January 2008

Sunday Message from January 6, 2008


 

This week's Sunday Message is from Rev. Wilma Wake of Kennebunk, Maine.

 

 

Hello!  I am delighted to be a guest with the Cyber Community today, and I bring you greetings from the Swedenborgian Church in Portland, ME.  We are mostly frozen around here, from weeks of snow and ice storms.  However, we are now about to have several days of our “January thaw”, which will allow us to thaw out before the February storms gear up.

I’m going to offer you a worship service today that will include music and prayers.  I hope that the music will be easy to access.   From time to time, I’ll be noting a web site that will give you more information about a topic.  At the end of the service, I’ll list a number of web sites that will allow you to explore various aspects of today’s theme.

Being brave about this cyber adventure, I’ll start off with hoping you can access this song:

 

OPENING SONG:   Amazing Grace

To hear Amazing Grace, go to this link.  If all goes well [and if your computer volume is “on”], then you should hear the music playing and see the words on the screen.

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/a/m/a/amazing_grace.htm

            I’ve always loved that song, although am glad that in Portland we change the word “wretch” to “soul.”  Recently, I saw the movie about the circumstances of the song’s creation.  I was deeply moved with its connection to the slave trade in England.  It was written by a sea captain who had once brought Africans to England to be sold as slaves.  He experienced what Swedenborg called “regeneration”, and was deeply ashamed that he had participated in slavery.  He dedicated his life to ending the slave trade, and wrote this song about his experience.

            I find it a fitting song for starting 2008; it is a reminder that no matter how badly we feel about who we have been or something we have done, “amazing grace” is always available.  Swedenborg called it “influx.”

            Our readings today also reflect the power and potential of change through the Divine. 

 

 

This reading is from Matthew:

FROM THE BIBLE:

Matthew 2

The Visit of the Magi

 1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."

 3When King Herod heard this he was disturbed and all Jerusalem with him. 4When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ  was to be born. 5"In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written:
 6" 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
      are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
   for out of you will come a ruler
      who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'

 7Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."

 9After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

[to read this passage in other versions of the Bible – or to read the passages before or after, go to           http://www.biblegateway.com/]

 

 

FROM SWEDENBORG:

Swedenborg had some important observations about this Matthew passage:

The star was seen in the east by the wise men, because the Lord is the East; and because they knew of the coming of the Lord from those representatives which remained with them, therefore they saw the star and it went before them, first to Jerusalem, which represented the church itself, as to doctrine and the Word, and then to the place where the infant Lord was. A star also signifies the cognitions of good and truth, and in the highest sense, knowledge concerning the Lord. That stars in the Word signify cognitions of good and truth…  [AE, #422, 20]

[for more before and after this passage, or to read it in a different translation, go to:  http://www.theheavenlydoctrines.org/ ]

 

PRAYER

On this day as we gather in cyberspace to worship together, we ask that Divine Love and Wisdom help us to open our hearts and our minds to the never-ending grace and transformation that is always available to us.  Help us to receive it within and to share it without.  Amen.

 

SONG:  We Three Kings of Orient Are

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/w/e/t/we3kings.htm

                       

REFLECTION:

            When I was a child, I loved singing the “Twelve Days of Christmas.”  It seemed to me to be a nonsensical song; I had no clue that it had a religious significance.  Do you enjoy the song?  If you’d like to hear it and see the words:   http://www.carols.org.uk/the_twe1ve_days_of_christmas.htm

            In my family, we opened our presents on Christmas Eve and morning.   Then we began cleaning up, as Christmas was over. I never knew that this song honored the many Christian traditions that celebrate Christmas for 12 days, until Epiphany on January 6^th. [In some traditions, Epiphany is Jan. 5^th, depending on how the 12 days are counted.] TODAY is January 6^th!  Around the world, many people are celebrating a special day today.  What are they commemorating?

The word epiphany means "to show" or "to reveal." For many Christians, this is the time that the Wise Men [the three kings, the magi] saw the star in the East, and followed it to worship the baby Jesus by bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

 In many Hispanic cultures, the day is known as El Dia de los Reyes Magos [the day of the 3 kings].  Many people in this country are celebrating this tradition today.

            Does this day hold any particular significance for Swedenborgians?  Swedenborg did talk about the meaning of the star of Bethlehem, as quoted above.  He saw the star as signifying wisdom or truth.  The birth of Jesus brought the light into the world – and into each of our hearts.  Now with the star glittering above, we are encountering the wisdom we need to bring the light forth into the world.

