2nd Michaelmas 2010, Puzzle Pieces

2^nd 3^rd or 4^th Michaelmas

Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, 6:10-19

 What it comes to in the end is this: grasp the power that streams to you in the experience of Christ in the soul and in the powerful regency of his pure spiritual strength.

Put on the power of God as one puts on full armor, so that you may stand against the well-aimed attacks of the adversary. For our struggle is not to fight against powers of flesh and blood, but against

spirit beings mighty in the stream of time,

against spirit beings powerful in the molding of earth substance,

against cosmic powers whose darkness rules the present time,

against spirits who carry evil into the realms of the spiritual world.

Therefore take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand your ground on the day when evil unfolds its greatest strength, and victoriously withstand it.

Stand firm, then, girded with the truth, like a warrior firmly girded. Connect yourself with all in the world as is justified in the spiritual world, and this connection with the spirit will protect you like a strong breastplate.

And may Peace stream through you, down to your feet, so that on your path you spread peace, as the message that comes from the realm of the angels.

In all your deeds have trust in God. This trust will be like a mighty shield; with it you can quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Take into your thinking the certainty of Christ’s healing deed. It will protect your head like a helmet.

And the spirit, which has become living in you, you shall grasp as one grasps a sharp sword. The sword of the spirit is the working of the Word of God.

May this armor clothe you in all your prayers and supplications, so that in the right moment you raise yourself in prayer to the spirit, and at the same time practice wakefulness in inner loyalty.

Feel yourself united in prayer with all other bearers of the spirit—also with me, Paul, so that the power of the word will be given to me when I am to courageously bring the knowledge of that holy mystery which lives in the message of the gospel.

2^nd Michaelmas

October 10, 2010

Ephesians 6: 10-19

An interesting, and challenging activity is solving picture puzzles with hundreds of pieces. Many pieces are similar, and yet each is unique. And each contributes to the larger picture. Imagine the frustration of a puzzle made of random and unrelated pieces.

Truth is like a picture puzzle made of many pieces. Some pieces are jagged, some smooth. Some pieces fit easily and obviously into the whole picture. Others are mysterious—it is difficult to figure out where they fit in. We may have to set them aside for a while until we figure out where they belong. But we can trust that they have a place in the larger picture, the picture of the truth that we are building.  We know that if we are patient and persevere, we will find where they fit. It is often just these mystery pieces that create the sense of the final picture falling into place.

The adversaries are trying to create their own picture of the universe, out of pieces of despair, of loss, of meaninglessness. They may throw pieces at us that are dark, that don’t seem to fit. But we can trust that there is a bigger, truer picture. Perhaps those dark pieces do indeed have a place somewhere, in some corner. Or perhaps we need to turn the piece over. Trusting in the truth of the bigger picture is our armor against meaninglessness. For there is always a bigger picture.

The key pieces, the mysterious pieces in the great puzzle of life, are held by Christ. When we find the place for His pieces in the picture of our lives, the meaning of things begins to appear. We begin to find the relative places for the darker pieces of the puzzle. We find the places for suffering and death, because the bigger picture is framed in resurrection. Because of Christ, some pieces can be turned right side up. What seemed meaningless and unrelated is integrated into the larger whole. The bigger picture is a revelation. It is a picture of how space is ordered; it is a picture of what direction the evolving stream of time is flowing. For, as we heard at Easter—Christ is risen to us as the meaning of the earth.

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2nd Michaelmas 2011, God Pours Light

2^nd 3^rd or 4^th Michaelmas

Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, 6:10-19

What it comes to in the end is this: grasp the power that streams to you in the experience of Christ in the soul and in the powerful regency of his pure spiritual strength.

Put on the power of God as one puts on full armor, so that you may stand against the well-aimed attacks of the adversary. For our struggle is not to fight against powers of flesh and blood, but against

after an icon of the Archangel Michael by Rubliev

spirit beings mighty in the stream of time,

against spirit beings powerful in the molding of earth substance,

against cosmic powers whose darkness rules the present time,

against spirits who carry evil into the realms of the spiritual world.

