Ash Wed

The centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.  But just say the word and my servant will be healed.”  (Matthew 8:8).

In response to my DSE yesterday about the closing words of Revelation: “Maranatha – Come, Lord Jesus,” the prayer that early Christians prayed during worship just prior to receiving holy communion, one of you shared the following: that some Christians pray another prayer based on the above scripture just before receiving the elements "Lord, I am  not worthy to receive you,  but only say the word and I shall be healed".   Their research showed that “just before Holy Communion, the celebrant raises the host and proclaims to the congregation: “This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Happy are those who are called to his supper.” The people respond as above: “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.”  I really like this.  It is so true.  It’s a great text for Ash Wed, as we come to terms with our humanity in its depths, and God’s grace in its fullness.  

May your 40 days of Lent bring you (and me) deeper insight, greater self-understanding, increased humility, and more heartfelt devotion to Jesus than ever before.

The Second Coming

I realized that my remarks yesterday were uncharacteristically zealous and intense (unbecoming of a Midwestern farm boy!), and, in reflecting on them and wondering why, I believe it’s because I have heard from soooo many of you who have suffered “spiritual abuse” from preachers and teachers of Revelation whose literal approach has been used/manipulated to scare you to death.  I’ve heard folks say that because of the fear imposed by teachers of this book they stayed away from church for many years!  What a tragedy! And so far from John’s intent.  We have discovered a book that conveys a loving pastor’s words of encouragement to his people, and his presentation to them of inspiring, courage inducing visions of Jesus, God and the lamb, all of this meant to sustain (not scare!!) them in the midst of life’s challenges.   I guess I may have been reacting to all of that in the passion and emotion with which I wrote yesterday.

One of you asked if in speaking of not taking this literally I was referring to the “millennium and the second coming/rapture.” Here is what I said:

I think the “millennium” should not be taken literally – for the reasons stated and also the Biblical notion that “a day is like a thousand years,”  i.e. there is Biblical precedent galore for symbolic use of numbers.  John was likely saying that there is still a period of time left that his congregations will experience trial and woe – until such time that Jesus returns.

The Second Coming of Jesus is a well attested Biblical idea, with lots of scriptural references pointing to it being a definite reality.  It’s also a key part of our communion liturgy:  “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.”  I take the Second Coming very literally.

I’m not fully clear on the rapture but believe for many folks there is a distinction they make between the rapture and the second coming.   I believe that those who are “in Christ” will be received into God’s eternal presence – at the moment of death.  I don’t believe John ever used the term, “rapture,” but the idea that pervades John’s Revelation is that of faithful followers of Jesus being assured that they will be with Him forever and ever in heaven, around God’s throne, worshiping the Lamb, the risen Christ and God forever.

Another of you offered this idea about the “thousand years of Satan’s release,” which I thought was so good; wished I had written it:  When we do reach a place where "evil" appears to be overcome, we can't simply think "the fight is over." Surely, the challenges will come again. They are an inevitable part of our temporal existence. Our call is to endure and find comfort in our faith in God, and to know presently that in the context of our eternal existence the end result is peace with God.

And finally, for the idea I ended with yesterday that God’s love is so strong that perhaps the “letting Satan loose” was God’s attempt to give even Satan a chance to be reconciled, my friend gave me these Scriptures from Ezekiel 18:21-23, 32:  “But if a wicked man turns away from all the sins he has committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die.  None of the offenses he has committed will be remembered against him.  Because of the righteous things he has done, he will live.  Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? Declares the Sovereign Lord.  Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live? …. For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord.  Repent and live!

The (In)Famous Thousand Years

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and locked and sealed it over him, so that he would deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be let out for a little while. (Rev. 20:1–3)

These three verses (count them, three!) have provided a bottomless pit of foolish speculation, timetables and downright silliness. Whole systems of end time prognostication have been built on this tiny section of Scripture. It’s from here that we get the notions of “pre-millennial,” “post-millennial,” and “a-millennial,” and all the charts that go with them. These terms have been used so frequently in reference to Revelation that I feel compelled to explain them and their meaning, along with their impact on the interpretation of Revelation.

