3rd Michaelmas 2009, Power to Heal

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 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 eat it up. 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, and they did not 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, 2009

Revelation 12: 1- 17

In recent decades interesting work is being done in clearing toxic waste. There are discoveries of bacteria that eat oil, for example; or sunflowers that absorb radiation from the soil.

In today’s reading, we hear that the dragon has been thrown out of the spiritual world and onto the earth. Some solution! –we on earth may think; sending us your spiritual toxic waste!

Yet the angels sing of great positive possibilities within this situation. They sing:

Now can being the working that proceeds from our God—

the power to heal;

the power to transform all being,

the power to draw everything into divine being. Rev 12: 10

The story of the heavenly woman and the dragon itself shows us that great transformative forces, forces for change and healing, also exist here on earth.

The woman is saved on the one hand by the force of the great eagle of creative thinking, implanted in each one of us. This is the kind of thinking that has helped us deal with earthly toxic waste. This creative thinking also has the power to protect and nourish our souls.

Another is the living earth herself, she who absorbs and transforms all that pours into her. Her strength in us is resilience; she protects us from being overwhelmed.

  

And yet another are the heavenly hosts themselves, led by the archangel Michael, who will join us in transforming the destructive power of the adversary on earth. His name means, Who is like God?  The answer is, we are to be. But, in respect for our freedom, he waits for us to ask him to help us.

So in the words of the poet, we can say to ourselves:

My heart be brave, and do not falter so,

Nor utter more that deep, despairing wail….

Rise up, and casting off thy hind’ring shrouds,

Cling thou to this, and ever inspiring hope:

   Tho’ thick the battle and tho’ fierce the fight,

   There is a power making for the right.[1]

---

[1] Sonnet by James Weldon Johnson

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3rd Michaelmas 2010, Faith Strengthens

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 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 eat it up. 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, and they did not 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 17, 2010

Revelation 12: 1-17

We may have experienced that when others express 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 cause for alarm.

But it is also a vote of confidence in mankind. 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, 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 to fly to our appointed place; so that the newly born Christ in us, the Christ in the soul, will be protected. They can see us as already having overcome it.

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.[1]

---

[1]  Reinhold Niebuhr, Excerpt from The Irony of American History, cited in Leading from Within, ed. by S. M. Intrator and M. Scribner

www.thechristiancommunity.org

3rd Michaelmas 2011, Every Action Sacred

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 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 eat it up. 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, and they did not 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 16, 2011

Revelation 12: 1-17

“Down came the dragon, the serpent, the evil one, called both Satan and the devil, the deceiver of all the world….”

This reading talks about the realities of spiritual beings, both the good ones, and the evil ones. There is the Archangel Michael, the protector and defender of the realm from which the Good issues. He drives the evil spiritual beings onto the earth. In effect he shepherds them by sending them where they apparently belong.

It must be part of the wise divine world order that they are here, because the divine angels do nothing haphazardly. It is both amazing and disconcerting to realize that evil beings belong on the earth. Apparently it is time for humans to begin to deal with them directly.

What the devil needs on earth is nourishment. He feeds on our humanity, especially those parts in us which are gestating, coming into being, the new, tender growing parts of ourselves. He shrinks us with fear, distorts us with hatred, weakens us with doubts, so that he can devour us.

Crivelli

Yet we are not without protection. We have been given the eagle wings of clear thought—the eyes of foresight and of reflection, with which to see through the Deceiver’s work. We can become aware of his approach, and ‘put on the armor’ of truth and trust. And the living earth herself lends us her protection and strength.

The poet asks:

  

What is it in that sweet voice inside 
That incites you to fear?

Now is the time for the world to know

That every thought and action is sacred.

….Now is the season to know

That everything you do

Is sacred. [1]

---

[1] Hafiz,  “Now is the Time”, in The Gift - versions of Hafiz by Daniel Ladinsky

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3rd Michaelmas 2012, Cosmic Soul

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 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 eat it up. 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, and they did not 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 14, 2012

Revelation 12: 1-17

We see the mighty image of the radiant Cosmic Woman, clothed in sun, moon, and stars, laboring to give birth. And we see the red, many- headed dragon, waiting to devour her child.

This Cosmic Woman is an image of the soul of a special cosmic community. She is the soul of a community formed of all communities that are laboring to give birth to the Christ. She is the soul of all assemblies of people that stream the sunlight and warmth of love and wisdom. She is the soul of groups of people that know how to master and properly use the creative, generative moon forces. She is the soul of those bodies of people star-crowned with the work of healing and ordering destinies.

The dragon, however, is her counter-image. It is the image of angry, greedy, consuming passion; it is the image of a pernicious, calculating intellect that monetizes everything and everyone; it is a force that introduces a ruinous chaos into destinies.

Our earthly Christian communities are made up of individuals whom, through their bearing, Christ can wrest from the dragon, from the 'death of matter’. Such individuals can belong not only to an earthly community, but also to the supersensible one, which is made up of all those who are aware of the healing power of Christ within themselves. And in community, this healing force of the Christ within is potentized beyond what any individual can manifest. Together we can resist the dragon. Together we can help heal and order destinies. Together, we can strengthen the soul of the Cosmic Woman who is giving birth to the Christ for all of humanity.

www.thechristiancommunity.org

3rd Michaelmas 2013, In Beauty

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 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 13, 2013

Revelation 12:1-17

When we are under the stress of time pressure, some of us may fall apart; some of us may manage to focus intently and work quickly, and then afterward collapse. But for a few, in an emergency time expands and somehow slows down. They somehow know exactly what to do and do it encased in a bubble of calm.