            There are other places where Swedenborg wrote about the meaning of stars.

That by "stars" are signified the knowledges of good and truth, may be seen above (n. 51); and because by them is intelligence and wisdom, AR 151

 

He also tells us that “magi” refers to those with mystical, inner knowledge; while “wise men” refers to those whose knowledge is about externals.  AC 5223

            So a particular Swedenborgian significance for this day could be a reminder of the “wisdom” that comes from stars; a wisdom that has both external and internal dimensions.

The three kings used the outer wisdom of the star to guide them to Jesus.  They used  inner guiding wisdom to realize that they must avoid returning to King Herod, who wanted to kill the baby.  For many Christian churches, this day is a reminder to take the Good News into the world.  What is it for you?  What new growth is being birthed in you that you would like to allow to shine in the world?

            Often, we dismiss the importance of anything we could do – as an individual person in the world. But Swedenborg tells us that existence is like a web, and that the actions of any one person impact everyone else.  Let’s consider how we each can honor our bright stars in three areas:  in the world, in our community, and in our hearts.

Shining our light in the world:

            Our actions are particularly powerful when we work with others towards a common goal. In Maine, Swedenborgians are members of the Maine Council of Churches.  In Portland, our folks have been involved in their Eco-Justice ministry. Are you familiar with the work of the National Council of Churches?   We Swedenborgians are members and send representatives to their meetings.  They have various units of focus, one of which is Eco-Justice.

            I’m on their email list, and received these words this week-end;

As the traditional end of the Christmas season comes, consider giving the gift of helping churches protect God's creation by becoming greener.  …

The Eco-Justice Programs are working hard to protect God's Creation, by calling for a sustainable energy bill and climate change legislation that incorporates the principles of justice, by working for conservation in the farm bill, by educating church communities about the dangers of toxins and chemicals, by encouraging congregations to make their buildings green, and much, much more

            Swedenborg tells us that it is important to take our light into the world as uses.  Working with groups such as NCC on projects like eco-justice can be one way of bringing our “stars” into the world.

Shining Light in this Community:

We are all part of many communities in our lives.  I’m especially excited by this new cyber-community.  What a great opportunity to share “shining stars” with each other!  I so enjoyed being a part of the  discussion on Thursday evening, where many of you shared your hopes and visions for your on-line faith community.  Sharing your lights, and enjoying the lights of others, is another form of “uses” that allows our stars to shine.

Shining Light in our Hearts:

How can we use the divine Wisdom within ourselves?

Wilson Van Dusen, a psychologist and mystic, says:

The capacity to experience mystery and awe is simple.  It is available to us by a simple shift of attitude.  It is the difference between narrowing our existence as “nothing-but” or remaining open to all.  In this openness we easily find ourselves mysterious and embedded in an awesome and mysterious universe.  [P. 42 of Returning to the Source].

 

            I often find this true in my own life.  When I am particularly troubled or confused by events in my life, I love to put my two dogs in the car and drive the 5 miles to the beach.  There, as my dogs race wildly along the beach, I like to stroll.  I especially like being there at sunset, as the light slowly fades away.  I usually start my walk by thinking about some troublesome matter in my life.  But then, within moments, my breath is taken away by the majesty of the waves, the sands, the rocks, the clouds.  My soul shouts YES.  This is IT.   I see my personal troubles in perspective, as I embrace the mystery of the entire web of creation.  I don’t understand it.   But I love to just  let myself be in awe before it.  Out of that awe, comes peace about my life and a clearer sense of direction.

            A way of shining the star’s light within is to allow ourselves to experience the mystery and awe of life.  Risk a shift in attitude to encompass the wholeness of God’s creation within our own hearts.

            So today we celebrate the visit of the wise men to Jesus.  Yet, in many ways, it is a story about us; about all of us wise men and wise women.  We all have a glittering star above us and within us.  Open your heart, and follow where it leads!

           

MEDITATION

If you wish, take a couple of minutes to sit quietly, and become aware of the bright Star of the East that is in your own heart.

CLOSING SONG:

Blessed Be the Tie that Binds

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/b/b/bbtttb.htm

 

Benediction

May the bright shining star of the East shine upon you and within you; today and always.

 

 

Questions for journaling or discussion:

 

1.      Have you had any experiences of “mystery and awe”, when you became caught up in music or nature or a task – and felt connected to everything?  If so, what was that like?  Do you agree with Van Dusen that such experiences are simply a “shift in attitude?”  Do they help you find peace and understanding for the complexities of everyday life?

