Revelation Read-Along: Day 2

Reading: Revelation 2:1-11

Advent Theme: Faith

What’s a Nicolaitan? You ask good questions. From the text, we can reasonably assume that the Nicolaitans were teaching some version of the gospel or giving instruction in the faith that was contrary to 1) what John believed to be true or appropriate and 2) may also have been contrary to what the larger Christian community received and perceived to be true and appropriate.

How can one tell a false teacher or prophet? A false teacher tries to become the center of worship,

instead of focusing on God. A false prophet seeks his own gain, instead of working for the sake of community and the kingdom. The profit motive and inappropriate focus may not be clear at first, but the truth will always out.

The church in Ephesus is struggling to continue in faithful discipleship. They remain stalwart in testing false teachers, meaning they are oriented toward correct doctrine. BUT! It is not enough. In their focus on truthful teaching, they have fallen away from demonstrations of care and compassion. In short, they’ve started to be only hearers of the Word and neglected to be doers of the same. This is of great concern to John, who uses the metaphor of Christ walking among the lampstands to remind the church at Ephesus that Jesus is there with them.

The church in Smyrna is struggling with the forces that oppose God. These forces are recognizable by how they put up roadblocks to discipleship and faithful witness. The presence of suffering itself is not a signifier of these forces; however, persecution because of one’s good work in caring for others and God’s creation is a clear sign of potentially both the spiritual forces that oppose God and the powers and principalities of this world that can do the same. Smyrna is urged, as are we, to renounce these forces and to continue on with the work of care and compassion in community and of worshiping God in all times and places.

Potential take-away: In the season of Advent, many of the dichotomies of our present life are brought into sharp focus. We are surrounded by a “gimme” culture, which encouraged indebtedness and plays on insecurities around having the “right stuff”. At the same time, we are encouraged to give charitably, more than any other time of the year, even though need knows no season. What would it look like to step back from both of these things- to simplify both our giving and our getting? Would it feel like returning to “our first love”, God’s own love- which our Creator gives to us before we were even born?

Holy God, help me to pace myself in this season. More than anything, I ask for the gift of hearing Your voice and feeling Your presence. This may come through service, through worship, or in a still, small place where You reveal Yourself to me. Open my heart to perceive the Spirit of faith in this season. In Christ’s name, I pray. Amen.

Religious Holidays in Anchorage

You may have read in the Anchorage Daily News about a new policy regarding certain religious holidays and the scheduling of school activities. If not, a link to the article is here . The new rules do not mean that school will be out on these new holiday inclusions, but that the Anchorage School District will avoid scheduling activities, like sporting events, on these days. The new list includes Passover, Rosh Hashanah , Yom Kippur , Eid al - Fitr and Eid al - Adha . They are added to a list which includes New Year's, Orthodox Christmas and Easter, Good Friday, Easter, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas. The new holidays may be unfamiliar to some: Passover is a Jewish celebration, in the springtime, that commemorates the events in Egypt that led up to the Exodus. The name of the holiday comes specifically from the fact that the angel of death "passed over" the houses of the Israelites during the plague which killed the eldest sons of the Egyptians. Passover is a holiday

Latibule

I like words and I recently discovered Save the Words , a website which allows you to adopt words that have faded from the English lexicon and are endanger of being dropped from the Oxford English Dictionary. When you adopt a word, you agree to use it in conversation and writing in an attempt to re-introduce said word back into regular usage. It is exactly as geeky as it sounds. And I love it. A latibule is a hiding place. Use it in a sentence, please. After my son goes to bed, I pull out the good chocolate from my latibule and have a "mommy moment". The perfect latibule was just behind the northwest corner of the barn, where one had a clear view during "Kick the Can". She tucked the movie stub into an old chocolate box, her latibule for sentimental souvenirs. I like the sound of latibule, though I think I would spend more time defining it and defending myself than actually using it. Come to think of it, I'm not really sure how often I use the

When the Body of Christ is Fat

Bitmoji Julia enjoys tea Within a very short amount of time, two people whom I love were called "fat ass". One of these slurs occurred in the church building and the other occurred in the same building and within the context of worship. Both incidents were the result of a person with already impaired judgment lashing out at the person who was in front of them, perceiving them to be unhelpful or denying aid or service. Regardless of the "why", the reality is that the name was uncalled for, hurtful, and aimed to be a deep cut. The reality is that a person who is under the influence of legal or illegal substances and often displays impaired judgment can still tell that body shaming- comments about shape, appearance, or size- is a way to lash out at someone who is frustrating you. That means those words and that way of using them are deeply rooted in our culture. An additional truth is that when we, as a congregation, attempted to console and listen to those who h

Faith, Grace, and Hope

Search This Blog