2024-05-30 A Meditation on Heavy-Lifting

“11 While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s. 12 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? 13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. 14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 16 And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all. 17 “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, 20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 21 whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.” (Acts 3:11-21 ESV)

The heavy-lifting is any fighter’s mystery: how, did we come up so strong? How, did we encourage the company? How, did we prognosticate, hand-wave, wildly announce, a Called message and duty discharged? That is, to minister to troops each bombed with hazardous “other theologies”, each unnerved and distracted, consumed and mildly sickened, called upon however to Rise Up strong and illustriously, leader and mascot, exemplar and visage. We are the image bearers and visages of an oiled and juiced up Mastery Above. We are called upon to know that miracle-levels of strength come about in ad hoc outlays and debts discharged.

Debts to the Company. Debts to the ones forlorn, products of a differing upbringing, bearing in the flesh the pains of the sins of others. Debts to those who emerge vacant, distant gaze, rightly even “deadened” by a former heroism. Debts, therefore, to accompany the companions through an early cave-dwelling stage, to live into and via an early Belief Structure: God is approachable, with us, Human and Living, if only we have… is it “time” that is needed, time to pray into a trance, time to discern and discard so much recent influence, time to wonder and stand in Awe around what He is speaking into being?

Thus in Garments most Fine, garments of the Calling and Spirit, garments of the waters and the sky, garments of plain-life-together, companioned and in community: these let out a wild shriek most subdued or cause for wonder, subdued that indeed it is God at work, to will and to earn up some Salvation of Souls, wondrous that indeed it is God at work, to translate and to Reveal an incarnational, intervening, outside-influencing, Impulse. God’s Impulse is that He is not hidden, that we indeed—upon border control and verification—did go through the discipleship training, through the Promised Saved Status, through the familiarity with what sin can wreak upon a company.

Yet we did so in some way offensive to those who only knew the discipline. We are already in celebratory spirits, because not that we are eager or greedy for the prize, but because the Law was utterly fulfilled in its magisterial and demanding fullness, and we… we learned to Accept Mercy, to Live Into final judgment most accepting, to Adorn the Images of Christ with our prayers and our hidden grin peeping out: fuzzies and warm feelings enough, we laugh a bit at how “cute” God can be, but more than that, at how the Majesty of Escape Pod and Escape Velocity are both adorning the soldier’s habitat and guise. Adorning the fighter’s bucket of tricks and backpack of devices. Yes: some are found less in sin than others, maybe? Or, rather, the headlong Failures most severe of the lazy class of Man, these too are found in any vocational work. Yet too, it is cause for wonder, one soul “Saved” out of a cohort, does the work of ten men and women. One soul bears the wandering ennui of Many. One soul is strangely not rewarded per the usual custom, but is rewarded instead to be that one who “gets up a sermon”. Yes, for we find peace in ways not apparent to the observer, not apparently very winsome or desirable. Yet desirable they are, to the ones who instead of boasting in discipleship, instead of boasting in hardships and persecutions, do boast that Today they are in spellbind most Divine, in company most Sublime, in a place most Designed, as Holy and as All-Sufficient; friends we’ve had, friends we now have, who make it an occasion of hearts warmed and all Message being sin forgiven, perhaps, or hardship understood, perhaps; rather, Redemption from a Fallen World that is sinful and is hard-pressed—the hard-pressed status coming from one’s own fallen nature.