Category Archives: The Weekly Word

Remembering What is Real

The last couple of days here in Toronto the winds were blowing- the trees bending the leaves swirling. And since Wednesday soul winds are swirling across the globe. Storms of fear, anxiety and hate…gusts of anger, shock and uncertainty…. these soul winds are bending our human branches, challenging our roots…calling on our soul roots to dig deep.

This is because every human being, like the trees, has roots, inner roots. And these inner roots keep us steady when storms come. Like the trees, our inner roots are nourished, not by the winds and storms of fear and hate, we are nourished by the substance and being of The Ground of the World. Human souls are strengthened, not by swaying this way and that with the endless debate, human souls are strengthened by roots that push down into the Father Ground.

Dear friends, let us remember, in this time of soul storms and turmoil, that Christ did not come into the world to support a particular political party or a particular country. Let us remember that the real world is not what we see in politics or media. Let us remember that our battle is not with flesh and blood but with spiritual adversaries that seek to fill our hearts with fear and hate. Let us remember that our task is not to fix the world, but to bring love into a broken world. Let us remember that the divine call is still the same as it was before the election; not to eradicate and destroy evil, but in the destructive darkness to find light. Let us remember that Christ walks with all human souls no matter how corrupt, hoping to root us in the Father Ground of the World.

May our roots dig deep into what is real. May our roots dig deep into Christ, the substance of love. So that the storms which are raging not uproot our souls.

Inner Christianity


All around us we see churches shrinking. We see souls wanting nothing to do with religious institutions and for good reason. Even in The Christian Community we are seeing congregations struggle across the globe. Destruction is all around us.

And yet, the great german poet Christian Morgenstern wrote not long ago, “We stand not at the end of Christianity but at its very beginning.”

And Christian Morgenstern said this not because he saw outer Christianity on the rise, he said this not because he thought church buildings were going to start to replacing shopping malls. Christian Morgenstern said this because he knew true Christianity is not an institution. He knew that true Christianity is not actually perceptible to our normal senses. We need new senses.

Dear friends, Christianity is at its beginning because we are meant to shift our attention away from what the outer eyes see, to what the inner eye can see. For real Christianity is always hidden, esoteric, supersensible. It is actually not a set of beliefs, not even a teaching.

In reality, Christianity is a Spiritual being. And to practice sensing the living presence of The Etheric Christ Jesus, this is Christianity.

So, my brothers and sisters, when we see outer Christianity all around us begin to weaken and even turn into something unrecognizable… let this crumbling of the outer be a call to a Christianity that is inner. Let us remember that Christianity is nothing except a shared practice of opening our hearts-eye to the hidden, loved-filled presence of Jesus Christ.

This contemplation by Rev. Evans was inspired by Rev. 1.

Real Fuel

Sometimes there is nothing better than a good road-trip. And even though we love the freedom and the care-free feeling that road trips bring, at the same time we must be disciplined and responsible for our fuel gage. We must stop when our tank is empty and fill up. If we don’t notice our gauge limits, we burn out. And even when we do notice that we are running low and stop, but mistakenly fill up with the wrong fuel, we also won’t get very far-  burn-out will come.

In our time, each and every human soul is challenged more and more with burn-out. And just like with a car, if we are to avoid soul burn-out, we must learn to read our personal fuel gage- we must practice knowing and accepting the limits of our own particular tank- respecting its boundaries, letting go of the vain desire to push on at all costs.

But at the same time, even if we do learn good boundaries and stop when we’re feeling low, mistakenly filling up on the wrong fuel will still lead us to burn-out. For when we go to our inner pump we are called today to learn to discern between the fuel that can truly sustain us for our journey and the fuel that leads to burn out. Burn-out fuel is feeling inspired and renewed because of how others see us…Burn-out fuel is feeling validated and energized by how much money our work is attracting…Burn-out fuel is our subtle expectation that the community and the our loved ones should fill us up with positive recognition. Outer recognition, however much, only feels good at first, but always leads to an empty gauge.

Real fuel that sustains our spirit only ever comes from angels. Real fuel never depends on what others see or don’t see. For only what comes from The Spirit will truly suffice if we are not to burn-out.

May the Christ’s loving Spirit that pours out from the place of our altar become our real fuel, sustaining our hearts, nourishing our souls.

The Sacred Secret

There is a sacred secret in human evolution. It is a secret that is hidden and at the same time open to all human beings. This open secret is; that within each human soul there is a bride- an inner bride. And this bride of our hearts is being called to holy wedlock with a very special groom. The bride in every human heart is called to a holy union with Christ.

And yet, our Michaelmas gospel (Mt.22) tells us that if this hidden wedding is to take place for our heart, we must become worthy. ‘For all are called, but only individuals make themselves worthy.’

To be worthy for a wedding, the bride in our heart must first really believe , believe that the wedding is real! So when we come up to the altar, to be worthy for this holy (comm)union, we must practice trusting- trusting that He is actually here- waiting to unite with the bride in us- ready to touch us and make us whole…

To be found worthy for a wedding we are also called to receive, we are called to receive and put on the gift of the wedding garment. This means that we cannot remain the way we are. The bride must put on something different. To be worthy we must have the courage to be changed, made new.

