Readings for Pentecost 19C, October 20, 2019

• Jeremiah 31:27-34 and Psalm 119:97-104  
• 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5  
• Luke 18:1-8

Keep Protesting, Pastor Fred

​“…pray always, and do not lose heart!”
 
Today, is Day Four, of the teachers strike in Chicago, and residents of Chicago are keeping their eyes on the negotiations, and of course, on our students!  How long can each side, Administration and Teachers, keep up without losing heart?!
 
The stakes are high, as they always are when it comes to this – to putting up picket lines, calling off classes, and protesting unacceptable conditions for teachers and their students.  No one, including the teachers, want to call off school!  So, it takes a breach of justice to come to that decision. 
 
Rhetoric from the Mayor’s office is different than 7 years ago, during the last strike.  Newly elected Mayor Lightfoot seems to understand the needs that the Chicago Teachers Union is asking for, though, after taking office, the mayor decided to retain the former mayor’s less-than-popular lead-negotiator with the teachers. 
 
On the campaign trail, candidate Lightfoot promised that under her Administration, we wouldn’t see a teacher’s strike in Chicago, signaling she’d do things differently, and that she understood that every school needed at least one nurse and librarian, as well as an increased number of Counselors, Social Workers, Case Managers and Psychologists.  The need is great in Chicago, and critical to a basic learning environment.  Suburban schools seem to have no problem meeting these demands.  
 
So, each side is advocating tirelessly, coming time and again to the bargaining table over the past few months, and of course, pleading their separate arguments in the press, as we move, hopefully, toward a quick resolution, and avoid having each side dig-in and prolong the pain.  And before everybody loses heart! 
 
Which is what Jesus’ parable says it’s about today – “our need to pray always and not to lose heart.”  Though the parable – at least on first take – is more about a poor downtrodden widow, who is tireless in going up against a corrupt and heartless machine, represented by a Judge, who as Luke says, ‘has no fear of God and no respect for people!’ 
 
So, does Jesus describe this woman’s persistent quest for justice, as our need to not lose heart in our praying? 
 
In the parable, the widow keeps coming with her persistent plea, “Grant me justice against my opponent.”  And “for a while the judge refused.  But later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant justice to her, if for no other reason than, she not give me a black eye by continually coming and swinging at me! 
 
So the corrupt judge still doesn’t care about the widow, and whatever her cause is.  But he does care about all the trouble she can cause him, which he decides he’d rather not bother with. 
 
Not unlike the teacher’s strike when they take to the streets, over the objection of the mayor!  But that’s only because the mayor holds all the cards, all the power of the purse, but the only power the teachers have, is organizing their people to stop teaching, and stand up for their demands together – to be persistent, and not lose heart. 
 
And it makes you wonder, doesn’t it, what the demands of the widow were, when she kept coming and asking for the judge to ‘grant her justice against her opponent?’ What justice was she asking for?  Was the price of her medication she needed raised beyond her means, or her hospitalization denied by her health care provider?  Or maybe her brother was detained at the border, trying to enter the country for work that would help provide for his extended family, work which he knew was available in the orchards and fields at this time of the year?  Or perhaps her deceased husband’s lawyer was dragging his heels in settling the estate?  Or, maybe she was out of her mind worrying about her son or daughter who had been thrown in jail, for driving while black or brown? 
 
There are so many forms of injustice, then as now, and no lack of pleading widows, and oppressed people of color and lgbtq, asking. 
 
But still, is this story about prayer, or about justice?  Or, if both, what is the connection?  It’s not the typical parable where the judge would be a metaphor for God – Unless you see God as having no respect for anyone!  And, the widow isn’t going to God to persistently plead for justice, as an example for us that we should pray harder, or that it should make us feel guilty if we don’t get an answer to prayer, and may lose heart.  Neither do we need to force God, to see how unjust people can be; how corrupt our systems can become.  God knows our sins already! 
 
And God will grant justice to God’s followers and ‘chosen ones, day and night’ because that’s what God wants to do!  ‘God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love!’  God does not advocate delaying justice, but wants to give it freely and abundantly. 
 
The obvious winner to emulate in this parable is not the judge, but the widow – the one who was at that time considered to be, a socially stigmatized loser.  In a patriarchal society where women were either the property of their father or their husband, and were dependent on them for their livelihood, unable to obtain paying jobs of their own – not that they didn’t work, unpaid, for their families – but women who were widowed, were penniless, except for the Levitical laws that mandated charity and care for them. 
 
