An End to the Crisis of God

Jesus is gone.

Forty four days ago we all conspired to shed his blood and put him to death. Some of us conspired through betrayal, some through denial, and others through inaction, false witness, and a myriad of other ways. We denied his humanity, we desecrated his divinity, we tied him up, led him in chains, affixed him to a beam of wood, nailed him to the cross, pierced his side and turned our backs even as he cried to the heavens and released his soul unto death.

Forty days ago he returned from death and nobody who saw him recognized his face even though he had only been in the tomb for three days. Not even his closest companions recognized him. He came back and found us all drunk and stupefied, forgetful of everything he shared with us for the years that we followed him around pretending to learn eagerly at his feet and seeing our distress, stayed with us for another forty days to assuage our grief, to instruct us of the mysteries which lie beyond and then, like the putting out of a candle, his light was absorbed into heaven and once again, Jesus was gone.We were left without him.

But he left a promise.

A Vigil Rite in Times of Disaster

Following the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings I, like many people around the world, was filled with a sudden sadness and loss of words (and thoughts!) about the immensity of the event. Words do not adequately lend themselves to these types of situations and, after reading all sorts of news articles on the events and reading increasingly sophistic writings about it on Facebook, I grew more sad and a little bit jaded about this event like many who are exposed on a constant level to the horrors that surround us. Each of us comes to terms with these things in different ways: some through song, some through talking and writing, others through crying, and others – such as myself – through prayer.

In the days immediately following the event, I wrote the following brief service based on my own religious tradition. It is not an official AJC ceremony by any means – I’m the only one whose prayed it before -  but I present it that it may be used, and modified, by those in my community or who are otherwise genuinely interested and wanting to contribute prayerfully in the wake of this most recent tragedy at the Boston Marathon.

______________________________________________________________

The Signum

 

Celebrant:          O Heavenly King, the Paraclete, the Spirit of Truth, who are present everywhere, emanating from the supreme source and filling all things, Treasury of Endless Good and Giver of Life, come and dwell in us, cleanse us from every stain, and heal our infirmities, O Good one.

Celebrant:          Holy are You, O Creator of the Universe. Holy are You, O God, Whose Will is perfected by its own Powers. Holy are You, O God, who desires to be known and are known by your own.

 All:                         +Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One. Have mercy on us.

 Celebrant:          Holy are You, who by the Eternal Word did make all to be as it is. Holy are you, who made Nature to have an image. Holy are you, who are uncreated in Image.

 All:                         +Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One. Have mercy on us.

Celebrant:          Holy are you, more powerful than All Power. Holy are you, transcending all preeminence. Holy are you, better than all praise.

 All:                         +Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One. Have mercy on us.

 Celebrant:          Holy God, One in Three and Three in One, have mercy on us, forgive us our sins and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.

Celebrant:          God, come to my assistance.

All:                         Lord, make haste to help me.

 All bow

Celebrant:          Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

All rise

All:                         As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be unto the Æons of Æons. Amen.

Optional, invocation of the holy archangels may take place here:

Invocation of the Archangels

 

Celebrant:          Hail Raphael, Ruler of Air, Divine Physician. As the breath of the Divine moves over the face of the Deep, so do we call upon you to move over the sanctuary of our being, giving voice to our prayer and strength to our journey.

All:                         Lord of Wind and Storm, we invoke thee!

 

Celebrant:          Hail Michael, Ruler of Fire, Divine Guardian. As our spiritual ancestors travelled through the darkness by a pillar of fire, so do we call upon you as pilgrims to light our path through the wilderness of ignorance into the Kingdom of Heaven.

All:                         Lord of Flame and Prince of the Seraphim, we invoke thee!

Celebrant:          Hail Gabriel, Ruler of Water, Divine Messenger. As the Incarnation of the Logos was foretold to our Mother by your                 presence, so do we call upon you that we may truly know ourselves as children of the Divine Beloved.

All:                         Lady of Stream and Ocean, we invoke thee!

Celebrant:          Hail Uriel, Ruler of Earth, Divine Companion. As you stand guarding the gates of paradise, so do we call upon you to lead us at our last through the portal of that undiscovered territory, from which no traveller returns.

All:                         Lady of Stone and Vale, we invoke thee!

Invitatory Prayer

Celebrant:          We gather together and are one of purpose as fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God, who love the good land God has given us; who cherish the freedoms we enjoy, and who lament our innocence lost. With anger we come, and with sorrow;

with confusion and concern. O Lord, look with the eyes of your love upon our confusion and distress, grant that our vision may be made clear and that we not falter in loving one another as you had taught.

