Church of the Holy City

That Is Why I Have Come
Rev. Dr. David J. Fekete
February 3, 2012

Isaiah 40:18-31 Mark 1: 29-39 Psalm 147

This morning’s Bible passages are cosmic and at the same time personal. In our selection from Psalm 147, God determines the number of stars, calls the stars by name, and brings clouds and rain to the earth. These powers put God above the heavens in a cosmic context. But in the same Psalm, this cosmic God, who determines the number of stars and calls each one by name, this cosmic God cares for each single, humble person. This cosmic God heals those who are weak and brokenhearted, and He takes delight in those who place their hopes in His unfailing love:
The LORD sustains the humble . . . He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds. . . .
the LORD delights in those . . . who put their hope in his unfailing love.
We have a similar passage in Isaiah 40. In this passage, as in Psalm 147, God is a cosmic God who also cares for the weak and humble of the human race. Isaiah 40 is even grander in the way it depicts God. Isaiah says that God, “Sits enthroned above the circle of the earth.” This is the God who created everything, “The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.” As in Psalm 147, Isaiah says that God, “brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name.” This is a God who, “brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.” While God brings rulers to nothing, He cares for the humble. Isaiah also says that God, “Gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” This shows the typical Old Testament protection of the disenfranchised in society, but Isaiah 40 concludes with an inspiring passage addressed to all who have faith in God:
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men will stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint (40:30-31).
This Isaiah passage is interesting for another reason that bears on our New Testament reading. In Isaiah 40 we find one of the many, many places in which God is called the Holy One. Isaiah 40:25 reads, “‘To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?’ says the Holy One.” In Mark, we are told that the evil spirits know who Jesus is. Last Sunday, we heard about the evil spirit who said, “I know who you are–the Holy One of God” (Mark 1:24). This statement tells us that Jesus is the Holy One in Isaiah, or Yahweh God.
When the evils spirit identifies Jesus as the Holy One, Jesus’ first response is to say, “Be quiet!” He doesn’t want His identity revealed. We find the same thing in this morning’s Mark reading. In Mark 1:34 we read,
Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.
I’m curious as to why Jesus would conceal His identity. I do have a few thoughts, though. I think it is for the same reason that God displays His glory and wonders every day–but only to those who have eyes for it. We see the sunrise, the sunset, and the starry heavens to which the Psalmist and Isaiah testify. We see these as free gifts from God. We are treated to these wonders daily, if we choose to look at them. Yet God does not sign these works of divine art as human artists do their paintings. In a beautiful sunrise, there is no signature that reads, “I, God, made this.” This is to preserve our freedom. God will not force Himself on us. God will not, cannot, compel anyone to believe or love. Think of someone you love. Can you force them to love you back? You can do things that make you attractive, you can entice someone to love you back, but we are powerless to actually make someone love us who doesn’t. It is the same with God. God wants a genuine love relationship with us. He entices us to return His infinite love by giving us sunsets each night, and then He brings out his stars. He touches our hearts in prayer, and when we do good to others. We can see God in His creation, and feel God and know He is there–but only if we begin by wanting God in our lives. We will never see God if we withhold our assent until God proves himself to us.
So Jesus didn’t want to force belief on people. He simply wanted to do good to the human race, and to demonstrate what Divine Love looks like. “That is why I have come,” Jesus says. And He travels throughout Israel healing, preaching, and driving out evil spirits. He showed that God cares about us, teaching us what is good, and taking away the things that hurt us. But Jesus didn’t seem to want people to get caught up in questions as to who He was. He continually dodged questions about whether He was the Messiah. He also dodged questions about whether He is God. On one occasion, He pointed the Jews to His actions, in order to answer their questions about who Jesus was.
Do you say of Him, whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world, “You blaspheme;” because I said, “I am the Son of God?” Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the works; that you may know, and believe, that the Father is in Me, and I in Him (John 10:36-38).
So Jesus doesn’t offer proof that He is the Son of God. He points His questioners to His works. It is as if Jesus says, “Look at what I’m doing. My actions speak for themselves.” And the works Jesus does are all dedicated to the human race whom He loves–teaching and healing.
We can take this story to a personal level. Jesus can heal our spirits the same way that He drove out evil spirits 2,000 years ago. By driving out evil spirits from our souls, Jesus can come into our hearts with love. For the Great Creator God, who formed the earth, spread out the sky, and brings the stars out at night one by one, has all power to save and infinite love for His creation.
Jehovah, or the Lord’s internal, was the very Celestial of Love, that is, Love itself, to which no other attributes are fitting than those of pure Love, thus of pure Mercy toward the whole human race; which is such that it wishes to save all and make them happy for ever, and to bestow on them all that it has; thus out of pure mercy to draw all who are willing to follow, to heaven, that is, to itself, by the strong force of love (AC 1735).
God has love and mercy to everyone. God is present with everyone. God dwells in the deepest recesses of everyone’s soul. We might call these deepest recesses our sub-conscious. We are not aware of this level of our personality.
Who we are is a matter of where our conscious mind is. It is what we consciously love and enjoy, and what we think about. And for us to feel happy, we need for God to enter the conscious level of our personality. When we feel heavenly loves; when we think true thoughts, and when we do good things, then we can say that our personality is Godly. Then we can say that we have an angelic personality. Then we can say that God’s Spirit lives in our hearts. Then we can say that we are heaven-bound.
These thoughts bring us to a final statement about the process of regeneration. We have looked at spiritual causes for the good and evil that we feel in our lives. I now need to finally talk about how we open up to allow God into our lives.
God is love itself. We are only vessels that can hold love. This means that in order for us to have God’s love in our hearts, we need to get rid of anything that would block God’s love. As I said before, God wants to enter into a relationship with every human being. He looks with care and mercy on the whole human race. “The mercy of the Lord is perpetual with every person, for the Lord wills to save all persons whomsoever” (AC 8307). But God cannot flow into us until we have removed evils from our lives.
this mercy cannon flow in until evils have been removed, for evils and falsities therefrom oppose and hinder. As soon however as evils are removed, mercy flows in, that is, good of mercy from the Lord, which good is charity and faith (AC 8309).
Swedenborg is quite optimistic about our power to resist evil. He says that God gives us all the power to do so,
That a person can abstain from evils, is because the Lord continually flows into the will of a person with that endeavor, and thus implants in his freedom [the power] to desist from evils, and also to apply himself to good (AC 8307).
How do we do this? Swedenborg gives us two formulas. The first formula is to, “examine one’s self, to know and acknowledge one’s sins, to make supplication to the Lord, and begin a new life” (TCR 535). We are told that this is “exceedingly difficult,” and Swedenborg gives us another way that he claims is easier is also given.
when one is considering evil with the mind, and is intending it, he should say to himself, “I am thinking of this and intending it; but because it is sin, I will not do it (TCR 535).
It was Socrates who said that the unexamined life is not worth living. I think that all great spiritual leaders call us to some sort of critique of our life.
Well, after Swedenborg talks about the work that goes into reformation, he seems to let us off the hook. In a magnanimous act of spiritual diplomacy, Swedenborg writes, “But still, all they who do good from religion avoid actual evils” (TCR 535).
This church puts a lot of emphasis on good works. We talk about resisting harmful and unhealthy drives and we talk about doing good and healthy things, for ourselves and for those around us. This is how we understand putting our hope in the Lord. And when God flows into our souls with His Divine Love, then our hearts feel the way Isaiah talks about it,
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint (40:30-31).

PRAYER

Lord, we think of you with wonder and awe. You have created the vast unfathomable universe, with its billions of galaxies and stars. And we think of you with wonder and awe when we contemplate the smallest things in life, the cells in our bodies, the molecules in the cells and the atoms in the molecules. You have created them and through perpetual creation, you keep alive all of the things that grow and walk the earth. We give you thanks, Lord, for your care for us. For even as you rule the universe, you care for each single humble human being. Your love goes out to everyone; you wish to bring everyone into relationship with you; and you never cease to lift us out of our worries and cares and into heaven’s peace.

