3rd June Trinity 2020, No Hands But Yours

June Trinity 

Luke 19:1-10 (Madsen)

And he came to Jericho and went through the town.

See, there was a man called Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax-collector and a rich man. He wanted to see Jesus, to know who he was, but because he was small of stature, he could not see him in the great crowd. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a mulberry-fig tree to see him, for he had to come past there.

And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up to him and said, ‘Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must be a guest in your house!’ And he came down hurriedly and made him welcome in his house with great joy. All who saw it became indignant and said, ‘He has gone in to be a guest in the house of a sinner.’

Then Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, ‘Lord, see, half of all that I have I give to the poor, and if I have taken too much from someone, I give it back to him fourfold.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘So today healing has come to this house. This man, too, is a true son of Abraham and the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.’

3^rd June Trinity

June 21, 2020

Luke 19: 1-10

One’s placement in life, one’s job, vocation, or upbringing, does not necessarily say anything about one’s moral stature. Being poor and lowly does not prevent one from being a moral giant. But neither does being rich or elevated. It all depends on the individual’s inner and outer response to their circumstances.

Zacchaeus was both Jewish and a publican, that is, a tax collector for the Romans occupiers. As a Jew, he was in an awkward position. Not only did Zaccheaus collect Roman taxes from his fellow Jews; he was also the ‘head of department’ near Jericho. Because of its locality along the major trade route, taxes were a rich source of income for the Romans. It was likely Zacchaeus’ position that led to his being wealthy. His position also meant that he was despised by his own people, not only because he was working for the oppressors, but for reasons of physical and ritual purity. (In other places in the gospels* the Jewish leadership criticize Jesus for ‘eating with sinners and tax-collectors.’) The gospel’s mention of his ‘small stature’ may also be a metaphorical reference his ‘standing’ in the Jewish community.

Yet Zacchaeus has the desire to know Jesus. His ‘running ahead and climbing the mulberry-fig tree’ may also be seen as a description of his inner state: He prepares himself ahead of time and elevates his spirit for the encounter. And then not only can he see Jesus, but he will be seen.

In any case, Jesus is aware of him and responds positively to him by entering into a close relationship with him, much to Zacchaeus’ joy.

And it is clear from what follows in the gospel that Zacchaeus has used his wealth and position in a moral way: of his own wealth, he gives half to the poor. And in his official position, he is conscientious in how much he charges and scrupulous in making fourfold restitution for any mistakes. He is a just man, using his position and personal wealth to benefit the whole community. Jesus calls him a true son of Abraham and connects with him. Zacchaeus is someone Jesus can work with.

Christ sees us all, elevated or lowly. He sees into our hearts and into our deeds. He brings His healing work of redemption to all, despite the public’s opinion about them or their status in the community. It is the state of our hearts that Christ is interested in. It is our love translated into deeds of justice and mercy that make us those He can work with. For especially now, Christ needs us in order to do his work of healing in the world. In the words of Theresa of Avila

Christ has no body now but yours.

No hands, no feet on earth but yours.

Yours are the eyes through which 

He looks compassion on this world.

Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good.

Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world.

Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

 

*See Mt 9:11, Mk 2:16, Lk 5:3

2nd June Trinity 2020, Truth is Here

June Trinity

John 4:1-26

At this time, the Lord became aware that it was rumored among the Pharisees that Jesus was finding and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, though his disciples did.) Therefore he left Judea and went back again to Galilee.

Now he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a Samaritan town called Sychar, near the plot of land Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was also there. Jesus was weary with the journey, and he sat down by the well. It was about midday, the sixth hour.

Then a Samaritan woman came to draw water. And Jesus said to her, “Give me to drink,” for his disciples had gone into town to buy bread.

Then the Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a Samaritan woman?” For the Jews avoided all contact with the Samaritans.

Jesus answered her, “If you knew how the divine world now draws near to human beings, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give me to drink,’ you would ask him, and he would give you the water of life [the living water].

“Sir,” the woman said to him, “you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. From where will you draw the living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his flocks and herds?”

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water that I will give them, their thirst will be quenched for all time. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up as true life for eternity.”

The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may never be thirsty again, and need never come here again to draw.”

He said to her, “Go call your husband and show him to me.”

“I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You have well said that you have no husband. Five husbands you have had, and he whom you now have is not your husband. This you have said truly.

Jesus answered, “Believe me, O woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship a being you do not know; we worship what we do know. That is why salvation had to be prepared for among the Jews. But the hour is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father with the power of the spirit and in awareness [knowledge] of the truth.”

Then the woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming who is called Christ. When he comes, he will teach us all things.”

