New Year's Day 2015, Choose to Evolve

January 1, 2015

1^st Colossians, 15 -20

Creation of Adam, Chartres

The Son is the visible image of the invisible God, the first-born over all created beings. For in him has come into existence everything that is in the heavens and on the earth, the visible and the invisible world, the Thrones and the World Guides, the Archai and the Creator Spirits. All things were created through him and for him. He was there before all else, and everything coheres in him. And he is the head of the body, and his body is the great community of congregations. He is also the very beginning,  and the firstborn among those who rise from the dead, so that he may be the One who goes before in all thing and everything. For in him all fullness of God was pleased to dwell, to transform and to reconcile everything to himself, laying the foundations of peace through the blood of his cross.  Through him all beings on the earth as well as in the heavenly spheres are to attain their goal.

  

January 1, 2015

1^st Colossians, 15 -20

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, darkness was over the surface of the deep and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters. Genesis 1

Thus begins creation; it is dark and empty. Yet God’s bright spirit moves over the waters, and there appears – a face. 

What did the spirit of God see as it hovered over the primal waters? Was it a reflection of His own face? The intimation of our own? Could it be that the plan from the beginning was that we human beings would one day wear the face of God? Is that what He saw in the beginning?

A face is both the beginning and a culmination of the process of creation, which so far has created the faces of both animal and human faces.

There is a story in which a man’s portrait, which is kept hidden in his attic, changes throughout his life to portray the real inner state of his soul, while his outer face remains handsome and youthful. Evolution, human development, continues. But now our evolution and change happens through our own choices.

Christ, who was there at the beginning of creation, is the God-Become-Human, the Human God. He came to help us evolve ourselves, so that one day we too will wear our true faces, the face of our true selves. One day, when God looks into our faces, he will see Himself reflected there. 

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Holy Nights, December 28, 2014, Grow Me

Philippians 2: 5 – 16

December 28, 2014

Be imbued with the same state of mind that also filled Christ Jesus himself: For, although he was of divine nature and form, he chose not to lay claim for himself to be equal to God.  Rather, he emptied himself in offering and took on the form of a servant. In human form he took on body and he showed himself in the form of a man throughout his whole life. Humbly and selflessly he submitted to the laws of earth-existence, even to the experience of the death on the cross.

Therefore God has also exalted him to the highest heights and given him the name which is above every other name. 

In the name of Jesus the knees of all beings should bow, in the heavens, on the earth, and in the depths of existence. And so that the Father, the Ground of all existence shall be revealed, every tongue should acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord!

Therefore, my dear friends, just as you always did—listen to the voice of the spirit, not only when I am with you, but now all the more since I am far away from you. Work with anxious effort and trembling expectation, to the end that the realm of healing power may open to you. For it is God who awakens the will in you and who brings about the fulfillment, so that everything can become good.

Do not let yourselves be held back in that work by sluggishness of the will or by restless thoughts which make you indecisive. , Only so can you live, without blemish and falseness, as pure, “children of God in the midst of a dissipated and twisted humanity.” You are to shine among human beings like bright stars in the sky by keeping to the Word of Life.

Holy Nights

December 28, 2014

Philippians 2: 5 – 16

The sky can be filled with clouds. They can obscure the light of the sun. But above the clouds, the sun continues to shine forth its brightness, illuminating the clouds themselves.  Even when the sun sets, seeming to be swallowed up by darkness, it is nonetheless shining, continuing to illuminate the earth.

Christ, the Light of the World, the Sun-God, entered the form of the human being. Gradually his brightness was clouded over by the human constitution, until finally, like the sun at the end of the day, His light seemed to disappear into the darkness of death. Yet He continued to shine in the depths. He is the seed that will grow the earth into a new sun, a new star.

Since then, Christ has entered the form of all human beings. He dwells in us as a Light-Seed, as the potential for us to become shining miniature suns. He hopes we will hear his voice calling us, as the voice within that says: Become! Develop! Grow me within you!

He is waiting for us to cultivate Him in the depths of our souls, in the hearts of our communities, to grow His being in us.

“For [as Paul says] we are to shine…like bright stars in the sky by keeping to the Word of Life.”

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Christmas III, Day, December 25, 2014, Feed, Guide, Nourish

Christmas III

John 21: 15-25

Now is proclaimed the end of the entire gospel according to John in the 21st chapter:

After they had had held their meal together, Jesus said to Simon Peter: “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than the others here? Peter answered, “Lord you know that I am your friend”. Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”

And he said to him again, a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I am devoted to you.” Jesus said to him, “Shepherd my young sheep.”