Therefore take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand your ground on the day when evil unfolds its greatest strength, and victoriously withstand it.

Stand firm, then, girded with the truth, like a warrior firmly girded. Connect yourself with all in the world as is justified in the spiritual world, and this connection with the spirit will protect you like a strong breastplate.

And may Peace stream through you, down to your feet, so that on your path you spread peace, as the message that comes from the realm of the angels.

In all your deeds have trust in God. This trust will be like a mighty shield; with it you can quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Take into your thinking the certainty of Christ’s healing deed. It will protect your head like a helmet.

And the spirit, which has become living in you, you shall grasp as one grasps a sharp sword. The sword of the spirit is the working of the Word of God.

May this armor clothe you in all your prayers and supplications, so that in the right moment you raise yourself in prayer to the spirit, and at the same time practice wakefulness in inner loyalty.

Feel yourself united in prayer with all other bearers of the spirit—also with me, Paul, so that the power of the word will be given to me when I am to courageously bring the knowledge of that holy mystery which lives in the message of the gospel.

2^nd Michaelmas

October 9, 2011

Ephesians 6: 10-19

As the days grow shorter, the power of the sun seems to be declining. The sun itself, however, has not lessened. It is as though the earth, and we retreat from it a little, creating a space. And in that space of the diminished outer working of the sun, we are being encouraged to resurrect the sun’s power, its warmth and its light, within our own souls.

The reading encourages us to take hold of the experience of Christ working within the soul. What is that experience? It is the power of a Self permeated and radiant with a quiet love. It is a power like the sun—always there, always sustaining, even as it changes; always giving of light and warmth, shining on all alike.

This is the power that allows us to stand fast, to withstand the attacks of those spiritual beings who would imprison our souls, cloud us with fear, darken us with hatred and weaken us with doubt.

Christ’s sun-like power in our souls lights up both our inner and our outer landscape. It helps us to stand firm, in trust and in certainty. Though we may be tempted to abandon our place, we may be sure that Christ is and always will be with us. For as the poet says:

God

pours light

into every cup,

quenching darkness.[1]

---

[1]  Hafiz, Interpretive version of Ghazal 11 by Jose Orez.

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2nd Michaelmas 2012, Battle of Defense

2^nd 3^rd or 4^th Michaelmas

Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, 6:10-19

What it comes to in the end is this: grasp the power that streams to you in the experience of Christ in the soul and in the powerful regency of his pure spiritual strength. 

Put on the power of God as one puts on full armor, so that you may stand against the well-aimed attacks of the adversary. For our struggle is not to fight against powers of flesh and blood, but 

       

Michael, Arild Rosenkrantz

against spirit beings mighty in the stream of time,

against spirit beings powerful in the molding of earth substance,

against cosmic powers whose darkness rules the present time,

against spirits who carry evil into the realms of the spiritual world.

Therefore take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand your ground on the day when evil unfolds its greatest strength, and victoriously withstand it.

Stand firm, then, girded with the truth, like a warrior firmly girded. Connect yourself with all in the world as is justified in the spiritual world, and this connection with the spirit will protect you like a strong breastplate.

And may Peace stream through you, down to your feet, so that on your path you spread peace, as the message that comes from the realm of the angels.

In all your deeds have trust in God. This trust will be like a mighty shield; with it you can quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Take into your thinking the certainty of Christ’s healing deed. It will protect your head like a helmet.

And the spirit, which has become living in you, you shall grasp as one grasps a sharp sword. The sword of the spirit is the working of the Word of God.

May this armor clothe you in all your prayers and supplications, so that in the right moment you raise yourself in prayer to the spirit, and at the same time practice wakefulness in inner loyalty.

