Preamble / 4th wall break. Many years ago, and for many years I was a Catechist. In the Roman Catholic Church this is like a Sunday School teacher, or a Youth Pastor, but with way less training, and restricted to a specific Diocesan mandated curriculum. This is why my character in many games is called "Preacher" Or "Preacher Gannon" (Some Games don't allow enough Characters for the full name.) The name marries my Religious faith and my love of videogames. Gannon though he is Evil, in many of the games he appears in physically resembles me to some degree in real life. This juxtaposition serves as a reminder that despite the fact that I always want to do good and be a positive influence, I am still a flawed human being capable of mistakes, and sin. With all that in mind I was inspired recently with the events taking place with Griefernet and their destruction of a fully crewed 890J to imagine how my Character would respond in-verse if he were indeed an actual Preacher. And with that in mind I humbly present my "Sermon" which will hopefully be the first of a weekly series of Sermons centered around the in-verse happenings in Star Citizen, for your amusement, consideration, conversation and (Hopefully respectful) Debate in or out of Character. I also recorded myself reading the sermon overlayed on a video of my terrible flying around Daymar for those who prefer to listen. I believe I will continue to do this weekly if a handful of you find it interesting, and worthwhile. ===================================================================================================== Video for those who prefer to listen: https://youtu.be/6d5E5PG00R0 (Still processing HD and 4K at the time of posting) ===================================================================================================== A Sermon In the Stars (as Delivered from a Gladius above Daymar.) Good morning, Citizens. I want to talk to you today about two popular phrases and how they apply to the verse. The first phrase is “The Lord works in Mysterious ways” and the Second is that “God helps those that help themselves”. . I come to you today from this mountain in the deserts of Daymar in reflection of the Beatitudes. For those who do not remember, or did not know, the Beatitudes are a series of beliefs given to us by Jesus during the Sermon on the Mount. Beliefs such as ‘Blessed are the meek’, Blessed are the poor in spirit, Blessed are the peace makers” etc. If you were to rephrase one of those two statements “God helps those who help themselves” to be more like the Beatitudes, the same messaged could be delivered as “Blessed are those who help themselves”. These two phrases exist in the intersection of Divine will, with the agency and free will of humankind. Depending on your point of view these two phrases might sound like they are directly in opposition. Like some clash of conflicting theological ideals. But through the correct lens I think you will find that these two phrases work hand in hand. When was the last time you witnessed some grand miracle of undeniable divine intervention play out to alter the course of an ongoing happening? I am sure very few of you can cite such an example from your own direct experiences. In all of the New Testament there is not one single account of the Lord reaching down to perform any of the great miracles described in the Old Testament. No burning bushes, no sculpting of the earth, no great floods, no razing of armies, no pillars of salt, no parting of seas. It was in fact in the Old Testament where the Lord God made a pact with Noah, that never again would he directly intervene in the affairs of humankind. But that did not stop him from taking other steps, through the deliverance of his son Jesus, for example. Even as his own son hung upon a cross the Lord God kept his pact, and did not interfere, he did not smite the Romans, or the Pharisees to save his own flesh and blood. But he did take steps. He gave Jesus the power to perform miracles of his own, and he allowed other apostles to commit many minor miracles themselves. Though he no longer DIRECTLY intervenes such was his Pact with Noah, we know that in all other mythologies, divine beings love their loopholes and the Lord our God left himself one whopper of a loophole in the pact. He does not intervene directly anymore, but in mysterious ways, he makes his presence known indirectly, especially when one takes steps to prepare for themselves, and allow the space for his mysterious works to unfold. People love to misquote the phrase “The Lord works in mysterious ways” as a facile explanation whenever something bad happens. But things that are bad are not the work of the Lord. Those are the works of the Adversary. The mysterious works of the Lord, are the Rube Goldberg-esque series’ of happenings that build like ripples in a pond to achieve a positive outcome that no one thought possible. God does not respond in the final moment to the crying out of the despaired with manna falling from heaven. Such was his pact with Noah. But also, such is the reality for a divine being busy watching over the past, present, and future of all of time and space. Like a babe tugging at the pant legs of its Father, he may be too busy at this exact moment to stop and perform a great miracle even if he wanted to. But for those who take the time to be prepared, the space is left open for the Lord to do his indirect works for all our benefit. The reason I want to talk about this with you this week is that I am sure you all heard the tragic news of the scuttling of an 890 Jump and the loss of all the souls aboard it a few days ago, at the hands of Griefernet. Many of the flock have asked me “Preacher, how can the Lord allow such terrible things to happen?” The answer is complicated, and it involves not only the Lord’s ancient and sacred pact with Noah, but also the promise of our free will. To directly intervene would leave open the doors for all doubt as to whether our will is truly free or only at the whims of the Lord, as well as to directly breach the pact that was made on behalf of all Humanity. This tragic loss of our brothers and sister is not the work of the Lord, nor the result of his inaction, but the work of the Adversary. That said, there are ways we can leave the door open for the Lord to help us in times of great urgency. As I said in the beginning the Lord helps those who help themselves. The organizers of this event, that lead these souls to their final rest aboard this Tour of the verse left themselves under defended and unprepared to face the reality of the threats we face in the verse every day. The Yacht itself was defended only by large slow anti fighter craft, Hammerheads and Redeemers. Would that they had faced an Armada of Ninetails ships this might have been a sensible preparation. But the Yacht itself succumbed not to incoming fire from a column of enemy ships lined up for an armed standoff. Instead, it was brought low by a torpedo fired from a single stealth craft 12 Kilometers away hiding in the darkness. Had the fleet been prepared with even a single vigilant Arrow pilot, that level of preparation may have left open the door for the Lord to work through this pilot to intercept those torpedoes and save the lives of everyone aboard the yacht. The lesson to be learned here is not to blame the Lord for the success of the Adversary, but rather to learn to be prepared, be vigilant, be ready, and be open for the Lord to work indirectly through you to make subtle miracles happen every day. Who knows what harrowing events we have been but one small machination away from and were delivered silently and unknowingly to salvation by the preparedness of a man in the right place at the right time, who left open the door for the Lord to work in mysterious ways. Let us pray for all the souls lost aboard the 890J, the souls of all our loved ones in repose, peace and wisdom for the organizers of this event, and the repentance and salvation of members of Griefernet. -Preacher Gannon