The Process of Regeneration
Rev. Dr. David J. Fekete
January 27, 2013

Deuteronomy 18:15-20 Mark 1:21-28 Psalm 111

Two things caught my attention in the Mark Passage we heard this morning. First was Jesus’ identity. The evil spirit announces to the whole congregation that Jesus is the Holy One of God. This name is also in Luke 1:35, where Gabriel tells Mary that she will give birth to “The Holy One.” Swedenborg cites an abundance of references from the Old Testament to show that that term, Holy One, means Jehovah God. He lists 21 references in the Old Testament that call Jehovah God the Holy One and also our Savior. Once Jesus is identified as God, Jesus casts the evil spirit out of the man and he is healed. Casting out the evil spirit is symbolic of the way Jesus casts out all evil from us. Maybe I should say that this isn’t even a symbolic act: the evil that is in us is from the influence of the hells, and its evil spirits. And in the teachings of this church, casting out evil and opening up one’s heart for good is the process called regeneration, or spiritual rebirth.
Last Sunday I talked about sin and our free will in regard to good and evil. I said that we are in between heaven and hell, and that we receive influences from both. I said that we are free to turn toward the one or toward the other. This Sunday, I would like to develop that idea in greater depth. In doing so, I will also talk about the process Swedenborg calls regeneration, which is the way we become angels.
I said last Sunday that we do not look at sin in the way traditional Christians do. We do not believe that Adam’s original sin is transmitted to every human at conception. But there is an influence from traditional Christianity in Swedenborg. He claims that our emotions tend to favor evil. Swedenborg calls this our fallen will. Or in other places, he calls it hereditary evil. What this means is that we inherit a tendency to evil from our parents. This notion of a corrupted will is in Augustine and from Augustine it was adopted by the Lutheran Church Swedenborg grew up in. Swedenborg does not say we inherit evil or sin, but that we inherit an inclination to it.
But, my friend, hereditary evil is from no other source than parents; not indeed the evil itself which a man actually commits, but the inclination to it. . . . From this it follows that man is not born into evils themselves, but only into an inclination to evils; having, however, a greater or less proclivity for particular ones (TCR 521).
While Swedenborg seems to be saying that hereditary evil is only an inclination to evil, he also seems to say that we all have evil in us that needs to be removed. This idea is implied in his system of repentance, reformation and regeneration. If we don’t have evil in us, why would Swedenborg talk about the need for repentance? For that matter, why would Jesus say we need to be reborn to enter heaven? Perhaps Swedenborg’s psychology works as an accurate description of human personality. In Swedenborg’s psychology, our inner mind is open to heavenly influences while our lower mind and body is subject to hellish delights.
Now because man as to the interiors of his mind has been born spiritual, . . . consequently born for heaven, while yet his natural or external man is . . . hell in miniature, it follows that heaven cannot be implanted in hell unless it be removed (TCR 612).
Swedenborg’s system of salvation is one in which a person fights from his internal mind and drives out evil desires that reside in his lower, external personality. The assumption seems to be that there is evil in our external personality that needs to be removed.
Combat arises between the internal and the external man, and the one that conquers rules over the other. A combat then arises because the internal man has been reformed by means of truths, and from these it sees what is evil and false, and these are still in the external or natural man. Therefore, first dissention springs up between the new will which is above, and the old will which is below; and because this dissention is between these wills, it is also between their delights; for it is well known that the flesh is opposed to the spirit, and the spirit to the flesh, and that the flesh must be subdued before the spirit can act and become a new man (TCR 596).
Swedenborg is right when he says that this process is well-known. I don’t think that there’s anything original and new in this idea of regeneration. It is described well in Paul’s letter to the Galatians,
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh . . . And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (Galatians 5:16-17, 24).
What is new in Swedenborg is the detailed description of how this process plays out. This description is done with the precision of a scientist. We can sometimes see these processes working out in our own psyche, but to describe them is an exceedingly difficult task. It is known that devils tempt us to favor depraved emotions and behaviors and that angels inspire us to love good and healthy emotions and behaviors. But how this goes on in our souls isn’t described anywhere in as much detail as we find it in Swedenborg. It is either Swedenborg’s strength, as a seer who guides us on the path of spiritual attainment. Or it is Swedenborg’s weakness, as worldly-minded individuals do not accept the idea of genuine visionary experience. In any event, let’s hear Swedenborg’s description of how the struggle between good and evil takes place in our souls. This reading would probably be rated 18+ by the motion picture industry as it contains graphic spiritual content.
There are evil spirits who . . . in times of temptation call up a person’s falsities and evils . . . But the angels with the person draw out his goods and truths, and thus defend him. This conflict is what is felt and perceived by the person, and causes pain and remorse of conscience. . . . When a person is tempted as to things of the will, . . . there are evil genii . . . who inflame him with their lusts and the filthy loves with which he is imbued, and thus fight through the person’s own lusts–which they do so maliciously and secretly that it could not be believed to be from them. For in a moment they pour themselves into the life of his lusts, and almost instantly invert and change an affection for good and truth into an affection for evil and falsity, so that a person cannot know but it is done of his own self and comes forth of his own will. This temptation is most severe, and is perceived as an inward grief and tormenting fire (AC 751).
Perhaps last Sunday I made it sound like the process of reformation is easier than it actually is. This Swedenborg passage shows that the process of choosing good is severe and difficult. In other places he says that a person can come to despair as to their own spiritual wellbeing. In this passage, we see how crafty evil spirits can be when they seek to destroy us. They twist our good emotions into perversions without our knowing it. They inspire into our own soul their own depravities and make it look like we are the ones who have these depravities. Yet they are counterbalanced by heavenly influences from God and from angels. And through these struggles, we come to know what good feels like, we learn what truth is, and we dedicate our lives to these higher principles.
As I have been suggesting, this is a process. Regeneration, spiritual rebirth, doesn’t happen in an instant. If Swedenborg is right, the evil that resides in our lower selves–our external personality–has been developing as we grow and mature. He seems to be saying that we all have built up a shell that is oriented to the world and composed of worldly and selfish drives. (Swedenborg and Augustine would call these drives lusts.) This shell, this lower self cannot be broken up in an instant. We need to reprogram our attitudes, our goals, and our emotions. We need to become new and different people. This kind of real and genuine personality change can only happen gradually over time. Swedenborg describes this process by means of graphic images and metaphors,
Sins are removed so far as a person is regenerated, because regeneration is restraining the flesh that it may not rule, and subjugating the old man with its lusts . . . Who that yet has sound understanding, cannot conclude from this that such things cannot be done in a moment, but successively, as a person is conceived, carried in the womb, born, and educated . . . ? For the things of the flesh or the old man are inherent in him from birth, and they build the first habitation of his mind, in which lusts abide like wild beasts in their dens, . . . and by turns they steal as it were into the lower rooms of that house, and afterward they make their way up by ladders, and form chambers for themselves; and this is done successively, as an infant grows, reaches childhood, then youth, and then begins to think from his own will. Who does not see that this house which has been thus far built in the mind . . . cannot be destroyed in a moment, and a new house built in place of it? (TCR 611)
Is this picture of gradual destroying and rebuilding for everyone? Would all honest spiritual sojourners agree that their souls need to be refined in the fire of the crucible? Is the lifetime struggle Swedenborg describes for everybody? I leave the answer to that question to the honest soul-searching and introspection of seekers everywhere. For ultimately truth needs to be tested in a person’s life and rational mind. We are free to assent or disagree, according to our conscience and best lights. But of one thing we can be sure, “All may be regenerated, each according to his state” (TCR 580).