Jesus said to her, “I AM he who stands before you and speaks to you.”

June 14, 2020

John 4, 1-26

Human beings have always visited sacred places in order to honor the divine. At first, they were simple stone memorials at a place where a great spiritual event or visitation had occurred. Then gradually temples were built as gathering places for honoring the divine with story, song and ritual.

Christ meets the Samaritan woman at Jacob's 2,000-year-old well. She asks him about places of worship. Should humankind worship on a mountain top, or in a temple? Christ answers that the sacred space will be within the human heart and mind. "The hour will come, and it has come, when the true worshippers of God will worship the Father," He says, "with the power of the Spirit and in knowing awareness of the truth." John 4: 23

We can imagine that a kind of soul altar exists within each human heart. And when a group of human beings come together to enact a ritual of offering, the walls of

each heart expand. They fill the room, so that hearts work among hearts, within hearts. Together they form a greater heart, the common heart of the community. Hearts offer themselves in a common spirit, out of a communal truth. As the poet e.e. cummings said,

 

seeker of truth

 

follow no path

all paths lead where

 

truth is here*

 

* e. e. cummings, in Complete Poems 1904-1962 p. 775.

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1st June Trinity 2020, God Pours Light

2^nd June Trinity

John 3:1-17

 There was a man in the circle of the Pharisees, whose name was Nicodemus; he held high rank among the Jews. He came to Jesus in the night and said, “Master, we know that you are a high teacher of humankind, come to us from God, for no one can do such signs of the Spirit as you do unless God himself is working together with them in their deeds.”

 Jesus answered and said to him, “The truth out of the spirit I say to you: whoever is not born anew from above cannot behold the kingdom of God.”

 Nicodemus said to him, “How can someone be born again when they are old? Can they return to their mother’s womb to be born again a second time?

Jesus answered, “the truth out of the spirit I say to you: whoever remains as they are and does not come to a new birth out of the formative power of the water and out of the breath of the spirit [or, …and is not 

born anew out of the spiritual power of eternal becoming and out of being touched by the might of the spirit world] cannot enter into the kingdom of God. What is born out of earthly elements is of earthly nature. But what is born out of the breath of the spirit, is itself spirit. Do not wonder that I said to you that you must be born anew from above. The spirit wind blows where it wills; you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born anew out of the breath of the spirit.

Nicodemus replied and said to him, “How can one attain this?”

Jesus answered, “You are a teacher of Israel and do not know?

Amen, the truth I say to you: we speak of what we know, and we bear witness to what we have seen in the spirit, but none of you accepts our testimony. When I speak to you of earthly things, and you do not believe them, how shall you believe when I want to speak to you of heavenly things? No one has ascended to the spiritual world who has not previously descended out of the spiritual world, that is, the Son of Man.

Just as Moses once lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who finds his power in their hearts can win a share in the higher life beyond time. God has so loved the world that he has given his only begotten Son. From now on, no one who fills himself with his power shall perish, for they will share in timeless, higher life. God did not send the Son into the world to condemn it, but so that the world be saved [healed] through him and not fall prey to ruin.”

1^st June Trinity

June 7, 2020

John 3: 1-17

The blossom opens itself to the sun. Its pollen rises carried to the upper reaches of the atmosphere. Enlivened by the warmth and light of the sun, it returns to earth, bringing new living forces, the power of germination, to the plants.

Nicodemus comes to Christ in the night realm, with soul and spirit open. Christ speaks to him about life renewed from above, from the warmth and light of the realm of the spirit. At first, Nicodemus confuses this renewal of life with the earthly level of physical birth. But Christ explains that being touched by the spirit’s power of eternal becoming, is what allows our lives to be ever renewed. It is our contact with the regions of moving light and warmth that is our entrance into the kingdom of the heavens, even as we still live in bodies on earth.

Our own eternal spirit, the drop of the divinity given to each of us at our beginning, has descended with us out of those regions of light. Our awakening to this eternal part of our being allows us to open and ascend again into the realms of spirit, now, like the pollen rising from the flower. It is the power in us of prayer, the power of mindfulness, the power of gratitude that helps us rise. This is the Christ power, the power of the Son of Man, working in us. 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.*

This is the power that lets us rise, even daily, into the realms of timeless life, to be renewed and refreshed, so that when we descend again, we can see to it that in Christ’s words, ‘the world can be healed and not fall prey to ruin.’

*Hafiz, “God Pours Light,” (Interpretive version of Ghazal 11 by Jose Orez)

 

 

Whitsun III, Good Will

Pentecost

John 14:23-31

Jesus replied, “Whoever truly loves me reveals my Spirit, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and prepare with them a dwelling in the everlasting [an eternal dwelling]. Whoever does not love me cannot reveal my Spirit. And the spirit power of the word that you hear is not from me; it is the speaking of the Father who sent me.