Feel yourself united in prayer with all other bearers of the spirit—also with me, Paul, so that the power of the word will be given to me when I am to courageously bring the knowledge of that holy mystery which lives in the message of the gospel.

2^nd Michaelmas

October 7, 2012

Ephesians 6:10-19

This is a time of struggle. Here in the US, we are in the midst of the debates of our presidential candidates. They play like a battle; but behind the campaigns of ideologies, there also stand spiritual beings and spiritual forces at work, both positive and negative.

As the reading today says: our struggle is not to fight against powers of flesh and blood, but against mighty and powerful spiritual beings. For us as individuals, ours is not a battle of aggression, but a battle of defense against negative spiritual forces attacking our hearts and thoughts.

We are to stand firm by grasping and clothing ourselves with the power that streams to us from Christ. We are to trust that no matter what appears to happen outwardly, He is the Way, the path that our human evolution is to take. He is the Truth—the very Being of Truth itself, a firm foundation for all we see and do. Clothing ourselves in His truth, our thinking is clear, and our hearts stream peace; our words can illuminate darkness and evil.

It is a season of growing darkness. Our task is to remain inwardly upright and awake. We are the soldiers who keep watch, the witnesses, those who activate the Christ force in the world. As Adam Bittleston says:

We need in the strife of our day

The eternal Peace of the Word of God.

Seeking this Peace with our whole being

On the path which leads from the nightmare

Of endless chaos,

Into the order of heaven
And to the Father of all things—

We shall meet Michael

Who reveals how Christ

Awakens Man

That he may serve God. [1]

---

[1] “Michaelmas II”, Adam Bittleston, in Meditative Prayers for Today. Available at http://www.steinerbooks.org/detail.html?id=9780863153075

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2nd Michaelmas 2013, Sword of Light

2^nd 3^rd or 4^th Michaelmas

Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, 6:10-19

What it comes to in the end is this: grasp the power that streams to you in the experience of Christ in the soul and in the powerful regency of his pure spiritual strength.

Put on the power of God as one puts on full armor, so that you may stand against the well-aimed attacks of the adversary. For our struggle is not to fight against powers of flesh and blood, but against

spirit beings mighty in the stream of time,

against spirit beings powerful in the molding of earth substance,

against cosmic powers whose darkness rules the present time,

against spirits who carry evil into the realms of the spiritual world.

Therefore take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand your ground on the day when evil unfolds its greatest strength, and victoriously withstand it.

Stand firm, then, girded with the truth, like a warrior firmly girded. Connect yourself with all in the world as is justified in the spiritual world, and this connection with the spirit will protect you like a strong breastplate.

And may Peace stream through you, down to your feet, so that on your path you spread peace, as the message that comes from the realm of the angels.

In all your deeds have trust in God. This trust will be like a mighty shield; with it you can quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Take into your thinking the certainty of Christ’s healing deed. It will protect your head like a helmet.

And the spirit, which has become living in you, you shall grasp as one grasps a sharp sword. The sword of the spirit is the working of the Word of God.

May this armor clothe you in all your prayers and supplications, so that in the right moment you raise yourself in prayer to the spirit, and at the same time practice wakefulness in inner loyalty.

Feel yourself united in prayer with all other bearers of the spirit—also with me, Paul, so that the power of the word will be given to me when I am to courageously bring the knowledge of that holy mystery which lives in the message of the gospel.

  

2^nd Michaelmas

October 6, 2013

Ephesians 6: 10-19

There are two types of lines that every young child learns about. One is the curve – a line that continuously changes direction. Its classic form is the circle – enclosing, harboring. The other line is the straight line that starts at a particular point and travels unerringly in one direction, towards infinity. These two basic gestures, the circle and the line, come together in every child’s drawing – in the circle and rays of the sun.

The sword is an archetype that partakes of the straight line – like the rays of the sun. Although we typically think of a sword as an instrument of destruction, raised in victory, it is a symbol of peace. And pointed downward it forms a cross.  