Repent and Believe!
Rev. Dr. David J. Fekete
January 20, 2013

Jonah 3:1-5, 10 Mark 1:14-20 Psalm 62

Our Bible readings bring up difficult doctrines. The doctrines they bring up are sin and repentance. In our reading from Jonah, the inhabitants of Nineveh are told to repent from their sinful ways. They do repent and the destruction that had been looming over their city is withdrawn. In our reading from Mark, we have the whole of religion summed up in one phrase of Jesus, “Repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). I interpret this to mean that through repentance, we are brought into good will and deeds. And believing in the gospel means to me that we believe in God. So doing good and believing in God are what this line means, and those are the sum of all religion. The Psalmist says essentially the same thing, “Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done” (62:12).
This Sunday I would like to look at two ways of looking at sin and repentance. I hope that these unpleasant topics will not prove to distressful to listen to. Before I talk about them, I should preface my talk by saying that God is a loving God, and everyone who wants to come into heaven will succeed. God wants nothing more than to have a heaven of people who love each other and who love God. In this way, joy flows through every heart to each other from God and back to God.
Sin is only what comes between this cycle of love and joy flowing from and through people to each other, from God and back to God. This is how this church understands the concept of sin. However, traditional Christianity sees sin differently.
Traditional Christianity sees sin as something caused by Adam and transmitted to the whole human race after him. Adam sinned by eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Eating the forbidden fruit caused Adam to be cast from the Garden of Eden, and death came to the human race. This is called “original sin.” Adam’s original sin is inherited by everyone who is born after him. So, according to traditional Christianity, you and I have Adam’s original sin in us. Traditional Christianity also teaches that Jesus died to take away this original sin. Jesus’ crucifixion was like the animal sacrifices that were performed by the Israelites. His death on the cross was like the sacrifices of atonement that take away the sin of the Israelites. Thus we have the line in the Catholic mass, “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” So, it is said, Jesus took away the sins of humanity through His crucifixion. But Jesus only took away the sins of those people who believe in this sacrifice. So traditional Christianity teaches that Adam’s original sin is taken away from those who believe that Jesus took it away on the cross. This is what being born again means. It means that the individual believes that Jesus took away their sins, and from that point on, their sins past, present, and future are taken away by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Those who have not accepted Jesus as their savior, who do not believe that Jesus died for their sins, will go to the grave with Adam’s original sin inscribed on their soul.
This doctrine is explained most clearly in Paul’s letter to the Romans. In Romans 5, Paul teaches the following,
Just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
If the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! (Romans 5:18-19, 15)
We see in this passage this doctrines that condemnation came to all men through Adam, and that grace and salvation come to all men through Jesus Christ.
This church sees the whole sin and salvation thing differently. We even start from a different place. When I was teaching a student of mine kept asking me, “How could I be blamed for something that someone else did so long ago?” My response was that I agreed completely with that question. Like that student, I do not believe that I have to suffer for something that Adam did at the beginning of the human race. In fact, I do not even believe that the story of Adam and Eve is history. But that’s a whole different subject.
This church teaches that we are only responsible for what we do. Just as the Psalmist says, “Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done” (62:12). We are kept in spiritual freedom, and we can freely choose what we will do and what we will not do. This spiritual freedom comes from our spiritual environment. We are situated in between heaven and hell, and we are free to turn ourselves in either direction. Swedenborg writes,
So long as a person lives in the world, he or she is kept in the middle between heaven and hell, and in spiritual equilibrium there, which is free will (TCR 475).
Heaven flows into our heart with good and healthy loves, and hell flows into our heart with distorted passions and unhealthy coping mechanisms. Being in between heaven and hell, we are free to act upon heavenly or hellish loves. For who we are as people is a matter of what we love. If we love doing good things, and if we love each other, we are angels–whether we are on this plane of life or the next. If we love deliberately doing what is bad, and if we try to control and make life miserable for others deliberately, then we are hellish beings–whether we are on this plane or the next. We are what we love.
What we are doing in this world is choosing a community we want to live in in the next life. In the other world, people gather in like-minded communities. More accurately, I should say that people gather together according to what they love. As we make our choices minute by minute, day by day, year by year, we are acquiring spiritual companions who love the same things that we love. Swedenborg teaches that all who are living in this plane, are,
as to their interiors, joined with either angels of heaven or devils of hell. . . . After death every person betakes him or herself to his own, . . . and associates him or herself with those who are in a similar love; for love there joins everyone with his or her like (TCR 477).
Let’s consider what this means for our doctrines of sin and repentance. These ideas of spiritual freedom put sin and repentance in a more process-oriented mode. Whether a person has sin in his or her life is a matter of which spirits a person has chosen to associate with. It’s a fluid process. It’s a question of what kinds of spiritual influences a person is letting flow through their minds or hearts.
Repentance means that a person is allowing heavenly influences to flow through them in place of hellish influences. Repentance is a change of heart, it is a change of character, it is choosing spiritual company where love and joy reign. It means that we are becoming loving and joyful people.
A final question concerns whether repentance is for everyone. From a Biblical perspective, it’s hard to conclude that some of us are just fine without repentance. Mark 1:4 reads, “John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” Jesus, in the same gospel says the same thing, “the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). There is no qualifier in these passages. The Lord and John don’t say, “Some of you need to repent for the forgiveness of sins.” It is an unqualified statement, “repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” Likewise, in John 3:1-9, Jesus says that we need to be reborn. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. . . . unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” The first part of this passage seems unconditional, “unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” I take being born again to mean repenting and living a new life. But maybe there is room for some widening of interpretation in the second part, “unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Maybe the teaching here is that we need to open our souls to receive inflowing love and truth from God in order to enter the kingdom of God.
However we interpret these passages, is seems that we all need to change somehow. Either to repent, or to make room for water and the Spirit in our souls. I can’t speak for others. I can see areas in myself that need reformation. I see myself as a work in progress. And I have hope that God, who has all power, can and will reform me and bring me into communion with Himself. One thing we can be sure of, God can and will reform everyone who is willing. Swedenborg writes,
All may be regenerated, each according to his state; for the simple and the learned are regenerated differently; as are those engaged in different pursuits, and those who fill different offices . . . those who are principled in natural good from their parents, and those who are in evil; those who from their infancy have entered into the vanities of the world, and those who sooner or later have withdrawn from them . . . and this variety, like that of people’s features and dispositions, is infinite; and yet everyone, according to his state may be regenerated and saved (TCR 580).
It is God’s will that everyone be as happy as they can be. It is God’s will to save everyone from sin. It is God’s will to fill everyone with His Water and Spirit and to give us all joy, peace, and serenity.
Jehovah, or the Lord’s internal, was the very Celestial of Love, that is, Love itself, to which no other attributes are fitting than those of pure Love, thus of pure Mercy toward the whole human race; which is such that it wishes to save all and make them happy for ever, and to bestow on them all that it has; thus out of pure mercy to draw all who are willing to follow, to heaven, that is, to itself, by the strong force of love (AC 1735).
It may not happen overnight. In fact, it probably will take a lifetime. But He who has all power wishes to “save all and make them happy for ever, and to bestow on them all that it has; thus out of pure mercy to draw all who are willing to follow, to heaven, that is, to itself, by the strong force of love.”

PRAYER

Dear Lord, you have called us into repentance for the forgiveness of sins. We pray that you shine a light on our souls and reveal to us aspects of our character that we need to reform. All the love and peace that we know flows into us from you. We ask that you remove all the blockage that would inhibit the flowing in of your divine love and wisdom. We pray that you form us into an image and likeness of you. We pray that you replace worldly and egotistic drives with heavenly and holy loves. We pray that you bring us into eternal union with you, our heavenly Father, and into heavenly joy forever.

Come and See!
Rev. Dr. David J. Fekete
January 13, 2013

1 Samuel 3:1-10 John 1:43-51 Psalm 139

In our Old Testament reading and in our New Testament reading, we have human responses to God’s call. In our reading from Samuel, the prophet Samuel is called by God. Samuel’s response is to say the words his master Eli told him, “Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.” This encounter with God happens after Samuel has already been dedicated to God’s service by his mother, Hannah. To show her profound thanks to God for giving her a son, Hannah gave her child to God as a servant under the priest Eli at Shiloh. So Samuel was already serving under the priest Eli, at the tabernacle in Shiloh, when God called him to be a prophet. There is a difference between priests and prophets in the Old Testament. Priests were a hereditary position. So all who were born of the tribe of Levi, for instance, were priests. Likewise, the sons of Aaron were priests, often in conflict with the Levites. And specifically, in this story, Eli’s children were to follow their father in the priestly office at Shiloh. Priests performed the rituals at the temple–they performed the sacrifices and burnt offerings to Yahweh in the temple.
But the role of prophet was different. The role of the prophet was to interpret God’s laws as they applied to the historical situation in which the people of Israel found themselves. So the Bible tells us that God, “revealed himself to Samuel through his word. And Samuel’s word came to all Israel” (1 Samuel 3:21). The role of the prophet arose due to the rise of kingship in ancient Israel. For with the king came the ever-present threat of absolute power. Without someone to check his desires, the king could transgress the Law and appropriate land, wealth, and other goods, destroying the communal structure of Israelite society. But the king, as well as common Israelites, were all subject to God’s laws. They were called together as a people of Yahweh, and Yahweh was at the center of all their political life. And it was the role of the prophet to keep the king–his actions and policies–in line with Yahweh’s laws.
This was the role that Samuel was called to by God. He began as a priest’s understudy, and was called from that post to become a prophet. He was recognized as one of Israel’s greatest prophets, along with Moses and Elijah. In fact, the very first king of Israel was Saul, and it was under Samuel’s tenure that Saul was crowned king. Saul wasn’t recognized as king until Samuel the prophet anointed him. And after Saul came King David, perhaps one of Israel’s greatest kings. David, too, was recognized as king only by Samuel anointing him. These two great kings are in a book named not the book of kings, but the books of Samuel. Samuel is remembered because of his close bond with God’s Word, and his way of bringing God’s Word fearlessly to the Israelites.
We come here on Sundays to worship, which is like Hanna visiting the tabernacle at Shiloh. This is our priestly experience of worship. But there is also a prophetic aspect to spirituality. And the prophetic aspect of spirituality is when we experience God’s call personally, and when we encounter God in His Word and in our hearts and minds.
In our New testament reading, we heard about Jesus calling to Philip and Nathanael. Philip tells Nathanael that Jesus is the One whom the prophets and Moses had foretold. But when Nathanael hears that Jesus is from Nazareth, he is filled with distain. He says, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” In response, Philip utters words that are deeply meaningful for us, and for Nathanael. Philip says, “Come and see.”
God calls each one of us to follow Him, as did Jesus in ancient days past. But unlike Samuel, who heard God’s call audibly, and unlike Philip and Nathanael, who actually saw Jesus and his power and miracles, for most of us, God’s call is much more subtle. For most of us, we don’t actually hear God audibly. And for most of us, we don’t actually see God.
I think that God calls us in two ways. First, God comes to us when we read the Bible, through the stories and laws in it. The Bible is God’s Word, and reading it is like having a prophet interpreting God’s Law to us in our lives. Second, God comes to us personally through what Swedenborg calls “influx.” Influx means literally, “flowing in.” and by influx we understand God coming to us through intuitive ideas, and through conscience, and through a feeling of presence and holy feelings. This is like Philip and Nathanael meeting Jesus personally.
But without a positive attitude, we won’t see God in either of these ways. The Bible, for instance, is a very difficult book to read. There are passages of unparalleled beauty that we can’t find in any other book of Western literature. There are clear and reasonable laws for our mental, emotional, and behavioral well-being. There are teachings that orient us in the world.
But there are also passages of violence and seeming cruelty. There are laws that make sense to us no more, such as all the rituals for correct sacrifice. Without a positive attitude, we will exaggerate these passages and come to the conclusion that the Bible is not spiritual, not a good guide for personal and societal life, and not God’s Holy Word.
And since God is invisible, one can easily ignore or deny God’s call to us. And in denying God, one can shut out the influx one needs to find God and to experience God’s presence.
Today I am all about Nathanael. Nathanael begins with no small degree of skepticism. He begins with prejudice against Jesus. “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” “Come and see,” Philip says. And what I credit Nathanael for is that he is open minded enough to come and see. He makes the effort to at least meet Jesus. His open-mindedness is rewarded by Jesus’ display of omniscience. Jesus tells Nathanael about him without having previously met him. Nathanael is overwhelmed by his encounter with Jesus. He exclaims, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God.” It is miracles like that we, too, can experience if we keep an open mind to God, and like Nathanael, come and see.
Swedenborg describes these two ways of approaching the question of belief. He calls them the negative and the affirmative principle. Of them he writes,
There are two principles therefore; one which leads to all folly and insanity, and another which leads to all intelligence and wisdom. The former principle is to deny all things, or to say in one’s heart that he cannot believe them before he is convinced by things he can apprehend, or perceive by the senses: this is the principle that leads to all folly and insanity, and it is to be called the negative principle. The other principle is to affirm the things which are of doctrine from the Word, or to think and believe in one’s self that they are true because the Lord has said them: this is the principle that leads to all intelligence and wisdom, and is to be called the affirmative principle (AC 2568).
If we approach the Bible as God’s Word, and if we try to find what is useful for our spiritual welfare, then passages will shine out in front of our eyes, and we will find teachings for our regeneration. We will see God in His Word. And if we begin with the assumption that there is a God, we will hear His call. At first, perhaps, like a still small voice. But as we invite God more and more into our lives, by reading His Word and by living according to Godly principles, that still, small voice will become as a companion to us, as a friend to us, and we will walk with Jesus in all aspects of our lives.
Samuel, Philip and Nathanael, and all the Apostles left their worldly lives behind to follow God. But this church teaches that such a dramatic act isn’t required of us in order to answer God’s call. There is a Calvinistic doctrine Swedenborg adopted that teaches that each one of us is called into a vocation that suits him or herself best. And by performing one’s vocation according to just principles, one is following God’s call to spirituality. We often hear of ministers being called to ministry. But we don’t usually hear of auto mechanics, or accountants, or construction workers, or politicians, or garbage collectors being called to their vocations. But they are. Where would society be if there were no garbage collectors? How could this church run without expertise in bookkeeping and accounting? How could society function without someone making decisions about laws and justice, as our politicians are supposed to do?
Swedenborg calls this the doctrine of use. And any way we can be useful to the world around us is a response to God’s call. It doesn’t have to be even a vocation. As I remarked last Sunday, anything done for the least of God’s children is done to God Himself. The conclusion to Coleridge’s “Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner” goes,
He prayeth best, who loveth best
All things both great and small;
For the dear God who loveth us,
He made and loveth all.
But we won’t be moved to spiritual love without God’s Spirit in our hearts. We need to open the door which God is continually knocking on. We need to open our ears to God’s call. We need to be like Nathanael who was willing to come and see Jesus, even though he had his doubts about someone from the outlands of Nazareth. If we keep an open mind to God, we, too, will see great things. The wonders of earth and heaven will be revealed to us. More and more of God’s infinity will be revealed. And He will lead us in the pathway on high.