But as Luke so often does, he lifts up this women as an example.  And this widow has extraordinary faith!  Why?  Because she is already stigmatized and not expected to succeed.  Normally, no one would notice her, especially a judge, especially this judge, who is an unfaithful opponent, corrupt as the day is long! 
 
So, the story of the widow is one we are familiar with!  Especially if we’ve already read to the end of the gospel!  This is the story of Jesus, who pleaded his case before his own people, who was stigmatized and scapegoated, and faced his own unjust judge, in Pontius Pilate. 
 
On the road to Jerusalem – which, by this story in chapter 18, is getting quite close now – Jesus is preparing the Disciples for what’s going to happen in Jerusalem. They will be tempted to ‘lose heart’ when Jesus is crucified, and his state-sanctioned murder will be committed by the heartless combination, of the mob, the religious leaders, and a foreign government. 
 
In this parable, Jesus is looking for followers who get it!  He’s challenging his disciples, the men and women followers, to step up and see Jesus for who he is, the long awaited Messiah, and Son of God.  And to have faith – to throw themselves in, body, mind and soul – as the followers that can receive the Holy Spirit, and let it live in them, even after Jesus is Ascended to be at the right hand of God. 
 
Jesus concludes his parable with a question:  “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”  If we don’t lose heart that Jesus has won the victory of justice over the powers of evil, and we keep coming, on behalf of the kingdom and realm of God, no matter how corrupt the system is we’re up against – then Yes! 
 
Jesus – in the greatest irony of all time – wins his case in a higher court, after his loss with Pilate, Herod, and the crowds. 
 
And so the ball is now in our court!  The followers of Jesus do not pray, and walk away.  We, the followers of Jesus, keep coming, we keep protesting, we keep demonstrating for the kingdom and realm of God to come.  We keep following the Master, who showed us the way.  

Readings for the 18th Sunday after Pentecost, Oct. 13, 2019

• Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7 and Psalm 66:1-12  
• 2 Timothy 2:8-15  
• Luke 17:11-19

Living in Liminality, Pastor Fred
“And as they went, they were made clean.”  That’s what Luke tells us about the 10 lepers that came to Jesus.  When Jesus saw them, he told them simply to go and show themselves to the priests.  This was what the Leviticus law prescribed, that if you were lucky enough to be healed from leprosy, you must first present yourself to a priest in the Temple to be certified that you were no longer ‘unclean.’ 
 
Another law was that, those with leprosy must keep their distance from the rest of the population.  Not just live in a special leper’s colony, which they did, but if traveling, you must make sure to keep your distance from others by shouting out, “unclean, unclean,” to warn them, as a kind of courtesy, because of how contagious leprosy was.  Of course, this made for a stigma, that kept those with leprosy separated from the rest of society, like wearing a Scarlet Letter!
 
Luke doesn’t tell us, if that’s what the 10 lepers say when they approach Jesus – if they shout out “unclean.”  But they did call out together, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”  The reputation of Jesus as a healer, preceded him!  They are not supposed to approach him, and Luke is  also careful to say that they kept their distance, but they definitely aren’t going to squander their opportunity, to ask the Master for mercy! 
 
It is the disciples who call Jesus ‘Master’ throughout the gospel of Luke.  But this is the only time in the whole of Luke’s narrative that Jesus is called Master by someone who is not a Disciple!  And perhaps this is what convinces Jesus of their faith!  Their chorus of “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” is proof that they have no doubt Jesus is the Messiah, the anointed one, the long awaited messianic king.  And so before he even declares that they are healed, Jesus simply responds, “go and show yourselves to the priests!”  And, “as they went, they were made clean!” 
 
It’s the sending, by Jesus, that heals them – the recognition of their faith, and the blessing into action – a sending – that is, in effect, the same as healing, and making them whole again. 
 
On the journey, the journey of following Jesus – a journey with Jesus – is where we find wholeness and salvation.  And this is a journey that enters – if we can call it this – the liminal space where Jesus lives.  The liminal, is a threshold, an in between place – a transition from one condition, to a new condition.  Like unclean to clean; like outcast, to welcomed in; like death to life!
 
Jesus himself was on this liminal journey.  Jesus, having finished his ministry in Galilee – the region he grew up in and first gathered his Disciples, where he preached the good news and taught in parables – had set his face to go to Jerusalem, back in Chapter 9.  And Luke reminds us of that, the very first thing, in this reading. 
 