All:                         Amen.

Psalm 37, An Exhortation to Patience and Trust

Reader:               Do not fret because of the wicked;

do not be envious of wrongdoers,

for they will soon fade like the grass,

and wither like the green herb.

 

All:                         Trust in the Lord, and do good;

so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.

Take delight in the Lord,

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

 

Commit your way to the Lord;

trust in him, and he will act.

He will make your vindication shine like the light,

and the justice of your cause like the noonday.

 

Reader:                                Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him;

do not fret over those who prosper in their way,

over those who carry out evil devices.

 

All:                         Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath.

Do not fret—it leads only to evil.

For the wicked shall be cut off,

but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.

 

Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more;

though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there.

But the meek shall inherit the land,

and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.

 

Reader                 The wicked plot against the righteous,

and gnash their teeth at them;

but the Lord laughs at the wicked,

for he sees that their day is coming.

 

All:                         The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows

to bring down the poor and needy,

to kill those who walk uprightly;

their sword shall enter their own heart,

and their bows shall be broken.

 

Better is a little that the righteous person has

than the abundance of many wicked.

For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,

but the Lord upholds the righteous.

 

Reader:                                The Lord knows the days of the blameless,

and their heritage will abide forever;

they are not put to shame in evil times,

in the days of famine they have abundance.

 

All:                         But the wicked perish,

and the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures;

they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.

 

The wicked borrow, and do not pay back,

but the righteous are generous and keep giving;

for those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land,

but those cursed by him shall be cut off.

 

Reader:                                Our steps are made firm by the Lord,

when he delights in our way;

though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong,

for the Lord holds us by the hand.

 

All:                         I have been young, and now am old,

yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken

or their children begging bread.

They are ever giving liberally and lending,

and their children become a blessing.

 

Depart from evil, and do good;

so you shall abide forever.

For the Lord loves justice;

he will not forsake his faithful ones.

 

Reader:                                The righteous shall be kept safe forever,

but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.

The righteous shall inherit the land,

and live in it forever.

 

All:                         The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,

and their tongues speak justice.

The law of their God is in their hearts;

their steps do not slip.

 

The wicked watch for the righteous,

and seek to kill them.

The Lord will not abandon them to their power,

or let them be condemned when they are brought to trial.

 

Reader:                                Wait for the Lord, and keep to his way,

and he will exalt you to inherit the land;

you will look on the destruction of the wicked.

 

All:                         I have seen the wicked oppressing,

and towering like a cedar of Lebanon.

Again I passed by, and they were no more;

though I sought them, they could not be found.

 

Mark the blameless, and behold the upright,

for there is posterity for the peaceable.

But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;

the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off.

 

Reader:                                The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;

He is their refuge in the time of trouble.

The Lord helps them and rescues them;

he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them,

because they take refuge in him.

 

Standing Prayers

 

All stand.

Celebrant:          Glory to Thee, Our God, Glory to Thee.

All:                         Glory to Thee, our God, Glory to Thee. O Heavenly Queen, Comforter, the Spirit of Truth,

Who is everywhere present and permeates all things, the Treasury of all good things and the Giver of life: Come, and abide in us, and cleanse us from every stain, and save our souls, O Pure One.

Celebrant:          Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One: have mercy on us.

All:                         Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One: have mercy on us.

Celebrant:          All Holy, All Mighty, Everlasting Trinity, have mercy on us; cleanse us from our sins, pardon all our iniquities, visit and heal us from our infirmities for Your Name’s sake.

All:                         Kyrie eleison, kyrie eleison, kyrie eleison.

Christi eleison, Christi eleison, Christi eleison.

Kyrie eleison, kyrie eleison, kyrie eleison.

Celebrant:           Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

All:                          As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be, forever and ever. Amen.

The Lucernarium

The Celebrant pour oil in the lamp and seven members of the community come forth and place a single tear of frankincense into the oil. If alone or with less people, the tears may be divided up accordingly.

Celebrant:           O Logos who dwells on high, we praise the glory of Your majesty Whose light is the light of the luminaries, Who sends forth light from heaven over all the world of humankind

Through You we have the sun to light the day and moon and stars to light the night-time. Through you we have the Lamp to drive back shadow. You are light laudable, holy and primal light. From You does darkness and evil flee.

O Christos, send forth Your healing light into our hearts. Restore us to the glory of the Fullness within and without. Comfort our minds, bodies and spirits, and wipe away every tear from our eyes. Blessed is the Name of Your holy glory and to You we sing a hymn of praise and glory. To the Fullness, to the Word and to Wisdom.

