Our Relationships With God

And the moon rose over an open field… So it goes in Simon & Garfunkel’s classic song “America”. These 8 simple words are perhaps the most eloquent turn of phrase in all popular music–and a lyric that should serve as a strong metaphor for Progressive Christians and all those who seek the pathway to God.

When the moon is close the horizon, hovering just above the open fields or cityscapes, it appears incredibly large, as though we could almost touch it. Yet as it rises in the sky it becomes smaller and feels beyond our grasp. It all comes down to a matter of perspective. When the moon is closer to the horizon and our world, we can better perceive its grandeur. But when it is above our heads, there is nothing to relate it to except the tiny distant stars and planets. The moon becomes just another heavenly body beyond our reach.

The same can be said of our relationship with God, the Father. The further away that we place him in a heavenly mansion in the sky, the less tangible and real he feels. But when we begin to see God and the Holy Spirit working today (in the living hour) all around us–in friends and strangers, neighbors and family, and in every living thing of this green Earth, the larger and more magnificent he becomes. This, of course, is why Jesus of Nazareth tells us the Kingdom of God is “at hand”¹ not in the heavens above.

Although he doesn’t realize it, Paul Simon’s traveler ultimately finds “America” while laughing on the bus, playing games with the faces, his traveling partner imagining the man in the gabardine suit was a spy. We are to find God the same way.

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1. After John had been committed to prison, Jesus went to Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom of God: “The time has come, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe the gospel.” Mark 1:14-16 [↩]

Heaven in a Wildflower

To see the world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wildflower. Those are lovely sentiments from the brilliant 19th century poet William Blake–some folks may even take inspiration from them. But few of us actually are changed by such words. They simply strike our fancy for a moment, as we smile at their profundity. Then our thoughts eventually turn back to the problems and annoyances of daily life. One expects that William Blake well knew the impotency of words in manifesting change in others, and thus penned his lofty verse simply for himself–a way of honoring his personal relationship with God and celebrating the magnificence of creation.

As we’ve elevated famous artists to the rank of nobility, enshrining their works in museums, immortalizing their lives in books, and lavishing them with money and praise, we have forgotten that art is ultimately a democratic endeavor to be pursued by everyone–for it is through art (be it painting, writing, sketching, crafting, building, carving, sewing, or what have you) that we grow closer to God and begin to truly see the world as He sees it–a co-creator within His creation.

When we work diligently, patiently, and lovingly at our art/craft (whatever that may be), we slowly approach that destination which the novelist Lawrence Durrell said was the ultimate goal of all true artists: developing a personality which transcends art. This transcendent personality is the one we find realized in Jesus of Nazareth, who having achieved union with the Father thru Christ not only saw heaven in a wildflower but in every living thing, including the worst sinners among us.

It was then by the force of that personality (and not his words alone) that Jesus became a “fisher of men,” truly capable of transforming the lives of others.

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False Christs & False Prophets

Gospel of Matthew 24

Leaving the temple courts, Jesus was walking away, when his disciples came up to draw his attention to the temple buildings. 2 “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “I tell you, not a single stone will be left here upon another, which will not be throne down,” 3 So, while Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came up to him privately and said: “Tell us when this will be, and what will be the sign of your coming, and of the close of the age.”

4 Jesus replied to them as follows: “See that no one leads you astray; 5 For, many will take my name, and come saying ‘I am the Christ,’ and will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; take care not to be alarmed, for such things must occur; but the end is not yet here. 7 For ‘nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom,’ and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All this, however, will be but the beginning of the birth pangs!”

9 “When that time comes, they will give you up to persecution, and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations on account of my name. 10 And then many will fall away, and will betray one another, and hate one another. 11 Many false prophets, also, will appear and lead many astray; 12 And, owing to the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold. 13 Yet those who endure to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be proclaimed throughout the world as a witness to all nations; and then will come the end.”

15 “As soon, then, as you see ‘the foul desecration,’ mentioned by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place,” (whosoever reads this let them understand) 16 “Then those of you who are in Judea must take refuge in the mountains; 17 And those on the housetops must not go down to get their things that are in their houses; 18 Nor must those who are on their farm turn back to get their cloaks. 19 And woe to the women that are with child, and for those that are nursing infants in those days!”