The reading says: ‘The dragon seethes with measureless fury, for he knows that his time is short’. He is under time pressure. But his pressure is to do the most damage and destruction he can in his limited allotment of time. He also knows that by turning the stress and pressure on us, by infecting us with his fury, he can sooner or later create collapse.

The woman, the Soul of Humanity, is giving birth to the Divine Child. She is given a divine gift—the wings of the eagle. They enable her to get above the problem, above the dragon, and look down on it. And then time expands and slows down. She knows exactly what to do. She flies to a solitary place, an inner place, where she is encased in calm and nourished by the divine.

The dragon in his fury is heavy and earthbound. And even when he spews forth a flood of lies, of information, of requirements and misinformation, the earth itself is willing to assist in the rescue of humanity’s soul. The earth itself absorbs the flood of the dragon’s fury. The earth and nature do their best to help provide a physical space of calm nourishment.

What is it that keeps our individual souls from being persecuted and flooded? It is our own solitary place, the inner space into which we go with our eagle wings of compassionate thought, our place of spiritual nourishment, of prayer and meditation. But we must practice flying. The Native American poet Joy Harjo says:

To pray you open your whole self

To sky, to earth, to sun, to moon

…And know there is more

That you can't see, can't hear

….Like eagle that Sunday morning

Over Salt River.  Circles in blue sky

In wind, swept our hearts clean

With sacred wings.

We …know that we must take the utmost care

And kindness in all things.

Breathe in, knowing we are made of

All this, and breathe, knowing

We are truly blessed because we

Were born, and die soon, within a

True circle of motion,

Like eagle rounding out the morning

Inside us.

We pray that it will be done

In beauty.

        In beauty.[1]

www.christiancommunity.org

---

[1] Joy Harjo, “Eagle Poem”, in (How We Become Human: New and Selected Poems 1975-2001)

2nd Michaelmas 2007, The Door

2^nd 3^rd or 4^th 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 against

spirit beings mighty in the stream of time,

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.

2^nd Michaelmas Sunday

October 7, 2007

Ephesians 6: 10-19

  

Sometimes someone knocks at our door. It is possible that we could open the door to find a stranger, perhaps threatening. Our prudent response would be to close the door.

Thoughts are beings who come to visit. For most of us, for most of the time, the door of our mind stands wide open to whatever visitor wants to enter. Harmless thoughts flit through the house of the mind like ghosts. However, more powerful destructive thought beings can find entry and actually take up residence. This is one of the ways the spiritual adversary forces attack us.

In this gospel reading, Paul advises us on how to arm ourselves against these adversarial attacks. “Take into your thinking the certainty of Christ’s healing deed. It will protect your head like a helmet.” Ephesians 6:17 He is suggesting

that we place Someone at the doorway of our thoughts, Someone who in fact called Himself the Door. Christ can help us regulate which thoughts are allowed entry. In the certainty of His ongoing deed of healing, we can begin to recognize and close the door of our soul on thought beings who are unhealthy, untruthful, or destructive. Conversely, this placing of Christ at the door helps us to actively invite into ourselves beings of truth, which in turn help us discern with our feelings what is just and right. Then, in Christ, through Christ, our deeds become God’s working on the earth, spreading peace.

In the words of Angelus Silesius:

The peace most highly prized, which keeps the soul delighted,

Is knowing itself to be close with God’s will united.[1]

---

[1] Angelus Silesius, The Cherubinic Wanderer, translated by Maria Shrady, p.97.

www.thechristiancommunity.org

2nd Michaelmas 2008, Light Without Deception

2^nd 3^rd or 4^th 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 against

Michael, Roland Tiller

spirit beings mighty in the stream of time,

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.

2^nd Michaelmas Sunday

October 12, 2008

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, 6:10 – 19

How timely the Gospel reading in this year! Our great spiritual enemies, spiritual beings who would shoot our souls full of fear and despair, are on the attack. Paul encourages us to fight a spiritual battle. It is not a battle of aggression, for it is not our task (it is not even possible) to destroy our eternal enemy. Rather we are to arm ourselves for our own souls’ self-defense, so that we can resist the fear and remain inwardly upright.

We shield ourselves from these attacks of fear by remaining in trust and truth. This truth we acquire by remaining in the current moment, the Now, which is ruled by the Christ. For the truth is that fear often causes us to project a false picture into the future, which, in a vicious cycle, then inspires more fear. The truth is that the future is constantly changing, moment by moment, day by day, based on what human beings do in those moments and days. We are all involved in the process of creating the future, day by day, moment by moment. Any fixed picture of the future, hammered hard by constant discussion and steeped in worry generated by fear, is premature.

“Do not worry about tomorrow,” says Christ, “for tomorrow can worry about itself. Each day has enough challenge of its own.” Matthew 6:34  We act, we trust, we pray, one day, one moment at a time.

We must not underestimate the power of the light-filled energy that is generated by our prayers and sacraments, even when only an apparent few participate on earth. Behind each one of us stand all those who have died, who still take an active interest in their loved ones on earth. Mingling with them are those about to be born into the world, with their ideals and hopes. And above them all stands the angelic world. Deeds of prayer and sacrament generate a healing light, a bright energy. Given into the hands of the angels, this energy can work as a positive force in world karma, helping shape the future.  Michael and his host of angels beckon us toward the courage and trust that arises in our awareness of this truth.

Roland Tiller

A second century mystic wrote:

If you would pray in truth, you will

suspect a deeper sense of curious confidence.

And a host of angels will walk beside you

Showing you the purpose of created things.

When the angel of the Lord arrives,

he scatters by his word alone

every force that acts against us,

and brings to our spirits that light

that shines without deception.[1]

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[1] Evagrios of Pontos, (345 – 399) “Effusions on Prayer,” in Love’s Immensity, Mystics on the Endless Light,  Scott Cairns, p. 56

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