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.

www.thechristiancommunity.org

 

3rd Michaelmas 2021, Enduring Fire

2^nd 3^rd or 4^th Michaelmas

Revelation 12:1-17 

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

Benjamin West

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. 

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

Durer, colorized

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 17, 2021

Revelations 12:1-17 

We have before the eye of the soul two great images. One is the cosmic eternal feminine, the soul of humanity, laboring to give birth to the Son, the God of Love, who will shepherd nations. And the other is a destructive, devouring red Dragon, full of rage, who tries to prevent this.

Norman Cloister

And we are told that the hosts of the Archangel Michael have thrust this
destructive Dragon and his minions onto the earth. Michael has done so in order to cleanse the heavenly realms so that Christ’s healing and transforming power, his power to spiritualize, can work unhindered from the heavens.

But woe to us. The Dragon has come down to us, seething in measureless fury. Recent events can prompt us to ask: why does God allow war and massacre; why does He allow such tragedies to happen to innocent people? But that is the wrong question. Given the fact that it was necessary for the Dragon to be sent down to earth, the question now comes toward us, from Michael’s heavenly hosts: How can human beings allow such tragedies to happen?

The beings who oppose our human development are making war upon us. We have the armor of God, the armor of truth, trust, and peaceful intentions to protect us. It is now the task of the human world to keep the Dragon in check, to keep the Dragon’s fury and destruction from infecting our souls and destroying the earth. Should we choose to accept the task, Michael, the strong leader of Christ’s heavenly forces on earth, will come to our aid.  In the words of Adam Bittleston,

Amid the storm of the world,

In which our souls share

We seek the leader of the Angel-host,

Michael, who casts down the Dragon.

Into our thoughts may come through him

The sense of gentle awe,

Of patient reverence for the hidden wisdom

That is in all things.

And in our acts his courage

Will overcome the cramping fear

Which makes a slave of man.

Michael calls, when autumn darkens earth;

He leads to Christ, and fights for Christ, for ever;

So may we follow him, and fight beside him

Against the Dragon with enduring fire.*

 

* Adam Bittleston, “Michael I”, in Meditative Prayers for Today 

3rd Michaelmas 2018, Saved by Love

Bamberg Apocalypse

2nd 3rd or 4th MichaelmasRevelation 12: 1-17

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 head 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 to 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

Nicholas Bataille

spirit world. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. And the dragon fought in the midst of 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.
And I heard a great voice in heaven, saying:

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 spirit 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

B. West

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 a great eagle, so that she could fly into the desert to her appointed place, where 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.

3rd Michaelmas Sunday
October 14, 2018
Revelation 12: 1-17

We may have experienced that when someone expresses confidence in us, we find ourselves able to do things we had not thought possible. Their faith in us strengthens us for the challenge. Their faith can see us as already having overcome it.

Michael and his angels have conquered the accusing adversary, the critic, and thrown him out of heaven. The dragon of criticism, antagonism, and lies has been thrown down to earth, and now weaves himself among us. This is, of course, cause for alarm.

But it is also a vote of confidence

Rosenkrantz

in humankind. Michael sees us as ready to take on the challenge of confronting evil—the criticism, antagonism and lies both in ourselves, and in the world. The challenge is indeed a formidable one. Michael is the vanguard of Christ. In our time, Michael ‘goes before Christ’s face’, as His countenance. And his expression is earnest.

At the same time, Christ says in the Act of Consecration of Man, that after His death on the cross, there will flow in the blood a new faith. This is not only our faith, our trust that help is to be had from divine beings. It is also the faith that Christ and Michael have in humanity. With their strength in our blood, with their help, we will awaken and rise to the challenge of evil. With their help, we will manage to escape its devouring power. They will give us our own eagle wings of insight and creative thought, to rise and fly to our appointed place. With Michael’s help, the newly born Christ in us, the Christ in the soul of humanity, will be protected. Christ/Michael can see us as already having risen to the challenge of evil.

