2023-09-06 A Meditation on Learning the Ropes

“8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Php 4:8–9 ESV)

We yearn, searching and with widespread scope, for a spiritual flashpoint, a Resurrection strangeness, an unidentified phenomena. We seek a food and sustenance for that spiritualist who has learnt not to rest easy nor on one’s accolades, but to have nervous certainty that still sin pesters and still God redeems. Still we live where we would not choose, except that God has trained us, bringing us up to know a meritorious and dependent frame. We know, that gone is all ambition and desire for wealth-creation, gone all guilt for the poorer estate: our deeds and our circumstances, parents’ and forebearers’ deeds, have created this, and then we begin to wealth-create because God is our Author. We have dabbled in rock-bottom but Today have patience and space, either our middle class space and time or insisted upon because we are the persistent widow of Luke 18, and today we desire to learn.

To learn the ropes, the elder only hopes for her or his student that they abide with a certain sense of ongoing parental nervousness, that whatever is pure that they do hold fast to, that their experience be one of drawing near to the Cross.

Jesus did many things in His life; dying on a Cross is but one of them. Yet we bow before the Cross because it reminds us of a loss met with a celebration. It reminds us of a defiant response to the gravity wherein good men and women die, are persecuted, are shut out, are slandered, are not given rest and repose. Where good men and women are, despite long times of faith, desperate and sinful, bespeckled and fraught, unable to discharge the high and mighty deeds assigned to them, or just the simpler things we forget to lift up and give thanks for.

The elder wishes for the enabled son or daughter to put on their uniform and take up their vows at an early hour, no matter what the hour, it is early, and battle within as much as without. The elder wishes for the empowered, suited, ordained student to fight with a pride rooted in Another, in an Experience, in each of our unique ways that He safeguards and causes others to respect us; we are respected insofar as we hold fast to a personal recognisance and experience. We are diligent; we are punctilious; we hold fast.

Inspected and found to have rebooted all things; yesterday may have been all a loss, yet today is turning all torrid failure into Resurrection Strength. Yesterday may have been specters, demons brought to light, yet today for all that we are stronger. Because we have a copious faith. Because of the tireless revisitation, drawing near, framing the situation, hovering to discern and to decry, God reigns, the devil to him we say goodbye, forsooth today we are pride and belonging in belief: our cry is our battle sound, as we by-and-by please those elders who invested in us. Who left us with their perennial nervousness. Who remind us never do they get so “hip” as to forget sin; yet who exactly enables such a person? Who enables that elder who is fussy and painful about boring sin and is caught in loserdom thinking? It is a Good Father above, a Holy Mother who reigns over each of us, and it personally acquainted with the steadfast moralist, the one of integrity, the man or woman of chivalrous acquaintance with a Holy Jesus, no fear of romance past nor of inner dynamos rebellious, lustful, calculating, selfish. To follow is to have spear and surgeon’s blade at once at work briefly yet patiently to re-equip, reraise, resurrect, make Alive once more and New once again; we thrive on such buoyant staring down of the devil. We take the lumps of not simply going along with the spirit of things, but being healthy and suspicious. We are fussy, of our own motives before those of our neighbor.

We hear uplifting words and Bless. We see deeds with a little spiritual “play”, a little “give”, a Resurrection story, a life spared, a forgiveness for things not spared; these things speak tomes and through eons, yet require us to walk on water a bit. They require us not to say it as though it were all an easy game to get up to. We have to have faith in a distinctive step, not a bland nor meritless sallying out, but a particular step called Evangelical Faith. That dwells in the upper room, near to a hearty flame and warm fire, not spooked but resounding in gratitude and worship when that is in season; to be that soup-to-nuts paragon and disciple and servant and soldier, who can give a foretaste of New Life.

Such life is ours when we extricate or out one demon, that we may the better be found in the good graces of our elder or our Lord of Scripture, Mother and Father, Drill Sergeant, Enabler and Manifestation of God’s politicking and policing and patronizing and fellowshipping and creating, His blessing ours patiently to own. For He has more patience than we could imagine, worried as we are to lose a tack or a venture; it is indeed in our hands, that we may be the more convicted by our shortcomings—which alight upon all, whether new to the faith or a long-time believer.