Going DeeperWith Christ Episcopal Church

Soul Matthew 5:1-12 What is the soul? And where does it go when our bodies die? One definition is that soul refers to the sacred depths of ourselves, the dimension of our being where we experience meaning, passion, and compassion. We are most alive when we are one with our soul. Often we are not in touch with, connected with, our soul. One reason we meet in worship is to connect with the sacred depths of ourselves. The kingdom of this world is governed by a very different spirit than in the Kingdom of God. When we are totally consumed by the kingdom of this world we can easily lose connection with our soul, even if we become wealthy, successful and admired. We can gain the world and lose our soul. There are many signs of disconnection with our soul, including when we are judgmental, over-identified with our religion or political party, when our thoughts are obsessive and we have imagined conversations. How do we reconnect with our soul? Stop, look, then go! First we stop, intentionally pause the hamster wheel of thoughts and be still. Then we look, we behold this moment and find what there is to be grateful for and what are the opportunities of this moment. Then, we go, and act on the insight that comes from our own insight and intuition. And where does the soul go when we die? John O’Donohue says, “When the soul leaves the body it is no longer under the burden and control of space and time. It is free…the dead are our nearest neighbors….” The souls of the deceased are here; we have falsely spatialized the eternal world which is not a place but a different state of being. The dead are in an invisible form, and can be sensed with the refinement of our soul. Soul sees soul. It is not known intellectually. Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

What Did the Criminal See? The Gospel reading is Luke 23:33-43 The crucified criminal, hanging beside Jesus, heard Jesus praying God’s forgiveness on those who had unjustly persecuted and crucified Him. The Kingdom of God is contrasted with the kingdom of the world, and requires us to put aside our egos. God’s Kingdom is not of this world: love, compassion, service and reign. We are called to live in God’s Kingdom even as we live in this world. These two kingdoms call on very different allegiances to two very different kings. Jesus saved us not by vanquishing the enemy, but by loving the enemy even as God was revealed as vulnerability itself. Surrendering to God we find ourselves in the Kingdom of God, where Christ is King. Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

October 24, 2021 Father Mark Meyer reads Mark 10:46-52.  The sermon explores the nature of being blind, and what it means to see. Although there is a literal interpretation of the words, there is a deeper meaning. “I came into this world,” Jesus says in John’s Gospel, “...so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.” (Jn 9:39 NRSV) Blind to the worldly visions of glory and merit and ego, so that we might look up and see, with the eyes of our soul, the kingdom of God.