“12  “When you come to appear before me, who has required of you this trampling of my courts? 13  Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations— I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. 14  Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. 15  When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. 16  Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, 17  learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause. 18  “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. 19  If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; 20  but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”” (Is 1:12–20 ESV)

Angel wings primed to soar, and harrowing Life bears down, whispers in modicum Divine, that never do we move beyond First Principles. Never, indeed, is the Saint to go either self-righteous or go forlorn. Always, indeed, is the Saint to Claim a promise found giving birth in fellowship, bearing fruit in brotherly love, always and in everything apologizing but not to an onerous, lugubrious fault; always, and in everything, letting be the intimation internal, that Christ Died for our sins. We indeed attest to this, but not in nervous victory lap, but in momentous, calming, steadfast Reality. Attestation being Real, ours to Own, sadly Contrite but sad no longer, in the Joy of Resurrection.

Because the will to Go On, the Whisper Divine, the forgetfulness around So Much that tries and troubles our world, this is a plea for an end to the nodding head, an end to the sweeter whispers in response, to the Encouragements and Attestations, Vouchsafed Compliment paid and accepted; and a Beginning of like-mimics-like, looking in the Mirror, astonished that there isn’t more Diabolical comeuppance or Criticism. Because indeed here are two parties, and there is found Agreement. Only, let it not be the kind of Agreement in show only, but rather the kind that Promises, hey, someone Cares.

The only thing more painful than to go it solo, is to find our eager associations, our coming together, is a bit precious or “hell is other people” reality. No, we love the warm body who sits alongside us. We suffer the loss of all things, at least insofar as they are the kinds of things we might tithe, might dollar by dollar lay onto the stack, in the Name of appeasing, some nervous and imperfect, non-ideal sense of how we Socialize. We emerge hours later in shock: did we Betray anything or anyone? Did we have any Purpose to our mantra? What, after all, was it all about, Anyhow?

The combatants in Tomorrow’s War will discern a rather Precious sentimentality or false appeasement in the Dialog. It becomes impossible to Dialog, after all. But would that we could Go Large in community, with one another (please tell me you shared the contents of that hard-wrought hour), in duality but in community. Because to place Heart and Mind, Soul and Bodily Frame on the Line, is to go beyond mere clericalism or flattery, and to Believe: hey, that storyline inclines me, for all that was unspoken, to Forgive and make justifying retorts to the Satan who accuses.

We are militant to Face squarely the Devil’s accusatory glances and words. It is the end of Prattling On about how Christ cliche did the deed of salvation, and the beginning of Awestruck Wonder: yes, some souls have a past study that leads to mathematical regrettable outlook: all must be a Zero Sum Game, if we’re mathematicians or logicians, after all, right? Any beauteous Event, well we must sully the waters a bit with devilish counter-event, right?

To the Soldier in the field, church life may literally be a cause to pinch ourselves are you dreaming. Because we are oddball and at odds, precious and Astonished, to be Near and Here, close to the sacramental Body of Belief, after talking through the Fact: so much of the “other side” comprised our youth. So much that did war with the Walk of Faith, comprised our earlier studies. Truly the jury is out, but the testimony has gone haywire, AWOL, balderdash and so much shouting match that I know Jesus and do you? Yet we are those weaned from the father’s moral courage and the mother’s milk aka moral courage. No sense of “climbing into the lap of the church” any longer. No longing for a reassuring embrace or handshake, any longer. To dwell Sincere is to dwell Broken, a bit, just a bit. Because of pain and pulsating repercussions, of periodic migraine, of some Inability quite to Accept: Christ is not spoken of by way of doing Injury, but with a plaintive Hope—would it help if I were to deny—that He is Available to all sinners.