‘Peace on earth’ is not something which we can wish for or demand from others, but it is something which we, as developing sons of God, should creatively produce in the world.  Where there are real Christians, there is ‘peace on earth’ around them. If individual Christians come together, these small islands unite into larger islands. The extent to which this will happen to cover the whole world must be left to the course of events – as long as we play our part in becoming true Christians. Here everyone is called upon to make their contribution even if from an outward perspective he or she is unable to influence world events. One day, what starts on the inside will also have an outward effect.

From ‘The Hope of the World’ by Rev. Rudolf Frieling, a founding priest of The Christian Community

As I was walking to church the other morning, I realized the old adage, “There is no such thing as cold weather, only poor clothing.” Because even though my journey was snowy and a freezing -6, my coat was long and thick, my hat was made of fur, my gloves were warm.

Just like my walk, each and every human destiny is also fashioned this way. Winter is designed by the gods to come. The cold is meant to be in our lives. And if we are to live we must walk even though crisis and pain make us shiver, even though life can chill us to the bone. But let us remember that there is no cold that cannot be met by the right clothing – there is no crisis that cannot be warmed by the right spiritual garment.

Therefore, dear friends, let us learn to put on spirit clothing! Let us wrap ourselves thick with the coat of gratitude, when the cold numbness and emptiness threatens our hearts. Let us put on the fur hat of trust- trust that Christ is with us, even when we are met with biting loneliness. Let us put on the warm gloves of love for our fellow human beings, even when the gusts of anger and resentment blow.

For life is about learning to find and put on the appropriate clothes in order to meet what the heavenly hosts have designed.

Some weeks ago there was yet another mass shooting. Robert Bowers murdered 11 souls at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. He was then found and taken to the hospital. And as Robert was being wheeled into the emergency room, he yelled ‘death to all Jews’. The nurse caring for him felt those words painfully in his heart. The nurse knew the synagogue well because his parents often worshiped there. And so while deeply worried that his parents were two of the victims of this killer, nevertheless this Jewish nurse decided to care for this enemy, silently. And when the media asked why he hadn’t refused care because he was  Jewish, he said ‘When I looked into his eyes, I didn’t see evil – I saw confusion and fear. I cared for this man because I wanted him to feel compassion, to feel love, and I wanted him to feel it from a Jew.’

In our gospel reading this week (Rev. 21) we hear that the New Jerusalem, our future earth, is built of precious stones. But what could be more precious than freely given love in the face of fear? What could be more foundational for a true humanity then a compassionate heart standing before his enemy?

Dear friends, just like the Jewish nurse, we too can create love in the growing anxiety and fear of our times. For every deed of compassion and love that comes to light in this darkness creates a precious stone, a spiritual stone that will become the firm foundation of a new earth.

Just as the sun was rising the other morning, I stepped out onto our deck here at the church to fill my lungs with fresh air. The previous last couple of days, I had been watching the trees in the back of the church-so beautifully golden and ready to loose their leaves. I had thought that because it had rained so much in the days before, that the rain would have ripped down all the leaves. But it didn’t happen, the leaves were still there on that morning, glistening with dew. But as I watched and as the sun began to ray out and shine through the leaves, the leaves began to fall. First just a few, and as the sun’s light grew stronger, the leaves fell more and more. I realized for the first time this morning, that trees let go of their leaves, not so much in the rain and darkness of the clouds. The trees are so much more encouraged to let go in the presence of the light of the Sun.

Like the trees, each and every human heart is also called to let go of the old so that we can receive what is new. Each and every one of us is called to allow what is no longer useful in us to fall away, like leaves, so that we can transform into what is useful now. This is the Christian path. Death and resurrection in life is how we connect with Christ.

And yet, let us always remember that the trees don’t let go of their leaves so well in the darkness and the rain. The trees gain the strength to let go standing in the light of the Sun.

Dear friends, let us learn from the trees that if we want to learn to let go of a part of ourselves that is no longer useful, we must first practice standing in the light. For it is really never the cold rainy darkness that transforms human souls. Human hearts are transformed in His warm Light.

Only those who pass through the school of suffering can absorb the divine spark into their soul, the spark which will be sealed in them as the seed of a new cosmos… Neither does the inner light spring simply from suffering well borne. A new motif emerges which has been taken up and treasured through the whole history of Christendom: “The blood of Christ makes man pure and bright.”

Mankind lost the white robe of paradisal origin. The vitality of the sinful human blood – sinful since the “Fall” – is wearing out and coming to an end. The blood that flowed from the wounds of Christ is the bearer of transformed, spiritualized forces of imperishable life. He who learns in the school of tribulation to open his being for the entry of Christ, to receive into his own blood the blood of Christ, obtains through Him Who dwells within his heart a share in the eternal life which bears the seed of the new world, and of which it can again be said, “The life is the light of men.”

The Apocalypse of Saint John 
Emil Bock

The sun shining above us can be experienced in vastly different ways. One of them is the sun in its majestic and cosmic quality – it’s light so bright it is impossible to look at it. Its power so strong nothing can withstand it. On the other side we experience the sun as the blessed light of our days. We are happy when the sun shines and its rays warm us. The sun is the life giver to everything living and growing and we take
comfort in its presence.

In last Sunday’s gospel reading (Revelation 1), John the Evangelist recounts to us his experience of the cosmic power of Christ. The Christ, standing almost unbearably high above human comprehension, with eyes like flame of fire, his voice like rushing streams of water and his face shining like the sun.

