3rd Michaelmas 2022, Heavy with Fruit

 2^nd 3^rd or 4^th Michaelmas

Revelation 12:1-17 

Durer

And a momentous image was unveiled in the world of spirit:
a woman, clothed with the radiant power of the sun, the moon under her feet, her head adorned with the crown of the twelve stars of heaven. And she is with child and cries out in the labor and pain of giving birth. 

And at the same time, a second image was revealed in the heavens: a great fiery-red dragon with seven heads and ten horns. On its heads, it has seven crowns, and its tail is sweeping a third of all the stars in heaven and dashing them onto the earth. And the dragon is standing before the woman about to give birth so that when she bears the child, he can devour it. And she bore a child, a son 'who would shepherd all nations with a rod of iron.' And the woman's child was caught up to God and his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness where she has a place that God keeps ready there so that they can take care of her for days numbering one thousand two hundred sixty. 

And a war flared up in the spirit world. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. And the dragon fought amid his own angels, but he was not strong enough, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. Down came the dragon, the giant, the serpent, the evil one called both Satan and the devil, deceiver of all the world. Onto the earth, he came hurtling down, and all his angels with him. 

Flemish Apocalypse

And I heard a great voice in heaven, saying: 

"Now can begin the deliverance, the power, and the kingdom of our God.

[or, Now can begin the working which proceeds from our God—

the power to heal the world,

the power to transform all being,

the power to draw everything into godly being.]

Arisen is the spiritual leadership of his Christ.

Overthrown is the accuser of our brothers,

He who accused them night and day before the countenance of God.

They have overcome him through the blood and the sacrificial power of the Lamb

And by the divine Word to which they bore witness.

They did not love their own lives too dearly, nor did they fear death.

Therefore, rejoice you heavens

And all who lodge therein!

But woe to the earth and the sea:

For the Adversary has come down to you,

And he seethes with measureless fury,

For he knows that his time is short." 

And when the dragon recognized that he had been cast onto the earth, he began to persecute the woman who had borne the son. Then the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle, so that she could fly into the desert to her appointed place; there she is to be nourished for a cycle of time, for cycles of time, and for half a cycle of time, far from the face of the serpent. 

And the serpent opened his mouth and spewed out a river of water after the woman so she would be swept off her feet by the river. But then the earth came to the woman's assistance; it opened its mouth and swallowed the river which the dragon spewed from his mouth. And the dragon burned with fury against the woman. He stormed away to make war on the rest of the woman's seed, people who keep to the divine world aims and who are united with the destiny and witnessing of Jesus. As I saw this, I was standing on the sandy shore of the sea.

3^rd Michaelmas 

October 16, 2022

Revelation 12:1–17 

The trees are now heavy with the last fruits. This fruit protects and nourishes a seed. In the seed, there lies future life. 

Benjamin West

In the distant past, a great heavenly mother was heavy with the fruit of a new creation. She labored to bring forth a son, a particular Man-Child. The fruit of her labor was threatened by a devouring adversary. But the Man-Child was rescued, withdrawn to God’s throne. He emerged later as the Anointed One, the Christ, who became the leader of all humankind into the future. 

The heavenly mother brought forth other offspring — us. Our souls, too, are endangered now on earth by the same adversary. He threatens to devour us with fear, with hatred, with war. He wants to destroy the future self that our souls are now laboring to bring forth. 

But just as the Archangel Michael once overcame the dragon in the heavens, so now does he continue to help us contain the dragon on earth. The earnestness of our situation shines forth from Michael’s eyes. Keeping our gaze fixed on Michael’s countenance, we see the adversary held under his foot. Keeping our gaze fixed on his countenance, we see him beckoning to us to follow him. He stands guard as a priestly warrior at the gateway before the place that we enter in order to consecrate our highest, truest, and future selves to Christ. Michael’s eyes are a portal. Through his eyes shines the earnest, gentle light of Christ. 

In the Act of Consecration, we enter through Michael’s earnest eyes into the hall of Christ. We come into the presence of the gentle, luminous shepherd king with the upright iron staff.  He sits at the table of the altar, offering us himself as nourishment and strength. We are gathered to offer him the purity of our noblest thoughts, the warmth of our heart’s love, and the strength of our dedicated devotion. In consecrating, commending, and dedicating our best to Christ, we are offering him the fruits of soul that surround the kernel of the eternal self. In consecrating our souls to Christ, we are bringing to birth the new Man-Child within, He who is the future of all humankind.

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