The Celebrant or youngest person present comes forth to light the candle.

Celebrant:          As you illumine this lamp, O Lord

All:                         So illumine our dark places

Celebrant:          The Light shines in the darkness and the darkness does                 not overcome it.

O Gracious Light (Phos hilaron)

All:                         O gracious Light,

pure brightness of the ever-living Father in heaven,

O Lord, the Christ, holy and blessed!

Now as we come to the setting of the sun,

and our eyes behold the vesper light,

we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,

O Son of God, O Giver of life,

and to be glorified through all the worlds.

Amen.

All:                         We give thanks unto you, O Light, in whom darkness dwells not.

The Universal Prayer

Celebrant:          Having set this vigil light, let us pray to receive and foster the Divine Light which enlightens the world, that within all of us the Sacred Flame may grow ever stronger and we all grow in love and understanding.

Silence or brief meditation as members come up to light their own candles from the lucernarium.

All:                         Amen.

 

Reader:                For our reigning Sovereign Pontiff __________, and presiding Bishop __________, and all bishops of the Apostolic Johannite Church, bishops in amity, and leaders of faith throughout the world, we pray to the Lord.

Or,

For the leaders of our respective communities of faith, wherein we find our connection to the Sacred Flame, especially __________…

All:                         Lord, hear our prayer.

 

Reader:                For our President __________, our Governor __________,  and all members of local and regional government and all who give their lives in tireless service to the common good, may they be guided by the Sacred Flame and create the foundations for a holy society, free from tyranny and oppression.

All:                         Lord, hear our prayer.

 

Reader:                For those who give their lives in service to the poor, the needy, the marginalized and imprisoned as well as those in need and from want, suffering ostracism and imprisonment; may they all be preserved bodily, mentally and spiritually.

All:                         Lord, hear our prayer.

 

Reader:                For our church and faith communities throughout the world; especially __________,  our (mission, narthex, parish, etc.), that they be beacons of light in the sea of existence and guide people to You, in the myriad of ways you provide.

All:                         Lord, hear our prayer.

 

Reader:                For our friends and family and all those suffering illness, especially __________, may you renew them bodily, mentally, and spiritually that they may remain with us presently and in future joy.

All:                         Lord, hear our prayer.

 

Reader:                For those who have left this world and have gone onward to that other shore from which no one returns, especially __________,  may they be rightly guided by the lights you have set for them and may they be uplifted and encouraged by our prayers.

All:                         Lord, hear our prayer.

 

Reader:                                For our own personal needs at this time…

 

All may state their petitions out loud or silently at this time.

 

All:         Lord, hear our prayer.

 

Celebrant:          O Lord, You make all things new. As these prayers are lifted up toward you, renew the world and all those for whom we have prayed that they may abide forever under the providence of your divine light. May all those, especially the victims of [name or location of tragedy] find speedy healing and protection under your wings and may the wings of Holy Wisdom brush gently at our hearts, removing from us the defilements of anger, hatred and confusion.

Closing

Celebrant:          The Lord be with you.

All:                         And also with you.

Celebrant:          The Lord bless us, and bring us to wholeness, compassion and understanding. The Lord enlighten our minds, comfort our hearts and sustain our bodies. May all those in suffering soon find healing, comfort and aid and may we all do what is meet and right in our ways as members of your body, O Lord, to commit ourselves to repair of the world.

All:                         Amen.

Optional, dismissal of the archangels.

 Dismissal of the Archangels

 

Celebrant:           Hail, mighty Raphael, Archangel of the Air, Healer and Guardian of Wind and Tempest. We thank thee for thine attendance and protection here, and before thou departest for thine airy realms, we bid Thee hail and farewell.

All:                          Hail and farewell.

Celebrant:           Hail, mighty Michael, the Defender, Lord of Fire and Prince of the Legions of Heaven. We thank thee for thine attendance and protection here, and before thou departest for thine fiery realms, we bid Thee hail and farewell.

All:                          Hail and farewell.

 

Celebrant:           Hail, mighty Gabriel, Lady of Water, Heavenly Herald, who didst bring glad tidings to Our Blessed Mother. We thank thee for thine attendance and protection here, and before thou departest for thine watery realms, we bid Thee hail and farewell.

All:                          Hail and farewell.

Celebrant:           Hail, mighty Uriel, Dark Lady of Earth, who bringest all at last unto the Nether Shore, Companion of all who offer up their lives in the defense of others. We thank thee for thine attendance and protection here, and before thou departest for thine earthy realms, we bid Thee hail and farewell.