“On the way to Jerusalem,” Luke says of Jesus.  And then he adds, “he was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee.  This is where the journey is now at.  Except that, no one can point to “the region between Samaria and Galilee,” on a map!  There is no geographical region in between!  Galilee was the northern most territory of Israel, and Judea was southernmost, where Jerusalem is.  Samaria was in-between the two.  So, it would have made sense that Jesus was either passing through Samaria on his way from Galilee down to Jerusalem, or, was perhaps skirting its boundary, if he took the main route to the east, following the Jordan River.  But there is no region between Galilee and Samaria – they are right next to each other.  Unless of course, Luke wants to underscore the place of liminality, the threshold space, that Jesus seemed to live in, and a wonderful description of what took place in this healing and bridge building story. 
 
It was also appropriate to say, ‘Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee,’ because of the deep division and distrust between the Samaritans and the Jews which had grown up over the centuries after the Exile to Babylon. 
 
The Samaritans, for the most part, were never made to participate in the exile.  They were more isolated by the hill country they lived in, than the Galileans or Judeans, and so were able to avoid being carted away.  But in the meantime, since the Jerusalem Temple had been destroyed, they developed Mt Gerizim as their center of worship, and to this day, claim it as their holy place – which was unacceptable to those who came home and rebuilt the Jerusalem temple.  And the Samaritans were forever shunned, and the two became, as enemies. 
 
Recall that at the beginning of this journey, Jesus and the Disciples are taking, they sent out scouts, like Secret Service Agents, to find cities for Jesus to visit along the way.  And when a Samaritan village refused to receive Jesus, the Disciples casually asked Jesus if he wanted them to bring down fire on them?!  That’s the level of enmity and division that existed between them.
 
Jesus of course, nixed that idea, in the strongest of terms.  And now, once again, Jesus makes sure to lift up what happens after the ten lepers are healed, and only one of the 10 comes back to worship and thank Jesus.  He points it out in front of all to see, that the only one who came to say thank you and give praise to God, was a foreigner and so-called enemy, a Samaritan. 
 
The enemy-Samaritan, healed of leprosy, is a double outcast.  And because of his social and religious stigmas, he too has lived in the liminal spaces, places that are in between, not quite belonging, but on the threshold of something new, the place where God is calling us – calling us out from what has been holding us down – holding us back from being healed and made whole! 
 
The liminal space is where the kingdom and realm of God breaks in.  Jesus lives there, and invites us follow him.  Yet we are creatures who tend to live more comfortably within defined boundaries, on one side or the other, where we can identify with our family, clan and people, where we feel more complete knowing who the opposition or enemy is.  Because it can be hard, very hard, to live in the in-between region – in the place where there is no clearly defined border – in liminality. 
 
It reminds me of El Paso, where people of more than one ethnic or national identity flow freely from one side of the US/Mexican border to the other, a border that has worked for a long time, that way.  But then there was the mass shooting at a Walmart in August, and the alleged perpetrator left a hate-filled White Nationalist manifesto, replacing liminality with terror, in a matter of a few minutes.  The call to live in the in-between spaces, in liminal living, can be heard as ‘bad news’ to a mind stuck in a world of black and white thinking. 
 
?Is it harder to build a life on a border with no wall, a boundary that is in-between and porous?  Certainly the tension is greater.  But the rules are less rigid, more inclusive, open, and welcoming.  The hard part, is putting God at the center of our lives, and listening for the answers that are yet to be spoken.  To live in that liminal space will not be possible without deep trust, and a certain amount of risk, on our part.  Like the cross, liminality is full of vulnerability.  But also full of reward!  Its power is in our ability to reach out to our neighbor, indeed, even our enemy, in love. 
 
The “Master” knows the way to Jerusalem!  His cross is there, but also his resurrection.  The journey Jesus took was completely open and honest, in a way humanity has rarely seen.  He confronted the corruption of this world under the banner of God’s truth.  And at the same time, he came to heal the whole world and unite us as one, through deep compassion. 
 
And now the journey is ours to take.  We are his followers, walking in the liminality of open borders.  It reminds me of our Psalm today which says, “Our God has kept us among the living, and has not allowed our feet to slip. … we went through fire and water, but you brought us out into a place of refreshment.”  Every step of our journey, through the desert or the hill country, is guided and protected by God. 
 
We are on our way to show ourselves to the priest… “And as we go, as we journey with Jesus, we are made clean,” and whole once again.  

