A mighty angel straddles sea and land, holding an open scroll. John is told to take it and eat it — and it is sweet in his mouth but bitter in his stomach. It is the Word of God, the gospel: sweet because it is true and beautiful, bitter because it must be proclaimed to a world that does not always want to hear it. This message is a call to the church's mission in the in-between time — between the Cross and the Crown. We have been given something to proclaim. The question is whether we will.