“16 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, 2 that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well. 3 Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. 5 Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia. 6 Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. 7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles, and they were in Christ before me. 8 Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. 9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. 10 Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. 11 Greet my kinsman Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. 12 Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. 13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. 14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them. 15 Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. 16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.” (Rom 16:1-16 ESV)

To capture the fruit of decisions made, this is to capture intentional avoidances or meeker routes taken, not always the most braggadocio or full-throttled. Still, we go large in our prayers in feeling out a Peace and a sincerity, sagacity, thread from thistle to footwork. We Go Large in ambition, searching ambition for, a Togetherness calm and truly Available even in this life, a life that falters and overweens and goes the dastardly route so often.

That togetherness… our projects put on hold because of simply the need to think it through a bit after all, the need simply to piece it together a bit through and through, the need simply to be Present and Available as the Spirit dictates the hour, rough for the terrain and calm for the militancy: the fighting Hour, alert and therefore soup-to-nuts of Lackerdaisical completeness, hamster wheel become purring helicopter to the stars, the Emptiness that preaches a better word.

Our Emptiness, this is also our Void or Post-Partum singing platform of what Ideals and Concerns may come. We no longer worry, over the looming dying or the looming Noise full-throttled… all this and more, we do have the Instinct and Calm to work simply through. The Negated Realms, the Post-Cruciform shout in the dark, lark in the day’s outlay… all this is no invented Calm but a True Encounter with the Holy and the Divine.

Some have it naturally, others Worry over a Judgment Day and a long-standing, traditional or methodical, habitual manner of Doubt. We also pinpoint simple incautious forays and repent, or try to sense with a degree of moderation the self-incrimination and faultlines: all this and more shall be Forgiven. All this and more will show us Plucky for said Judgment Day, Justice Day, Righteous Day, V-Day. When poked and prodded: “where are your good works”, we scarcely know what to say, except praise the Lord we don’t have a proud bone in our body, we don’t exactly know, except see us loving members of the Community, right?

Meantime to the trenches and the dream life, of Actions and Comings Together: is it almost Illegal our levels of Joy and Participation from a distance? Only then to have the sober truth doled out, that so far such and so communique has not transpired, has not taken flight, has not alit upon the hour. Still, Somewhere and Somehow God is at work Mightily in the gestalt, in the populace, in the Crew. And the dream, the island refugee colonies the daring new recruits, somehow more courageous than we ourselves for their fresh-faced First Reactions: try and store those up, because soon you get too familiar and forget the obvious Helter-Skelter Joy of the matter, the myriad skyscrapers to be built, the cautionary emails to remember to send, the end of futile bargaining and the fresh Bastion of a face for Tomorrow’s Victories.

The Victory is therefore already ours, already warmed to, already menacing towards sin and holy or holistic towards the Good. People… we ourselves included… people do have good streaks, non-selfish interests, sharing inclinations… but also Total Depravity is a contemporary and correct Doctrine. When we reflect, we go to work and we Speak as much by our avoidances as by our Involvements. We find that vacuum or thread from tip of the finger to hearth of the soul, the Completeness and Satiety of a Holy Calling. To pray. To fight. To Encourage. To patronize the stars, patronize the weaker vessels, patronize the gladsome Participants so numerous, so varied in wealth and prestige. We look outward and Forgive the friend or neighbor, cousin or parent, girlfriend or boyfriend, for that Original Sin that undoes legions of work, bastions of Beauty, Hallowed saintly Arrangements. All this, and who are we but the prayers of our father figures and mother figures? Who are we but the easily ungrateful recipients of their well wishes and designs for a humming-along Modicum of Sanity that is in truth Good, Righteous, and True? Who are we, but those insistent on a doctrine called Mercy, because of certainty we are unsaved if Judgment Day were not descending through the eyes and gentle Gaze of Christ, our mercy-seat, our sin-bearer, our brother, cousin, and father figure.