Readings for St Francis of Assisi Day, celebrated October 6, 2019
Jeremiah 22:13-16  Doing justice and righteousness is knowing the LORD
Psalm 148  The splender of the LORD is over earth and heaven
Galatians 6:14-18  A new creation is everything
Matthew 11:25-30  The yoke of discipleship

Franciscan Rule, Pastor Fred Kinsey
The Franciscan Rule originates with St Francis himself.  It was revised over the years, but is a kind of distillation of his thought and practice, and the guiding rules he himself and all Franciscans lived by, which he encouraged others to emulate, as well.  Two points from the Franciscan Rule seem important to lift up today:
 
1) “they[you] should cultivate the Franciscan spirit, of peace, fidelity, and respect for life, striving to make of it a sign of a world already renewed in Christ.”  2) “…they/[you] should respect all creatures, animate and inanimate, which “bear the imprint of the Most High,” and [you] should strive to move from the temptation of exploiting creation to the Franciscan concept of universal kin-ship.” 
 
On Christmas Eve in 1123, 3 years before Francis died, Francis was planning to celebrate Christmas in the little mountain village of Grecio, Italy.  It seems that the parish there, had the same dynamic we do, with the precipitous rise in attendance of the faithful for the Christmas service – because Francis thought the Chapel there was too small for all the worshipers who would attend their Midnight Mass. 
 
So Francis decided to hold the service in the public square, out in the open, in the heart of the village.  There was a carved-out niche in a rock, like a cave there, which was perfect.  This, as Francis knew from visiting the Holy Land, was like the traditional birthplace of Jesus.  Many in the hill country of Bethlehem lived in such caves.  And there were often just two rooms, one for the family, and the other for their animals.  Luke’s nativity account says only that, ‘Mary gave birth to her first born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger – the animal feeding trough – because there was no room for them in the inn.’  Whether it was the back room of the inn, or a distant relative’s home, we don’t know.  But it certainly sounds like Jesus was born in the room with the animals. 
 
So St. Francis arranged to set up a manger with straw in it, and even made sure there was an ox and a donkey.  His intention was to show the utter poverty that the Savior-King was born into.  And according to St. Boneventure, who wrote about it not long after, it was a solemn and moving experience.  And as Francis preached the midnight mass, he was full of, tears of joy, that Christmas Eve! 
 
Some say this was the beginning of the tradition of the crèche, the Nativity scenes we still use today at Christmas time.  And who amongst us doesn’t have a favorite!  I know Kim and I have one at home, which is a rather eclectic scene we made from a variety of carved wooden characters.  It began with just a simple crèche of olive wood we bought in Bethlehem when we visited in 2005.  It’s just the baby Jesus in a manger with his parents standing over him, pictured in a cave opening, with a native palm tree overhanging the entrance, and a star just above.  And we’ve simply surrounded it with various animals from around the world, we’ve collected from here and there.  An ox and ass of course, but also some sheep, seeing how the Shepherds were the first visitors that holy night, but also a giraffe, an antelope, a spotted-leopard, and a rhinoceros! 
 
Today, of course, we are celebrating all of the animals, and especially all the pets who are worshiping with us, God’s fellow beloved creatures!  Dogs seem to have the clear majority today, but I wouldn’t want to debate with the cat owners, which are more precious in God’s sight! 
 
I don’t think it’s any coincidence that St Francis, who founded the Franciscan order, on the vow of poverty, also developed the doctrine of the animals being our sisters and brothers!  His love for all creatures, and his theology, totally matched up!
 
And the journey that Francis took to get there, was real!  It was formed out of his early life of privilege, growing up in a wealthy family that had some means, was able to travel, and expected things in return for their patronage.  By some accounts, when Francis was younger, he reveled in his privilege.  He was handsome and gallant, he delighted in fine clothes, he became a troubadour, gaining the popularity of many of his peers.  But percolating underneath, Francis was questioning this life.  And one day, when his conscience got the better of him, and he gave a beggar all the money he had, he was chided by his rich friends. 
 
And though he didn’t let that deter him from his calling, it’s notable the lengths Francis had to go to detach himself from this life.  His father, who had invested in his son and wanted him to follow in his footsteps, derided him for wanting to leave.  Once even, he beat and bound Francis, and threw him in the cellar, before his mother was able to rescue him.  Such can be the punishment for challenging the hierarchy of white male privilege, then, or now! 
 
But Francis sought the counsel of the scriptures and traditions of the church, and he formed a vision.  Francis saw in Christ a model for living simply, and being open to the Holy Spirit, our breath of life, which counsels living, not by bread alone, but by the living Word of God. 
 
