Above: Icon of St. Michael the Archangel, by Andrei Rublev
Image in the Public Domain
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The Collect:
Eternal God, your kingdom has broken into our troubled world
through the life, death, and resurrection of your Son.
Help us to hear your word and obey it,
and bring your saving love to fruition in our lives,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 28
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The Assigned Readings:
Daniel 12:1-4
Psalm 63:1-8
Revelation 3:1-6
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My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.
–Psalm 63:8, The Book of Worship of the Church of North India (1995)
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The reading from Daniel 12 follows from chapter 11, the contents of which are crucial to grasp if one is to understand the assigned reading. The narrative, an apocalypse, concerns the end of the reign and life of the Seleucid monarch Antiochus IV Epiphanes (reigned 175-164 B.C.E.), the bete noire of 1 Maccabees 1-6, 2 Maccabees 4-9, and the entirety of 4 Maccabees. Antiochus IV Epiphanes was also the despoiler of the Second Temple and the man who ordered the martyrdom of many observant Jews. In Daniel 11 the monarch, the notorious blasphemer, dies. After that, in chapter 12, St. Michael the Archangel appears and the resurrection of the dead and the final judgment ensue. There will be justice for the martyrs after all, the text says.
The issue of God’s justice for the persecuted faithful occupies much of the Revelation to John. Today’s reading from that apocalypse is the message to the church at Sardis, a congregation whose actual spiritual state belies its reputation for being alive. Repent and return to a vibrant life of righteousness, the message says. That sounds much like a message applicable to some congregations I have known, especially during my childhood.
Clinging to God can be difficult. During the best of times doing so might injure one’s pride, especially if one imagines oneself to be self-sufficient. And during the worst of times one might blame God for one’s predicament. During the other times mere spiritual laziness might be another impediment. Nevertheless, God calls us constantly to lives–individually and collectively–of vibrant righteousness. May we love our fellow human beings as we love ourselves. May we help others the best ways we can. May we heed the Hebrew prophetic call to work for social justice. May we, by grace, leave our communities, friends, acquaintances, families, and world better than we found them. Whenever we do so, we do it for Jesus, whom we follow.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
NOVEMBER 18, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAMUEL JOHN STONE, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF ARTHUR TOZER RUSSELL, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT HILDA OF WHITBY, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBESS
THE FEAST OF JANE ELIZA(BETH) LEESON, ENGLISH HYMN WRITER
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Adapted from this post:
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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