This blog provides a meditation on the Episcopal daily readings along with a headline from world news:
Peace Group works on in Palestine
Jewish/ Palestinian Children of Peace
Revelation 12:7-17
Michael Defeats the Dragon
7 And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back,8but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.9The 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 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, proclaiming,
‘Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Messiah,*
for the accuser of our comrades* has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.
11 But they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony,
for they did not cling to life even in the face of death.
12 Rejoice then, you heavens and those who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you
with great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!’
The Dragon Fights Again on Earth
13 So when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued* the woman who had given birth to the male child.14But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle, so that she could fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to her place where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time.15Then from his mouth the serpent poured water like a river after the woman, to sweep her away with the flood.16But the earth came to the help of the woman; it opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth.17Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her children, those who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus.
St. Michael and Satan: Coventry Cathedral
There are two visions here: the war of Michael against the dragon; and the war of the dragon against the woman and her child; the first in heaven, the second on earth. Now remember the rule of interpreting Revelation-what happens in heaven shows the true meaning of what happens on earth. In heaven the Satan, the ancient enemy of humanity, is defeated and thrown down to earth. But this victory comes about by the “blood of the Lamb and the witness of men and women to Jesus by their readiness to suffer for their faith. What seems on earth to be a defeat is revealed in heaven to be a splendid victory. The suffering of the saints on earth is the might of Michael in heaven. The reader will note that the power of evil has already been broken by the cross of Jesus and the suffering of his witnesses, but it still (for a short time?) retains its ability to cause suffering on earth. It can pursue and persecute “The woman and her child”, that is, the messianic community. The flood of evil is probably the Roman Empire which attempts to swallow the community but fails to do so. The community endures in the midst of persecution.
The astonishing theology of the Book of Revelation becomes clearer: the messianic community of Jesus attracts enmity from the powers of evil in the world. It, like its Messiah, is weak in worldly terms and has to endure suffering and death. But this faithful suffering shares the power of “The blood of the Lamb”; which is the power of God’s goodness, and therefore conquers the forces of evil. As I was writing this there came to mind a poem by Edwin Muir, the Scottish poet, which gives a similar picture of the battle between suffering goodness and ruthless evil.
The Combat
It was not meant for human eyes, /That combat on the shabby patch/Of clods and trampled turf that lies/ Somewhere beneath the sodden skies/ For eye of toad or adder to catch.
And having seen it I accuse /The crested animal in his pride,/ Arrayed in all the royal hues /Which hide the claws he well can use /To tear the heart out of the side.
Body of leopard, eagle’s head /And whetted beak, and lion’s mane,/ And frost-grey hedge of feathers spread/ Behind — he seemed of all things bred. /I shall not see his like again.
As for his enemy there came in/ A soft round beast as brown as clay; /All rent and patched his wretched skin; /A battered bag he might have been, /Some old used thing to throw away.
Yet he awaited face to face /The furious beast and the swift attack. /Soon over and done. That was no place/ Or time for chivalry or for grace./ The fury had him on his back.
And two small paws like hands flew out /To right and left as the trees stood by./ One would have said beyond a doubt /That was the very end of the bout, /But that the creature would not die.
For ere the death-stroke he was gone, /Writhed, whirled, into his den, /Safe somehow there. The fight was done,/ And he had lost who had all but won. /But oh his deadly fury then.
A while the place lay blank, forlorn, /Drowsing as in relief from pain./ The cricket chirped, the grating thorn /Stirred, and a little sound was born. /The champions took their posts again.
And all began. The stealthy paw /Slashed out and in. Could nothing save/ These rags and tatters from the claw? /Nothing. And yet I never saw /A beast so helpless and so brave.
And now, while the trees stand watching, still /The unequal battle rages there. /The killing beast that cannot kill/ Swells and swells in his fury till /You’d almost think it was despair.
This is a suitable meditation for ALL SAINTS DAY (Today) when the church celebrates all God’s Saints, on earth and in heaven, believers and nonbelievers alike, who share in the victory of God’s goodness:
“A feeble saint shall win the day/ though death and hell obstruct the way.”
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