The world may scoff at our efforts, oppose them even; but we, too, have faith; for as Reinhold Niebuhr said,
Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime;
therefore, we must be saved by hope.
Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense
in any immediate context of history;
therefore, we must be saved by faith.
Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone;
therefore, we are saved by love.*

*Reinhold Niebuhr, excerpt from The Irony of American History, cited in Leading from Within, ed. by S. M. Intrator and M. Scribner

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3rd Michaelmas 2017, Dark Hours

2^nd 3^rd or 4^th Michaelmas
Revelation 12: 1-17

And a momentous image was unveiled in the world of spirit: a woman, clothed

Benjamin West 

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 head, 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 to 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 in the midst of 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.

And I heard a great voice in heaven, saying:

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 spirit 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 a great eagle, so that she could fly into the desert to her appointed place, where 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 Sunday
October 15, 2017
Revelation 12: 1-17

The Book of Revelation describes mighty events. These are letters from the spiritual world to us. They apply both to great spans of time, and also to our individual lives. The cast of characters consists of both great spiritual beings and at the same time parts of our own souls.

There is the soul-woman in all of us who is about to give birth to the spirit child. The very existence of this child is opposed by destructive beings who once lived in spiritual realms and now live with us on earth. For the time came when the heavens had to send the forces of destruction to the earth so that we human being would grow strong in dealing with them. Heaven was cleansed so that the heavens were free to offer us the power to heal, the power to transform, the power to spiritualize both the earth and ourselves.

Bernhard Eyb

The dragon persecutes us, breathing destruction. But we are given wings of thoughtful prayer with which to rise to a place of nourishment and strength. The dragon seeks to drown us. But the absorptive power within our souls’ own groundedness in the earth keep us from being swept away. The dragon breathes a burning fire, but our soul’s solidity finds the cooling waters with which to smother the flames.

The forces of the soul with which we defend ourselves from the dragon are the forces of the Archangel Michael and Christ, He who lives in the deepest part of our souls. He gives us the resurrection force with which to rise above the dragon. He gives us the absorptive power to accept that we must battle evil. He gives us the power with which to subdue the dragon force within.

All this takes place at a depth within which is mostly for us a darkness. But it is

  Jean Bourdichon 

the darkness of a womb, that one day will give birth to light. We shall not fear the darkness.

In the words of Rilke:

I love the dark hours of my being.
My mind deepens into them.
There I can find, as in old letters,
the days of my life, already lived,
and held like a legend, and understood.

Then the knowing comes: I can open
to another life that’s wide and timeless.*


*Rilke, The Book of Hours, Love Poems to God, trans. by Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy, p. 51

3rd Michaelmas 2016, Mature Enough

2nd 3rd or 4th Michaelmas

Revelation 12: 1-17

Edward Robert Hughes

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 head, 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 to 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.

Durer

And a war flared up in the spirit world. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. And the dragon fought in the midst of 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.

And I heard a great voice in heaven, saying:

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 spirit 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.

Mengs

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 a great eagle, so that she could fly into the desert to her appointed place, where 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.

Apocalyptic Seal

2nd 3rd or 4th Michaelmas

October 16, 2016

Revelation 12: 1-17

Today's reading is an image of the current state of the soul of humanity. Her true nature is to radiate loving-kindness, like the sun which bestows life on all. She is crowned with high starry ideals. And she stands firmly on the generative forces of the moon. Humanity's soul is laboring to give birth to its Son, the true I AM of humanity, the Christ in us.

Yet she is threatened by the dragon of fiery passions, a dragon of an overbearing and ultimately destructive intellectual capacity. Her child is protected by God. She herself, humanity's soul, has been given the elevating eagle wings of greater vision. She is helped by the absorbing capacity of the earth. Yet she must still suffer persecution and isolating loneliness.

Collot d'Herbois

This is a picture for our time. We sense that we need to love all; we are inspired by ideals and by the capacity to generate the new. Yet we are beset by evil beings intent upon destruction. We experience both increasing levels of awareness and increasing loneliness.

At the same time we have the assurance that though we suffer, our love for the divine, our awareness of the truth of our ideals, our love for the earth, and our insight will bring about the birth of Christ within humanity. For the divine, and its capacity to heal the world and its ills, its powers of transformation, are now also operating from a clear and strong space . The dragon has been cast out. He has been thrown down to us. This is because humanity is now strong enough, mature enough, protected enough to withstand him.

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3rd Michaelmas 2015, Michael Calls

2^nd, 3rd or 4th Michaelmas

Revelation 12: 1-17

Ottheinrich Folio, wikimedia

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 head 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 to 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 in the midst of 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.

