2nd Advent 2010, Clear the Attic

2^nd Advent

Philippians 4:1, 4:4-9

Therefore my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and my crown of glory, stand firm in the power of the Lord.

Rejoice in the nearness of the Lord at all times! And I say it again: Rejoice!

Let a gentle kindliness be evident toward all human beings you encounter. The Lord is near! Let not worry have power over you; let your concerns in all things be known to God by sending your supplication and prayer upward in thankful thoughts. And the peace of God, which transcends anything that the intellect can grasp, will keep your hearts and thoughts safe in the Being of Christ….

And lastly dear brothers I say to you:

all that is true,

all that is worthy of reverence,

all that is good and holy,

all that is lovely to look at and beautiful to hear,

all that has virtue and deserves praise:

let these be the content of your conversations and thoughts. All that you have had handed on to you, what you have heard from me and seen in me—put all this into practice; then the God of Peace will be with you!

2^nd Advent Sunday

Dec. 5, 2010

Philippians 4:1 and 4:9

An old-fashioned house has three or four stories. The lowest is the basement. The furnace is there. The second and third floors are the living spaces. This is where most of the life of the home plays out. And the top story is the attic. This is where we have carried up and stored an assortment of old things; some things, like albums, we treasure; some are seasonally useful, like the winter quilts; other things are simply decrepit junk. Properly cared for, an attic can become a repository for the future.

This picture of the house is analogous to our human constitution. Our lower regions of metabolism are the furnace, keeping us warm; our middle realm, the realm of the feeling heart, is where we live out our day-to-day loves and hates. And our head is the repository. Like an attic, it doesn’t fill up by itself—we carry things up there, place them there; we order them and store them. It contains our memories and thoughts from the past.

From time to time, it is appropriate to sort through an attic. What is still useful and meaningful we can keep. What we can no longer use, we can give away. And the junk we simply get rid of. And so too with our mental state, the attic of our thoughts and memories.

In today’s reading, Paul urges us to clear out the attic. He urges us not to clutter up our head space with worried thoughts. He urges us that, rather than hoarding our good fortune with thoughts of entitlement, we instead send our thoughts of gratitude to the angels and to God. He urges us to pass on kindly thoughts to those around us.

Above all, he urges us exercise our own freedom of thought, to bring what is truly needful for the future into ourselves. For what exists in the living spaces of our hearts, and what is stored in the attics of the mind, we ourselves have placed there. He encourages us to fill our hearts and heads with what is true, what is good, what is beautiful.

We are in the season when we hope and expect the Coming One. We are preparing to receive the Christ Child into the warm and peaceful living space of the heart. And so we are sorting out the attic, getting rid of the clutter. We want to blanket Him in quilts of reverence and love. We want to offer Him the albums of our most treasured memories. And so we prepare our inner heart-home with loveliness, with beauty and with goodness, in anticipation of the Guest who is on the way.  

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2nd Advent 2011, Soul Bridge

2^nd Advent

Philippians 4:1, 4:4-9

Therefore my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and my crown of glory, stand firm in the power of the Lord.

Rejoice in the nearness of the Lord at all times! And I say it again: Rejoice!

Let a gentle kindliness be evident toward all human beings you encounter. The Lord is near! Let not worry have power over you; let your concerns in all things be known to God by sending your supplication and prayer upward in thankful thoughts. And the peace of God, which transcends anything that the intellect can grasp, will keep your hearts and thoughts safe in the Being of Christ….

Sulamith Wulfing

And lastly dear brothers I say to you:

all that is true,

all that is worthy of reverence,

all that is good and holy,

all that is lovely to look at and beautiful to hear,

all that has virtue and deserves praise:

let these be the content of your conversations and thoughts. All that you have had handed on to you, what you have heard from me and seen in me—put all this into practice; then the God of Peace will be with you!

2^nd Advent Sunday

December 4, 2011

Philippians 4:1 and 4:9

Rainbows appear amid storms. They inspire within us an awed delight, for the great arch bridges heaven and earth. God set the rainbow in the sky after the great Flood, as a promise that he would never again destroy the earth by water.

 

The seasonal prayer heard during the Act of Consecration of Man during Advent speaks of a bow of color that spans the sky. It is a picture of God’s Word.

In the Gospel reading, Paul’s letter provides us with another rainbow—a rainbow of qualities. These are qualities of our human souls, qualities that shine with the radiance of the rainbow bridge: gentle kindliness, truth, reverence, goodness, wholeness, beauty and praiseworthy virtue. They form a rainbow that the human soul engenders.