2.      Where do you see the Star guiding you for 2008, in the world and in community?

3.      Can you recognize your inner star glowing?  We sometimes overlook our own gifts that are glittering within.  Do you have inner gifts that you sometimes ignore, and want to share more of in 2008?

 

 

 

 

 

Additional resources on today’s topic:

1.       Amazing Grace:  if you’re interested in the new movie about the writing of this song, go to:         http://www.amazinggracemovie.com/index.php]

2.    El Dia de los Reyes Magos: To read accounts of modern celebrations in Hispanic communities, go to these links.   They are to newspaper articles that will probably not be available for long.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/05/HOMBU67G4.DTL

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-kings0408jan04,0,208776.story

 

 

3. Eco-Justice of the National Council of Churches:

http://www.nccecojustice.org//index.htm

4.       Epiphany:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/religion/5429039.html

5.       The history of the song, The 12 Days of Christmas

http://www.carols.org.uk/the_twe1ve_days_of_christmas.htm

6.       Family and Children’s Resources:  The General Church has a great deal of material about epiphany for use by families and children.  Here are two of their sites on this topic:

http://www.newchurch.org/resources/vineyard/2001dec/

http://www.newchurch.org/resources/vineyard/2006dec/

 

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Sunday Message for January 13, 2008

 

This week's Sunday Message is from Rev. Andy Stinson of Woolwich, Maine

 
 

Isaiah 42:1-9

42Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. ²He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; ³a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. ⁴He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his teaching.

⁵Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it: ⁶I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, ⁷to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. ⁸I am the Lord, that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols. ⁹See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them.

 

 

Matthew 3:13-17

 

 ¹³Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. ¹⁴John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” ¹⁵But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. ¹⁶And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. ¹⁷And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Live into your Baptism

 

Live into the Baptism that God has given you.

 

Of the two sacraments of the church, communion and baptism, baptism is the least understood. It stands as a marker and moment of faith, a harbinger of our true identity as beloved child of God which we can neither escape nor fully embrace in our living. There are few of us who can move through our life in every crisis and mundane moment remembering and living into the ultimate truth of God’s profound love for us and the Universe’s conspiringly constant shower of joy.

 

Anyone who has taken more than a few breaths in this world knows that we may not experience it that way, we may not always understand the trials and rebukes of our living as the very pruning and cultivating of a loving God offering us always more engagement, more love, more joy. Nonetheless because we do not experience it as thus it does not change its truth.

 

One of the tremendous truths we must face in our lives is if we look, as Swedenborg does, at the biblical story as the story of our spiritual journey then we must come to grips with our internal lives being a very messy place. The Israelites are responsible for genocides and slavery, rape and war. God is often a very hard character. This is not a testament to the nature of God; it is a testament to our experience of God in our lives at a particular time. Every child has experienced their parents as tyrannical at one point or another and so often that tyranny was based out of love.

 

To be in authentic relationship we cannot be coerced. Even further we have to strain and struggle with one another. The greatest predictor of marital success or failure is not how much couples love each other, but how they fight. Bringing that love into opposition is one of the most wonderful, important and necessary things couples must do in relationship. It is also one of the most wonderful, important, and necessary things we must do with God as well. How we rail against the fortunes of our lives yet still look to the fundamental leading of love in our lives is at its core what it is to live a life of faith or any spiritual journey at all. God’s love is a love that is greater than our smallness and in it seeks yet to infuse every part of us with divine joy.

 

This is the reality of Jesus’ Baptism. John understands this reality in the same way the goodness in us understands, we cannot save ourselves, we need to be in relationship with someone and something larger than ourselves. If we are in a bad mood, there is nothing WE can DO to change that mood. What we can do is a lot of things that permit and lead that mood to be changed but the ultimate transformation of my heart, mind and feeling state doesn’t come from me and it comes from beyond me.

 

At the very same time it sure ‘appears’ as if my positive thoughts, or going for a walk, or smiling when I don’t’ ‘feel like it’ to get a smile back was what changed my state, but in fact it wasn’t and couldn’t be. What changed my state, what always changes my state is my willingness to be led by God’s leading. My willingness to take the most basic and fundamental action, into which, heaven can flow becomes the transformational moment. We cannot subvert this process and in John’s protestations we hear our own begging and confusion, can’t we just be happy? Can’t you just lift our burden? Why should I baptize the Divine, when it is the Divine that should be baptizing me? Why should I make clean my life, it should be God that makes my life clean?

