How can we become a lampstand? Revelation 1:20
The seven stars are the angels of the seven congregations,
and the seven lampstands are the seven congregations themselves. (Revelation 1:20)
Through the centuries people have pictured the divine world as a world of light and fire. The higher a person can look up, the more radiant is the light, the more scorching the fire. It is no coincidence that the highest angels have the name of seraphim—it means the flaming ones. When the prophet Isaiah received his calling, it had to be by a seraph touching his lips with a glowing coal from the altar of God. Then only was he able to bring the fire of the spirit to the earth and prophesy.
We people of our time are no match for prophets—let alone seraphim. For us to bear the fire of the divine world it has to be tempered down to a modest flame. But even then, when an angel or an angel of the congregation brings this fire to the earth, it needs an earthly bearer, a lampstand. If it found no bearer it would withdraw again to its own realm. But where no angels can dwell, there is room for fallen angels, for demons.
How can we become a lampstand? How can we unite our forces so that the fire of the spirit can get a place on earth?
The most precious thing we can give the spiritual world is our service, our worship service. The question is not whether or not at the altar the fire of the spirit is kindled. The angel of the congregation is already present before the first words of the Act of Consecration are spoken. The question is, every time anew, whether we are able to unite our forces in common prayer.
It is no secret that some people in our congregations often have a difficult time with each other, that they annoy each other. That is not to be wondered at; after all, we did not choose each other. Coincidence—or perhaps the Lord of coincidence—brought us together seemingly arbitrarily. The Christian Community does not consist of saints, but of people. Just like the rest of the world, we have to find a way to make it together.
Am I ready to unite in prayer, not only with people who are dear to me, but also with those whom I dislike, who are an obstacle on my path? Then only does a congregation become a lampstand. Then can the Act of Consecration of Man be worthily fulfilled.
-Rev. Bastiaan Baan, October 31, 2021
The Key Power of the I
The Key Power of the I
At all possible times the world, with all that goes wrong in it, pushes itself into our lives and demands our attention. Illness, famine, climate crisis, conflicts, and wars—we cannot escape from alarming reports. Closing ourselves off from them is of course not the solution. That would in the long run make us unsociable outsiders.
But from time to time, we do need a key to close the door, so we are not inundated by the tidal wave of misery the world pours over us every day. The more we are confronted with this, the more does a feeling of impotence threaten to paralyze us.
The Apocalypse has a name for this key that can create boundaries for us: “The key of David, who opens and no one shall shut, who shuts and no one opens.” (Rev.3:7)
To keep our footing in the whirlpool of events we have to close the door time and again and check in with ourselves before we let the world come into us again. Only in that way can we let life penetrate into us without losing ourselves in it. This holds true for everyone and everything that comes to meet us from outside. Out of self-preservation we often have to say: “Not right now.” “The key of David, … who shuts and no one opens.”
It is not only needed to shut out the world, but also to open our own inner space and check in with ourselves. “The key of David, who opens and no one shall shut …” What should I do? What is being asked of me right now? When we want to serve the world it is more than ever necessary to take ourselves in hand, to become lord and master over ourselves as kings in our own realm.
In this kingdom, Christ wants to continue His creation on earth—as “King of kings and Lord of lords.” (Rev.19:16)
-Rev. Bastiaan Baan, October 24, 2021
Annual Delegates Meeting 2021
The Annual Delegates Meeting 2021 will be November 11-13, in Hillsdale, NY. This year’s theme is:
Christ’s Light in Our Daylight
Spirit-led boards, Spirit-led communication;
bringing sacramental qualities to the
more secular aspects of The Christian Community
For more information, contact ccnaoffice@gmail.com
REGISTER HERE
Letter to the Ephesians, Chapter 6
Letter to the Ephesians, Chapter 6
The first Christians had a remarkable saying with which they distinguished themselves from their contemporaries: “We Christians stand above destiny.”
Was it courage, presumptuousness, or hubris that led to this saying? One thing is certain: even when they had to die a horrible death, they faced their lot with unwavering trust. Bishop Cyprian of Carthage wrote in a letter to his congregation where that trust came from:
“We do not leave the martyrs unarmed, but we provide them with the shield of the body and blood of Christ. For those who are not armed for the battle are incapable of martyrdom, and the soul becomes powerless when it is not fired by the holy meal, the eucharist.” *
The first Christians knew from their own experience: a day will come when evil will reign. Every day they prepared themselves for this day with the sacrament of bread and wine, knowing that a time would come when they would have nothing to lose anymore and would make their last stand.
Paul, with his foresight, described in his letter to the Ephesians the time when evil would reign. In his own language, he called it literally “the evil day.” (Eph.6:13)
Although it is a long time ago that Christians were thrown to the lions, in our time the powers of the adversary, perhaps more than ever before, are having free play. The evil day—we are in the middle of it.
