2nd 3rd or 4th
Michaelmas
Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, 6:10-19
What it comes to in the end is this: grasp the power that
streams to you in the experience of Christ in the soul and in the powerful
regency of his pure spiritual strength.
Put on the power of God as one puts on full armor,
so that you may stand against the well-aimed attacks of the adversary. For our
struggle is not to fight against powers of flesh and blood, but
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| Michael, Arild Rosenkrantz |
against spirit beings powerful in the molding of
earth substance,
against cosmic powers whose darkness rules the
present time,
against spirits who carry evil into the realms of
the spiritual world.
Therefore take up the full armor of God, that you
may be able to stand your ground on the day when evil unfolds its greatest
strength, and victoriously withstand it.
Stand firm, then, girded with the truth, like a
warrior firmly girded. Connect yourself with all in the world as is justified
in the spiritual world, and this connection with the spirit will protect you
like a strong breastplate.
And may Peace stream through you, down to your
feet, so that on your path you spread peace, as the message that comes from the
realm of the angels.
In all your deeds have trust in God. This trust
will be like a mighty shield; with it you can quench all the flaming arrows of
the evil one.
Take into your
thinking the certainty of Christ’s healing deed. It will protect your head like
a helmet.
And the spirit, which has become living in you, you
shall grasp as one grasps a sharp sword. The sword of the spirit is the working
of the Word of God.
May this armor clothe you in all your prayers and
supplications, so that in the right moment you raise yourself in prayer to the
spirit, and at the same time practice wakefulness in inner loyalty.
Feel yourself united in prayer with all other
bearers of the spirit—also with me, Paul, so that the power of the word will be
given to me when I am to courageously bring the knowledge of that holy mystery
which lives in the message of the gospel.
2nd
Michaelmas
October 7, 2012
Ephesians 6:10-19
This is a time of struggle. Here in the US, we are in the
midst of the debates of our presidential candidates. They play like a battle;
but behind the campaigns of ideologies, there also stand spiritual beings and
spiritual forces at work, both positive and negative.
As the reading today says: our struggle is not to fight
against powers of flesh and blood, but against mighty and powerful spiritual
beings. For us as individuals, ours is not a battle of aggression, but a battle
of defense against negative spiritual forces attacking our hearts and thoughts.
We are to stand firm by grasping and clothing ourselves with
the power that streams to us from Christ. We are to trust that no matter what
appears to happen outwardly, He is the Way, the path that our human evolution
is to take. He is the Truth—the very Being of Truth itself, a firm foundation
for all we see and do. Clothing ourselves in His truth, our thinking is clear,
and our hearts stream peace; our words can illuminate darkness and evil.
It is a season of growing darkness. Our task is to remain
inwardly upright and awake. We are the soldiers who keep watch, the witnesses,
those who activate the Christ force in the world. As Adam Bittleston says:
We need in the strife of our day
The eternal Peace of the Word of
God.
Seeking this Peace with our whole
being
On the path which leads from the
nightmare
Of endless chaos,
Into the order of heaven
And to the Father of all things—
And to the Father of all things—
We shall meet Michael
Who reveals how Christ
Awakens Man
That he may serve God. [1]
[1]
“Michaelmas II”, Adam Bittleston, in Meditative Prayers for Today.
Available at http://www.steinerbooks.org/detail.html?id=9780863153075
www.thechristiancommunity.org
www.thechristiancommunity.org
