“7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. 12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”” (Rev 12:7-12 ESV)

Bound by sin, the sense of tied down, all this we take in piecemeal, it being too great for us to imbibe whole. For, if we saw our overall prospects, we might have anxiety or a panic attack. To clamor after the Glory Days, to marvel that all is susceptible to the inquisitorial “Tell us what you’re up to!” To reckon with this is to realize a Glory Days mentality unbound, unhindered, uncompromised: we learn not to focus on the naysayer, on the enemy, but on the meeker sort, on the patiently attentive, the quietly taking a stand we call Unbelievable. Who would believe anyone would be simpatico, in this together, in lockstep?

Bound by sin, we Dare prophesy of a day leaping forth. Of a day when all class distinctions prove of little utility, and a Christian Conclusion, Consequent, Companionship spells the Victory. Yes, dare we claim our personal Victory as being a Victory for Him? That we were fast-bound in sin. That we smugly or courageously Confessed to the gathering, to the listening strict disciplinarian, to the one Disciplining us or administering healthsome tutelage to us, we listen in hope and in Certainty that to Believe in Christ’s surmounting of Death, we, too, surmount. 

Glory Days, after all, were on borrowed time. Real life, life politic, is no cakewalk, despite the gladsome elders trying everything to give us what they lacked in life, a no-pressure walking zone, a chance to run and catch up, a world mellifluous and of shiny objects or colorful decor. These Habits, they stay with us though Hindered, though Tied Down like some obtuse sinner. We are giant in the minds of the Disciplinarian, because Sin is so all-encompassing and so hurts the melody, the tribe, the cadence. Sin is tied down.

To rise up Healed is to some a more patient end-game than to others. As for us, we have Work to get down to, but to others Godly patience is the name of the game: so much for this passed and failed Window. So much for that Opportunity to vibe together. And all loss to such-and-so way to get along. If others were the judges of our dreams, no one would ever get anywhere! But we do Dream, and we do see the Dream-Writ-Large of the disciplining one, as all things for all people: your Restoration, your Reward, your end of the exasperation and beginning of the Getting By. Because our glory days, these are illegal or questionable or reason to tie us down, only to see that there was little to boast in then, that we were sinners and hurt and meek and scraping by, ponderous, wondering when dayspring would come true, and trying to be liked and to like in return.

Some things, these were imagined. To portray a giant fool of a sinner, overlooks that we take each other Seriously, and begin to see: as we tie down or critique others, so we too share in their sin. As we protest the sins against our corpus, so too we become the ones so self-persecuting. We are in this together, and breakage is contagious, is failing to complete the cipher, is hurting the administering Judge as much as the one Judged. Therefore, to reassess, to give each one their day in court: these things are come-what-may, hard to quantify, difficult to dispense, amazing, however, to behold. All of us Rising Up, from the ash-heap of history. From the ties that bind. From the offense not apologized for. Today, hear the Apology, but also hear the Invite to stand stronger for having been the ones to do the forgiving, undeserved forgiving.