“3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.” (1 Cor 15:3-11 ESV)

Tectonic shifts in the spirit realm come about from anyman’s role as a fulcrum. Goats on one side, sheep to the other. Blanket group avoidance of a festering, longstanding wound. Venturing forth in an as-of-yet unseen mission and angle. We as Christians long for something New, just as the early disciples felt freshness and grace in the company of our and their Christ. We long… we visualize… silent ships, two passing in the night, but for those watchful and awakened, the gentle hum, low key, of parts engaging and reengaging.

Parts of the social fabric. Parts of the national interest. Parts of the international detente. One person, man or woman, can be that fulcrum, can see the astounding fact each day’s simple decisions may make or break us on some very lofty aspect. Some aspect a little above our pay grade, or beyond what we sensibly have right and duty to monitor. Some fittedness for a role. Some groupthink around a courageous lance forth. Some mindset around defensive posture. We stand in awe and Wonder, that Christ pulled peoples from all corners of the nation to be His witnesses to the ends of time, that Death was defeated and Life was affirmed.

That death, that old nemesis, should be Defeated is to meditate deeply on the difference between slow and agonizing ennui, boredom on the homefront or laying prone in the hospital ward, aging and wheezing, forsaken it can feel like, God having abandoned us despite always having acknowledged Him. Or the soldier’s strange own bargain with death, that it is no fuss fearlessly approached. No curmudgeonly hoarding or survivalism: our survivalism is on account of the Mission, that the Mission and its concomitant Principles, Virtues, and Intent shall survive.

One man, one woman, a fulcrum as waves heave and the torch is solemnly passed diagonally or in parallel climes to Another, to the Next One who dared to pray in the execution chamber, who dared to mark themselves Safe in the crowds most occupied. Safe… that we Made It on some daring level, to be the alarm clock to the sleepy shoppers and tourists, denizens of a land that we—do we?—concede is alienated from the cause, compromised, populated by no small number of unprincipled hoards. Who have compromised on things held sacrosanct. Who have forgotten due process of law and elected office. Who also are sadly Deceived, judgment being so mysterious insofar as humans we plead for our peers in, say, another region of the nation, because their access to the Good News seems to have been compromised, no fault of their own.

But our pleas, these meet with God’s counsel, that they have Moses and the prophets; no need to send someone new. More, we ourselves are asked: if what you do is so pertinent and a relic of hard work, why doesn’t Someone—Anyone—step up and vouch for you. For the crew. For the solemn crew? Well, again, like Christ said, if they won’t listen to such-and-so, neither will they listen if someone comes back from the dead (Luke 16:31). We are in deep denial of this fact. For, others Have vouched for us, have spoken a verse of scripture, or what have you… and their end is loss, disrepute, or worse. Each of us, therefore, has this Christ-like (Christian) calling, to defend the team and our own Authority Figures, because they stand to face just as much denial, doubts and persecutions as anything we dare to claim to have received at the hands of sinners. They stand to be punished and dismissed, mocked and subject to “cute” rebuttals. It is not “cute” when God’s people are slandered, for one slanderous remark can kill the saints in the land and ruin their careers. Again, we are in denial of this fact. That gravity is against the prophet or saint in the land: gravity will latch on to anything that can be used as justification to delay and hinder. They concede that they are going to lose in the long run, as Scripture foretells, but are therefore today settling for some hindrance or Delay.

Scripture, more, talks about a militant Reign of Christ. As if the second time around we will have studied the precedent and learned from past lessons: Don’t kill Him/Her! But is all this a false prophecy? More, is Christ Himself, two millennia past, already a militant and already Victorious? We tried in the crusades. We tried in the just wars. We tried in the reformations. Always there was a puncture wound that stole and ruined what could have come off as all so Beautiful. And if we can envision this “one Man”, “one Woman” outcome, then we have our vision cast in stone so that we might—like Christ the Nazarene—prophecy of a coming generation’s victory over the grave anew, a militant Victory, an undisputed and potent Victory. But really: all that is already ours to claim. We say, as peers lie dying in the streets. We say, as trauma rears its ugly head. We say, as friends are pairing up and coming apart. We say, as our personal Heroes make the judicious decision that countless repercussions and waves emanate from. Things above our pay grade. Things too wonderful to put into words, for “the world itself could not contain the books that would be written” (John 21:25). Spirit knows, Spirit understands, Spirit… gives us call and solemn duty at times to recharge and play catch up.