All:                          Hail and farewell.

Good Friday

Waiting is painful. Forgetting is painful. But not knowing which to do is the worse kind of suffering.
- Paulo Coelho

ILLE mi par esse deo uidetur, ille, si fas est, superare diuos,qui sedens aduersus identidem te spectat et audit dulce ridentem, misero quod omnis eripit sensus mihi: nam simul te.
-Catullus, Carmina 51

“This is what is signified by the words Ana l-haqq, “I am God.” People imagine that it is a presumptuous claim, whereas it is really a presumptuous claim to say Ana ‘l-’abd, “I am the slave of God”; and Ana l-haqq, “I am God” is an expression of great humility. The man who says Ana ‘l-’abd, “I am the servant of God” affirms two existences, his own and God’s, but he that says Ana l-haqq, “I am God” has made himself non-existent and has given himself up and says “I am God”, that is, “I am naught, He is all; there is no being but God’s.” This is the extreme of humility and self-abasement.”
- Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi, commentary on Mansur Al-Hallaj

“So you see, Good and Evil have the same face; it all depends on when they cross the path of each individual human being.”
-Paulo Coelho, The Devil and Miss Prynn

Thou hast conquered, O pale Galilean; the world has grown grey from thy breath;
We have drunken of things Lethean, and fed on the fullness of death.
Laurel is green for a season, and love is sweet for a day;
But love grows bitter with treason, and laurel outlives not May.
- Charles Algernon Swinburne

Cum ergo accepisset Jesus acetum, dixit: Consummatum est. Et inclinato capite tradidit spiritum.

- IOHANNES XIX: xxx

Thursday of Mysteries

“When the glorious disciples were enlightened at the washing of their feet before the supper, the impious Judas was darkened by the disease of avarice, and to the lawless judges he betrayed You, the Righteous Judge. Behold, this man because of avarice hanged himself. Flee from the insatiable desire which dared such things against the Master! O Lord Who deals righteously with all, glory to You!”
- Troparion (Plagal Fourth Tone) of Holy Thursday

 

“Knowing that Judas was reflecting upon something that was exalted, Jesus said to him, “Step away from the others and I shall tell you the mysteries of the kingdom. It is possible for you to reach it, but you will grieve a great deal. For someone else will replace you, in order that the twelve may again come to completion with their god.”
- Gospel of Judas

“It is not permitted to hold love, as they are called, in the, or Churches, nor to eat and to spread couches in the house of God.”
- Canon XXVIII, Council of Laodicea

“Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old; you shall take it from the sheep or from the goats.”
-Exodus 12:5

 

“Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos”

IOHANNES XIII:xxxiv

Profezia

La Forza

“Haec est tonus fortitudinis
fortitudo fortis:
quia vincet omnem rem subtilem
omnemque solidam penetrabit.”

Tabula Smaragdina, 9

 

Il Bagatto

“Into this happy night in secret, seen of none. Nor saw I aught, without other light or guide. Save that which in my heart did burn.”

Saint John of the Cross, Dark Night of the Soul

Il Papa

“De cetero nemo mihi molestus sit: ego enim stigmata Domini Jesu in corpore meo porto.”

Galatians vi, 17

La Morte

“I would have to alter the foundation of my very being, or to annihilate myself, if I were to say that God does not exist, that
I am not free, and that I am not immortal. The very structure
of my being is such that it postulates categorically the existence
of God or infinite perfectibility, freedom or morality as such,
and the immortality of the soul or the possibility of infinite
perfectioning.”

Immanuel Kant, Critique of Practical Reason

La Torre

“For most Freudians, the highly complex concept of the death instinct became an inborn aggressivity which requires consideration as such. The young child ‘naturally’ destroys and takes pleasure in destruction. This urge is thought of not as merely a by-product of thwarted libido but as an instinctual trend in its own right which requires expression and may undergo repression in much the same manner as the sexual instincts.”

Johan M.G. van der Dennen, Psychoanalytic Theories of Aggression

Il Sole

“I approached the very gates of death and set one foot on
Proserpine’s threshold, yet was permitted to return, rapt through
all the elements. At midnight I saw the sun shining in its
brilliant radiance; I entered the presence of the gods of the
under-world and the gods of the upper-world, stood near and
worshipped them.

