Not long ago a chapel full of Lasallians gathered at Manhattan College to celebrate and send: celebrate a new Lasallian mission in Jamaica and send Rich Ward, Brother Gus Nicoletti and Brother Jim Wallace to work at St. Vincent Strambi Catholic High School in Bull Savannah.
It was August 15, 2013, the feast of Mary and one of the readings of the day from the Book of Revelation completely absorbed my attention.
The Story
“A great portent appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and crying out in birth pangs, in the agony of giving birth. Then another portent appeared in heaven: a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born. And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. But her child was snatched away and taken to God and to his throne; and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, so that there she can be nourished for one thousand two hundred sixty days.”
It puzzled me why the church would select this reading for Mary’s feast and why we Lasallians would choose it for this “sending” ceremony.
The priest gave a brief eloquent reflection about the importance of this day and invited any former missionaries to share advice or insight with Rich, Gus and Jim.
Finally, the priest opened the sharing to everyone.
I asked, “What’s the story with the dragon? Why did the church select it for today?”
He invited the audience — which included a few scripture scholars and theologians — to share some light on my question. A lengthy pause followed and someone moved on to share a completely unrelated insight.
The Aftermath
In the weeks since I have inquired about this dragon and I’ve done some research. Few people seem to know about (or for that matter are the least bit interested in) this dragon.
Most people who write about the Book of Revelation think the author (probably John) is symbolically referring to the power of Satan and the triumph of good over evil in the world. The Book of Revelation does follow up this story with Michael, the archangel defeating the dragon and all his followers, ejecting them from heaven and committing them forever to roam the earth. One insightful scholar said it makes no sense, and John must have been “smoking some nasty weed when he wrote it.”
The Dream
I think the writer of the dragon tale had a scary dream one night and realized it had a lot to say about the human condition. He probably felt it ought to be available to all of us down through the ages. People of all cultures have been dreaming of dragons for a long time. These dreams are archetypal images that capture mankind’s essential spirit and nature, and are images that are hot-wired into us like the instinct in salmon to return to the streams of their birth.
Is that a dragon in this random water color? (By my sister Mary Phelan Werner)
The Child
Many creation myths claim our world was born when the original unity of Father Sky and Mother Earth started to part and separate, and light began to fill the void between them. We share in that separation and light by emerging from the state of bliss of our mother’s womb to make our way in this world. We develop ego and move through various stages of struggle to a final state of wholeness where a relationship between the human and divine is re-established.
The Women
Not only are we the child of this woman but we are also the woman. We are the Great Mother with her nourishing, protecting womb ready to hold and birth all of creation. She it is who cares, protects, discerns, retreats, reflects, and exudes confidence with her strong feminine energy. She shows no fear of the red dragon, accepts its presence, and moves on to a safe and secure place.
The Dragon
Dragons of fear, struggle, doubt, suffering, sacrifices and pitfalls of all varieties are our companions on the journey to our true self. The dragons in our lives are not out to destroy us but rather to inspire us to be our true selves. They are our constant companions. They provide the heat, energy and fire for us to grow into the person God wants. It is not pretty but this is life. And of course the only danger is the power they have to damage us if we deny their existence or give up the struggle or blame others for them. The only option is to breathe, recognize them for who and what they are, pose for a friendly photo and embrace the struggle till the final days of life.
This is a deeply spiritual experience that is simply heroic. Donald Kalsched says in Myth and Psyche: “Our ego must suffer the burdens of fear, guilt, and the conflicts within our personality — the willingness to be crucified on the cross of one’s own doubleness and to hold this inwardly — in the only way God and man can be reconciled and drawn closer together.”
He continues: “But into the chaos is born the child of light, the hero, whose struggle can forge an everlasting relationship between male and female, light and darkness, life and death, God and man.”
The Conclusion
The author of this strange Book of Revelation was not “into weed” but rather wisdom. The dragon, woman, and infant invite us to celebrate our broken oneness and send us to “earth” for support and protection.
“So when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth…from his mouth the serpent poured water like a river after the woman, to sweep her away with the flood. But 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.”
At a recent celebration of his birth, the men and women Brother Ed Phelan, FSC, lives with in the Bronx described him as: fun, positive, confident, inspirational, creative, compassionate, unique, wise and upbeat craziness. Sounds like a son in the loving care of the woman and a guy who has befriended his dragon.
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