Here is what I think:

1. We should never interpret the whole through the lens of the tiny. What do I mean? We have spent the last many weeks together and we have discerned that The Revelation is an inspired document/letter, given by God to John, a loving pastor, to convey to his congregations the truth about Jesus and therein to bring them hope, encouragement and help in the midst of very trying circumstances. That’s the overall theme, and this chapter and these three verses, which are so hard to understand, should be interpreted in light of the larger whole, rather than have these few verses shape one’s view of the whole.
2. The term, “Pre-millennial” holds that Jesus’s return (second coming) comes before the 1,000 years of woe. “Post-millennial” holds that Jesus’s return comes after the 1,000 years. And “A-millennial” view is that the 1,000 years is not to be taken literally.
3. My view (thank goodness for all the great English literature teachers out there – who help students discern things like literary technique, rhetorical method, etc, which helps one read a literary piece as it is intended by the author to be read!) is that chapter 20 is NOT to be taken literally, but is rather John is using this chapter with great literary skill to do two things:
   1. to offer an explanation to his Churches – that even though Satan has been destroyed in the heavenly realm and, therefore Rome has been defeated – (in principle, but not yet in their everyday experience), the “thousand years” is why they are still having challenges with Roman oppression. In short: the decisive battle has been won, but final victory is still in process.
   2. This chapter serves to heighten the anticipation of the final vision of a new heaven and a new earth, and the river of life of the final two chapters.
4. A final idea – one that someone in our morning Bible Study yesterday offered: Maybe the time period that Satan “must be let out for a little while” (v.3) was because God’s love is so strong, that God wanted to give even Satan – even Satan – ample opportunity to turn, repent and be restored. I really, really like that. I’m not sure if Rev. 20 supports this idea fully, but it is certainly in keeping with my (and many of us) understanding of the awesome love of God!

What do you think?

The Wedding Feast – Holy Communion

Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’ “ (Rev. 19:9)

There’s something about a meal, and about having a meal together. There is often “an added dimension” to meals. And what is true of ordinary meals is amazingly more so true of “the holy meal” of holy communion. This act, this sacred act which is (and has been for 2,000 years) at the heart of our Christian worship reaches its culmination in today’s scripture as John anticipates the wedding supper of the Lamb. Indeed, each time we receive the sacrament of holy communion we embrace and are embraced by its three-fold dimension of past, present, future:

Past – we remember – we remember Jesus and what he did for us on the cross (his atoning sacrifice) and in his resurrection (his breaking the power of sin and death); and we remember and confess our sins and ask his forgiveness. We remember.

Present – we celebrate Christ’s Presence, His real Presence, spiritual presence in our present; in our present time, circumstances, situation – in our parenting, our daily living, our work, our health or sickness, our every day present. “Lo, I am with you always…” He said, and we celebrate His holy presence – with gratitude.

Future – we anticipate this future feast, the wedding supper of the Lamb – when He comes in final victory. And, as with all anticipations, the very act of anticipating has the effect of bringing the future into the present.

Remember the communion liturgy: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again – Past, Present, Future. Welcome to the Feast! Now come with your very best manners.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

After this I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:

“Hallelujah!  For our Lord God Almighty reigns.  Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!  For the wedding of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready.” (Rev. 19:6–8)

1. I have decided to skip over chapters 14–18, which essentially are an extensive description of the fall of Babylon (i.e. Rome, and all things evil), or, to say it differently: what Jesus accomplished in His death and resurrection was to break the cosmic, historic and personal forces of evil; Michael’s destroying the dragon in heaven is the spiritual form of this victory (Christus Victor) and Babylon’s (Rome’s) fall is the historical manifestation of it. Why does John give 5 chapters to describing, announcing and, yes, celebrating Babylon’s (Rome’s) impending fall? I suspect his giving extended treatment to this is because it had been so oppressive for so long people would have a hard time believing it could actually happen, so John reiterates it again and again. It’s a little like someone who has lived with an evil, horrible situation for so long, that when it’s finally over, they can scarcely believe it.
2.     A second reason I skipped over these chapters is that we only have a week left to live with Revelation and I want to spend some time with the really awesome closing four chapters – the Hallelujah portions, the magnificent vision of the new Jerusalem and more.
3.     A third reason I didn’t want to dwell on Babylon’s fall – literally, John refers to her as the Great Prostitute (or worse), the “Mother of Prostitutes,”  is that didn’t seem like an appropriate topic for Valentine’s Day, whereas the above text got a lot closer to the intent of that ancient saint, with the reference to the “wedding of the Lamb and his bride (the church).”  Here the sacrificial love of the Lamb is paramount, making possible the wedding celebration.

Sacrificial love – yes, that’s the WORD for today (Valentine’s Day) and every day, for we are followers of the Lamb, and that’s what the Lamb did, so it’s what we are called to do and be. So, Valentine’s Day or everyday, we have our model and our marching orders.  How are you doing with it?