Apuleius, The Golden Ass

Agapé

This past Saturday I woke up early after a peculiarly restless sleep anxious about the day ahead. Every first and third Friday the Seattle Johannite community, Holy Paraclete, meets at a local esoteric bookstore for communal prayer and, occasionally, participation in the Eucharist through our friend, Monsignor Scott Rassbach+, of Rose Cross Community in Portland. This time, however, was different and unique. Although the monsignor couldn’t make it to the service, I decided as the narthex leader to try something different from our usual vespers service on account of a special guest coming from out of town and offer them, as a gesture of friendship between our different communities.

Friendship and mutual support is important. Regardless of traditions, we are all being led by the Sacred Flame toward the Godhead in whatever way we imagine it and are all fellow travelers on the spiritual path. I met Pater Craig Williams a number of years ago at the Esoteric Book Conference ,where he was interviewed last year by Occult of Personality. A priest of Ecclesia Gnostica Æterna and adept in Ayurveda and Eastern spirituality, I’ve enjoyed my conversations with him and acknowledge him as a friend and exemplar of what it means to be a modern gnostic. Another guest, friend and soon-to-be deacon of Ecclesia Gnostica was also present, as well as others from different traditions. To say I felt overwhelmed at first would be a gross understatement.

The entire morning I traveled here and there across town to get the things I needed for the ceremony in-between making lunch for my partner and me, ironing the clothes I was going to wear, and packing up my travel bag that I use to bring what I needed to the location. I decided that I would arrive a few hours earlier to clean up the space with my partner, set up what was needed, and then grab a quick drink at a local pub to calm my nerves about an hour and half before Holy Paraclete’s first Agapé Meal.

The Agapé Meal is a ceremony dating back to the earliest ages of the Christian movement and although the Council of Laeodicea effectively marked the end of the practice of the agapé feasts in the transition of Christian worship from home to the adapted Hellenic temples and other buildings granted to Christians for worship and congregation some fifty years earlier by the Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus Augustus by declaring, “no one holding any office in the Church, be he cleric or layman, who are invited to an agapé feast, may take away their portions, for this is to cast reproach on the ecclesiastical order[1].” Although it can be certain many still met in the context of their own families and extended friends, this development also marked the codification – or rather separation – between clergy and the laity.

Although eucharistic in appearance, the agapé is principally communal in nature, best described by His Grace, +Mar Timotheos of New South Wales: “[The Agape Meal] a prayerful feast shared in community.. [and] a time for a whole household to come together and give thanks… you can think of [it] as a bridge. It bridges the domestic, mundane reality of the meal with the sacred time of liturgy – so it has a flavour that is somewhat liturgical and somewhat casual. As the liturgy proclaims: there is no separation between these things – but it’s easy to think of sacredness as only being at church or in meditation. Agape is a way to remind ourselves that truly ‘there is nothing mundane in the holy’.”

The above description is precisely what I felt last Saturday in the presence of good friends and spiritual partners. In spite of our many different backgrounds, experiences and even personal practices, we were able to come together, sit at the same table, pray and enjoy our company in a mindful manner. The conversations were delightful and I was overjoyed by the entirety of the experience in spite of my initial anxieties. Waking up the next morning, I felt inspired – the first time in a number of weeks due to personal life stressors – and motivated to move past the things I’ve been letting hold me back to some degree and try out new things.

---

[1] Canon 27, Laeodicea

Review of Tony Silvia’s “Sanctuary of the Sacred Flame”

After two years of hard work, Father Anthony Silvia + brings to us an amazing primer in Johannite spirituality in his Sanctuary of the Sacred Flame bringing to light the foundational practices of the Apostolic Johannite Church for all to see including the Logos Liturgy and the ceremony of the Agape Feast.

The Apostolic Johannite Church is a world-wide network of communities united by the pursuit of gnosis and the communal celebration of the Divine. In Sanctuary of the Sacred Flame, Father “Tony” explains the significance of the central spiritual practices of the AJC after many years of personal practice, explores traditional devotionals in an applicable and approachable way, all the while maintaining his own sincere sense of humility and humor.

This text, following six years on the heels of Monsignor Jordan Stratford’s+ Living Gnosticism and three years on the heels of Father Donald Donato’s+ dutiful translation of The Levitikon: the Gospels According to the Primitive Church, is a foundational text for anyone looking to begin their own personal practice in the tradition of the disciples of the Divine Beloved and includes practices innovated by members of this community in the modern age.

Sanctuary of the Sacred Flame is sure to be a text I will myself refer to in the future as I undergo the seminary program toward priesthood in the AJC and am proud to  suggest to anyone looking for a change of pace in their spiritual practices. My only complaint is that it is a little light on ‘in depth’ philosophy, but it makes up for it in the depth of experience of all the practitioners whose work contributed to the creation of such an amazing text.