And finally, to become worthy for the wedding, every human soul as bride must learn to speak. For above all we cannot be found to be speechless in the presence of God. We must learn to speak directly to the beloved- our words resounding from our hearts core saying “Take me, as You have given Yourself to me”

The Convertible and The Kingdom

Once, there was a wise man and his student walking down a busy New York street. And just as they were coming around the corner, parked on the side of the road was a shiny red convertible. In this red convertible was a couple, who had just been married. They were standing in their seats dancing to music! The Wise man said to his student, ‘Now that is what we need!’ And the student said, ‘oh yes, I have always wanted a red convertible!’ And the wise man said ‘no, not the convertible’ And the student said, ‘oh yes, we all need to dance a bit more.’ And the wise man said, ‘no, not the dancing’. And then student said, ‘but teacher, what do you see?’ and the wise man said, ‘What is most real and most essential is the loving-joy flowing between them.’

Every human spirit is called today to develop new eyes and new ears for what is essential. We need new eyes to see like this wise man, seeing in and through the material objects, in and through the outer appearances, seeing through to what is most important; moral forces like loving-joy that can awaken in human hearts. For whenever we see love, or peace, or gratitude, compassion, or any fruit of The Spirit active in the human heart, we see Christ working, we see His kingdom alive. And this is why our gospel this week (Matt 6) calls us not to worry about material concerns. We are to seek first this kingdom of Christ in all things, to make that our essential ground, and then everything else will fall into place.

Now, this is no mere optimism or denial of shadow and pain. We are not meant to neglect the material world or our suffering. Practicing seeing the kingdom of god in all things brings light into the darkness, enlivens our world with His.

Dear friends, this means that when all is said and done, the most powerful weapon against the adversarial forces is spiritual joy. The spiritual joy that can awaken when we feel Chirst’s presence, Christ’s kingdom come close, in and through the dark.

This contemplation by Rev. Evans was inspired by Matt 6

 

True Life is Love

How do we attain eternal life? What does it mean to be truly alive? 

This is the question that is addressed to Christ in our gospel this week (Lk 10). His answer is a story. A story about a samaritan who compassionately gives himself, his time, his energy, his care, for the life of stranger. Christ is telling us that true life is to be found now- that eternal life is not to be found in heaven or after we die, but here, now, on earth- whenever active love awakens for another human being. 

This means that within every one of us there is also a good samaritan. And to awaken the good samaritan in us we are called to give ourselves in loving support for the life of another. For active love is not only how we come into contact with what it means to be truly alive, it also means that being truly alive requires one another- true life necessitates community. For real Christian Community is founded on a quality of heart- a quality that grows from the hearts knowledge that we are alive not for ourselves but to love God in and through one another.

And yet, the roots of our loneliness are deep- the forces that alienate are strong…. every modern person knows this. For we are so often tempted away from community because of the inner suspicion that there is no one who actually cares without strings attached – tempted away because of the inner suspicion that there is really no place where we can be vulnerable without being used. These thoughts and feelings attempt to keep us from one another- keep us from true life.

Dear friends, may what flows from our altar enliven our hearts togetherness. May He strengthen our faith in the power of self-giving, community building love.

This contemplation by Rev. Evans was inspired by the good samaritan.

What ‘Pokeman Go’ Teaches Us About Our Destiny

Just the other day, there appeared at the church door-step a strange group of people. Folks of all different ages looking through their cell phones at the church and our grounds, peering through their screens with enthusiastic anticipation. They were playing a new game who’s popularity is spreading like wildfire. This new game is called ‘Pokeman Go’.

Now, the object of Pokemon Go is to ‘set free’ little coloured creatures that show up on your screen depending on where in the real world you are. You may have to go to the gas station to find them, or to Sobey’s parking lot, or to the empty field down the road, or here at our church. The point is that you are searching to find and set free little virtual beings that are trapped in various real life locations. But they can only be seen in and through your screen.

Dear friends, this game, this ‘pokeman go’ that is so popular today can actually remind us of a deeply human task. For Pokeman go imitates in the virtual world what we must do in the real word. It imitates in the virtual world, a spiritual task that humanity must cultivate in this world. This is because within every human spirit there a deep call to become aware of the elemental beings within all of creation. Just like the virtual spirits waiting to be found in pokeman, the elemental spirits that are the plants, animals, trees, are actually longing for human beings to find them, to wake up to their reality. But not with screens, with the eyes of the heart! For Paul says in Romans, All of creation is groaning for the sons of god to awaken to them…and muster the spiritual strength to set them free.

This is why the work of becoming aware of the elemental world that so many of our congregation is involved with is so important…

May we as a community continue to strengthen our capacity to become aware of the beings of the elemental world and bring to them what they need- the liberating medicine of human reverence, gratitude and love. Otherwise, games like ‘pokeman go’ will divert and suck up the forces of this deeply human destiny into the virtual world, depriving creation of what it needs.

So as we go out into nature during these august vacation months- canoeing, camping, hiking- let us look with new eyes and new hearts at the trees, the rivers and plants. Let us look with Christs eyes and bring to these nature beings the medicine they need.