In artistic depictions, the Archangel Michael holds a light-sword that rays out the light of the sun. Sometimes the sword is pictured pointed downward.  There it illuminates the depths, holding a dark dragon at bay. Sometimes the sword of light points upward, as if to indicate where we are to send our thoughts, where we are to direct our attention.

Today’s reading says that we are to grasp the living spirit working in us the same way that we grasp a sword of light. What the living spirit is, indeed, is light; it is the light of consciousness, the light of awareness. With Michael’s spirit sword of awareness we can direct our attention into the heights. With Michael’s light sword of awareness we can illuminate the darkness of our own inner depths.

Arild Rosenkrantz

For in the depths there is a great secret: the dark dragon in the cave sits on a measureless treasure. In the depths of the soul, hidden in the darkness, is Christ. He is the treasure the dragon would hide. Christ sends his powers of trust, of confidence and peace from the depths up into our hearts. When we illuminate the depths and hold at bay the dragons of fear, doubt and hatred, we will win access to the treasure, the Pearl of great price. And then will we hear the Word of God, speaking to us:  My peace will be with you; my peace will stream through you, down to your feet, so that on your path you may spread peace, as the message that comes from the realm of the angels.  (Ephesians 6:15)

1st Michaelmas 2007, Crossing

1^st Michaelmas

Matthew 22, 1-14

And Jesus continued to speak in parables to them:

The kingdom of the heavens arising in human hearts is like a man, a king, who prepared a marriage feast for his son. And he sent out his servants to call the guests who had been invited to the marriage, but they would not come.

Then he again sent out other servants, and said , “Say to those who have been invited, ‘Think, I have prepared my best for the banquet, the sacrificial oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered; everything is ready. Come quickly to the wedding.”

But they were not interested and went off, one going to his field to be his own master, another falling into the hectic pace of his own business. The rest however took hold of the servants, mistreated them and killed them.

Then the king grew angry; he sent out his army, brought the murderers to their destruction and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, “Although the marriage feast is prepared, the invited guests have proved themselves unworthy. Go out therefore to the crossroads of destiny and invite to the wedding whoever you can find.”

And the servants went into the streets and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.

Then the king came in to see the guests, and among them he noticed a man who was not dressed in the wedding garment  which was offered to him. And he said to him, “My friend, you are sharing the meal; how is it you came in here without putting on the wedding garment that was offered to you?”

But the man was speechless.

Then the king said to the servants, “Bind him hand and foot and cast him out into the darkness, where human beings wail and gnash their teeth. For the call goes out to many, yet only a few make themselves bearers of the higher life.”

Crossing, Sanz-Cardona

1^st Michaelmas

September 30, 2007

Matthew 22: 1-14

Sometimes there are doors we have to open. We may fear opening them and meeting what we think is on the other side. Especially if we imagine it is something awful.

Usually the reading for the Sunday before Michaelmas brings us right up to the threshold of death. The young man of Nain, who walked through the dreaded door, was wakened to life. We ourselves have now opened a door in a threshold of the year. We have passed through the equinox, and from now on, the outer darkness will increase. 

Yet today’s reading reveals a surprise. We are crossing, not into something fearsome; we are entering the banquet hall of a wedding. We have all been invited to a feast celebrating, not death and extinction, but rather celebrating our joining the Bridegroom of the Soul. We are crossing into a region that wants to celebrate new life, the life beyond the threshold of death.

True, some things in the soul we must destroy before we are fit for the wedding hall: things such as over-concern with earthly cares that prevent us from responding to the call from beyond. Or, like the man who refused to put on the wedding garment, we can simply be too satisfied with ourselves as we are, or too lazy to make the changes that will outfit us for the bridegroom.