Lenten Meditation: Water

 

God calls us, even now, reminding us that there is no better moment than the present to begin seeking to remember our divine origins and that we have at this very moment an opportunity that we can freely take advantage of to deepen our knowledge and embody the nature of the Christ. In practicing mindfulness, we can start to see through the watery illusions which we have put about us and start remembering who we were.

The image of water as a concrete means of purification is self-explanatory, however water as a means of spiritual purification, dare I say atonement, and is one of the foundational mysteries of Christian belief – that is Baptism. The outward washing with water symbolizes an inward cleansing of the soul and is practiced to this day by many people of a variety of different faiths. In joining the symbolic path of Christ during Lent, we must wash away the accretions of falsehood from our field of perception so that we may come to better know our divine natures and be recognized for our own inherent divinity (cif. John 9:12, I Cor. 13:12).

As one who may have had more than a passing familiarity with the mystery traditions of the Greeks as well as the Egyptians in addition to his own Jewish heritage, the usage of water in purification rites would have been very clear to Jesus however, during the Lenten season, it is also into the waters that we must descend in order to die to our old ways of viewing the world and become reborn and regenerated in order to gain a more comprehensive idea of “whereto we speed ”.

For the Ancient Egyptian religions, water or mw played an important role in the lives of the sacral duties of their priesthoods so much so that an entire clerical class, w’b nswt or purification priests,  were in charge of preparing ritual space but were not allowed to enter the sanctuary where the Divine Image was kept. An interesting parallel here might be to consider the role of John the Baptist in the desert preparing the way for Jesus as the embodiment and instructor of embodying God. Also, interestingly, although the Hebrew letter mem (מ) is believed to be graphically related to the Egyptian n-water ripple this represents only the letter, “n”, the Sefer HaBahir which may be dated to the first century, informs us, “Do not read Mem, but Mayim (water).”

So, what do we find in water? Biologically, the human fetus is suspended in the waters of the womb for nine months before birth and upon exiting the womb encounters a deserted wasteland of pure potentiality but first, the first impetus of many of us at birth is to cry at the cold world we’ve been thrust into before being picked up and placed into the loving arms of our first parent whose voice we quickly learn to recognize and whose heartbeat we already know. On a spiritual nature, we already have the capacity to listen to the heartbeat of God and hear our First Parent or Protogenetiera (cf. Eugnostos the Blessed) speaking Her Wisdom into us (cf. proverbs 8:22-8:31, Wisdom 7:25-7:26) continually fostering our connection to the Sacred Flame.

Water is also emblematic of emotion, specifically connection to our emotions, and is ruled by the Moon as countless folk-legends attest. The first step in our purification then must be to be attentive to our own moods and the their waxing and waning cycles and direct our focus and offer our experiences, through blood, sweat and tears, where we might find “true life through intelligence and love ” and fulfill the great commandment given by Christ to us, that through understanding our own selves and purifying our own fluctuations, we may be able to love one another in such a way as He had loved us, even unto the watery depths.

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[1] “Je suis descendu du Ciel? Est-ce parce qu’il a habité avec les Grecs, qu’il vient ainsi converser avec nous? Que de commun ce qu’il a appris des Égyptiens, et ce que nos pères nous ont appris?” Palaprat, B.R. Lévitikon: ou Exposé des principes fondamentaux de la doctrine des chrétiens-catholiques-primitifs: suivi de leurs évangiles, d’un extrait de la Table d’or… et précédé du statut sur le gouvernement de l’Eglise et la hiérarchie lévitique

[2] “Μέχρι τοῦ βαπτίσματος οὖν ἡ Εἱμαρμένη, φασίν, ἀληθής· μετὰ δὲ τοῦτο οὐκέτι ἀληθεύουσιν οἱ ἀστρο 4.78.2 λόγοι. Ἔστιν δὲ οὐ τὸ λουτρὸν μόνον τὸ ἐλευθεροῦν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡ γνῶσις, τίνες ἦμεν, τί γεγόναμεν· ποῦ ἦμεν, ἢ ποῦ ἐνεβλήθημεν· ποῦ σπεύδομεν, πόθεν λυτρούμεθα· τί γέννησις, τί ἀναγέννησις.” ΕΚ ΤΩΝ ΘΕΟΔΟΤΟΥ ΚΑΙ ΤΗΣ ΑΝΑΤΟΛΙΚΗΣ ΚΑΛΟΥΜΕΝΗΣ ΔΙΔΑΣΚΑΛΙΑΣ ΚΑΤΑ ΤΟΥΣ ΟΥΑΛΕΝΤΙΝΟΥ ΧΡΟΝΟΥΣ ΕΠΙΤΟΜΑΙ, Clement of Alexandria

