. 

St. Gabriel and All Angels

St Raphael & Trinity 20 Sunday
Trinity 20 Intent(Serenity)

Epistle
Book of Tobit(Tobias), Chapter 12, Verse 6

Gospel
St. John, Chapter 5, Verse 2

Color White
Color of Joy

The story in the Gospel is a about our own lives. It illustrates for us our own condition. The pool of water as our own inner well of pure consciousness, the 5 porches are our inner senses and all of the experiences that keep us from engaging fully in this pool.

According to the Gospel story, a great Multitude lay in the porches. These were described as:
-Impotent Folks(lacking in inner fullness—unable to give fully or appreciate fully)
-Blind (lacking in inner vision of their transcendent source,cast about like a leaf in the wind)
-Halt (Lame in old High German—feeling limited, or isolated)
-Withered(unnourished emotionally)

When we read a piece of Scripture our eyes pick up on the letters. In the Bibliodrama exercises that we did during this past Retreat we experienced that as the defined black space.

When we are cooking in the kitchen we can see in the pot of soup, the vegetables; beans, and water. (WHAT don't we SEE?)

If we look at both the scriptures and something as simple as soup, we can look for the substance behind these. In Bibliodrama we go back to the scripture text to explore the White Space between and around the text and in the soup the Dry Space between the water,beans and vegetables, where the spices reside.

My experience during the bibliodrama was that the WHITE space contained the underlying feelings being communicated, and the free experience of their expression. My experience of being the Angel in this Gospel story, during the bibliodrama, was that;
-I was taking care of one responsibility,
-Making the delivery of divine Grace that would enliven the pool,
-that I enjoyed making that delivery, but
I had to move on as there were many more deliveries to be made.
For a brief moment while delivering at the pool I saw everyone around the pool, not a huge number. They seemed mostly to be preoccupied until the pool became enlivened(troubled, meaning turbulent). Then the air about the pool suddenly changed and all the attention was drawn to it.

The pool would not leap forth toward those gathered on the porches but required those on the porches to make the CONNECTION, and here in lies the underlying truth of the scripture.

It said in this Scripture that the one who made this connection with the troubled(enlivened) water of the pool was made whole. We actually are given the free will to make this step.

In my Chaplain visits this week I felt a little bit like that Angel again, back in the bibliodrama. I found myself getting off the elevator on second floor of the Hospital making the sign of the Cross, connecting first with the Trinity and asking that THY WILL be DONE..
Those who I spent time with were as you might expect, not really wanting to be in the Hospital. I would spend time with them and listen to what they wanted to talk about, kind of like those waiting on the porches in the Gospel story.
My intention in visiting them is to do what I could to assist in them getting more and more connected with that divine nature within themselves, to assist in their healing process.
The nurses and doctors were attending to all of their physical needs so I really wasn't in their room to add to that care.
Yes I do sometimes wonder if I make a difference during those visits until just before I leave them. Before I leave I ask them if they would like to say a prayer or have me say one for them. The majority of them welcome doing that, and many will ask me to lead the prayer for them. I might add that it is rare that they request that we do not say a prayer. Just a short prayer does something amazing, kind of like getting a toe into that pool in the scripture.
Today we have been reminded that this pool is always there, but it does need to be enlivened a little to make use of it.
To do so we must surrender to getting off the porch and enliven our consciousness, with rest, prayer, meditation, good works, and studying sacred texts.
By our moving in that direction we allow the gift of Grace to bestowed.

The Serenity Prayer
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.