But for those who respond to the invitation with courage and humility, who show up with some minimal preparation, clothed in grace, there is a feast among the angels. The King and His Son greet us joyfully. And we may hear:

Turn your back on those

Tintoretto, The Wedding Feast

Who would imprison your wondrous spirit

With deceit and lies.

Come, join the honest company

Of the King’s beggars –

Those gamblers, scoundrels, and divine clowns…

Who need Divine Love….

Come, join the courageous

Who have no choice

But to bet their entire world

That indeed

Indeed, God is Real.[1]

---

[1] Hafiz, “A Golden Compass”, in I Heard God Laughing, Renderings of Hafiz, by Daniel Ladinsky, p. 45.

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1st Michaelmas 2008, Marrying the Sun

1^st Michaelmas

Matthew 22, 1-14

And Jesus continued to speak in parables to them:

The kingdom of the heavens arising in human hearts is like a man, a king, who prepared a marriage feast for his son. And he sent out his servants to call the guests who had been invited to the marriage, but they would not come.

Then he again sent out other servants, and said , “Say to those who have been invited, ‘Think, I have prepared my best for the banquet, the sacrificial oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered; everything is ready. Come quickly to the wedding.”

But they were not interested and went off, one going to his field to be his own master, another falling into the hectic pace of his own business. The rest however took hold of the servants, mistreated them and killed them.

Then the king grew angry; he sent out his army, brought the murderers to their destruction and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, “Although the marriage feast is prepared, the invited guests have proved themselves unworthy. Go out therefore to the crossroads of destiny and invite to the wedding whoever you can find.”

And the servants went into the streets and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.

Then the king came in to see the guests, and among them he noticed a man who was not dressed in the wedding garment  which was offered to him. And he said to him, “My friend, you are sharing the meal; how is it you came in here without putting on the wedding garment that was offered to you?”

But the man was speechless.

Then the king said to the servants, “Bind him hand and foot and cast him out into the darkness, where human beings wail and gnash their teeth. For the call goes out to many, yet only a few make themselves bearers of the higher life.”

Michaelmas

Sept 29, 2008

Matthew 22: 1-14

This is the time of harvest. Part of the harvest process is sorting. The really good fruit is sent on. The middling fruit serves a second tier purpose. And what fails to measure up is rejected and discarded.

Today’s gospel reading involves a kind of inner harvesting of human soul qualities. The King of human hearts is looking for those with fruits of soul expressed in particular soul qualities. He wants to invite them into an intimate event with Him. He first “picks” those whom he could expect to be near and dear, His Chosen Ones. But unfortunately over time these souls had become distracted with ownership and business. These souls had developed necessary qualities which serve well in the temporal realm. But they had forgotten their previous engagement. The servants’ reminder that they were meant to be elsewhere aroused at best, indifference, and at worse, destructiveness. They murder the messengers.

The King of human hearts then expands His search for those soul qualities in anyone at all who will fill His banquet hall. Ordinary definitions of good and bad don’t seem to count here. All that seems to be necessary is that one present oneself. In showing up, in being present, one will be gifted with what else is required. In the story one soul shows up and is given a festive garment with which to outfit himself properly for this very special event in the realm of the heart. But he refuses the gift. And he is rejected. The only soul quality that makes us unworthy is the refusal to clothe oneself differently. The only quality that send us into the outer darkness is the refusal to change.

All of these characters in the story are aspects and qualities of our own soul. Our indifference, or over-concern with the temporal, our outright refusal to clothe our souls with what is befitting in the Father’s realm of the heart, make us into measly fruit, fruit that fails to measure up, that fails to serve the banquet. That which we refuse to produce, to develop and grow in our souls is then thrown into the heap of destiny. Our failures produce the darkness, “where human beings wail and gnash their teeth. For the call goes out to many, but few make themselves bearers of the higher life.” Matthew 22:13,14. It is up to us to take up the invitation and to present ourselves as bearers of higher life.