PRAYER

Lord, you call to us continually. You knock on the door and bid us open it. You ask that we follow you, as did the Apostles in olden times. We pray that you would open our ears so that we can hear your call. We pray that you would show us the way to follow you. We would open the door and let you into our hearts. We know that you are always with us. Help us to see you, help us to feel you, help us to know you. For the world can blind us at times to the reality of Spirit, and our daily lives obscure the wonders of eternity. We pray this morning, and every morning, and always, for you to make yourself known to us, and to make known to us your will. May we always seek only your will for us and the power to carry that out.

Brooding over the Waters
Rev. Dr. David J. Fekete
January 6, 2013

Genesis 1:1-5 Mark 1:4-11 Psalm 29

The first chapter of Genesis that we heard this morning puts the human race in perspective. It tells us that God created the heavens and the earth. It tells us that God preceded everything. Before there was anything, there was God. It tells us further that God governs the whole created order. We are in a universe over which God is in control.
Other creation myths in the Ancient Near East narrate the creation of the universe as a cosmic battle between the chaos waters and a hero-god. These stories have the chaos waters existing at the same time as the other gods exist. It is by subduing the chaos waters that creation happens. These myths do not begin with a God who creates everything.
These Babylonian myths, however, do find their way into the Hebrew scriptures. In Psalm 29, which is older than Genesis 1, the raging waters are mentioned. We read that “The voice of the Lord is over the waters;” “The Lord thunders over the mighty waters;” “The Lord sits enthroned over the flood.” Lines like this suggest the influence of Babylonian mythology that has creation begin with the defeat of the chaos waters. And we find an analogous idea in Genesis–God is supreme over the chaos waters. This is only hinted at in the line, “the Spirit of God was brooding over the face of the waters.”
What these readings give us is an image of creation. It is an image in which God is in control of the forces of chaos. It is an image of the world that God made by His own Word. The Bible writers put these stories first to say that all the history of the world to follow is a history that God works in.
Immediately after the creation of the universe, the human race is created. There are actually two creation stories. The first one is Genesis 1:1-2:3. In this story humans are the last thing created, and the human race is the culmination of the whole creation process. We are created in God’s own image–male and female. In the second creation story, humans are created first, and then the Garden of Eden is planted for Adam to live in.
This sequence of events tell us two things. First, that all of creation is made by God, who governs it. And second, that humans are the primary beings created, who are watched over by God.
This, too, differs from other world-views in the Ancient Near East. In myths of other cultures in the ANE, humans are lowly creatures whose only purpose is to serve the gods by performing sacrifices. The gods live above the world of humans, and care little for our wellbeing. In fact, the flood story from the ANE happens because the human race makes too much noise and keeps the gods awake. The flood occurs to get rid of the noisy human race.
But for the Hebrew culture, we are God’s children. We are made in God’s image; we are set in a world created by God; we are watched over by a loving God.
How comforting this is! The world we live in can look very grim. We see the horrors of war and its violence. We see terror. We see genocide. We see random shooting acts of unspeakable tragedy. We see unemployment and privation. When we contemplate all these ungodly events, we can yield to despair. But in all this, we need to remember that this is my Father’s world.
When the Bible writers composed the first creation story–the story that put God above the created order–their world had seen terrible calamities, too. The creation story at the beginning of Genesis had been written after the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel. The writers of that story had seen the horrors of war with Assyria, and the complete devastation of their king and kingdom. Not only that, but I think the case can be made that the Assyrian kingdom was perhaps the most bloodthirsty and cruel the Ancient Near East had ever seen, maybe the world had ever seen. And yet the Bible writers could still see human history as one in which God governs creation from the beginning of the universe to the giving of the Law to Moses.
In the gospel of Mark, we learn that the same God who created the universe and who governs history actually entered history. Just after Jesus is baptized by John, the heavens open and the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus. A voice from heaven says, “This is my beloved Son, with whom i am well pleased.” In this passage, we see the power of God descending on Jesus. It is as if God is saying, “From now on, Jesus represents me.” Or put stronger, “Jesus is my embodiment.” This is what John’s gospel makes clear. It begins with a beautiful hymn:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God; all things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. . . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, . . . No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known (1:1-3,14, 18).
In the Christmas season, we think about the birth of Jesus. We then think about the gifts from the Magi. Now we turn our attention to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. The gospel of Mark begins not with Jesus’ birth, but with His baptism and the beginning of His ministry. The only stories we have of Jesus infancy are in Luke and Matthew. And those infancy stories are exhausted in the first two chapters of each gospel.
Clearly, the gospel writers are interested in what Jesus does as an adult. They are interested in Jesus’ teachings, His ministry, and His healings. These are all examples of God’s interaction with humanity. For the Bible is all about humanity’s relationship with God. Although there is a lot of history and narrative in the Old Testament, there is also meaning to that history and narrative. The meaning of those stories is how sin or obedience led to prosperity or destruction for the Israelites. So the essence of the Old Testament is examining the consequences of turning from and turning toward God’s laws. Or, in other words, the essence of the Old Testament is a person’s relationship with God.
The same is true of the New testament. Jesus’ advent and healings show God’s love for the human race. They show the eternal covenant God made with us from the very beginning of creation. God came to us to heal and save.
And Jesus’ teachings show us how to live in relationship to God. They are a reminder of the essential teachings of the Old Testament. They are demonstrations and stories about how to live with God in a love relationship, and how to live with each other in Christian love.
They are a reminder, also, that God is governing the universe and watching over us. For when the powers of darkness became too great in the spiritual world and on earth, God Himself came to us. He opened up a connection to heaven and to God through Himself. He was and is the new Way, the Truth, and the Life. And in the person of Jesus, that creator God flowed through heaven, and into the material body of the Only Begotten Jesus Christ. Creator and creation became fully one as God merged with the Divine Humanity of Jesus of Nazareth.
In Jesus, humanity is again made central to the created order. The Divine Humanity of Jesus Christ dignifies the human form. And in doing so, it places humanity at the center of creation, as is the case in the very first book of the Bible. The birth, baptism, and ministry of Jesus show that God is ever watching over us. They show that God is governing creation and history. They show us that we are never alone; that we are never apart from God; that we are always in a caring universe. Wherever we are, in whatever state we find ourselves, God is always with us; God always cares about us; God always is in the process of leading us to greater and greater joy, happiness, and love. I think the Psalmist said it best,
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast (Psalm 139:7-10).

