“6 If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. 7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; 8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 9 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. 10 For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. 11 Command and teach these things. 12 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. 14 Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. 15 Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. 16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.” (1 Tim 4:6-16 ESV)

All of us know, storm winds tossed, the accidental submission to the spirit “out there”, to the wending and bending of time, to the ocean currents, to the status quo. But also we have this faith in us, that in the eye of the storm we are at times placed, and therein to have the righteous doctrine, indoctrination most positive, propaganda most encouraging. God gives us sufficient to weather each of our individual storms.

But only just. Always saved by the skin of our teeth, it is a call no longer to be storm-tossed, but to find Creed and Substance, to recollect the tears and the cry that Hope must prevail. Parables there are many; jokes aplenty; and to speak hushedly of holy things, discernment, testing of spirits, prophecy, a prophetic gangland of spirits divine, submitted yet evocative and bursting forth.

Therefore we dare be those who preach Hope. Because we have alongside the Hope observed and taken note: the world around us is peeling apart at the seams. Trust is broken. Fine gardening is torn up, educational preciseness is ravaged. An entire edifice of trust is dismantled and sold for scrap, pennies on the dollar.

The Christian therefore sees the secular world and has only a few prayerful addendums: forgive! Do not judge! End the hate! Love the enemy! The Christian therefore knows that individual voices, they matter and when so many are being held silenced, each of us has a Hero Within. To save countless souls from purgatory and death. To reckon fairly with the newcomer as much as the wizened (or slick) old saint. To Bless and be for all people a god-sent Epistle. We are living epistles, we are agents of Hope, if for a day our name was in the stars, well let us remember it is also for all time held in His “in pectoram” loving care. We are permanently Saved and dare say we reckon with the temptation to sell short God’s own variant on the secular spirit: one Hopeful, one Promissory, one Together. In all these things we are more than conquerors.