personal destiny begins to awaken. There are flashes of what the adult will one day become. It brings with it new and surprising elements, unfamiliar and bewildering to parents.

12 year old Jesus, Dürer

The young Jesus gives us some indication of how the human spirit negotiates the turbulence of change, how to handle the cross-pull of inner and outer demands. In the Temple, He awakens to His destiny as a teacher. He recognizes that He belongs in this house of His heavenly Father. But His stroke of insight is not yet the full picture. For this is just the first of many transformations, which will ultimately make Him a healer, a prophet, the High Priest and Savior of humanity.

And so when challenged by His parents, He willingly assents to return with them. Although now very different, He weaves Himself into His present situation, into being the young son of His parents. Neither He, nor His mother, forgets what they have glimpsed.  He weaves together future growth into the present situation.

We too can see in this a productive way of integrating future and present. We catch moments of inspiration. It may not yet be the right moment, either for us, or for outer circumstances, for their fulfillment. But we can remember them, ponder them in our hearts. And then, perhaps after many changes and transformations, we will be positioned for fulfillment. And in so doing we too will blossom and bear fruit in wisdom, in maturity, and in grace. 

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