“2 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Lights in the World 12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. 14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. 17 Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18 Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.” (Php 2:1–18 ESV)

The fact of a normalized pinch does not prevent Assembled According to Instructions washing over the pinch, largely oblivious to the pinch, motoring Forth minus its hindrance. The pinch means the immorality of a flipside crew of people, who do evil as if it were their rations and grub. Their mother’s milk. Their desire to persist, to exist, to continue. Strangely taking offense and blowing certain things out of proportion: what they call “big” is often a creation of their own minds.

Instead let us pray for and massage the pinch out of the flesh and normalize Goodness, Resurrection Truth, Blanket Horizons for all comers, Assembled According to Instructions prospects and wielded tanks, shields, swords and cutlasses. Spiritual relics used in scientific fashion because they are Real, measurable at times and Real, the charisma as in polarizing storyline as evoked and as half recognized and signed-up-for and half hated and despised.

That storyline being our status as a Fallen created order, yes we do not deserve even the Victory, the V-Day, the Parade, because we all of us were despicable and forlorn, without God in the world, minus Apostleship and Calling, wanderers, sinners, curmudgeonly givers, or excessively prodigal with our resources.

The pinch means that an enemy asserts Total Dominance, via bullheaded Aggressions, via knocking down towers and bombing civilian targets. The pinch means we nonetheless, not the less encouraged, envision that so much of society has been recipient of Christ’s Deeds of Mercy and Self-Giving Sacrifice: we have freedoms, beauty is written into the stars’ walks and theater troupes and business plans melodious and benign, more than benign, bullheadedly Good.

Then comes the strange Obsessive Claim as to one’s possession of a Lordship to sit and worship, a church order sinful and obsessed, obsessed with Evil and a scary stark alternate Reality to the new pewsitter: these folks, don’t want to mess with them. Perhaps. But too, that pinch of Ill-Intent is measured only so far and no farther. We can indeed work through the pain, through the tragedy and cancer, through the demands and intimidations. Some love on the enemy in situ, though intimidated, forgiving and getting down to the business of loving on each other. Making friends. Dealing out a level of trust and friendship bound to convert, change allegiances, of any recipient, right? Better than that seductive induction rite on the enemy’s part, this being the rite of “Join us in doing murder”! Murder via pinched consciousnesses. Murder via sinful escapism. Murder via soul’s dying, or bodily frames Dying.

But to reach into a dark continent, no lights continent, is to love on those really truth be told, we are a little exasperated at their life decisions that have brought us to this point and portion of Spiritual Coexistence. They lack even the basics of a personal style or educated attitude; their “attitude” is petulant and cutesy, bullheaded and capricious. Youthful and pornographic.

Their style is no style, why, because never were they taught of the coiffe, of the little signage, the hairdo or the jewelry, even a cross, perhaps? Never taught of the proper footwear or what have you: nothing about having the cash to purchase (though we suspect they do have this cash) but wearing no problemo the same jeans every day, it still passes as “style”. Our testimony repetitive still passes as Style.

And the Calling of the ministers of the Word is to believe, always there is Fallen Humanity (in any era) and always Christhood (in any era). Christ for us, capable of that lesson: indeed, are we in a watershed moment, historically? Is today’s societal barometer warming to a Pentecost modern day, to a Resurrection modern day, to a Sending Forth modern day? Let us all ask, when Woodstock happened, did you jump on the Bus? Did you “get there and get down with it”? So we can live in our own little cloud-cuckoo-land to some, but our own little Non-Depressed Excitement Factor that, hey, pinch yourself, the cipher is still intact, the dreams are still coming to Truth, the Friends, the Fellows, the Lovers and Gents, gals and guys, are still Warping and Woofing and Ebbing and Flowing, and this is a fine time to be alive!