PRAYER

Lord, we give you thanks for this world, which you have created. We give you thanks for our place as your special creation in this world of so much variety. We give you thanks for your constant care for us; we give you thanks for continually watching over us; we give you thanks for your constant effort to bring us into communion with you. We look out at the events in this world, and we sometimes question your governance. We see wars and violence, terror and random shootings. It is hard sometimes for us to trust that you are looking after this world and that things are unfolding under your loving governance. This morning we affirm our faith in your divine providence. Although we may sometimes fail to understand this world, we do thank you for your unfailing divine providence.

Gifts for Our Heavenly King
Rev. Dr. David J. Fekete
December 30, 2012

Isaiah 60:1-6 Matthew 2:1-12 Psalm 72

According to Church tradition, this Sunday is called Epiphany. It celebrates the visit of the Magi to Jesus and the gifts that they bring. We have just celebrated Christmas—a day of gift giving and receiving. This Sunday of Epiphany is also a celebration of gift giving and receiving. This morning, I’d like us to think a little bit about the gifts that we can bring to God, and also the gifts that God has given to us.
I think of several things when I think of bringing gifts to God. And recall, that God has a humanity as an aspect of His Divinity. And God’s Humanity has some of the same things that our humanity has. When we give gifts, we are happy to see the person’s joy when they open our gifts. I think that God is also happy when He receives gifts from us.
When we think of bringing gifts to God, it may sound strange. We may wonder, “What can God want from us?” And also we may wonder what kind of gift can we give to God? It’s not as if we are in the Christmas story, and we can actually come to the baby Jesus and give Him incense, frankincense, and myrrh. And yet I think that there are gifts we can give to God, and I think that when we bring gifts to God, God is moved with the joy of receiving a gift as we are.
When I first think of giving a gift to God, I think about responding to God’s call. In the book of Revelation, Jesus says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me” (3:20). Jesus is constantly calling us into relationship with Himself. Like a lover, He is calling us to respond to His love and to return it. God wants to give us all of Himself, and all the joys of heaven to us. Like everyone who truly loves, God cares about our response to Him. Like all lovers, God wants His love returned. Then we are lifted up into the circle of love and joy given and returned. All we need do is to respond to Jesus’ call and open the door. All we need to do is to let God into our hearts, and to live in such a way that we can be filled with God’s love and joy. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says,
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30).
Jesus want us to come to Him, and to live with Him in heaven—whether we are on earth or in the next life. Like a mother to her children, Jesus asks us to love Him in return, and to share in the boundless love He has for us. All we need to do is respond to Jesus call, and to live with Him in eternity. Then we will receive Jesus’ promise, and we will find rest for our souls.
And by responding to Jesus’ call to commune with Himself, we receive a great gift from God. In the Matthew passage I just quoted, Jesus says that we will find rest for our souls when we come to Him. When we respond to God’s call, we receive peace, tranquility, and joy. God takes away the frustrations we feel when we are driven by ego and the craving for wealth, power, and status. For when we are driven by ego, wealth, power, and status, we will never be at peace. We will constantly be in contention with others who are craving the same ends. We will be in conflict with our brothers and sisters. But that’s not all. We will also be in conflict with ourselves. When we are driven by ego, wealth, power, and status, we will never have enough. We will continually be striving for more. And by always wanting more than we have, we will never find peace. When we come to Christ, we leave behind all those worldly lusts. We put God before self, and in doing so we find release from selfish cravings that leave us continually unsettled. So by giving Christ the gift of a loving response, we find that we are the ones who receive. We find a happiness that the world cannot give. We find a love that we can’t manufacture from our egos. We find heaven. So we become part of the circle of gift-giving. We give and in giving we receive.
Then, when I wonder about of what kind of gift we can bring to God, I think of the gift of service. I think of the many ways we can serve God in the world all around us. There are the formal ways of service that come to my mind first. What comes to my mind this time of year, among other things, is the youth work I do. There is usually a retreat this time of year I attend as the youth chaplain. And in summers, I go to youth camps. I work hard to prepare lessons that I think they will benefit from. And I engage socially and pastorally with them during these retreats. And like all true giving, I receive back seven fold what I give. The real gift I receive is simply the opportunity to minister to the teens. I treasure the sacred space that opens up when the youth all come together in God’s name. I treasure the opportunity to interact with them and share their dreams for the future and their issues in the present. I feel called into my ministry, and I thank God for giving me the privilege to do what I love and feel called to do.
But foremost in my thinking is this church. I do my very best to serve God and to serve the needs of the Church of the Holy City. I feel blessed for the opportunity to lead this congregation, as I am with the youth. The holy peace that descends upon the church during worship is a gift that I share with the church members. And when I am able to visit, pray, counsel, and console church members, I am honoured and thankful that God has brought me to you and you to me. When Carol and I brought the Christmas gifts that the church contributed to the Lurana Shelter, to see the gratitude from Sister Mary was another special way I felt blessed by this church and the generosity you all showed. The gift of service always comes back to the giver seven fold. And the gift of service is another way to bring a gift to God.
There are many ways to show service in our lives. It may be a phone call to a loved one, or to someone who is not able to get out much. It may be giving someone a ride who lacks transportation. It may be as simple as encouragement to someone who is struggling, or in some way engaged with a trying task. It may be a pat on the back or giving congratulations to someone who has succeeded with their dreams or with a certain goal they had. It may be a smile, a handshake, or a hug.
As God continually knocks at the door, waiting for us to open it, so God will give us the opportunity to be of service. If we remain open, God will show us where and how we can give to others in our daily lives. Divine Providence guides us continually throughout our lives. God guides us to opportunities for service. God shows us daily where we can give. In Matthew 25:40 Jesus says, “Whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine you did for me.” In doing good to those around us, we are doing good for God. When we do good to those around us, we are bringing a gift to God. And God is in the heart of those around us, and is the heart of the social structure we live in. In doing good to others, we are actually doing good to God. In bringing us to service to our neighbours, God is bringing us to Himself.
When our minds are on the good we can bring to the world around us, we find release. We find release from care and worry, we find release from greed and the lust to control, we find peace. This is the circle of giving. In giving to God and the neighbour, we find that God gives us the joy and blessedness of heaven. In Luke 12:32, Jesus says, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.” It is God’s will that everyone should feel heavenly joy and happiness. That is why He stands at the door and knocks. That is why He calls us to come to Him. That is the gift God wants to give to us, when we respond to His call and serve our neighbours.

PRAYER

Lord, in ancient days wise men brought you gifts in celebration of your advent into the world. And this Epiphany season we think about bringing you gifts. But what shall we bring to you? How shall we please you? You have said that all you require is that we act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you. You have also said that you stand at the door and knock; all we need do is let you in. Lord, this morning, and every day, we ask you into our lives. Come and sup with us. When we observe Holy Communion, or in the private recesses of our hearts, we ask you to come to us; we would open the door. And when you come to us, give us the power to act justly. Give us to love mercy, even as we walk humbly with you. For with you, everything is possible, and without you we can do nothing.