He asked him a third time, “Simon, Son of John, Are you my friend?” Peter was heartbroken that he could say to him the third time, ‘Are you my friend’, and he answered, “Lord, you know all things; therefore you know that I am devoted to you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. Amen the truth I say to you, when you were younger you girded yourself and walked wherever you wished. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands and Another will gird you and lead you where you do not wish to go.”

He told him this to indicate the kind of death by which he would bring the divine to revelation. Then he said to him, “Follow me.”

But Peter, turning, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved, following him. He was the one who had leaned upon his breast at the supper and had asked, “Lord, who is it who betrays you?”  When Peter now saw him, his asked, “Lord, what of this man, what is his task?”

Jesus said to him: If is my will that he remain until my coming, that does not affect your path. Follow me…”

From this day the story spread among the brethren that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, “If it is my will that he remain until my coming, that does not affect your path.”

This is the disciple who here bears witness to these things and who has written all this. And we know that his testimony is true. There are also many other things that Jesus did. If they were to be written down one by one, I do not think that the world itself could contain the books that would have to be written.

Christmas III, Day

December 25, 2014

John 21: 15-25

Christ came to earth as the seed of a new kind of human being. This new kind of human being is to rise in freedom above the compulsions of fear. It grows in the light of Truth. It perceives that the meaning of our existence on earth is to learn how to love.

Three times before the crucifixion, Peter had denied any relationship to Christ, the Being of Love. And after the resurrection, he is given the chance to redeem himself:  three times Christ asks him, ‘Do you love me?’ Peter is given instructions about the path of love: nourish and guide what is developing within those who are on the path of love. Feed my little ones; guide, shepherd the growing ones; feed the grown. Keep their evolving souls alive.

This is the task of the Peter who exists in all of us. Loving God means finding ways to support God’s growth within our fellow human beings; feeding and supporting their spirits, their soul, perhaps even their bodies. And we do so by being guided and fed by the one who called himself, whom we call, the Good Shepherd. For as the poet says:

Who shall keep thy sheep,

Lord, and lose not one?

Who save one shall keep,

Lest the shepherds sleep?

Who beside the Son?

…

The shepherds sing; and shall I silent be?

My God, no hymn for Thee?

My soul's a shepherd too; a flock it feeds

Of thoughts, and words, and deeds.

The pasture is Thy words; the streams, Thy grace

Enriching all the place.

Shepherd and flock shall sing, and all my powers

Out-sing the daylight hours.

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Christmas II, Dawn, December 25, 2014, Sun Sings

Christmas II

Luke 2: 1-20

Now is proclaimed the [middle of the Gospel[s], according to Luke in the second chapter.

Now it came to pass in those days that a proclamation went out from Caesar Augustus that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone set out to be enrolled, each to the town of his ancestors.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he belonged to the house and lineage of David. He went to be enrolled with Mary his betrothed. And Mary was with child. And it came to pass that while they were there, the time was fulfilled for her to be delivered. And she bore her son, her first-born. And she wrapped him in linen and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Blake

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks in the night. And an angel of the Lord came upon them [appeared before them] and the light of the revelation of God shone about them. And great fear came upon them [they felt the fear of fears].

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for I announce to you a great joy, which shall be for all men on earth: today is born unto you the Bringer of Healing, in the city of David,  Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign for you: you will find a little child wrapped in linen, lying in a manger.”

And suddenly around the angel was the fullness of the heavenly angelic hosts: their song of praise sounded forth to the highest:

God’s Spirit reveals itself in the heights

And brings peace to men of earth

In whose hearts good will dwells!

And as the angels withdrew from them into the heavens, the shepherds said to one another:

“Let us go to Bethlehem to see the fulfillment of the Word that has happened here, which the Lord let be proclaimed.”

And they came hastening, and found both Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger. And when they had seen, they made known the Word that was spoken to them concerning this child. [or, When they saw that, they understood what had been told them concerning this child.] And all who heard it were astonished about what the shepherds said.

But Mary treasured [preserved] all these words, pondering them [turning them over] in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God to everyone for everything they had heard and seen, which was just as it had been announced to them.

Bonnell

Christmas II, Dawn

December 25, 2014

Luke 2: 1-20

At certain times of the year, especially in spring, birds create a choral symphony in the dark before dawn. It is as if they want to announce to the world the arrival of a new day, the arrival of the light. When the sun actually rises, their song of praise falls silent. In the silence, if we could but hear, the Sun itself, the dwelling place of high choirs of angels, begins to sing. If we could but hear, we would perceive how the light-filled singing Word calls forth the plants, the animals, ourselves.

The angels sang to the shepherds at night, before dawn. They sang to announce the dawning of the light of the world. The shepherds’ hearts were perceptive. They heard the singing of the angelic chorus. They looked for the light that was dawning, the light of love that they found shining from the Child’s eyes. And their own words of praise ignited in their hearts and poured forth from their lips.

