4th Michaelmas 2012, Overcomers

2^nd 3^rd or 4^th Michaelmas Sunday

Revelation 19, 11-16

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 strike the nations down, 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

Oct 21, 2012

Revelation 19:11-16

The Rider on the White Horse has a name that only He Himself knows. It is a name only He can say: I AM. I AM the I AM, who was, who is, and who is to come. Many crowns I have, for I have ruled over many ages. Once I appeared in a burning thorn bush. Now I appear as a Kingly Shepherd-Warrior. I Am cloaked in blood, because blood is the carrier of living Selfhood.

We too, miraculously, bear the name that is both common and secret. For no one can mean what I mean when I say ‘I.’ This name is God’s gift to us, His gift of the seed of His divine essence. We too bear many crowns, the symbols of all that we have overcome.

The White Rider rides in our blood. One might say He helps us to conquer the nations in us, that is, to overcome our genetics and heredity. The warriors in white are all those overcomers who have already crossed the threshold before us. They come to His aid, and ours, in battling that which would subdue our true selfhood, put it to sleep; they come to do battle with that which would destroy the seed of the divine in us. The sword of the Word—I AM—cuts us free from deceptions, delusions, fear.  For only one force is true, faithful and truly sovereign—the greater I AM. 

The Christian Community

4th Michaelmas 2013, Life Lessons

2^nd 3^rd or 4^th Michaelmas Sunday

Revelation 19, 11-16

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 Sunday

October 20, 2013

Revelation 19:11-16

 

A child who breaks a window needs to learn to make amends by paying for a new one. Or perhaps the child could even learn how to repair and replace broken windows himself—a life-skill acquired that will serve him and others in the future.

In today’s reading, we are given an uncomfortable picture of a warrior on a white horse, battling for justice and proper discernment. What issues from his mouth is the sharpness of the Word of God, who sees all as it truly is, and directs us in what needs to be done.

Although not a gentle or easy picture, we can draw a certain comfort from it nonetheless; for it implies that with God’s justice, a certain order and guidance will be maintained. There will be predictable consequences for what we do, and lessons to be learned from them, lesson that will benefit both us and others. The fierce wrath of God’s will is the corrective, aimed in love at bringing us back into relationship with him and others, repairing our own brokenness and  acquiring crowning  life skills.

Through man, perhaps difficult, life lessons we can learn the art of recompense and repair. And when we have acquired the skills, whitened our garments, we can join with the hosts of those in white who also battle for what is just according to God’s Word, written in our conscience.

3rd Michaelmas 2006, Womb of Light

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.

Woman Clothed with Sun, Arild Rosenkrantz

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

Birth of Light, Roland Tiller

October 15, 2006

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 are 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 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.

The dragon persecutes us, breathing destruction. But we are given wings of 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 again our soul’s solidity finds the cooling waters with which to smother the flames.

The forces of soul with which we defend ourselves from the dragon are the forces of 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 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. [1]

---

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

The Christian Community

3rd Michaelmas 2007, Dragon Conqueror

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 Sunday of Michaelmas

October 14, 2007

Revelation 12: 1-17

  

We live in a world of pictures, images revealed by sunlight. The great image we see in the gospel reading is created by the Light shining into the future.

The woman is the image of the soul of humanity, pregnant with possibility. We labor to earn a crown of stars by seeking and speaking truth. We clothe ourselves in sun radiance when we practice loving kindness. We stand on the crescent moon when our deeds serve the just and the right. Christ, wanting to be born in us, needs for us to become this momentous image.

But the dragon, the evil one, whose field is now the earth, seeks to devour our efforts. He lies in wait, perverting truth, stimulating rage, inspiring injustice and evil.

Our defender and aid in this threat to our humanity is the one we call

Michael the Guardian. The soaring might and breadth of his cosmic thinking inspires truth. His devotion to Christ warms heart’s love. His love and service

to the Father serves the right and the just. Through his defense and inspiration, the Christ Child, the Bringer of Peace and Healing, can be born in us.

 

Oh Michael,

It is your eye that sees us,

Your mouth that calls us,

Your foot that leads us,

Your arm that protects us,

Your thought that clarifies us,

Your courage that strengthens us,

Your heart that loves us.

Through you, Michael, Dragon-Conqueror

We human beings find the Bringer of Peace.[1]

---

[1] After a verse by Irene Johanson in Stories for the Festivals of the Year, p. 67

The Christian Community 

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

www.thechristiancommunity.org

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

www.thechristiancommunity.org