This soul rainbow is the bridge that the Christ being seeks as He once again draws near. It is His bridge into our hearts, His bridge onto the earth. When we cultivate the building of the soul’s rainbow bridge, then the God of Peace will be with us.

So as the poet says,

May the light of your soul bless your work

with love and warmth of heart

May you see in what you do the beauty of your soul.

May the sacredness of your work bring light and renewal to those

who work with you

and to those who see and receive your work.[1]

www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1] John O’Donohue, “The Light of Your Soul” in To Bless the Space Between Us, p. 146. 

2nd Advent 2012, Rainbow Within

2^nd Advent

Philippians 4:1, 4:4-9

Therefore my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and my crown of glory, stand firm in the power of the Lord.

Rejoice in the nearness of the Lord at all times! And I say it again: Rejoice!

Let a gentle kindliness be evident toward all human beings you encounter. The Lord is near! Let not worry have power over you; let your concerns in all things be known to God by sending your supplication and prayer upward in thankful thoughts. And the peace of God, which transcends anything that the intellect can grasp, will keep your hearts and thoughts safe in the Being of Christ….

Crystal, Sulamith Wulfing

And lastly dear brothers I say to you:

all that is true,

all that is worthy of reverence,

all that is good and holy,

all that is lovely to look at and beautiful to hear,

all that has virtue and deserves praise:

let these be the content of your conversations and thoughts. All that you have had handed on to you, what you have heard from me and seen in me—put all this into practice; then the God of Peace will be with you!

2^nd Advent

December 9, 2012

Philippians 4:1 and 4:4-9

The Moon Has Risen, Mili Weber

We are entering a time of the year when the souls to be born in the coming year are gathering near the gateway of birth. They are still carried in the arms of the angels, who will show them a vision of their future life. Yet no matter what their future, as they enter earthly life, they will be supported and strengthened by the living Christ, working here on earth.

Today’s reading holds out to us something of this pre-earthly radiance, a radiance which we have all passed through on our way to earth. And the reading helps us to remember the warmth of our intention to unite ourselves with Christ’s working here on the earth.

Particularly now at Advent, our souls are pregnant with the possibility of giving birth to Christ within. It is His love for us that impregnates us with the possibility of giving birth to the Being of Love. The pure light of His being can become a rainbow in us: shining with the colors of awe, truth and goodness; radiant with the hues of integrity, beauty and virtue, which overflow as joyous praise.

In growing this rainbow within, we become those in whom good will dwells; those through whom the God of Peace is born.

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www.christiancommunity.org

2nd Advent 2013, Gentle Kindliness

2^nd Advent

Philippians 4:1, 4:4-9

Therefore my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and my crown of glory, stand firm in the power of the Lord.

Rejoice in the nearness of the Lord at all times! And I say it again: Rejoice!

Let a gentle kindliness be evident toward all human beings you encounter. The Lord is near! Let not worry have power over you; let your concerns in all things be known to God by sending your supplication and prayer upward in thankful thoughts. And the peace of God, which transcends anything that the intellect can grasp, will keep your hearts and thoughts safe in the Being of Christ….

And lastly dear brothers I say to you:

all that is true,

all that is worthy of reverence,

all that is good and holy,

all that is lovely to look at and beautiful to hear,

all that has virtue and deserves praise:

let these be the content of your conversations and thoughts. All that you have had handed on to you, what you have heard from me and seen in me—put all this into practice; then the God of Peace will be with you!

2^nd Advent Sunday

December 8, 2013

Philippians 4:1, 4:4 – 9

The reading today encourages us to rejoice in the nearness of the Lord. It can be hard to sense His approach, His presence in these troubled times. Yet somehow we are to find Him. There is an old story on this theme.

Once a synagogue had fallen on hard times. Only five members were left, all over 60 years old. In the mountains nearby there lived a retired rabbi. It occurred to the five to ask the rabbi if he could offer any advice that might save the group. One of the members and the rabbi spoke at length but when asked for advice, the rabbi simply responded by saying, "I have no advice to give. The only thing I can tell you is, the messiah is one of you." This member, returning, told the four members what the rabbi had said. 

In the months that followed, the old members pondered the words of the rabbi. "The Messiah is one of us?" they each asked themselves. As they thought about this possibility, they all began to treat each other with extraordinary respect on the off-chance that, one among them might be the Messiah ... and on the off-chance that each member himself might be the Messiah, they also began to treat themselves with extraordinary care. As time went by, people visiting the synagogue noticed the aura of respect and gentle kindness that surrounded the five old members of the small group. Hardly knowing why, more people began to come back to worship at the old synagogue. They began to bring their friends, and their friends brought more friends. 

