Sunday Next before Advent
Intent: Adoration of God
The readings for this Sunday could be understood as Pantheistic or Panentheistic in nature. Both the lesson which is taken from the Hymn of the Creatures of the Holy Francis of Assisi and the gospel reading from the Gospel of Thomas speak about God’s immanence and omnipresence in the emanated world.
That the intent of today is also the Adoration of God is a clarion call that we need not look far to adore God’s Eternal Sprit. As the Christ speaking through the Master Jesus says: “Cleave a piece of wood, I am there; lift up the stone and you will find me there.” And the Hymn of Saint-Francis calls out: “Praise be my God, with all His creatures, and especially our brother the sun, who brings us the day and who brings us the light. Fair is he, and shining with very great splendor!”
It is not an exaggeration to say that it is Pantheism, perhaps more than any other philosophy that has been the target of the heresy hunters of Orthodox Churches. The fear that people would believe that somehow the Divine is accessible to all of us without the intermediary of Clergy or Priests fed the flames of persecution for hundreds of years. But on the contrary, as Gnostics, Pantheism is a boon to our spiritual existence.
As Gnostics we are called to adore the presence of this Divine not only is the Cosmos or in Nature but in ourselves and others as well. God is present to us; he is accessible to us; he is near to us; he loves us; and he touches us daily. We need only open our eyes and ears and our hearts to live in His Eternal Presence. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Mark 4:9
Let us therefore, as One Gnostic Community and One Universal Gnostic Church, pray together that our hearts and minds may be open to the ever present Divine Spirit in ourselves and in others. Let us see a Divine Spark of God in all living things; and let us cherish these things as though they were the very body of God not only for ourselves but because God made them and saw that they were good. Amen!