Whoever thinks they can handle the battle on their own power are the real presumptuous ones and will get the worst of it against the demons that are lord and master in our time. But whatever happens, whatever befalls us in the trials, those who make the Lord of Destiny their Lord and Master stand with Him above destiny.
–Rev. Bastiaan Baan, October 10, 2021
* 57th letter of Bishop Cyprian of Carthage (app. 210-258 AD).
Priest Child Education Fund
Our priest families are supported through the freely given donations of their congregational members that cover the basics of housing, food, utilities, transportation, health care, etc. One key expense that is not typically included in the priest support is the cost of educating their children. North American congregations have helped to raise money for the Priest Child Education Fund which is distributed to priest’s families to help with educational costs. No matter how large, or how small the gesture, it helps! Click here to read more about this fund and to donate.
Online Study Groups
The Toronto congregation is offering the following online study groups
Note: All times are East Coast
The Nathan Soul and The Gospel of Luke – on Zoom
An online study group with Inken Contrares starting Tuesday, September 15, 10.30 am – 12 pm
This study group intends to gain a deeper understanding of the mysterious soul that is incarnated in Christ Jesus and its impact on world evolution. We will explore Rudolf Steiner’s numerous and far-reaching characterizations of this soul and its deep connection to human soul life.
Contact Rev. Inken Contreras to sign up, email: inken.koelmel@gmail.com
Living with Christ – on Zoom
An online study group with Rev. Jonah Evans
Starting again Wednesday, September 8th! Wednesday mornings after the service from 10:10 am-11:40 am in the Community Room (not July or August). Join us as we deepen our relationship with the Living Christ in our time. All are welcome!
Zoom is available to participants, near and far.
To register and to receive the link please contact Melanie Nason
email: melanienason@rogers.com
The Blind Man of Jericho (Lk.18:35-43)
Sometimes blind people can recognize more than those who have eyes with which to see. Once, in a group of people who were observing flowers, I was impressed with the way a blind person examined a flower. Very cautiously he traced with his fingertips the stem and the leaves; even more gingerly he touched the flower, attentively breathed in the scent of the flower—and afterwards he could tell us more about this one flower than all the other people. Now, which of them is blind, the blind person or the seeing ones?
The same thing happens with the blind beggar by the wayside and the people who pass him by. The people may walk in crowds ahead of Jesus and behind Him, but they only recognize the carpenter’s son from Nazareth in Him. “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by,” they shout at him.
But the blind man sees something else: not Jesus of Nazareth, but the Messiah. “Jesus, son of David, have compassion on me!” he loudly calls out. The son of David, that is after all the identifying mark of the Messiah. Long before the people finally recognize Him as the Messiah, for a moment, on Palm Sunday (“Hosanna to the Son of David!”) the blind beggar had seen it already.
And we? How often do we blindly pass by the most precious thing in the world? Learn from the blind, from the beggars, the homeless, and the outcasts who have nothing to lose, to distinguish the essential from the non-essential. And otherwise: realize that you are blind yourself, and become a beggar for the spirit. Maybe then you will learn to see the world with different eyes.
–Rev. Bastiaan Baan, August 22, 2021
Sending the Disciples
“Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics.” (Lk.9:3)
That sounds like an impossible task in a world where we are used to traveling with full suitcases. What was still possible two thousand years ago seems in our time like a reckless undertaking. How can we fulfill this task—perhaps not in a literal sense, but in the figurative sense of the word? Can we go out into the world without inner ballast?
Every person carries a load with him from the past, not only from the course of his own life, but also from the lives of his ancestors. We have been marked by all of these, whether we want to or not; it has made us into prejudiced persons. Usually, it is with this burden that we meet other people. The burden becomes ballast when it is the only basis on which we evaluate others. Whatever does not fit into our limited images is then soon condemned.
“Tabula rasa” *, clean slate, was the name of the wax tablet used in antiquity, on which one wrote with a slate-pencil, and which was afterwards rubbed clean again, so that it could be used anew. It was a picture for the original state of the soul before it was filled with observations, thoughts, and feelings—a clean slate. We will never be able to go back to that original condition. But what we can do is to become conscious of the baggage we have brought with us for this life—in order, if only for moments, to become all eyes and all ears for every human being we meet, as if it were the first time we met this person. And otherwise, as if it were the last time we were meeting him—in order then to continue on the closely written path to our unknown destination. When we meet another person in this way, we fulfill the task Christ gave to His disciples: “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics.”
–Rev. Bastiaan Baan, August 16, 2021
* Literally: rubbed out writing tablet.