20 “Pray, too, that your flight may not take place in winter, nor on a Sabbath; 21 For that will be ‘a time of great distress, the like of which has not occurred from the beginning of the world down to the present time’—no, nor ever will again. 22 And had not those days been limited, not a single soul would escape; but for the sake of ‘God’s People’ a limit will be put to them.”

23 “And, at that time, if anyone should say to you: ‘Look! Here is the Christ!’ or ‘Here he is!’ do not believe it; 24 For false Christs and false prophets will arise, and will display great signs and marvels, so that, were it possible, even God’s people would be led astray. 25 Remember, I have told you beforehand. 26 Therefore, if people say to you: ‘He is in the wilderness!’ do not go out there; or: ‘He is in an inner room!’ do not believe it; 27 For, just as lightning will start from the east and flash across to the west, so will it be with the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever a dead body lies, there will the vultures flock.’”

What does the Lord’s Prayer mean?

To continue reading Chapter 24 of the Gospel of Matthew, please click on page 2 below.

John – Chapter 16 – The Spirit of Truth

“I have spoken to you in this way so that you may not falter. 2 They will expel you from their synagogues; indeed the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think that they are making an offering to God. 3 They will do this, because they have not learned to know the Father, or even me. 4 But I have spoken to you of these things that, when the time for them comes, you may remember that I told you about them myself. 5 I did not tell you all this at first, because I was with you. But now I am to return to him who sent me; and yet not one of you asks me: ‘Where are you going?’”

6 “Although your hearts are full of sorrow at all that I have been saying to you. 7 Yet I am only telling you the truth; it is for your good that I should go away. For otherwise the Helper will never come to you, but, if I leave you, I will send him to you. 8 And he, when he comes, will bring conviction to the world as to sin, and as to righteousness, and as to judgment; 9 As to sin, for people do not believe in me; 10 As to righteousness, for I am going to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 As to judgment, for the spirit that is ruling this world has been condemned.”

12 “I have still much to say to you, but you cannot bear it now. 13 Yet when the Spirit of Truth comes it will guide you into all truth; for it will not speak on its own authority, but it will speak of all that it hears; and it will tell you of the things that are to come. 14 It will honor me; because it will take of what is mine, and will tell it to you. 15 Everything that the Father has is mine; that is why I said that he takes of what is mine, and will tell it to you. 16 In a little while you will no longer see me; and then in a little while you will see me indeed.”

17 At this, some of his disciples said to one another: “What does he mean by saying to us: ‘In a little while you will not see me, and then in a little while you will see me indeed’; and by saying ‘Because I am going to the Father’? 18 What does he mean by ‘In a little while’?” they said; “we do not know what he is speaking about.”

19 Jesus saw that they were wanting to ask him a question, and said: “Are you trying to find out from one another what I meant by saying: ‘In a little while you will not see me; and then in a little while you will see me indeed’? 20 In truth I tell you that you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will suffer pain, but your pain shall turn to joy.”

21 “A woman in labor is in pain because her time has come; but no sooner is the child born, than she forgets her trouble in her joy that a baby has been born into the world. 22 You, in the same way, are sorry now; but I shall see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will rob you of your joy. 23 And at that time you will not ask me anything; in truth I tell you, if you ask the Father for anything, he will grant it to you in my name. 24 So far you have not asked for anything in my name; ask, and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.”

25 “I have spoken to you of all this in proverbs; a time is coming, however, when I shall not speak any longer to you in proverbs, but shall tell you about the Father plainly. 26 At that time you will ask in my name; and I do not say that I will intercede with the Father for you; 27 For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me, and have believed that I came from the Father. 28 I came out from the Father, and have come into the world; and now I am to leave the world, and go to the Father.”

29 “At last,” exclaimed the disciples, “you are using plain words and not speaking in proverbs at all. 30 Now we are sure that you know everything, and need not wait for anyone to question you. This makes us believe that you did come from God.” 31 “Do you believe that already?” Jesus answered.