I have said this to you while I am still with you. But he who is called down, the health-bringing Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you everything and will awaken within you all that I have said to you.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

You have heard how I said to you, ‘I am going away, and yet I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice because I am going to the Father[ly Ground of the World], for the Father is mightier than I am.

I have told you now before it happens, so that when it happens, you may find trust. I no longer have much to say to you, for soon, the prince of this world is coming. Yet over me, he has no power.

But the world shall see in this how I love the Father [Ground of the World] and how I act according to the Father’s purpose, as it was entrusted to me. Arise, let us go on from here. [let us be on our way.]

Pentecost III

John 14: 23-31

June 2020

At the Christmas altar we saw in golden letters: Peace on earth to all of good will. What does it mean to be of good will? Perhaps its opposite can point us toward an understanding. 

Ill will broods darkness. It sends negativity into the heart space between two people.  It either pushes hard on the other, or else it retreats. It poisons the heart space with its destructive criticism and contempt. It binds with chains of hatred.

Good will, on the other hand, holds the other in positive regard. Good will keeps the heart space between us clean and clear. It neither pushes past boundaries nor withdraws. It regards the will of another as a Holy of Holies, into which one can enter only by invitation, and with respect and reverence before their mystery. This kind of will is good because, like a candle flame, it radiates light and warmth in just the right degree. Good will allows the other to be and develop as he or she sees fit, at their own pace.

Christ says: He who loves me reveals my spirit. Good will arises because we love and recognize Christ, wherever he appears. He sacrificed his will to the Father for the sake of World Karma. He offered up his Life forces, his powers of metamorphosis and change, for the sake of humanity’s progress. At the same time, He does not force himself on us, or overwhelm us. He too respects our freedom of choice. His radiant will offers light in the darkness, love amidst hatred, life over death.

We who love Him connect with Him, take His radiant will into our will. Perhaps we can manage it only for moments (and we hope at the right moment!) But eventually, we will transform ourselves into those who reveal to our fellow human beings His Spirit of Love, streaming forth from our own willing hearts.

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Whitsun II, 2020, Higher Truth

Pentecost

John 14:23-31

Jesus replied, “Whoever truly loves me reveals my Spirit, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and prepare with them a dwelling in the everlasting [an eternal dwelling]. Whoever does not love me cannot reveal my Spirit. And the spirit power of the word that you hear is not from me; it is the speaking of the Father who sent me.

I have said this to you while I am still with you. But he who is called down, the health-bringing Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you everything and will awaken within you all that I have said to you.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

You have heard how I said to you, ‘I am going away, and yet I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice because I am going to the Father[ly Ground of the World], for the Father is mightier than I am.

I have told you now before it happens, so that when it happens, you may find trust. I no longer have much to say to you, for soon, the prince of this world is coming. Yet over me, he has no power.

But the world shall see in this how I love the Father [Ground of the World] and how I act according to the Father’s purpose, as it was entrusted to me. Arise, let us go on from here. [let us be on our way.]

Whitsun II

John 14:23-31

June 2020

We human spirits are enclosed in earthly bodies, enclosed in our own skin. This is what helps give us a sense of selfhood on earth – that we and no other can occupy the space we take up. It leads us to a sense of independence and gives us a taste of freedom. Yet that same sense of self is an illusion. For we are fully dependent upon the work of others for the maintenance of our earthly existence.  Their work feeds and clothes us. We all breathe the same air. And we are dependent upon the Divine for every breath we take, for the very fact that we exist, alive, at all.

The commands of Christ are simple, yet infinitely difficult for us. Christ asks us to remember the Father of Life and to send him our gratitude. And Christ asks us to acknowledge with humble gratitude the importance of others in our lives. Our heartfelt thoughts of gratitude, our awareness that we are all woven together in a great tapestry of destiny, that the other is striving and evolving, just as we are, all these become in us the basis for an objective spiritual love. It creates the potential for a living circulation of mutual support between us and the beings of the spiritual world; support between us and all others; and between us and the beings of the natural world.

Out of this gratitude and love, which we strive to engender within ourselves, Christ can appear. Within our striving, the Father’s Healing Spirit works. He stands by us in every moment. Our gratitude creates a portal for the Spirit of higher Truth to enter our understanding.

