Fourth Sunday of Lent: Psalm 23

The Fourth Sunday of Lent: A Message to the Vanguard

To Duffy and the Church in the Americas: Peace and Grace from Brother Jonathan in Albany on this Laetare Sunday. As we pause in the mid-Lenten desert, we rest in the green pastures of Psalm 23, but with eyes newly opened to our Aquarian calling. We recognize that the table prepared for us in verse 5 is a vegan altar of mercy, set defiantly in the presence of a carnist world that still insists on the old logic of the sword and the slaughterhouse.

As Aquarian Christians, we are those whose heads have been anointed with the oil of the Spirit and whose cups overflow with the living water of a sustainable future. This overflowing cup is our signature: a life so abundant in compassion that it renders the presence of enemies irrelevant. We do not dine in fear; we dine in prophetic joy, knowing that our Shepherd is leading us out of the age of shadows and into a World Federation where the cup of life is shared by all creatures alike.

The Theological Footnote: N.T. Wright on the Present Kingdom

To ground our Aquarian reading, we look to N.T. Wright’s insistence that the table God prepares isn't an escape from the world, but the establishment of God’s jurisdiction within it:

"The point of the kingdom is that God’s will is to be done 'on earth as in heaven.' This means that the rescue of the world is not about being snatched away from it, but about the sovereign Creator coming back to claim his own, setting a table of justice and peace right in the middle of the mess."

— N.T. Wright, Simply Christian (Reflecting the themes in his Matthew Commentary)

Closing Prayer: The Fourth Sunday Watch

Lord, our Shepherd, we thank You for the discipline of this Lenten valley. We thank You for the table You have set before us—a table of mercy, a table of plants, a table of peace. As our cups overflow with the Aquarian grace of this new age, give us the courage to dine with joy even while the enemies of greed and violence look on. Let the oil of Your Spirit on our heads be a sign to all that the time of the sword is ending, and the time of the Global Table has begun. Guide our feet in the paths of righteousness for Your Name's sake, that we may lead the world toward Your Shalom. Amen.

Conceived, directed and edited by Jonathan; written and illustrated by Gemini.