 

This is why, against John’s protests, Jesus insists that he is to be baptized. John, the outward physical aspect of our goodness, must make a place, must call the divine love and wisdom in our lives important, it is the only way we can come into true and authentic relationship with the God that loves us, is to make a place for it in our lives.

 

When we do this, we come into the one of the loveliest experiences we find in all the Gospels. First we receive the Spirit of God in the form of the dove, in short, peace. When we make a place for the Divine and make holy that place we become grounded in our own truth in our own reality in our own life. We know peace not as a construct or a commission but as a lived dynamic experience. Ram Dass said ‘You know that experience of going home after a long day and relaxing into the couch, ahhhh. We should feel that way all the time.’

 

   Secondly and most importantly, we come into the very being of who we are as a child of God. We come into the experience of our very nature for the first time as Beautiful Child of God. “This is my son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” John’s call for each of us is the same and different all at the same time. It is the same, in that we must make a place in our lives for heaven to flow in and the place will be different for each one of us. For some it may be recommitting to our prayer life, for some it may be attentiveness to our diet, for some it is may be reading and engaging scripture in a concrete way, for some it may be repairing and forgiving relationship, for others it may be about doing useful work in the world. What ever John’s call which is as varied and wide as we are; it calls to the same Ultimate experience, your being a beautiful son or daughter of God.

 

Brothers and sisters, you are a beautiful child of God. You cannot escape it you cannot change it. You were made that way and anything you have done to try to corrupt that fact has no grounding in eternity. I want to invite you today, whether baptized or not, to live into the baptism that is prepared for you. Make a place for heaven in your life, in whatever way God is calling you. You cannot do it with out getting wet, without being changed, and in that transformation is the very promise of heaven itself.

 

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 Sunday Message for January 20, 2008

This week's Sunday Message is from Rev. Carla Friedrich from San Diego, California

 
 

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 Sunday Message from January 27, 2008

This week's Sunday Message is from
Rev. Alison Lane of Nashotah, Wisconsin

 
 

Welcome!  I’m so glad to be able to join you for worship on this day in cyberspace.   I believe the Divine may be found within each of us and within this community, and I invite you to find it in the service today.

 

Please feel free to participate in the service in whatever ways feel comfortable and meaningful to you.   In the spirit of worship, I invite you to light a candle at your place of worship today; if you are interested in the hymns selected for this service, I hope you will have no difficulties in accessing the hymn selections.

 

Opening of Worship

 

Sisters and brothers, our help is in the name of the eternal God, who is making the heavens and the earth.

 

First Hymn – “We Gather Together”

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/w/e/wegattog.htm

 

Prayer

 

Almighty God, whose people are knit together in this online community, Grant us the grace to follow your example in lives of faith and commitment, and to know the inexpressible joys you have prepared for those who love you.  Amen.

 

Scripture Lesson

Isaiah 9:1-4

9:1 But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

9:2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness on them light has shined.

9:3 You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder.

9:4 For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.

 

Matthew 4:12-23

4:12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee.

4:13 He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali,

4:14 so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

4:15 "Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles

4:16 the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned."

4:17 From that time Jesus began to proclaim, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."

4:18 As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea for they were fishermen.

4:19 And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fish for people."

4:20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him.

4:21 As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them.

4:22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

4:23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.          

http://divinity.library.vanderbilt.edu/lectionary/AEpiphany/aEpiphany3.htm  

 

Passage from Swedenborg

 

“Real heavenly happiness is the happiness of genuine charity…for those who are led of the Lord desire nothing more than to do good works” (Arcana Coelestia 6392)

 

Reflection - “Joy for the Taking”

 

Without a Swedenborgian church anywhere near my current home in Wisconsin, I sometimes like to open up the Sunday School hymnal I grew up with to find a few familiar songs to sing.  As I was flipping through the hymnal’s pages this last week, I came across one of those familiar songs I’m so fond of, “If your heart keeps right.”  As you will notice, it has a rather campy, happy-go-lucky kind of message.  The first stanza reads,

           

If the dark shadows gather as you go along,

Do not grieve for their coming, sing a cheery song,

There is joy for the taking, it will soon be light,

Every cloud wears a rainbow if your heart keeps right.

