3rd Easter 2016, Thieves and Robbers

3rd Easter

John 10: 1-21

“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.

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.

That is why the Father loves me - because I lay down my life that I may take it up anew. No one can take it from me.  But in full freedom I, myself offer it up. I have the power to give it away and also the power to receive it anew. That is the task given to me by my Father.”

Then there again arose a division among the people because of these words. Many of them said, “He is possessed by a demon and is out of his mind. Why do you listen to him?” Yet others said, “These are not the words of one who is possessed. After all, can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

3rd Easter

April 10, 2016

John 10: 1-21

Christian Science Monitor

We may get phone calls from people we don’t know. Aided by machines, armies of strangers try to enter our homes, intending to convince us, or sell us something, or even scam us. They are thieves who at the very least rob us of our precious time or money and the peace of our home sanctuary. Yet there is something we can do. We can use our own technology, our caller ID, to identify who is trying to enter and simply refuse to engage.

Our own souls have their inner thieves and robbers – thoughts that disturb or distress us, overwhelming emotions that compel is to do something, now! Yet some healthy corner of our souls knows that we ought not to listen to them. We can use our own inner process of naming, identifying the thoughts, emotions, and compulsions that would try to destroy our inner peace and health.

Christ the Good Shepherd helps us fight the intrusions of thieves and robbers. He is the giver of life and health to the soul, the giver of our joys, the comfort in our sorrows. He gives us our precious allotment of time, our peace and the creativity of love. He leads us to places of inner nourishment and freedom. Through him, we can take up our own lives and give them freely. 

2nd Easter 2017, Obey Thy Heart

2nd Easter

Artist unknown

Apr 3, 2016

John 20: 19-29

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 offences.”

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.”

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.”

Rembrandt, WikiCommons

2nd Easter

Apr 3, 2016

John 20: 19-29

In some cultures, it is customary that the birthday celebrant him or herself is the one to give out gifts to those celebrating with him. 

And so it is with The Risen One. After giving birth to his Resurrection Body on Easter, he proceeds to give his disciples a gift. He breathes the healing spirit of love into them. They are to work with this healing spiritual power in a way that strengthens others. 

To those who err, who fail, the disciples are to give strength, so that they can wrestle themselves out from under the burden of sin. They are to give them strength so that they can bear the consequences of their offenses. In Christ’s eyes sin is our failure to hit the target; it comes from our aiming too high, or falling short, or veering away from our true moral goals. And with the healing spirit, Christ came to help.

Thomas was not there the first Easter Sunday; the gospels do not say why. Was he perhaps afraid, and still in hiding? In any case, he apparently had the habit of fact-checking. Like many of us, he wanted to be sure, to have the evidence of his own senses rather than to believe the impossible on mere hearsay. And the Risen One gladly grants his request. It is as though He understands the value of a healthy skepticism. Reach out and see…

But at the same time, Christ warns against a heart that is rigid and untrusting; a heart that could say, despite evidence to the contrary, that it is still impossible. Such a heart cannot enter into relationship with Christ. In fact, for all his holding back, Thomas achieves a high degree of recognition and knowledge. Peter recognized the promised Messiah in Jesus; in the Risen One, Thomas recognizes Lord and God. As Emerson said,

Give all to love;

Obey thy heart;

…

’T is a brave master;

Let it have scope:

Follow it utterly,

Hope beyond hope:

…

Souls above doubt,

Valor unbending,

It will reward,—

They shall return

More than they were,

And ever ascending.*

*Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Give All to Love”

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Easter 2016, Sunrise Within Sunset

Easter Sunday

Mark 16: 1-18

Mileseva Monastery

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.”

Rembrandt

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 from 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.

Daniel Bonnell

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

He Qi

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 [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 unite themselves with it and will attend their path [believe]: 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 Sunday

Bartolomeo Schedoni

March 27, 2016

Mark 16: 1-18

On Good Friday, all of Christ Jesus’ friends experienced the ultimate sunset; the death of the Light of the World, the extinguishing of all their hopes. The world had been plunged into a silent darkness. And yet they had to go on.

The women go to the tomb to finish the task of honoring His body, which had been done in haste before sunset two days before. Immersed in their grief they approach the tomb. The first obstacle, the heavy stone covering the mouth of the cave, was strangely already rolled back. And in the predawn darkness, they see a shining man who tells them: Christ’s body is no longer in the grave; He, the Spirit-Sun in human form, has risen, shining into the realm of life. Tell everyone!