Within a few years, the small group had once again become a thriving congregation, thanks to the rabbi's gift![1] 

We are in fact, each and every one of us Messiahs, Anointed Ones of God. The Lord is as near as our neighbor, as near as our own heart. Therefore we will 'Let a gentle kindliness be evident toward all human beings we encounter. The Lord is near…. and the God of peace will be with us.'

www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1] The Rabbi's Gift, author unknown. There are several versions of this story. One was published by M. Scott Peck in A Different Drummer. This Jewish version is  available on http://www.community4me.com/rabbisgift.html

1st Advent 2007, Eye of the Storm

1^st Advent

Luke 21:25-36

And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars; and upon the earth, the nations will be constricted with anxiety and doubt with the advent of these spiritual revelations, as before a roaring sea and waves. And men will lose their inner strength of soul out of fear and foreboding of what is coming over the living earth: for the dynamic powers of heaven will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud, in the sphere of life, with dynamic power and great radiant glory.

And when these things begin to happen, stand upright and lift up [raise] your soul to the spirit, for your deliverance draws near.

And he gave them a comparison, saying, ‘Observe [behold] the fig tree and all the trees when they burst into leaf. Seeing this, you know yourselves that summer is near. So also when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

Amen, the truth I say to you: this present age of Man’s being shall not pass away until all has happened.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Guard yourselves lest the perceptive power of your hearts be smothered by excess of food and drink and by over-concern with the cares and worries of life, and the light of these spirit events break upon you suddenly like a snare…for it will come upon all who dwell upon the face of the whole earth. So be awake in the spirit at all times, praying, so that you may have the strength to live through all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.

1^st Advent Sunday

December 2, 2007

Luke 21.25-36

A hurricane is a fierce circular storm. As we pass through it, we go from intense turbulence into the calm eye in the center. If we could remain centered in the calm eye, we would be safe.

The Advent season presents us with a paradox. On the one hand, the gospel speaks of a storm of cosmic proportions. “The dynamic powers of heaven will be shaken.”[1] This turbulence unleashes soul storms of fear, anxiety and foreboding. At the same time the seasonal epistle speaks of world calm, of quiet comfort, of salvation. It is a calm eye in the storm.

The gospel hints at ways to remain in the calm center in the eye of the storm. The first hint is finding the place within us that connects us in inner uprightness to what is above. “Stand upright and raise your soul to the spirit!” [2] it says. Rising through this spiritual vertical connects us to the place above where the storm funnel widens out, to the place where help comes from.

A second hint is to avoid putting our heart’s eye to sleep through the physical and material excesses that are so available this time of the year.

A third way of losing the center is to become distracted with inessentials, through ‘over-concern with the cares and worries of life’[3] as it says. The “too-muchness” of western culture provides an overwhelming abundance of such distractions.

Maintaining the center, keeping the heart’s eye prayerfully awake, not being pulled off-center by non-essentials, is our soul’s preparation for the coming of Christ. Remaining strongly and calmly upright amid the season’s turbulence is our task for surviving the coming of the living Son in His dynamic power and great radiant glory.

www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1] Luke 21.26

[2] Luke 21.28

[3] Luke 21.34

1st Advent 2008, Calm Watch

1^st Advent

Luke 21:25-36

And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars; and upon the earth, the nations will be constricted with anxiety and doubt with the advent of these spiritual revelations, as before a roaring sea and waves. And men will lose their inner strength of soul out of fear and foreboding of what is coming over the living earth: for the dynamic powers of heaven will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud, in the sphere of life, with dynamic power and great radiant glory.

And when these things begin to happen, stand upright and lift up [raise] your soul to the spirit, for your deliverance draws near.

And he gave them a comparison, saying, ‘Observe [behold] the fig tree and all the trees when they burst into leaf. Seeing this, you know yourselves that summer is near. So also when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

Amen, the truth I say to you: this present age of Man’s being shall not pass away until all has happened.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Guard yourselves lest the perceptive power of your hearts be smothered by excess of food and drink and by over-concern with the cares and worries of life, and the light of these spirit events break upon you suddenly like a snare…for it will come upon all who dwell upon the face of the whole earth. So be awake in the spirit at all times, praying, so that you may have the strength to live through all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.

