2023-12-13 A Meditation on the Act of Return

“26 “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” (Mt 10:26–33 ESV)

Whether worshipers of foreign deities or simply lazy about one’s faith, all are invited to sup in that Third Realm (2 Co 12:2) on that day when God returns. He will return to deem worthy all those whose consciences are clear, and to scatter the proud, those whose consciences are flawed (Ro 2:12ff). But hear today the Gospel: white light, white heat, searing flames of judgment, black ops and in-the-black scale, a color guard of evangelion, to assess and appraise as this Day free of those sins.

In the act of Return, He is absolving. In the act of Return, intractable obstacles dissipate like so much mist. In the act of Return we have wrestled a Satan to the ground and emerged seeing as though for the first time, or first time in these lean years and decades, what Love was motivator, what Spirit was enabler, what Patience was discipler.

In the act of Return God hastens to the altar all who know their special place in confession. More than that, He forms what was genius in His day, a society of new phenomena, sociological, technological, financial, melting pot, authoritarian, militarized; and in this society a New Plan of egoless relationship, rather, to surrender the ego “at the right time”, and like bandits to make off with the entire enterprise.

For it is a genius enterprise, the Gospel. It surrenders, and then in patience awaits the day it has seeped in even to the power structures, to the boardroom, to the clandestine planning, to the drawing board of society’s scions. It steals, or rightly claims, the mantle of “Christian”, of new “Jew” of curious “Roman”, of entire regions spellbound with the Pauline Claim: that Christ rose from death that we might live for eternity.

And this is a near Gospel, a close encounter, one that is able to forgive everything. Not striving with lip-service to forgive, but in genuine Confrontation obsessed with the Gospel in order that the righteous requirements of the Law might finally be acknowledged. We acknowledge because suddenly we can overcome. Suddenly we can heal. Suddenly we can give unconditional surrender unto the stronger Man, in utter delight to be so privileged as to work for Him and not another.

Therefore the lines are drawn; we live in that Third Realm because of Words going before us. A John the Baptist of our own testament, testimony, teamwork. We adhere to the Bottom Line of joyful celebration, together at last, spellbound at how we use and step on each other, but with some Fine Message to all the world to enter into the dispute, to enter in to the evangelization, to enter in to the Altar Call: see this our peer race in the opposite direction, but that—like Christ—we might learn of our own folly. Through Him who did not count death on a Cross to be beneath Him. Who loved His own unto the last hours.