32 “Listen! A time is coming—indeed it has already come—when you are to be scattered, each going his own way, and to leave me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. 33 I have spoken to you in this way, so that in me you may find peace. In the world you will find trouble; yet, be of good cheer! I have conquered the world.”

To read the next chapter of the Book of John, please go to The Gospel of John – 17.

This Online New Testament Gospel of John is excerpted from the book The Living Hour: The Lord’s Prayer for Daily Life (with New Century Gospels). Including over 200 bookmarked citations from the canonical Gospels, this Progressive Christian book appeals to the Unitarian spirit at the heart of all faiths.

Challenge your perceptions on the Gospel of Christ, Jesus’s parables, and the Kingdom of God by purchasing The Lord’s Prayer book today. Produced by LivingHour.org, a Thailand-based small press dedicated to publishing unique Learning Easy Thai Language Books, as well as works on progressive spirituality.

John – Gospel 17 – Christ Is The Messenger

After saying this, Jesus raised his eyes heaven-wards, and said: “Father, the hour has come; honor thy Son, that thy Son may honor you; 2 Even as thou gave him power over all mankind, that he should give eternal life to all those whom thou has given him. 3 And the eternal life is this: to know thee the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent as thy messenger. 4 I have honored thee on earth by completing the work which thou has given me to do; 5 And now do thou honor me, Father, at thy own side, with the honor which I had at thy side before the world began.”

6 “I have revealed thee to those whom thou gave me from the world; they were thy own, and thou gave them to me; and they have laid thy message to heart. 7 They recognize now that everything that thou gave me was from thee; 8 For I have given them the teaching which thou gave me, and they received it, and clearly understood that I came from thee, and they believed that thou has sent me as thy messenger. 9 I intercede for them; I am not interceding for the world, but for those whom thou has given me, for they are thy own—10 All that is mine is thine, and all that is thine is mine—and I am honored in them.”

11 “Now I am to be in this world no longer, but they are still to be in the world, and I am to come to thee. Holy Father, keep them by that revelation of thy name which thou has given me that they may be one, as we are. 12 While I was with them, I kept them by that revelation, and I have guarded them; and not one of them has been lost, except that lost soul—in fulfillment of scripture. 13 But now I am to come to thee; and I am speaking thus, while still in the world, that they may have my own joy, in all its fullness, in their hearts.”

14 “I have given them thy message; and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world, even as I do not belong to the world. 15 I do not ask thee to take them out of the world, but to keep them from evil. 16 They do not belong to the world, even as I do not belong to the world. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; thy message is truth. 18 Just as thou has sent me as thy messenger to the world, so I send them as my messengers to the world. 19 And it is for their sakes that I am sanctified myself, so that they also may be truly consecrated.”

20 “But it is not only for them that I am interceding, but also for those who believe in me through their message, 21 That they all may be one—as thou, Father, are in me, and I in you—so the world may believe that thou has sent me as thy messenger. 22 I have given them the honor which thou has given me, that they may be one as we are one—23 I in union with them and thou with me—that so they may be perfected in their union, and thus the world may know that thou has sent me as thy messenger, and that thou has loved them as thou has loved me.”

24 “Father, my desire for all those whom thou has given me is that they may be with me where I am, so that they may see the honor which thou has given me; for thou did love me before the beginning of the world. 25 O righteous Father, though the world did not know thee, I knew thee; and these people knew that thou has sent me as thy messenger. 26 I have made thee known to them, and will do so still; that the love that thou has had for me may be in their hearts, and that I may be in them also.”

To read the next chapter of the Book of John, please go to The Gospel of John – 18.

This Online New Testament Gospel of John is excerpted from the book The Living Hour: The Lord’s Prayer for Daily Life (with New Century Gospels). Including over 200 bookmarked citations from the canonical Gospels, this Progressive Christian book appeals to the Unitarian spirit at the heart of all faiths.

Challenge your perceptions on the Gospel of Christ, Jesus’s parables, and the Kingdom of God by purchasing The Lord’s Prayer book today. Produced by LivingHour.org, a Thailand-based small press dedicated to publishing unique Learning Easy Thai Language Books, as well as works on progressive spirituality.