Collot d' Herbois

No one knows quite what to make of their unbelievable news; it flies in the face of everything they know. When his friends gradually finally experience Him themselves, there is shame over their unbelief.

Yet He makes the world even stranger by telling them, telling us, that through His power, there will arise new capacities. We will able to drive out demonic forces, speak a new kind of language, create a new kind of upright knowledge. We will be able to protect ourselves from harm and be able to heal others. This we will be able to do through the power of the One who shines within all worlds, both light and dark, He who continues to live in the realm of Death, enlivening it forevermore. 

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4th Passiontide, Palm Sunday 2016, Sunset, Son-Rise

4th Passiontide

Palm Sunday

Matthew 21: 1-11

And they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage by 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.”

4th Passiontide, Palm Sunday

Entry into Jerusalem, Ninetta SombartPalm Sunday

March 20, 2016

Matthew 21: 1-11

Just before sunrise, one can sense nature’s mood of anticipation. Light grows to a chorus of birdsong. Color emerges from gray. And as the sun peaks over the horizon, joy floods the earth with the light.

In today’s reading the people greet Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem like a sunrise. But for Christ Jesus himself, it is a time of sunset. He knows he is entering his demise. He knows that his time is short. And he knows that his task is great. For he must keep the light and color of his being unextinguished even as he travels into the darkness of death, into the depths of the earth.

Sunrise and sunset, light and dark, life and death – the great polarities will be reunited, made One, in His being. The great separation that began with the Fall of the human being, which ushered in sickness and death, will be bridged in Him. But first, his encounter with the kingdom of darkness, his wrestling with death. His victory was at that point by no means assured. But because of it, we will be able to be healed and strengthened, so that we too can walk through darkness and death, without the fear of being extinguished.

As Tagore said: Death is not the extinguishing of the light, but the putting out of the lamp, because Dawn has come.*

*Rabindranath Tagore

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3rd Passiontide 2016, Light Seeds

3^rd Passiontide

Ninetta Sombart

March 13, 2016

John 8: 21-29

And he went on: “I go away now, and you will seek me, and in your sin you will be subject to death. Where I am going you cannot come.” Then the Jews said, “Will he perhaps kill himself, since he says: Where I am going you cannot come?” And he said to them, “You come from below. I AM from above. You belong to this world which perishes, but I do not come from this world. That is why I said to you: You will be subject to death in your sins. If you do not fill yourselves with the power of my being, you will be subject to death in your sins.”

Then they said to him, ‘Who are you?” And Jesus answered, “Why do I still talk to you at all? There are many things which I could say about you and many things to judge. But HE who sent me is Truth itself, and so I speak out into the world what I have heard from HIM.”

But they did not understand that he was speaking to them of the Father. And Jesus went on, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the I AM. I do nothing out of myself, but I proclaim what the Father teaches me. He who sent me works in my working. He does not leave me on my own; what I do is always in accord with HIM.”

3^rd Passiontide

March 13, 2016

John 8: 21-29

The seed, when planted, sends out two shoots. The first one dives down into the earth; the second rises into the light and air. Eventually it is this second shoot that will blossom. It will produce the seeds of new life.

We are the seeds God has planted on earth. We lead a kind of double life. We must indeed root and ground ourselves in the earthly. We also are to seek the light of the Christ-Sun; blossom in His warmth, produce spiritual fruits and seeds of a new life. But for us there is a paradox.

artist unknown

In this reading, Christ reminds the people that he has sown himself on earth in the body of Jesus, and that he is about to grow himself in reverse, into the realm of death, into the body of the earth. There He will bring the light and warmth of the Spirit-Sun into the cold darkness of the underworld. He will blossom there and produce seeds of life within the realm of death.

At first, no one will be able to accompany him there but the light, the love, the life of His Father. But He is doing this so that we, who are bound to the earth and are destined to die, will be able to find His light and warmth, his life, forever here on earth, and even when we die. For he is the light that descends into the darkness. We need not fear it. As Rilke says:

You are not dead yet, it’s not too late

To open your depths by plunging into them

And drink in the life

That reveals itself quietly there. *

*Rainer M Rilke, “You see, I want a lot”, in Rilke’s Book of Hours, Barrows and Macy, p. 61

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2nd Passiontide 2016, Dark Hours

2^nd Passiontide

Ivan Aivasovsky, Wikicommons

John 6: 16 - 26

When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off over the sea for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. When they had rowed three or three and a half miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the sea; and they were terrified. But he said to them, "I AM, have no fear" Now when they wanted to take him into the boat, immediately the boat was at the land, at the place where they wanted to go.