1^st Advent Sunday

November 30, 2008

Luke 21: 25 – 36

One can watch a rose in the process of blossoming over time: what was enclosed, inside the bud, opens and unfurls in a profusion of petals. In the center is a crown with pollen. What takes place there at the center with pollination is gradually drawn down and inward again. The crown draws inward, becomes the cluster of seeds enclosed in the fruit.

Our experience of the world at any moment is often divided into polarities like inner and outer. But we can see, if we look closely, that, over time, like the rose, inner becomes outer and outer becomes inner, in a kind of breathing.

Today’s Gospel reading has something of this same quality. It starts with a profusion of outer signs, in sun, moon and stars. They are transported inward and become fear and anxiety. But at the same time, like the crown of the rose, the Son of Man appears ‘in great radiance and glory.’ He seems to come from outside, ‘in a cloud’. And yet His qualities, His uprightness, His soul rising to the spirit, can also be absorbed inwardly by human beings. The outer becomes inner. He gives inner strength and uprightness and awakens prayer.

The reading makes it clear that the quality and accuracy of our perception is of utmost importance. For perception is the doorway, the entryway into our souls. We are to keep the threshold clear and free of the debris of material excess and free of worry. We are to keep calm and open watch at the doorway of the soul and recognize the signs: just as new leaves signal summer’s return, so do dire outer signs signal the approach, the nearness of the Divine Human Being. We are to perceive His presence. We are to invite Him into the soul’s house, take Him in. For He is our heart’s calm center.

Sanz-Cardona

Meister Eckhart wrote,

What is the prayer of a heart grown calm

in the peace of God?

From such a purity one no longer prays

as we are wont to pray.

…A heart in calm detachment asks

for nothing, nor has anything

it would wish to shed.

Its prayer is finally only for uniformity

with God. This is its entire prayer.

…With such a disposition you

can easily accept honors and ease.

Should hardships and disgrace arrive,

you will bear them also, and be

oddly pleased to bear them.[1]

www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1] Meister Eckhart, “The Prayer of a Heart Detached”, and “Unburdened”,  in Love’s Immensity, Mystics on the Endless Life, Scott Cairns, p. 99.

1st Advent 2009, Core of Uprightness

1^st Advent

Luke 21:25-36

And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars; and upon the earth, the nations will be constricted with anxiety and doubt with the advent of these spiritual revelations, as before a roaring sea and waves. And men will lose their inner strength of soul out of fear and foreboding of what is coming over the living earth: for the dynamic powers of heaven will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud, in the sphere of life, with dynamic power and great radiant glory.

And when these things begin to happen, stand upright and lift up [raise] your soul to the spirit, for your deliverance draws near.

And he gave them a comparison, saying, ‘Observe [behold] the fig tree and all the trees when they burst into leaf. Seeing this, you know yourselves that summer is near. So also when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

Amen, the truth I say to you: this present age of Man’s being shall not pass away until all has happened.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Guard yourselves lest the perceptive power of your hearts be smothered by excess of food and drink and by over-concern with the cares and worries of life, and the light of these spirit events break upon you suddenly like a snare…for it will come upon all who dwell upon the face of the whole earth. So be awake in the spirit at all times, praying, so that you may have the strength to live through all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.

1^st Advent

November 29, 2009

Luke 21: 25 – 36

He Qi

Novice sailors need some time to learn to remain upright with the pitch and roll of the boat. For the great sea, the mother of all life, is only sometimes a calm, smooth place. Unlike solid ground, she is in constant movement.

There is the well-known incident in Matthew’s gospel (Matthew 8: 23-27) Jesus and his disciples have mounted a boat. It is the end of a long day, and Jesus falls asleep. A sudden squall erupts and the waves start to swamp the boat. His disciples wake Him—“ Lord, save us! We are going to drown!” Jesus notes the smallness of their trust, and calms the wind and the waves. Their fear gives way to amazement.

Times of great change such as ours require us to become sailors on life’s high seas. It is clear that fear and foreboding are of no help. We need to find an inner center, a core of uprightness and calm. This inner stabilizer is the Christ in us. When life becomes unsettled, begins furiously to change, He is our calm center, the core of our uprightness

Today’s gospel reading talks about life’s heavy weather. The poet says:

  

I can't talk about God and make any sense,

And I can't not talk about God and make any sense.

So we talk about the weather, and we are talking about God.

Pause with us here a while.

Put your ear to the wall of your heart.

Listen for the whisper of knowing there.

Love will touch you if you are very still. [1]  

www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1] Tom Barrett, “What’s in the Temple?”, in Keeping In Touch.