Vladimir Borovikovsy

Love, healing light-filled love, has been born to us. One day the true light will have dawned upon all of humanity. And all shall see and praise, as the poet says:

But the sun is one,

And the sun's name Right;

And when light is none

Saving of the sun,

All men shall have light.

All shall see and be

Parcel of the morn;

Ay, though blind were we,

None shall choose but see

When that day is born[1]

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[1] Christmas Antiphones by Algernon Charles Swinburne

Christmas I, Midnight, December 25, 2014, The Rescuer

Christmas I, Midnight

December 25, 2014

Matthew 1: 1 -25

[Now is proclaimed the beginning of the whole Gospel, according to Matthew in the first chapter.]

This is the book of the new creation, which has happened through Jesus Christ [or, the generation of Jesus Christ], a son of David, who is a son of Abraham.

….

From Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David to the deportation to Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the exile in Babylon to Christ are fourteen generations.

The birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way: Mary, his mother, was betrothed to Joseph. But before they were aware of having come together, she conceived a child by the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph however, her husband, who was an upright man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, was considering whether he should quietly set her free [or, decided to consider all this a mystery.] As he was pondering this, behold the angel of the Lord appeared before him in a dream and said to him:

 “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because that which is to be born of her is conceived out of the power of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall give him the name Jesus, that is, the Bringer of Healing, for he it will be who will heal his own of their error and guilt. “

All this took place so that the word of the Lord, spoken by the mouth of the prophet, might be fulfilled:

“A virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and they will call his name Immanuel, that is, God in our midst.”

               

Now when Joseph rose from his sleep he did as the angel of the Lord directed him, and he took Mary to himself as his wife, and he knew her not until she bore her son, and he gave him the name Jesus. 

Christmas I, Midnight

Dec 25, 2014

Time is turning. Midnight is becoming the early morning of a new day. Its actual dawn is yet to come. But it is on the way.

This reading from the beginning of all the gospels is a kind of preamble. In the dream time, an angel announces to Joseph the striking of a new hour, a new day. The angel announces what will soon be the arrival of Jesus, whose name means help or rescuer. He will become the bearer of the Son of God. And he will rescue humankind from their error and guilt.

The greater new day is again approaching. The Light of the World is drawing near. We can sense His healing in our praying. The poet said:

Thou whose birth on earth

Wilfried Ogilvie, In the Beginning

Angels sang to men,

While thy stars made mirth,

Saviour, at thy birth,

This day born again;

As this night was bright

With thy cradle-ray,

Very light of light,

Turn the wild world's night

To thy perfect day.

Thou whose face gives grace

As the sun's doth heat,

Let thy sunbright face

Lighten time and space

Here beneath thy feet.

Bid our peace increase,

Thou that madest morn;

Bid oppressions cease;

Bid the night be peace;

Bid the day be born.[1]

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[1] Christmas Antiphones by Algernon Charles Swinburne

4th Advent 2014, Yes

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.

Christ the Divine Physician

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.

4^th Advent

December 21, 2014

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

You may have had the experience window shopping: you see the reflection of others in the glass; and you may have a particular experience of someone; perhaps one arouses a bit critical. And suddenly you are shocked to realize that you are looking at yourself.

At this season of the year we may be inclined think that somehow our deepest desires will be fulfilled; that we will be surrounded by the warmth and love of family and friends; that we will be contented. And so we may be surprised or even shocked that we may at the same time feel ourselves to be intensely alone, isolated and unfulfilled. And one of the uncomfortable revelations comes from catching an objective glimpse of ourselves.

What comes to our aid is our own objectivity. We can be helped by shedding light on the untruthfulness of our own illusions and delusions, on our own deceptive egotism. And we can set our sights instead on the image of the Coming One. The One who was present at the creation of the human being, who walked the paradisal garden amid the freshness of creation, He who is our higher self and our true being, He is drawing near. He is willing to enter into our tarnished circumstances. He is willing to enter the fallen domain of the heart, just as He once was born into degraded surroundings on earth. For he came, he continues to come, to hallow and to heal. The poet says:

Let the stable still astonish.

Straw–dirt floor, dull eyes,

Dusty flanks of donkeys, oxen;

Crumbling, crooked walls;

No bed to carry that pain,

And then, the child,

Rag-wrapped, laid to cry

In a trough.

Who would have chosen this?

Who would have said: “Yes,

Let the God of all the heavens and earth

Be born here, in this place?

Who but the same God

Who stands in the darker, fouler rooms

Of our hearts

And says, “Yes,

Let the God of Heaven and Earth

Be born here –

In this place.[1]

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[1] Leslie Leyland Fields, “Let the Stable Still Astonish”