We can train in ourselves the qualities of loving, of putting aside our self-centered egotism, our indifference, our murderous anger. We can do our best, and still need to acknowledge that we need the gift of the wedding garment, the gift of grace from above. Worthy or not, we can answer the King’s invitation to the wedding of His Son. For the wedding we show up for (or not) is our own. It is the soul’s own wedding to the Son who loves us.

The poet said,

I want both of us

To start talking about this great love

As if you, I and the Sun were all married

And living in a tiny room.

Helping each other to cook,

Do the wash,

Weave and sew,

Care for our beautiful

Animals.

We all leave each morning

To labor on the earth’s field

No one does not lift a great pack.

I want both of us to start singing like two

Traveling minstrels

About this extraordinary existence

We share,

As if

You, I, and God were all married

And living in

A tiny

Room.[1]

---

[1] Hafiz, “I Want Both of Us”, in The Gift, Poems by Hafiz, translated by Daniel Ladinsky, p. 180.

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1st Michaelmas 2009, Called

1^st Michaelmas

Matthew 22, 1-14

And Jesus continued to speak in parables to them:

The kingdom of the heavens arising in human hearts is like a man, a king, who prepared a marriage feast for his son. And he sent out his servants to call the guests who had been invited to the marriage, but they would not come.

Then he again sent out other servants, and said , “Say to those who have been invited, ‘Think, I have prepared my best for the banquet, the sacrificial oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered; everything is ready. Come quickly to the wedding.” 

But they were not interested and went off, one going to his field to be his own master, another falling into the hectic pace of his own business. The rest however took hold of the servants, mistreated them and killed them.

Then the king grew angry; he sent out his army, brought the murderers to their destruction and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, “Although the marriage feast is prepared, the invited guests have proved themselves unworthy. Go out therefore to the crossroads of destiny and invite to the wedding whoever you can find.”

And the servants went into the streets and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.

Then the king came in to see the guests, and among them he noticed a man who was not dressed in the wedding garment  which was offered to him. And he said to him, “My friend, you are sharing the meal; how is it you came in here without putting on the wedding garment that was offered to you?”

But the man was speechless.

Then the king said to the servants, “Bind him hand and foot and cast him out into the darkness, where human beings wail and gnash their teeth. For the call goes out to many, yet only a few make themselves bearers of the higher life.”

Michaelmas

Sept 29, Oct 4, 2009

Called, Arild Rosenkrantz

Matthew 22: 1- 14

In today’s reading, Christ describes the human heart as a kingdom. The ruler of this kingdom of the heart is our Father. His sovereignty is expressed in the law of “what you sow, so shall you reap.” If we sow responsiveness, we will be welcomed; if we sow rejection, He has no choice but to send us away.

The heart’s king has a son, the heart’s Bridegroom. Together Father and Son invite us to the Great Wedding of the Divine Bridegroom and the Soul of Humanity. All are invited to this wedding. Disinterest, self-sufficiency and too-busy-ness are the only things that stand in our way. The only requirement is for us to show up in the proper soul attire. We are to be willing to clothe ourselves in the high festive garment of offering, and to humbly converse as honored guests with the heart’s King. Those who cannot do so go back to the darkness of the exterior world, bound hand and foot by the consequences of their deeds.

But even so there is hope. For the wedding feast is an ongoing one; the invitation is always going out. And even in the outer darkness we can grow to find the path to the wedding.  

When day withdraws to the ends of the earth

their fires shine on a dark expanse of sand.

….The heart flies from tree to bird,

from bird to distant star,

from star to love; and love grows

…, turning and working,

servant of thought, a lamp held in one hand.[1]

We are all on our way to the Wedding. Some have already been, and are finding their way back; but we all have an invitation, and all hold the soul’s lamplight, the light of love, to help us find the way.

---

[1] Philippe Jaccottet, “Distances”, in The Selected Poems of Philippe Jaccottet, translated by Derek Mahon

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