Finding the Christmas Spirit
Rev. Dr. David J. Fekete
Christmas Eve 2012

I had a hard time finding the Christmas spirit this year. I don’t know why. Perhaps it was because much of my energy was spent on the vacation to the Caribbean I am planning for March. Perhaps it was because of my busy schedule of work, which I am a bit behind on. I don’t know. I don’t mean to say that I was as sad as Charlie Brown, who got depressed around the Christmas season. I wasn’t feeling bad. I just didn’t feel that tingle of the Christmas season as I have in the past.
But my feelings changed. The Christmas season did sneak up on me and little by little I began to feel the sanctity of the season. The season made its inroads into my heart by a simple but definitive act on my part. I bought this year’s Christmas cards. And when I began to think of all the people I would be sending them out to, I began to feel the joy of Christmas.
We all hear that Christmas is a time of giving. It is a time of gifts. The money I spend on gifts sometimes makes it hard for me to get through the month. Sometimes I even go into debt. But I don’t feel anxiety when I am low on money for the purposes of Christmas giving. This is debt I gladly assume. It makes me feel good to think of the people I will be gifting this year, and each year.
I think that our rituals of gift-giving have a sound religious grounding to them. For when Christ came to earth, it was humanity’s greatest gift. God came to earth to give us His love, His peace, and His salvation. The coming of God into the world was the gift of salvation to the human race, who didn’t know how bad off they were.
The Gospel of John tells us that Jesus came into the world that He made, but the world didn’t know Him. He did have a great following in this world. He had such a following that the religious and secular authorities thought Him a threat. But many of His followers didn’t understand Him. They thought He would be a material ruler and that He would establish a kingdom in Israel, drive out the Romans, and set up Israel as a light to the rest of the world.
The prophets predicted this great miracle when the Messiah would come. They saw a time when the thick darkness would be pierced and light from heaven would shine down on the world. Some prophesies said that the created order would be redeemed and the whole earth would be renewed.
But neither a conquering king came, nor did cataclysmic transformation of the world take place. What happened was something no one could have imagined. What happened very few even saw, and even fewer understood. One noisy evening, in the crowded city of Jerusalem, in the dead of night, a mother gave birth to a baby. This baby was born in a barn with the animals. He wasn’t born in a palace, a temple, or even a hotel. This is how God chose to enter the world.
He didn’t announce His arrival to the movers and shakers of His time. King Herod heard about it from foreigners. And it was only after those foreigners told him about Jesus’ birth that the chief priests and teachers of the Law were told about it. But those foreigners, who practiced another religion called Zoroastrianism, knew something that the Jews didn’t–the Savior of humanity was born. And rustic shepherds out in their fields were told about Jesus’ birth. These were not rich and powerful. They did not have their heads cluttered with affairs of state or matters of theology. They had only the safety of their sheep in mind and the beauty of the stars that late evening. Their quiet was interrupted by bright light and a choir of angels, and they were afraid. But their fears were calmed by the angels, and they went to where Jesus was born, and worshipped in wonder.
This was the nature of the first Christmas spirit. One humble family. Three foreigners who practiced a foreign religion. And humble shepherds. I doubt if anyone really knew what was happening that first Christmas night. I doubt if anyone knew that God was bringing the gift of salvation to the whole of humanity that night. I doubt if anyone knew that God had come to us as a human baby to form that everlasting covenant of love that the prophets had proclaimed. I doubt if anyone knew how badly they needed what Jesus Christ would bring to the world.
And after the resurrection, when it appeared that the world would go on as it always had, without the renewed earth that the prophets had predicted, people still remembered that baby born that night. As society performed sacrifices to the great Roman gods, and as the Jews followed the prescriptions of the rabbis and also performed sacrifices to Yahweh, a small group of people scattered through Israel met in houses and shared common meals together. And as they broke bread together, they told stories about that baby born Christmas night. They had no idea that the western world would be transformed by their memories of that baby.
It is fitting that we celebrate Christmas with the parties, common meals, and gifts that are part of the season. For Jesus Christ showed the world a new way to relate to God and to each other. Jesus Christ reminded us of our joy in and our need for mutual love. And those parties and dinners and gifts for just a few weeks or days remind us of the same things–the joy of and our need for mutual love.
In the midst of these festivities, let us remember that Jesus is the reason for the season. Rejoicing in each others’ company is what Jesus came to teach us. But let us remember our joy in God’s company, too. Isaiah 61 compares our relationship with God to a bride and bridegroom. In that chapter we are promised everlasting joy. And in Jeremiah, God says that He will write His law upon our hearts; He will be our God and we will be His people (31:33). Our fundamental relationship is with God. This gives God joy. And when we feel His joy in us and our joy in each other, then the Christmas story is in its fullness.

PRAYER

Dear Lord, you came to earth 2,000 years ago. Your Divine power and glory took the form of a tiny human baby. The Word was made flesh. Your presence transformed the world and ushered in a new era for the human race. Your brought salvation to a people dearly in need of your transforming love. And Lord, we are still in need of your presence. We ask for you to come to this world as you did in years past. Come into each of our hearts and transform us through your healing love. Bring your salvation to us individually, as you did to the Near Eastern world so long ago.
Lord, as we look at the world we see wonderful transformations happening. Issues of gender, race, and creed are showing such signs of progress. It appears that the world is opening its arms to each other and embracing people who appear different from each other.
Yet we also see alarming things in the world around us. It appears sometimes as if the world has no longer any need for you, their Maker. As in days long past, today we ask for you to come to the world in your New Church, transforming the world, and making all things new. While we may not understand, we have faith in your Divine Providence We know that the world is unfolding according to your will. We know that all that happens is according to your providence. We trust that your salvation is as near to us and to this world as it was when your holy feet walked the dust of Palestine.

Garments of Salvation
Rev. Dr. David J. Fekete
December 16, 2012

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 Luke 1:47-55 Psalm 126

Today’s readings are all about salvation and the human condition. The readings speak over and over again about humility, brokenness, and God’s care for the downtrodden. This is a message our society needs to hear. It is about as opposite to our culture as a message could be. Our society rewards and praises the shakers and movers, the self-made men and women, the successful, the wealthy, the powerful. But Isaiah and Luke talk about the poor, the brokenhearted, those who mourn, despair, and humility. It is these who the Lord will save, and not the proud. Where in this world do we hear such a message? Where do we find such words of comfort for those who are not among the rich and powerful today?
Our readings teach us important lessons about salvation. I think we can read literally that God brings down the proud. In Mary’s song we find the following verse, “He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts” (Luke 1:51). And we also find the following verse, “He has lifted up the humble” (1:52). In those two verses we have the whole process of regeneration captured. For the whole process of regeneration is one of breaking down pride and rendering a person humble. I think that it takes a great deal of humility for a person to call on God, and to seek out God’s will for him or her. When we are puffed up with pride we need no one–not anyone else, and not God. We are self-sufficient, and we stand on our own two feet. It is only when our pride has been broken that we see our utter need for God in our life. Only when self-will has been reduced to humility do we ask for God’s love and life to come to us. Only then do we see that we don’t have the power to save ourselves.
This reminds me of a story from my days back in Florida. One night I was out at a cigar bar that I used to frequent in order to smoke my favorite Rocky Patel cigars. That night I made the mistake of being drawn into a discussion about religion. It was occasioned by Rocky Patel himself, who had had an unfortunate experience with a fundamentalist woman. He took all of Christianity to be her version of Christianity and we often would discuss our differing views. That night I told Rocky that everyone of every faith could be saved. At that point a very drunk, but exceedingly well-dressed man broke in and demanded, “Why do I need to be saved?!” I tried to say some things about ego, self-will, and the like, but his anger and inebriation made any rational discussion impossible. He kept demanding, “Why do I need to be saved?!” There were some interesting things about this person. He would ride around the city in a stretch limousine and drink only very expensive champagne. But he always sat alone, and didn’t appear to have any friends in the city. One night he agreed to come to an AA meeting with me and we rode together in his limo to the meeting. He left midway through the meeting, and in his limo on the way back he said some sad things. He said, “I’m done. If you can’t convince me why not, I’m going to end it all by morning.” This wealthy, worldly man could see no reason to go on. He did let me off the hook from this awesome responsibility. He said, “No, that’s not fair to you.”
So here we have a wealthy man. An alcoholic who can’t find sobriety, and who can’t see any reason to go on any more. And this is the man who kept demanding of me, “Why do I need to be saved?!”
So wealth and power can lead us to question why we need God in our lives. Our ego can make us think that we are sufficient unto ourselves. A slogan I have come across used the letters of ego to make a spiritual statement. It goes that e-g-o stands for “edging God out.” This is what Swedenborg says about wealth and pride.
Provided he inwardly acknowledges the Divine and wishes well to his neighbor, it is evident that it is not so difficult as many believe to enter the way of heaven. The only difficulty is to be able to resist the love of self and the world, and to prevent their becoming predominant; for from this predominance come all evils (HH 359).
Only if we set our hearts on selfish gain and wealth do they become problematic for our spiritual wellbeing.
So we have to be careful about reading these Bible passages too literally. Reading them too literally would suggest that there is something spiritually bad about being rich and powerful. And it would also suggest that those suffering and poor have some virtue just because that are suffering and poor. But this church teaches that spirituality is indifferent to issues of wealth. The wealthy are not excluded from heaven simply because they have abundance, and the poor are not favored simply because they are poor. Swedenborg tells us that,
they therefore who take the Word only according to the literal sense, and not according to any spiritual sense, err in many things, especially in regard to the rich and the poor; as that it is as difficult for the rich to enter into heaven as for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle; and that it is easy for the poor because they are poor (HH 357).
However, Swedenborg claims that the rich can enter heaven as easily as the poor.
The rich come as easily into heaven as the poor, and . . . a person is not excluded from heaven because he lives in abundance, nor received into heaven because he is in poverty (HH 357).
As always with Swedenborg, it is the kind of life that a person leads that determines whether he or she will enter into eternal blessedness and joy.
The life of everyone follows him, whether he be rich or poor. There is no particular mercy for one more than for the other; he is received who has lived well, and he is rejected who has lived ill (HH 364).
So if there is no distinction between rich and poor as to who enters heaven, how are we to understand what I have been saying about the Bible readings so far? I think that there are parts of it that can be taken literally, as I have been doing. Swedenborg tells us that the Bible is like a person wearing a coat. Most of his body is covered up, but his face and hands are bare. So what we need for salvation shines through the Bible’s literal sense, like the bare hands a d face, while the internal sense is covered up like the body covered by the coat.
But there is also a spiritual sense to riches that make them prohibitive to the heavenly way. When we consider what riches mean in a spiritual sense, then they do make heaven as difficult as it would be for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. In Swedenborg’s system of symbolism, which he calls correspondences, riches signify an abundance of knowledges and education. In and of themselves, knowledges can go either way. A person can confirm religious truth through knowledge and strengthen their faith by seeing a multitude of interrelated ideas about God. This is a good use of knowledge. In fact Swedenborg even says that faith is perfected by an abundance and coherence of truths. Knowledges become problematic, though, when a person tries to enter religious truth by means of the knowledge he or she knows. I think of that brilliant physicist Stephen Hawking. He probably knows the most about the universe of anyone today. Yet all his knowledge has made him an atheist. I heard him reason out his disbelief. And his disbelief is based directly on what he knows about science, or on his natural knowledge. His reasoning is as follows: 1) before the Big Bang there was no time; 2) if there was no time, there could be no before and after because before and after need time to occur; 3) if there was no before and after, there could be no God before the Big Bang, 4) therefore there is no God. So it is his knowledge of physics that makes Hawking an atheist. His riches are coming between him and God. For us, God is outside space and time, so all of Hawking’s reasonings are without foundation.
This discussion about knowledge, pride and spirituality brings us back to humility. All of this requires humility. To become enlightened, we need to be humble enough to realize that we do not know by our own power. We can amass facts, but they don’t become truth until God inspires them with the Holy Spirit. Then the facts we know point our way to understanding what is true and how to live. We can’t have God in our lives when we are puffed up with pride. We need to be humble enough to ask God for wisdom and love. In Mary’s song, we heard that God “lifts up the humble.” And when we have the humility to ask God into our lives, He will lift us up out of ego and into unimaginable peace, tranquility, and joy in His Kingdom forever.
Mary recognized her own humble condition. She sings, “My soul praises the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,/for He has been mindful of the humble state of his servant” (Luke 1:46-47). In fact, the whole Christmas story is an elevation of the humble. It is a story of a God who takes on a humble human form, born to a humble working-class family, in a humble barn, who is seen by humble shepherds. This is not a story of Emperor Augustus. It is not a story of Pharaohs, or kings, or Emperors. It is the story of a God who so wants humanity to understand Him and form a love relationship with Him that He came to us in a form we can understand and love: an innocent baby.
This is the message of Christmas I bring to you this morning. A message of humility. The humility of Mary, the mother whose greatest joy was in the child God had given her. The humility of the circumstances of God’s entrance into the world. When we are tempted to puff ourselves up with worldly acclaim or worldly measures of success, let us remember our God, who came to us in the most humble of ways.

