Genesis 18:20-33

“And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord. And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?

Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.

Continue reading Grateful musings on 50 and even 10 →

The Lord, in all His conflicts brought about by temptations, never fought out of self-love, that is, for Himself, but for all throughout the universe. He did not fight therefore to become the greatest in heaven, for that is contrary to Divine love. He scarcely did so to become the least. He fought solely so that all others might become something and be saved, as He Himself also declares in Mark,

The two sons of Zebedee said, Grant us to sit in Your glory, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left. Jesus said, Whoever would be great among you must be your minister, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man also came not to be ministered to but to minister, and to give His life as the price of redemption for many. Mark 10:37, 43-45.

Arcana Coelestia 1812

A while ago, someone contributed a piece here about music or singing in a choir; I pondered whether I might submit my own attempt at a song one day. Here is that song and its story.

Back in 1992, at the suggestion of a composer friend, I wrote the carol below. The following year, he had set the words to music and led our village choir to sing it during the candlelit village carol service. This year, surprised at how long ago I’d written them, I sent the lyrics to our village newsletter for the December edition. (An acquaintance stopped me in the street the other day to say how much she liked them – that was a treat!)

There are many common themes in the carols of different Christian churches. I’d wanted to get some New Church ideas of what Christmas is about out into my part of the world, so anyone with an open heart might recognize whatever truth I managed to encompass in the words. It needed to be fairly short. It needed to touch on some of those common themes, but in a new way. I wanted to sow little seeds of New Church thought without being obvious about it. And I wanted it to feel positive. So with that in mind, do you think I accomplished what I’d hoped to?

At Christmas, at Christmas do we really know
Why the celebrations give us such a glow?
Can we sense the angels joining earth to heaven?
Have we understood yet why this gift was given?
Let us learn a lesson from that tiny boy – innocence and wonder open us to joy.

At Christmas, at Christmas God came to the world.
Quietly, in darkness, wonderment unfurled.
Lowly manger baby, Jesus – gift of gold –
Brought his love to guide us safely to his fold.
Let us learn a lesson from that tiny boy – innocence and wonder open us to joy.

At Christmas, at Christmas life can start anew
If we change the pattern seen in what we do.
Show good will, and cherish those we come to know.
Nurture love for others – heaven’s peace will grow.
Let us learn a lesson from that tiny boy – innocence and wonder open us to joy.

Editor’s Note: On August 21st a solar eclipse occurred over much of the United States. Following are reflections by Annina inspired by this event.

Today I was thinking about how much I take for granted daily miracles. I assume the sun will rise–that it will shine. Monday’s eclipse had me looking in the Word about the sun being darkened. It struck me that an eclipse is a special opportunity to think of all the Lord does for us daily and in every instant–His Heat and Light flowing down unendingly–as we watch an earthly picture of something out of the ordinary–we see what it would be like without the life-giving sun.
Continue reading Eclipse →