So Francis, once the heir of the good life, came to live with the poor, forming one of the Church’s most significant movements, in the Franciscan Order.  He healed the sick, fought corruption in the Church, and rejoiced in the wonder and gift of creation.  Francis saw the spirit of life, not only in all people, but in the whole animal kingdom. 
 
Believing in the Creator of the whole universe, the maker of heaven and earth, and that we are called to be in covenant, in relationship, with God, through the example of the humble child born in a lowly manger, ignites in us a burning desire to care for the whole earth and all God’s creatures, our sisters and brothers.  It is no coincidence that followers of Jesus, are lovers of the animals, and friends of the poor.
 
Again, the Franciscan Rule says, “you should respect all creatures, animate and inanimate, which “bear the imprint of the Most High,” and [you] should strive to move from the temptation of exploiting creation, to the Franciscan concept of universal kin-ship.” 
 
Where is this kind of humbleness in our culture, in our church & society, today?  Certainly not in our elected leadership, who at the top, favor the policies of the rich, who have already given-in to the temptation of exploiting our land, water and air. 
 
Let us, today, be the humble servants!  And let us start in the style of the Franciscans – by taking pride in blessing our pets and animals, our sisters and brothers.  Let us, the meek, be the inheritors of the earth, and the lead caretakers of God’s very good creation.  For the power of God is manifest in our Savior who was born in a make-shift manger, amongst the barnyard animals.  The kingdom of God is found in weakness, through the vulnerability of carrying our crosses – a yoke made easy, and our burdens made light, as Jesus says in our Gospel.  And the powerful, will be brought low.
 
For this is what St Paul meant when he said, “a new creation is everything!”  And “for those who will follow this rule,” like the Franciscan Rule, “peace and mercy be upon them.” 
 
Let ‘Peace and mercy be upon us’ as we bless our animals today, our sisters and brothers.  And as we become the ‘new creation,’ Jesus lived and died, and rose again for.  

Readings for Michael and All Angels, September 29, 2019
Daniel 10:10-14; 12:1-3
All who are dead shall arise on the day of the LORD
Psalm 103:1-5, 20-22
Bless the LORD, you angels, all you hosts of God.
Revelation 12:7-12
Michael defeats Satan in a cosmic battle
Luke 10:17-20
Jesus gives his followers authority over the enemy

Combining Forces, by Pastor Fred
I didn’t know if the story was true or not.  A friend of ours, told Kim and I, some years ago.  But turns out – it is, absolutely true!
 
It happened on March 28, 1990, when first team All American, Stacey King was a rookie with the Chicago Bulls.  King was admired as much for his basketball skills, as for his quick wit and good humor in the locker room.  If Michael Jordan was the leader of the team, Stacey King was the comic relief.  On the hugely talented Bulls team, Stacey was more of a role player, a rebounder and shot blocker.  Typically, he was the 2nd man off the bench, that year, and for the Bulls first 3 of 6 NBA championships that followed, before Stacey was traded to Minnesota.  And after his NBA career ended, he returned to Chicago in 2006 to become a voice of Bulls, and color commentator, a beloved role he occupies to this day.
 
So, of the 1990 game, on March 28, the rookie Stacey King is now famous for understated, and humorous quip: “I’ll always remember that game as the one me and Michael combined for 70 points, to win it in overtime!”  It just so happens that Michael scored a career high 69 points that night, while Stacey had 1 free throw! 
 
Today, we celebrate that 4(3) sisters and brothers in Christ will combine forces with some 70, or so, of us here at Unity, to journey with us and become members.  Whether we score 69 points, or 1 point, we’re all in it together.  It’s what we do together, and how we combine our talents and various skills, as followers of Jesus, that matters! 
 
We’re also, all in it together, with (the other) Michael and All Angels!  Angels have most recently been thought of as guardians, helpers in our personal battles, sometimes even, as someone who has died and come back as an angel to bring good karma to us in our lives, or in our grieving.  Though, when I was younger, they were often depicted as your good and bad conscience, one over each shoulder, battling it out, as a metaphor for the decision you were in turmoil of making, usually something worldly, tempting you, like sweets or alcohol. 
 