Make Straight a Highway for Our God
Rev. Dr. David J. Fekete
December 9, 2012

Isaiah 40:1-11 Mark 1:1-8

The Common Christian Lectionary again calls our attention to apocalypticism. Apocalypticism refers to the Great Day of the Lord, when God will come to earth and renew the land, restore the kingdom of Israel and judge the whole human race. In both Isaiah 40 and in Mark 1, which refers us to Isaiah 40, we have the idea of the Great Day of the Lord.
John the Baptist says that the Great Day of the Lord is at hand, that it is happening in his own time. Many Christian theologians believe that the Great Day of the Lord–or the apocalyptic event of the renewal of the earth–that this cosmic event happened during the time of Jesus Christ. They believe that Jesus was its herald and that the whole world changed during the time of Christ. They thus believe that Jesus Christ ushered in a new time and kingdom to last forever. In this belief they distinguish between Judaism and the Law of Moses, and Christianity and faith in Jesus. They say that the ways and words of the Old Testament have been superseded by the words and the apocalyptic kingdom ushered in by Jesus Christ found in the New Testament. Stated in its strong form, these Christians believe that the Old Testament was rendered null and void because the New Law of Christ replaces it.
Let’s look a little at the words of the prophets that the New Testament calls our attention. The gospel of Mark begins with a reference to two different prophets. It begins with a reference to Malachi, “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way.” This is a reference to the Great Day of the Lord that Malachi prophesies about. He says,
See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; . . (Malachi 3:1).
This version of the Great Day of the Lord is frightening. Some of its words were adopted for the Catholic Requiem,
But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. . . . “Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the LORD Almighty, “Not a root or a branch will be left to them. But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall” (Malachi 3:1-2; 4:1-2).
So the first reference in Mark sends us to Malachi. In Malachi we find that a prophet will precede the Great Day of the Lord. We find also that this will be a day of judgement. The arrogant and the evildoers will be burned like stubble in a fire. But for the righteous will come the healing son. They will leap like calves released from the stall. Since this is a day of judgement, John baptizes for repentance. For it is by repentance that we make ourselves ready for judgment.
The second reference to the prophets that we have in our Mark reading is Isaiah 40. In Mark we have the words,
A voice of one calling in the desert,
“Prepare the way for the Lord,
Make straight paths for him.”
This passage refers us to Isaiah 40, where we read:
In the desert, prepare
The way for the LORD;
Make straight in the wilderness
A highway for our God.
This chapter of Isaiah is an apocalyptic passage, too. It talks about the coming of God to the earth. This version of the coming of the Lord is gentle, compared with that of Malachi. When the Lord comes, He will tend His sheep like a shepherd, and carry us close to His heart,
You who bring good tidings to Zion,
Go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem,
Lift up your voice with a shout,
Lift it up, do not be afraid;
Say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power,
He tends his flock like a shepherd;
He gathers the lambs in his arms
And carries them close to his heart;
He gently leads those that have young (Isaiah 40:9-10,11).
As in Malachi, this passage calls for repentance as well. It calls for repentance by means of metaphor. We are to make a straight pathway for God.
In the desert, prepare
The way for the LORD;
Make straight in the wilderness
A highway for our God.
Every valley shall be raised up,
Every mountain shall be made low; . . .
And the glory of the LORD will be revealed (Isaiah 40:3).
Handel picked up some of the words from Isaiah 40 for his masterpiece, “The Messiah.” The words we just heard are penitential words. By means of poetic symbols, Isaiah enjoins us to prepare for the coming of the Lord. Elevating every valley means lifting us upward out of sin into heavenly joy. Making mountains low means symbolically lowering ourselves, humbling our arrogance, ego, and selfishness.
There is no doubt that the writers of the gospels saw the coming of Jesus as the fulfillment of this Great Day of the Lord. Every gospel has a reference to these prophesies in the beginning, making it clear that the coming of Jesus was the coming of the Day of the Lord that the prophets spoke of throughout the Old Testament.
Also, it appears that the gospel writers think of Jesus as the incarnation of God that the prophets spoke of. The very first words of Mark state this, “The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” The words “Son of God” in Aramaic do not mean God’s child. When the word “son” is used, it means a member of that category. So “son of man” would mean “a man,” “son of righteousness” would mean “a righteous person,” and “Son of God” would mean “God.”
Since God was coming into the world in the person of Jesus Christ, John the Baptist cried out for repentance, in order for the human race to be ready for the coming of God and the Great Day of the Lord. We re-enact this historical event each Christmas. As we anticipate Christmas Day, we examine ourselves and prepare for the Holy Day of Christmas which celebrates the coming of Jesus into the world. So the weeks of Advent in the Christian calendar are a time for reflection, repentance, and pledging life anew. The prophet Isaiah calls for us to make a highway for God. He asks us to make a road on which God can come to us. He asks us to clear away the blockage of sin in order to let heavenly light into our hearts and minds.
There is a sensible way of going about this spiritual refining process. We can’t make ourselves wholly pure in one day, one month, or one season. But we can identify one aspect of ourselves that we want to reform. Just one. If we try to become wholly pure all at once we will feel as if the mountain we are to make level has completely toppled on us and buried us under its earth. But we can manage one aspect of our character that we want to reform.
When we think of sin, many different ideas can come to mind. There are the unhelpful and unhealthy ideas of guilt and shame that do little for our wellbeing. But there are constructive ways of thinking about sin as well. We can think about whether we are keeping the Ten Commandments. We can measure our emotional life against the two great commandments, Love God and Love our Neighbor. We can think of shortcomings that are holding us back. Or we can think of coping mechanisms that are no longer useful. However we think of sin, the main question we should be asking ourselves is this, “What is blocking God’s love from my heart?” However we answer that question is what constitutes sin. That is, sin is nothing but what blocks God’s love from filling our hearts. To the extent that we banish sin, we become that much more filled with God’s Holy Spirit. We are elevated into heaven’s delight; we enter more deeply into a loving relationship with God; and we look upon our neighbors as fellows, friends, and companions.
Seen constructively, as a means to let God’s love enter our hearts more fully, repentance is nothing to hide from. Sin is not something to fear, or even to be ashamed of. The injunction to repentance means that we all have sin in us. “All we like sheep have gone astray,” says Isaiah (53:6). God alone is perfect. But God does give is the power to become His very children. The Apostle John puts this beautifully in the beginning of his gospel,
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (1:12-13).
The Day of the Lord is every day. It is every day that we turn from maladaptive behaviors, thoughts, and emotions, and turn toward God. That is what we mean in the benediction we sometimes say, “May the Lord bless our going out and our coming in.” God blesses our going out of sin and coming into goodness and love. That is how we become children of God. We have God’s promise that He will lead us like a shepherd through this process and hold us close to His heart. Christ has indeed ushered in a new period in human history. And He continues to usher in a new day in our lives when we repent, and allow God to baptize us with the Holy Spirit.