The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone. Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.

When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?"

Jesus answered, “Amen, amen, the truth I say to you: You are seeking me not because you saw signs of spiritual power, but because you ate of the bread and were satisfied.

2^nd Passiontide

March 6, 2016

John 6: 16 - 26

Ivan Aivasovsky, Wikicommons

This gospel reading has something of the quality of a dream. It is night; the disciples are in a boat, working hard to make headway in rough seas. Suddenly they see Christ. He appears as if walking, a shining form above the waters. They shrink with fear, but he calms them with the assurance of his very being – it is I. And when they take him in, they are suddenly at their destination.

Our lives too are sometimes beset with darkness and rough passages. It is just at those times when Christ can make his ever-presence known to us. He assures us that fear is to be dispelled, because he is the Guide on our journey. With his aid, we will reach our goal of firm grounding.

Not only is he our guide for the way; he is also our bread for the way. Just as after a night on the sea of dreams, we come to the daytime shore refreshed, so too does Christ nourish our spirits. He gives us life and strength. We come to him trusting that we will survive with him, even in the darkest hours. Perhaps, like Rilke, we can even learn to love them. He says,

I love the dark hours of my being.

My mind deepens into them.

There I can find, as in old letters,

the days of my life, already lived,

and held like a legend, and understood.

Then the knowing comes: I can open

to another life that's wide and timeless.*

*Ranier Maria Rilke in Rilke’s Book of Hours: Love Poems to God, trans. by Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy 

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1st Passiontide 2016,

1^st Passiontide

Luke 11: 29 - 35

And as the crowds increased, Jesus began to speak. “The men of this generation are strangers to their true being. They look for signs and outer proofs of the spirit, but none other will be given to them but the sign of Jonah. For just as once Jonah shared the experience of the spirit with the inhabitants of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man share the experience of the spirit with this present generation. The Queen of the South will rise in the time of great crisis and decision against the men of this present generation and judge them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. But know this: here is more than Solomon.

The inhabitants of Nineveh will rise up in the days of crisis and decision against the men of this present generation and will pronounce judgment over them. For they changed their ways after the proclamation of Jonah. But know this; here is more than Jonah.

No one lights a light and then puts it in a hidden place or under a vessel, but rather sets it on a lamp stand, so that all may see the light shining.

The light of your body is your eye. When your eye looks at the world clearly and impartially, the processes of your whole body will be inwardly filled with light. If however the eye’s desire sees the world separated from the spirit, darkness will pour itself into you.

Protect yourself that the light does not become darkness in you.

If your body is now filled with light, so that it no longer takes part in darkness, everything will be completely illuminated, so that, with lightning brightness, the light irradiates you completely from within.

1^st Passiontide

February 28, 2016

Luke 11: 29 - 35

In last week’s Gospel reading, we beheld the light form of the transfigured Christ Jesus, shining on the mountain like the sun. The light that shines from him is the revelation of the Father’s love.  In today’s reading the life of the light continues its progress; for the light of the Father’s love wants to work from within each of us.

Christ chides the people of this generation for not actively seeking the light of wisdom; he chides us for not doing what John the Baptist had encouraged us to do: to change our way of thinking and perceiving.

The Father kindled the light of Christ in the man Jesus, so that all could see the light of love and take it into themselves. The Father would like the same thing to happen within us: that we would take in the light of Christ; that we would look out into the world with the eyes of a clear, impartial, but warm love. The Father would like us to take in with our eyes the being who is the Light of the World, so that our eyes can in turn radiate and shine the brightness of objective love back out into the world.  

As the poet Hafiz says:

God

pours light

into every cup,

quenching darkness.

….

God pours light

and the trees lift their limbs

without worry of redemption,

every blossom a chalice.

….as light

pours like rain

into every empty cup

set adrift on the Infinite Ocean.*

* Hafiz, Interpretive version of Ghazal 11 by Jose Orez