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/i/y/iyhkrite.htm

 

Every cloud wears a rainbow if your heart keeps right…though I love this song for sentimental reasons, perhaps its message is a little too simplistic?  Is it realistic or even possible to always be facing life’s circumstances with this kind of cheerfulness?  Such an outlook reminds me of what the psychologist and philosopher William James would describe as the “healthy-minded” soul.  In his Varieties of Religious Experience, a series of lectures delivered in 1901 and 1902, James described the person with a healthy-minded soul as having a deep sense of the “goodness of life,” and a soul of “sky-blue tint.”  In contrast, those with a “sick soul” always seem to find the melancholy in any situation, as “radical evil gets its innings.”  It is interesting to think about where we might individually fall between these two frames of mind.

 

The third line of the above hymn – “there is joy for the taking, it will soon be light” – continues to stay on my mind.  When was the last time you woke up in the morning feeling ready to take on the day’s challenges because you knew there was “joy for the taking?”  Though the question may seem simple, I believe there is something important to be said about taking stock of our current outlook on life, and the attitude with which we face our days.  Though many of us consider ourselves believers in the Divine, and a Divine that is all Love and all Wisdom at that, and who only wants all good things for us, it isn’t always an easy task to see the possibilities for joy in our situations.  Perhaps it’s an illness or financial concerns that cloud our thoughts, maybe its fear of the unknown that can arise in new situations, maybe it’s the routine of our days, or maybe its turning on the news and hearing of more deaths in war, or lives lost in natural disasters; whatever it is that brings sadness and melancholy into our hearts and minds, it isn’t always an easy feeling to dislodge.

 

These words, “there is joy for the taking,” struck me anew as I was also thinking about the Scripture text for this week – for here we are reminded, too, that there is in fact, joy for the taking.  In our passage from Matthew, we find Jesus at the beginning of his ministry.  Before he calls his first disciples, we learn that he has left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali.  Matthew describes his move and his work as a fulfillment of prophecy.  For those in this region – those who have sat in darkness – light has dawned.  According to the full prophecy in Isaiah, “there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish,” and great joy will be felt, as “with joy at the harvest.”

 

Clearly, our all loving and wise God certainly wants joy and happiness for us – the question is, what does this joy look like? And furthermore, how are we to “take it” as the hymnist says?  Our own thoughts on what makes a moment joyful might not be exactly the sort of joy God would have us work towards – I know my own definition at the moment seems to be getting a new baby finally to sleep at 3 a.m. with the sound of the vacuum cleaner.   Scientist and theologian Emanuel Swedenborg provides us with a much clearer picture.  In his descriptions of the afterlife, Swedenborg relates the following story.

 

“I talked with some spirits who thought that heaven and heavenly joy consisted of being important; but I told them that in heaven the greatest is the one who is least.  This is because people are called least” when they have no ability or wisdom and do not want any ability or wisdom on their own, but only from the Lord.  This kind of “least person” has the greatest happiness.  And because such people do have the greatest happiness, it follows that they are the most important, because this is how they have all their capability and the most wisdom of all – from the Lord.  Further, what is being the greatest if not being the happiest?...I went on to say that heaven did not consist of wanting to be least in order to be greatest…Rather, it means a heartfelt wishing better for others than for oneself, and serving others for the sake of their happiness with no thought of reward, simply out of love” (Heaven and Hell, n.408).

 

Clearly, our greatest happiness and joy lies in loving the Lord and our neighbor, and not seeking joy for its own sake – God wants us to be useful to one another, and when we are, we will one day come to experience the “freest life of all” and be transported into a state of peace that reaches us at our very core (H&H n.404). 

 

Loving God and neighbor and its consequent joy is indeed the kingdom of heaven that is so near.  So let us change our ways, if we see that there is more room in our lives for kindness and compassion toward one another; as I heard someone once say, compassion is love’s tendency to circulate.  Let us remember while we are facing our daily challenges, that God came to fulfill our potential for heavenly joy.  May we follow Jesus’ path, as did his disciple of old, and never forget the unique possibilities for goodness and beauty in all our moments.  May we remember that there is indeed “joy for the taking.” Amen.

 

 

Closing hymn – “God be with you”

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/g/b/gbewiyou.htm

Benediction

 

May the grace and the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

 

 

 

If you are looking for some interesting ways to give to your neighbor…

 

Marc Ian Barasch, author of a great book, Field Notes on the Compassionate Life: A Search for the Soul of Kindness, founded a campaign to plant trees in areas of the world that need restoration. 

http://www.greenworldcampaign.org/

 

Kiva lets you connect with and loan money (for as little as $25) to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can "sponsor a business" and help the world's working poor make great strides towards economic independence.

http://www.kiva.org/

 

 

 

 

 

© 2006, Swedenborgian Community
11 Highland Ave.
Newtonville, MA 02460

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