And I heard a great voice in heaven, saying:

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 spirit 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 a great eagle, so that she could fly into the desert to her appointed place, where 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 18, 2015

Revelation 12: 1-17

We have before the eye of the soul  two great images. They are the cosmic eternal feminine, the soul of humanity, laboring to give birth to the son who will shepherd nations. And we see the destructive, devouring red dragon, full of rage, who tries to prevent this.

And we are told that the hosts of the Archangel Michael have thrust this

Breugel the Elder, Fall of the Rebel Angels, wikimedia

destructive being and his minions onto the earth. Michael has done so in order to cleanse the heavenly realms, so that Christ’s healing and transforming power, his power to spiritualize, can work unhindered from the heavens.

But woe to us. The dragon has come down to us, seething in measureless fury. Recent events can prompt us to ask: why does God allow war and massacre; why does he allow such tragedies to happen to innocent people? But that is the wrong question. Given the fact that it was necessary for the dragon to be sent down to earth, the question now comes toward us, from Michael’s heavenly hosts: How is it that human beings allow such tragedies to happen?

The beings who oppose our human development are making war upon us. We have the armor of God, the armor of truth, trust and peaceful intentions to protect us. It is now the task of the human world to keep the dragon in check; to keep the dragon’s fury and destruction from infecting our souls and destroying the earth. Should we choose to accept the task, Michael, the strong leader of Christ’s heavenly forces on earth, will come to our aid.

Amid the storm of the world,

In which our souls share

We seek the leader of the Angel-host,

Michael, who casts down the Dragon.

Into our thoughts may come through him
The sense of gentle awe,

Of patient reverence for the hidden wisdom

That is in all things.

And in our acts his courage

Will overcome the cramping fear

Which makes a slave of man.

Michael calls, when autumn darkens earth;

He leads to Christ, and fights for Christ, for ever;

So may we follow him, and fight beside him

Against the Dragon with enduring fire.[1]

Visit our website!

---

[1] Adam Bittleston, “Michael I”, in Meditative Prayers for Today, purchase here

4th Michaelmas 2014, Lose the Game

4^th Michaelmas

October 26, 2014

Revelation 19: 11-16

Tolkovy Apocalypse

And I saw the heavens opening up. And behold, a white horse! And the rider who sat upon it is called faithful and true, who judges justly and battles for justice. His eyes are like flames of fire, and his head wears many crowns, inscribed with a name which no one knows but he himself. The cloak that covers him has been dipped in blood, and he is known by the name “Word of God”.

And the warriors of the sky ride behind him upon white steeds, clad in clean, white linen. And he has a sharp-edged sword coming out of his mouth with which to subdue the nations, and he will shepherd them with a staff of iron. He treads on the winepress holding the wine of the wrath of the will of God, the ruler of all.

And written on his cloak and on his thigh is the name: King of all kings, Lord of all lords.

4^th Michaelmas

October 26, 2014

Revelation 19: 11-16

In a game like chess, there are rules. Certain moves are allowed and others aren’t. All the moves are sequential. All the moves will ultimately have their consequences.

God created the greater universe with a certain structural integrity. Things happen in a certain way, in a certain order. There are consequences for everything that happens. Thank goodness!

Last week’s reading gave us the image of the great feminine archetype, the soul of humanity. She is impregnated with the sun-radiant Son of God. She struggles to give birth to the Son of Man, God within and among us. In today’s reading, we hear of how this Son of Man operates when he is fully grown. He battles to maintain the greater order, the order of justice and just consequences. He, humanity’s great I AM, the Creating Word of God, subdues the nations. God’s love for us and ours for Him is not to be supplanted by a nationalistic and warring love of nation that destroys other nations. That time in the game has passed. That belonged to the Gabrielic age, the age of exploration and dominance.

Now we are well into the age of Michael. It is the age of the family of humankind. If humanity continues to make unjust wars based on greed and national interests, we will have to experience the other side of God’s love: we will experience the wrath which is the natural consequence of our defying the greater order. If humanity continues to ignore what is truly just, truly in line with the greater game plan that God has put into place, we will be defeated by our own maneuvers. We will not be allowed to up-end the chess board. If we break the rules, set ourselves against the greater reality of the way things are, we can only ultimately lose the game.

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