Back in the several centuries before Christ, in between the Old and New Testaments, many types of supernatural beings, especially from the near eastern religion of Zoroastrianism, had been influencing Judaism.  What developed at that time in Jewish angelology, was the idea that God had four angelic assistants, holding up the throne of God, and each had distinct jobs: one was Gabriel, who was to announce the end of the world; a second was Michael, who was the conqueror of Satan and protector of Israel; thirdly, Raphael, who healed the sick and protected travelers; and lastly Uriel, who punished evildoers.  Christian story-telling retained the first three archangels, but dropped Uriel.  By the middle ages, many artists depicted the archangel Michael as victorious over the monster Satan.  Identified with warfare, Michael was popular in Christian imagination.  Martin Luther, for one, absolutely lived and breathed it all in. (https://members.sundaysandseasons.com/Home/TextsAndResources/2019-9-29/2060#resources)
 
But the Bible is not quite as obsessed with angels!  In the New Testament, Michael is only cited twice, once in the book of Jude, and today, in our 2nd Reading from Revelation.  The whole book of Revelation, of course, is basically the visions of John of Patmos, visions of what is to befall the 7 churches he writes to, warning that, if they are not faithful to the end, even in the face of persecution by Rome, evil would conquer, but in Christ, we are victorious. 
 
Revelation’s vision of the end times, believed that a war would break out in heaven, and Michael and all his angels would fight the dragon, that ancient serpent from the creation story in Genesis, who is called the Devil or Satan – the power of evil.  And the defeated dragon would no longer have a place in the heavens, but by the authority of God’s Messiah, and the blood of the Lamb, he would be cast out.  “Lamb-y,” as Barbara Rossing says, or the risen Christ, is really the conqueror, by the power of cross and resurrection.
 
Being thrown out of the heavenly skies above, of course, meant the dragon would fall to earth, and would, even if for only a short time, cause woe among the believers on earth, by aligning with the 4 Beasts, which mostly represented various forms of Rome or its Emperors. 
 
In our Gospel reading, ‘Jesus sees Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning.’  Luke’s account is apocalyptic, a post-resurrection vision, of the power the followers of Jesus are given, as they go out, like ‘the seventy’ did in this story, to create communities of believers.  Jesus gives us authority to stamp out evil, tread on the snakes and scorpions.  The church is given power over the enemy, the deceiver, and ultimately, ‘nothing will hurt you,’ Jesus says to us! 
 
So for us in these in-between-times, after the resurrection and before the eschaton is fully revealed, the point, says Jesus, is not to get all puffed up about knowing the heavenly battle is ultimately won in Christ, but rejoice that your names are written in the book of life!  That is, as we battle the power of the dragon right now – even when it looks gloomy, and we may not be winning most days – God has entered us in the heavenly register of life already.  Right now! 
 
Some days when we lose two strong and beloved members of our congregation, in a matter of a couple of months, God brings us twice as many new members, and we see Satan fall like lightning! 
 
Some days when our elected leaders seem to be betraying us for the umpteenth time, caving in to corporate raiders and enriching the already rich once again, God sends a brave whistleblower revealing a single, crystalizing truth, which convinces even the most timid ones to rise up and plead our case against corruption and dereliction of duty.
 
Some days when the news of terminal illness, or natural disaster strikes, God sends a message of hope, a newly discovered medicine, or a heroic story of rescue that saved those who seemed lost. 
 
Today, we inscribe 4 new names in our Unity book of life.  Four new travelers to rejoice with on our journey toward Jerusalem’s cross and resurrection.  We will take all the help we can get! – for our battles in this life are real.  We face joblessness and a lack of resources in our city, illnesses and a broken health care system, a climate crisis raining down on us, and there is that invisible power, a dragon, that continues to pit us one against another, polarizing us, and isolating us into individual silo’s.  But we are fervent pray-ers and faithful fighters, even in the face of systems that are rigged against us and seem to make us lose in this world. 
 
And Michael and All Angels are our messengers.  They bring good news of a great joy, that in Christ Jesus, a Savior has been born to us, and by the faith of Christ our names are already written in the book of life.  Together – whether we are stars, or role players, whether we score 69 points or 1, or even no points in the game of life – we are in it together, in the Church of Jesus Christ, and here at Unity – where we are one, and unbeatable! 
 
The battles we are in are ultimately spiritual battles – battles for justice and peace, and for a life that really is life, which can only be won non-violently, together.  The dragon who urges polarization, is a house divided against itself, that will ultimately collapse. 
 
Let us rejoice in the victory that is already won!  We have seen Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning!  Let us rejoice in the heavenly dwellings in the age to come, where our names are already written in the book of life.