PRAYER

Dear Lord, in ancient times the prophets spoke of a day when you would come to earth and set things straight. And on that ancient Christmas Day 2000 years ago, you did come to earth and bring your message of healing and love. What the people then expected, and what we long for now, is that you would set the world straight. But we accept things as you allow them to be, not as we would have them. We know that your Divine Providence guides all the affairs of this world from the greatest international affairs to the smallest individual hope and prayer. Your Great Day of Judgment is every day and every moment of every day, as we turn from sin and turn toward your shining face. Your Great Day of judgment occurs each time we choose what is good and right, and turn from what is evil and wrong. Walk with us, dear Lord, as we pilgrimage here on earth, and lead us into eternal blessedness in your home where we will live with you forever.

O That You Would Come Down
Rev. Dr. David J. Fekete
December 2, 2012

Isaiah 64:1-9 Mark 13: 24-37 Psalm 80

The Common Christian Lectionary that tells Christian congregations which Bible readings to select each Sunday again chose an Apocalyptic passage. Apocalyptic writings talk about a time when God will come down to earth and set things straight. Mark 13 is an apocalyptic passage which tells about the final judgment on the earth. Our reading from Isaiah was sort of apocalyptic, but not really. In Isaiah the idea of God coming down to earth to straighten things out is there. That idea is an apocalyptic expectation. But the passage is in the form of an appeal to God. It reads, “O that you would rend the heavens and come down.” This passage is a prayer to God, entreating God to come down and set things straight. It is not an apocalyptic prophesy that predicts that great and awesome Day of the Lord, when God will come down to earth.
We can understand just why the ancient Israelites would appeal to God for help, as we read in Isaiah. Things were really bad for the ancient Israelites in the years just before the Advent of Christ. The passage from Isaiah 64 we heard was probably written when the Israelites were returning home from the Babylonian captivity. They were rebuilding their country, including the temple which had been destroyed by the Babylonians. But the new country that they rebuilt was just a remnant of the former glory that Israel had known under David and Solomon. There were power struggles between the priests, the numbers of the Israelites who returned were small, and they were denied a king of their own in this rebuilt province of Persia. The whole rebuilding process was a disappointment to many. But things got worse. Alexander the Great plowed through Israel, conquering as he went. Israel came under Greek rule, and things got so bad that a pig was even sacrificed in the temple in Jerusalem. Then the Romans came through, conquering as they came. In the years before Christ, Israel was a province of the Roman Empire. Gone were the days of self-governance. Gone were the days of the mighty kings. We can understand the words carried from an earlier age, “O that you would rend the heavens and come down.”
We can’t emphasize too much the widespread expectation of the Great Day of the Lord in the years just before Christ. In the early years before Christ, there was widespread expectation that the Great Day of the Lord was coming really soon. The idea that soon God would come down and set the world right, and that the Messiah would rule on the throne of Israel for ever was in the air everywhere. The Dead Sea Scrolls tell us just how anxiously the world awaited the Messiah and the Great Day of the Lord. The Dead Sea Scrolls were written by a monastic community who were awaiting the Great Day of the Lord and the cosmic battle between the forces of light and the forces of darkness. One such text reads,
On that day when the Kittim fall there shall be a battle and horrible carnage before the God of Israel, for it is a day appointed by Him from ancient times as a battle of annihilation for the Sons of Darkness. On that day the congregation of the gods and the congregation of men shall engage one another, resulting in great carnage. The Sons of Light and the forces of Darkness shall fight together to show the strength of God with the roar of a great multitude and the shout of gods and men; a day of disaster (The War Scroll).
The prophesy says that God and the Sons of Light will win this cosmic battle and usher in a time when God will forever rule on earth,
Then at the time appointed by God, His great excellence shall shine for all the times of eternity; for peace and blessing, glory and joy, and long life for all Sons of Light.
This Great Day of the Lord also has a moral component to it. When God sets the world straight, He will also purify the souls of humans. Not only will the world be redeemed, but human hearts will also be rendered pure. The prophesies about human redemption also begin with the understanding that the world is fallen and in need of divine amendment.
In His mysterious insight and glorious wisdom God has countenanced an era in which perversity triumphs, but at the time appointed for visitation He shall destroy such forever. Then shall truth come forth in victory upon the earth. Sullied by wicked ways while perversity rules, at the time of the appointed judgement truth shall be decreed. By His truth God shall then purify all human deeds, and refine some of humanity so as to extinguish every perverse spirit from the inward parts of the flesh, cleansing from every wicked deed by a holy spirit. Like purifying waters, He shall sprinkle each with a spirit of truth, effectual against all the abominations of lying and sullying by an unclean spirit (Charter of a Jewish Sectarian Association).
We see a similar expectation in the New Testament that God will come soon and right the fallen world. In Mark 13:30 Jesus says that the people now living will see this happen: “I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.” This line suggests that the early Christians expected the last judgement to happen in their lifetime. Paul seems to have the same expectation. In 1 Corinthians 7, he writes, “The time is short . . . For this world in its present form is passing away” (29, 31).
Jesus tells us that we do not know the hour when these things will happen. His message, therefore, is to watch; be ready; do not let the Master find us sleeping when He comes. We face God’s judgement every moment and we are called to live our lives as if Christ is coming soon, or perhaps as if Christ has already come to us.
The message we heard from Isaiah seems to reinforce this New Testament message. Isaiah 64:5 tells us, “You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways.” This is a clear statement that God gives aid to those who do what is right. In fact, it even says that God comes to those who do what is right. Yet, surprisingly, this same Isaiah 64 was used by Luther, and is still used by some Protestants to support the belief that doing right does not matter to God. They take one line from this chapter for such support, “All our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (64:6). Luther took this to mean that works are not regarded by God except as filthy rags. Thus works do not, works can not save us.
But Isaiah 64 has both teachings in it. God comes to the help of those who do what is right. But also in the same chapter, the feeling of sin is so great that the writer feels even his righteous acts are but filthy rags.
This church teaches a middle road between these two ideas. We are a mystical form of Christianity. This means that we teach a path that brings us into personal relationship with God. Swedenborg teaches that the heaven-bound way is one in which God lives in our hearts and minds. God is Infinite Goodness. So when we have God in us, we will have Goodness in us. This goodness will flow forth in loving good deeds. Technically, we are not the ones doing good. It is God in us that is doing the good that we seem to be doing. But it is of critical import to our spiritual wellbeing that we do good and loving deeds. If we have God in us we will do good deeds spontaneously. Only if we take credit for the good we do will our deeds appear as filthy rags. But even that is too strong a statement. When we begin our spiritual journey, we may be proud of ourselves for doing good, which we have been taught to do. We wouldn’t want to stifle this bud of spiritual life by accusing these good deeds of being filthy rags. We would want to encourage the early efforts of everyone who is doing good. Ultimately, as a person matures spiritually, a person will see that it is God in him or her doing the good.
We do not know the hour when Christ will come. But that hour is every hour of our day, every minute of our life. God is always with us. Let us do the next right thing that life puts in front of us. Let us do the good that we know to do. In Luke 17:21, Jesus says that the kingdom of God is within us. I take that to mean that the great battle between the forces of light and the forces of darkness is going on in our souls. The Great Day of God happens when we turn to what is good, and dispel what is evil. In its discussion of the Great Day of the Lord, the Dead Sea Scrolls talks about these two spirits that contend in our heart. “Until now the spirits of truth and perversity have contended within the human heart” (Charter of a Jewish Sectarian Association).
We do not know when that Great Day of the Lord will happen on the earth–if it will happen visibly at all. We do know, however, about the spirits of perversity and truth that contend within the human heart. We do know about the forces of darkness and light that contend within our soul. We face judgement each waking moment, when we are called to do the next right thing in front of us. God will come and bring aid to us in this cosmic battle. “You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways.” When we conquer in this battle, we will be ready to meet Jesus when He comes in the clouds whether visibly, or only in our hearts.

PRAYER

Lord, you have told us in your Word that you come and help those who gladly do right, who remember your ways. And we also read in your Word that a great battle is waged in our souls between forces of light and forces of darkness. In this battle, we implore your promised help, that the forces of light may find a home in our souls forever. There is a great day of judgment at hand. The great judgment day is at every moment of our lives, it is present each choice we make. May we always be ready to meet you on that Great Day. And we humbly ask you to walk with us, day by day, even as we would walk with you.