[3] Kaplan, Aryeh (ed.), Bahir

[4] Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie, Eliphas Levi

Dust in the Wind

 

Today, Ash Wednesday, marks another return to the liturgical season of Lent, a period oftentimes associated with fasting, self-denial, and penance in many churches. For many post-restoration Gnostics, however, the meaning of this season shifts from one of denial and self-deprecation to an opportunity for engaging in deeper, more attentive, inner contemplation and meditation. Though the external symbols may appear the same, the penitential mood of this season has more in common with alerting us toward our true natures and our frequent inability to remember who we are and “whereto we speed[1]”, as opposed to attaching ourselves to guilt.

Scripture reminds us that we are in fact extensions of the eternal Godhead; immortal, incorrupt, made in the image of eternity[2]. Yet, due to the vast temporal distance from the initial moment of Creation, it is difficult for us to remember this truth and instead wander around in a more or less amnesiac state either bemoaning the gift that has been given us or, conversely, reveling mindlessly in temporal delights without pausing for a moment to recognize that material pleasures are fleeting and not intrinsically meaningful.

During this time of introspection, we are called to make a conscious effort toward remembering our own unique divinity and the divinity we share with the whole of Creation. Far from being a period of denial, Lent is an opportunity for radical engagement with ourselves and the world around us, an exercise to see things as the Godhead intended them to be. By saturating our experiences with meaning, we are able to rediscover the original moment of Creation as continually unfolding around us at all times, in all places and in all things.

The liturgical season of Lent is concrete marker for us to focus on what is ultimately an abstract process that each of us are going through individually in our spiritual process. By infusing this season with meaning, we encounter other markers along the way that can help us better focus our wandering minds. Ash Wednesday changes from penance and the negative religious mood of self-denial to being marked for stronger spiritual training [3]and casting off those things hindering our process and making us mentally and spiritually more capable of putting our experiences into a wider perspective as Jesus did in casting aside the temptations of using his messianic mission for worldly ends instead of offering an example for experiencing and exercising our free will[4].

Echoing my post from the previous year, the primary importance of Lent is to help us grow in our experience toward the divine in whatever form we may honor it. The goal is complete transformation and is unique to each and every one of us and there is no external litmus test for success or failure, only the intent and the rewards of being able to slowly see things as they are and receive being open to experience of our own dynamic divine nature.

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[1] Excerpta ex Theodoto

[2] Wisdom 2:23

[3] Asceticism (from the Greek: ἄσκησις, áskēsis, “exercise” or “training”).

[4] Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13

A Mass of Candles (and a little Beeswax)

As I noted in my entry last year, Candlemas, also known the Feast of the Presentation, is one of the Twelve Great Feasts and is celebrated by Christians world-wide in commemoration of the gospel account of Mary and Joseph’s presentation of Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem to complete Mary’s ritual purification forty days after birth in accordance with the Law of Moses.

The tradition of purification following childbirth was something that, unsettlingly to many in our contemporary culture, survived well into the modern era in the Catholic and Anglican practice of churching new mothers forty days after childbirth wherein a blessing is given to mothers and prayers of thanksgiving are offered for the survival of the child, which with higher infant mortality concerns was a major reason to give thanks.

In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the Feast of Candlemas became deeply syncretized with the Irish quarter celebration of Imbolc which, even in modern Ireland, is considered to mark the beginning of Spring and is a festival fundamentally associated with the ancient goddess Bríg or Brigid, who may be fundamentally considered the same as the Christian Saint Brigid of Kildare whose feast occurs traditionally on the first of February. At this point, it’s hard to say which celebration and traditions influenced one another but in practice they have become so fused that to this day many modern Pagans celebrate it as one of their major yearly celebrations however the tradition of setting lights and keeping vigil are maintained.

Western ecclesial practice for this day maintains the tradition of blessing bees-wax candles to be used in church and by members of the community throughout the year. According to some traditions, the candles used by the faithful put to flight the assaults of evil spirits or faeries and have the additional advantage of warding away the harmful effects of storms. The emphasis on beeswax is something that deeply interests me in light of the current ecological disaster facing many beekeepers with the current die-offs as well as being someone who grew up in an agricultural community where bees are essential to daily life. The connection between liminal (cross-between) times, prophesy, and enlightment and the bee is something I find fascinating, in particular as a modern Gnostic.