And yet, as John falls to the ground, stunned by His glory, Christ lays his right hand on him, as a friend or a brother does and says: Do not be afraid. Christ, at the same time seems highest above us and, yet, closest and most intimately near to us. Of Him Rudolf Steiner once said:
“The Christ is not only a ruler of human beings. He is their brother, who wants to be asked about life’s
every detail […] a loving companion in life’s every detail.” Christ is so close to us that we can live with him every day. That we can share our thoughts and our deeds – the details of our life with him. If we become aware of him like this – so close to us – the words that are spoken in the Act of Consecration become true: Christ’s light in our daylight.

To Burn Brightly

In our gospel this week (Rev 12), we see the woman clothed with the Sun. The woman clothed with the sun is a picture of our true humanity. This is an image of what all human souls are called to become.  With the warmth and light of Christ permeating our soul, we are all meant to shine.

And yet, we all know the dragons in us and around us who would devour and steal our shine away. The dragon of our irritation with someone, irritation because they are not behaving as we would like. This dragon, if we let it, devours our shine. Or the dragon of impatience with our circumstances in life, not being willing to endure until the time is right. The dragon of impatience, if we let it, devourers our shine. Or the dragon of a loveless heart, not being able to love what is; this dragon, if we let it, steals our shine.

Dear friends, let us always remember that if we want to shine, we must also be willing to burn. For the woman who is clothed with the sun is also at the same time enduring the burning pain of labor. And even though she is glowing with light, at the same time she is in the burning presence of the dragon.

May we too learn to shine even when we are in pain, may we too learn to shine even in the face of the dragon. May the light in us burn brightly, for the darkness must not overcome.

The trees around here are so beautiful in fall. They have put on color, they have clothed themselves in the garments of red, yellow, orange, rust. And this garment of color, this clothing of beauty is put on just as we enter the coldest and darkest time of year.

And as we too enter more and more into the cold darkness, we can also feel more and more of a  spiritual cold and darkness in our world – the spiritual cold of materialism, meaninglessness, screens and political madness. But just like the trees, we are also called to put on new garments in the face of the spiritual cold- just like the trees every human soul in our time is being called to put on beauty.

But this beauty, the spirit colors that we are asked to put on in the face of the dark, this beauty is not how nice our hair is, or how thin we look, this beauty is not even how physically healthy we are or appear. The beauty we are called to cloth ourselves with is spiritual beauty.

For it is truly beautiful to see a human heart overcome its insecurity, doubts and fears by putting on the shield of Faith. It is truly beautiful to see a human soul overcome its jealously, hate and envy by putting on the breastplate of purity and goodness. It is truly beautiful to see the human spirit put on the belt of truth by discerning and separating what is lower from what is higher in us.

Dear friends, let us become like the beautiful trees and put on true beauty as we enter the coming darkness and cold. For, it is only through the garments of spirit substance that we can protect ourselves from the adversaries. It is only through the beauty of a human heart that is clothed in faith, truth, goodness and peace that we can overcome.

The leaves are turning, the cold is coming, everything in nature is now moving toward hibernation, falling away, everything in nature is moving toward death.

Will we too follow the course of nature? For the Michaelmas question is, will our spirits also follow outer nature, fall like the leaves into this dying? Or will we have the strength to shine with heavenly light even though all around us is dark?

This is the essence of Michaelmas – that we practice lifting our spirit into life, even though all around us and in us is decaying – that we practice turning our spirit toward truth, even though there is so much untruth in us and around us. The essence of Michaelmas is that we strain to fill ourselves with love, even in the midst of so much hate and fear in us and around us.

And this means that even if we are accused, and attacked, even if the other does not deserve our love, even if we feel the hopelessness and depravity in our politics and in our culture, even though all of this is true, we are called to ‘wrest ourselves free from the load of sin and in thinking and willing join with Him’, directing our spirits to the love of Christ with all of our might.

Dear friends, ‘the darkness around us and in us is deep’, but the light of Joy is deeper. And ‘the heavenly light must vanish not’. Therefore in this darkening time let us make ourselves worthy to join Michael as disciples of Christ by burning into our hearts, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13)

In our Michaelmas gospel this week (Matthew 22) we hear that we have all been invited to the holy wedding, that we must not forget to receive the wedding garment when we arrive and most importantly, we must not be found speechless.

And this gospel, this wisdom parable that Christ tells, it lives in our hearts – this gospel lives in the very core of our being. For each and every human soul has a secret invitation to unite the sacred with the profane, the spirit with matter, our souls with Christ. Will we take up this invitation from God? Will we decide to make holy our encounters with one another? Will we find Christ in each and every moment of our lives? Or do we have other more pressing business, do we choose our own plans…

This is the call of Michael.

And will receive the wedding garment? Will we allow the kingdom of God to bless us here and now? Will we receive with gratitude the gifts that we have in our lives? Will we accept the love that God is pouring out to us through all that we are, all that we have and all that we can become?

This is the call of Michael.

And finally, will we be found speechless? Because it is how we speak that is most central to our being. And the true word of every heart is the word of God. And our true word is how we love. Because the only word that can be spoken in the presence of God, is the word imbued with love. We must not be found speechless, without love, in the presence of God. For without love, human life becomes desolate, empty, and we cast ourselves into the outer darkness.

Make everything we touch holy.

Receive the bounty of Life and Grace that is blessing us at every moment.

Speak with love because we are always walking in the presence of God.

This is the call of Michael.