The Renewed Christian Mission for Today

Most of you have probably never heard of Lee Atwater. But Lee Atwater was one of the most significant American political advisors of our time. He became great in the 1980’s by making popular the tactic of lying about his opponents in such a skilled way that the lie became the public truth. And even though Atwater is the father of ‘negative and hate politics’ that we see used so much today, at the end of his life he had a profound transformation. This transformation began when Atwater collapsed with a brain tumor that left him paralyzed and soon took his life. But before he died this illness became his gift- his illness became the very catalyst needed to change his heart and mind.

Atwater describes his transformation in an letter to a politician who’s career he ruined…he says…

My illness helped me to see that what was missing in society is what was missing in me: a little heart, a lot of brotherhood. The ’80s were about acquiring—acquiring wealth, power, prestige. I know. I acquired more wealth, power, and prestige than most. But you can acquire all you want and still feel empty. What power wouldn’t I trade for a little more time with my family? What price wouldn’t I pay for an evening with friends? It took a deadly illness to put me eye to eye with that truth... I don’t know who will lead us through the ’90s, but they must be made to speak to this spiritual vacuum at the heart of… society…’

Dear friends, just like Lee Atwater, within every one of us there is this capacity to transform, to transmute the pain of our mistakes, shadows and weaknesses into deep wisdom and love. This transforming power is The Christ in us- The Christ in Lee Atwater- the father of hate politics.

May we learn to see this Christ power working in us, working in others, even when it lights up in the most despised.

For the new mission as striving Christians is not to convert souls to Christ by what we say, but like Peter in our gospel today – The new Christian mission for our time is to recognize Christ when He comes alive- when He comes alive in any soul, even our enemy.

Compassion is a Being and a Substance

The greatest Christian initiate of our times once wrote:

‘As long as you feel pain that I avoid

The Christ remains unrecognized

At work in the World of Being-

For my spirit remains weak

as long as I am only capable of feeling my own pain.’

These words can remind us that within every human spirit there lives the possibility of awakening to The Christ. But this capacity to know and feel the Christ does not depend on how many bible verses I can quote or how many esoteric books I’ve read. Recognizing Christ does not depend on my ability to see auras or elemental spirits. These profound words can remind us that recognizing the Christ in us and in the world means compassion- that the very doorway to christ’s being is to feel someone else’s pain- to suffer with the other.

In these extraordinary times, when almost every morning we wake up to another world tragedy, the most recent in Nice and Ankara, in these extraordinary times our souls are being tested. We are tested by the forces working in the terror and in the media who would have our hearts succumb to fear, anxiety and prejudice, the perfect soil for the thought, enough is enough its time to exterminate this evil. Or the forces working in the terror would have our hearts succumb to numbness and despair, tempting us to go to sleep to world because the suffering is unbearable- because there is nothing that one can do.

Dear friends, as striving christians our faith must become that real compassion is profoundly meaningful for the future of our evolution. That focusing on feeling the pain of those who suffer these tragedies, practicing allowing our hearts to break and our tears to flow, overcoming fear and despair, that this is deeply meaningful. That the compassion filled heart in itself is profoundly meaningful because it enlivens Christ’s reality in this world. For as long as you feel pain that I avoid, Christ remains unrecognized at work in the World of Being.

This contemplation by Rev. Evans was inspired by Rudolf Steiner’s words and current events

Lion and Lamb

In our gospel today (Jn 1), John the Baptist recognizes Jesus as he walks to the river Jordan and says ‘Behold the lamb- the lamb who takes upon himself the sin of the world’. Not only is Christ the lion of Judah, the one who courageously speaks the word of truth to the adversaries in the desert and to the oppressive powers of the world, Christ is also the sacrificial lamb. For the lamb of God is inwardly strong enough to take upon himself all of the pain, suffering and injustice of this world and endure it, carry it- ultimately sacrificing himself like a lamb through it in order to create a new future for mankind.

Within every human spirit lives the Christ, both lion and lamb. The Christ lion in us is courageous- always ready to speak truth to power, always ready to call out injustice when it is right. But the Christ lamb in us is inwardly strong- patiently ready to endure the pain of what oppresses us, letting go of the impulse for vengeance, renouncing violence and power for love. With the Christ coming alive in our soul, both lion and lamb come together in us.

In our dark times, even with the recent violent tragedy in Dallas, even with the oppression of systemic racism and prejudice that effects so many, even with all of the terrorism taking place today in the name of a false God, even with a culture of fear and hate that is propagated by media and politicians, even with all of the untruths and sufferings that exist in our world, we are all called to cultivate light in this darkness.

For if the Christ is to shine in our hearts, we must always remember that the darkness is meant to be there. Our task is not to vanquish evil for in this world there will always be oppression and pain. Our task is that in the face of this darkness, the human heart shines with the light of Christ. May he  shine in us with the lambs capacity to endure sacrifice, to endure the unjustified pain in our lives without resorting to violence. And may He shine in us with the lions courage to speak truth- truth to all the oppressive powers that be.

This contemplation by Rev. Evans was inspired by John the Baptist and recent events.