Throughout the ancient Levant, the bee was believed to be the sacred insect that bridged the natural world to the underworld. Tomb decorations, in particular the Mycenean tholos tombs, were even shaped like bee-hives, likely in reference to the ancient goddess Potnia whose name simply means, “mistress”. Her title and epithets were also inherited by classical and Mycenean Greek and applied to many goddesses, including Kore in her role in the Arcadian mysteries of Eleusis.

The bee was also connected in many of these cultures with the gift of prophesy, elements of which are also apparent 1 Samuel 14:24-30:

“He [Jonathan] extended the staff that was in his hand, and dipped the tip of it in the honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes brightened. Then one of the soldiers said, “Your father strictly charged the troops with an oath, saying, ‘Cursed be anyone who eats food this day.’ And so the troops are faint.” Then Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land; see how my eyes have brightened because I tasted a little of this honey. How much better if today the troops had eaten freely of the spoil taken from their enemies; for now the slaughter among the Philistines has not been great.”

The Biblical connection between honey and prophesy continues in the account of the prophet John the Baptist who was said to wear clothing of camel hair and feed on locusts and wild honey. (Matthew 3:4, Mark 1:6) as well in the Apocalypse of John (Rev. 10:9-10)

Although the Romantic notion of a connection between a supposed Jesus Dynasty flourishing in France such as those popularized in the fictional books Holy Blood, Holy Grail and the The DaVinci Code, has been definitively disproven, golden bees (or cicadas!) as a symbol of royalty were discovered in 1653 in Tournai in the tomb of Childeric I, founder in 457 of the Merovingian dynasty and father of Clovis and were resurrected in usage by Emperor Napoleon of France in his coat of arms. Interestingly, as Father Donato+ points out in his speculative essay:

“[A] few days before his imperial coronation, Napoleon met with the Roman Pontiff in secret. This was the social and political backdrop of Dr. Fabré-Palaprat’s discovery of the Lévitikon in Paris that same year. The secretive meeting between Napoleon and the pope took place in Paris, but not as a State visit. During their private talks, the pope reportedly pressed Napoleon to sign a document in which Louis XIV “disavowed the articles of the declaration of the clergy in 1682, which was drawn up by Bishop Jacques Bénigne Bossuet as the foundation of the liberties of the Gallican Church… The pope was asking that Napoleon sign a document repudiating the authority of the French Monarch to his extraordinary authority over the established Catholic Church in France, which was claimed – and never relinquished legally – by Louis’ successors. Here, it is important to recall that after Louis XIV, his nephew, Philippe d’Orleans, served as regent for Louis XV. This Philippe is the Duke of Orleans who was appointed Grand-Master of the Order of the Temple, and reformer of its statutes. In name alone, but still by intention, this made Philippe and his successors the Johannite Patriarchs – privy to the secrets and the succession of St. John and everything that entailed. With a renewed monarchy, such as the one Napoleon was about to create, all of these prerogatives would eventually fall into the imperial lap. And the pope knew it.”

Although speculative, for Johannites this connection between the bee and its relevance to the mysteries of John may prove something fun to think about.

This Saturday Holy Paraclete Community will be celebrating the Vespers service of the Apostolic Johannite Church, a central part of the ceremony being the lighting of the lucernarium. Traditionally, it would be during the vespers service that the candles would be blessed however, in absence of a priest; I plan on distributing candles to the community out of symbolic solidarity.

For me personally, the morning of Candlemas will be spent in contemplative meditation and participation in Teo Bishop’s Solitary Druid Fellowship’s February Cross Quarter liturgy. Though not pagan myself (in spite of what P. Sufenas Virius Lupus may say), the emphasis on ecological awareness and integration as well as spiritual enlightenment and transformation found in modern druidry appeals to me very much and, in honor of the Brigid’s might not be a bad opportunity to help focus on the Sacred Flame within all people and all paths.

 

note: in the original post, I had erroneously called Imbolc and Irish ‘cross-quarter’ celebration. As PSVL notes in the comments: “Imbolc is not a cross-quarter day for the Irish, it’s a quarter-day. The whole notion that Imbolc, Beltaine, Lugnasad, and Samain are “cross-quarter days” comes from Wicca, not from Irish tradition. This is the first day of Spring for the Irish, just as Beltaine is the first of Summer, Lugnasad the first of Autumn, and Samain the first of Winter.”