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Whitsun 2020, Baptized with Fire

Pentecost

John 14:23-31

Jan van Kalkar

Jesus replied, “Whoever truly loves me reveals my Spirit, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and prepare with them a dwelling in the everlasting [an eternal dwelling]. Whoever does not love me cannot reveal my Spirit. And the spirit power of the word that you hear is not from me; it is the speaking of the Father who sent me.

I have said this to you while I am still with you. But he who is called down, the health-bringing Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you everything and will awaken within you all that I have said to you.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

You have heard how I said to you, ‘I am going away, and yet I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice because I am going to the Father[ly Ground of the World], for the Father is mightier than I am.

I have told you now before it happens, so that when it happens, you may find trust. I no longer have much to say to you, for soon, the prince of this world is coming. Yet over me, he has no power.

But the world shall see in this how I love the Father [Ground of the World] and how I act according to the Father’s purpose, as it was entrusted to me. Arise, let us go on from here. [let us be on our way.]

Pentecost I

John 14:23-31

May 31, 2020

Codex Egberti

In the event of the Pentecost festival that we celebrate today, the disciples are together in the upper room, praying together and waiting. The mighty wind of the spirit blows through and a spirit fire descends and tongues of flame appear above the heads of each. Their understanding of the events of Jesus’ life and death lights up. Legend has it that at that moment, each disciple uttered one sentence of his understanding, which came together as a whole in the creed.

The gospel reading seems to veil this event. Yet its elements are there: Christ speaks of preserving each individual by preparing for each their own spiritual dwelling place. Their uniqueness will not be erased. And at the same time, Christ brings a harmonizing peace. His is not the peace of suppression, like the Romans of His time, but rather the peace of freedom and understanding. The source of world strife, the narrow insistence on one’s own point of view as the only valid one, is fitted harmoniously into a greater whole. Instead of nullifying each other, each sentence contributes to a greater understanding of the whole. They do not invalidate each other.

This is the Spirit that Christ sends: A holistic spirit, the spirit of enlightenment. It is a spirit, creative of being, that enkindles a fire of love. It is a spirit that heals the rifts and tears in the body politic, in our interactions with one another. For together we are forming a higher body for Christ to live and work in. Christ sends his Spirit of love for the healing of the world. The original event is a model:

They all sat silent, watching, waiting, waiting….

Sr. Mary Stephen

Suddenly the heavens broke upon them

And sevenfold lightning flashed

And whirlwind swept all darks asunder

And tongues of flame descended on them.

Baptized they were with Fire, with the Holy Spirit,

The Word of Christ was born in them.

And so they rose

            And went out to the multitude,

Disciples of Christ—His Life, His Death—

Bearers of the Word to all humankind.*

*Adapted from Francis Edmunds, “Words for Whitsun”

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Ascension II, Seed-Force

Ascension

John 16:22-33

William Blake 

So you have to suffer pain now. But I will see you again, and then your hearts will be filled with joy, and no one can take that joy from you. Up to now, you have not prayed in my name. Pray from the heart, and it will be given to your heart, that your joy may be fulfilled.

All this I have given to your souls in imagery. But the hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in pictures but will tell you openly and unveiled about my Father, so that you can grasp it in full, knowing consciousness. Thus will I proclaim to you the being of the Father. On that day, you will ask out of my power and in my name. And no longer will I ask the Father on your behalf. For the Father himself will love you because you have loved me, and have known in your hearts that I have come forth from the Father. I have come forth from the Father, and I have come into this world.

I leave the sense world again and return to the world of the Father, of which you say that it is the world of death.”

Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking in clear thought and without imagery. Now we know that all things are revealed to you and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.”

Jesus answered, “Do you now feel my power in your heart? Behold, the time is coming and has already come, when you will be scattered, each to his own loneliness. You will then also leave me alone. But I am not alone, for the Father is eternally united with me.

All this I have spoken to you so that in me you may find peace. In this world, you will have great fear and hardship. But take courage. I have overcome the world.”

  

Ascension II

May 27, 2020

John 16:24-33

Jan de Kok

The blossom opens itself to the sunlit air. In doing so, its beauty and fragrance expand outward. It sends out its pollen and in turn it receives the warm impregnating power from without. Through this fertilization, it becomes fruitful. At its core, seeds of new life begin to form.

The deepest core of our humanness lies in our heart. As we open our heart, we can stream forth the fragrant beauty of our gratitude for all that we have received. Through opening in gratitude, we continue to receive what we need for our future existence. We receive from the future the force that engenders new life, a force that enters and settles into our inmost core.

Christ’s love is that impregnating power for new life that fertilizes our open, thankful hearts. He is the gentle fire of love, creative of being. His power engenders in us new, future life. His love in our hearts is the seed-force for a new earth.

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