Faith, Grace, and Hope

Reading:  Revelation 7 Advent Theme:  Courage This is my favorite chapter in Revelation. There are verses in chapter 21 that I enjoy singly, but the wholeness of this chapter brings a particular kind of hope to my spirit and is food for my faith. In my opinion, I believe this chapter- along with Romans 9-11- is a particular antidote to the anti-Semitism and anti-Jewish thought that has long pervaded Christian teaching and action. The specific numbers of the first half of the chapter clearly indicate John’s understanding that God has always intended to include Jewish people, as Jews, in the making of all things new. In the life of the world to come, these people- God’s first beloveds- will be present because of God’s promise to them and God’s own fidelity. There is no sleight of Divine hand to make them something other than exactly who they are, who they have been, and who God has made them to be. The roundness of the tribal numbers is meant to create a visual...

Difficult Questions: Hell 20 September 2015 Texts: Isaiah 14:12-20; Psalm 139:1-18; Revelation 6:1-8; Luke 12:1-12 The Top 10 Things to Know about Hell 10. About 99% of the images in your head of hell- the red demon with a pointed tail, the levels of suffering, the pit of fire, the presence of those who never knew Christ, the darkness, AND the eternal wailing and torment (plus the image of Judas in hell)- are all from Dante’s The Divine Comedy (or The Inferno ). His writing was a piece of political literature that condemned powers of his day that he didn’t like. It also was Dante’s way of confirming himself as a poet for the ages by using the poet Virgil, who lived and died before Jesus, as his guide. Additionally, Dante’s work was a distillation of Greek and Roman mythology, some alleged gospels from the second, third, and fourth centuries, and one other work that had serious influence in Dante’s lifetime. The majority of the artwork about hell is not from Bi...

Advent 2 Ezekiel 37:1-14             God is wild and holy, untamed by our efforts to tame, contain, or fully understand. The book of Ezekiel reveals some of the nature of a wild and holy God. The prophet Ezekiel speaks to the people of Israel as they are in exile in Babylon. He is among the first deportation from Israel and is still there as two generations of children have been born on Babylonian soil.             Ezekiel rails against Israel’s idolatry (worshipping of other gods) and failure to trust in the covenant God has made with them. He receives and presents visions of God’s holiness that pursues Israel in a chariot, seeking to overtake them, even as God’s people flee to other paths.             Ezekiel notes the unfaithfulness of the people again and again. In almost the same breath,...

Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven . What is the Kingdom of God? Jesus gives many descriptions of the kingdom, particularly through his parables. While some of his stories are metaphors beyond our understanding, some are very clear in their explanations. Whether or not we want to accept his message about the expansiveness of the kingdom or its openness is a different story.  In particular, the kingdom is a place of welcome, no tears, no dying, growth in mind and spirit, forgiveness, justice, and inclusion. What is heaven like? Specifically, how is heaven different from earth? In the most specific sense, given our knowns, unknowns, and unknown unknowns, heaven is the place [right now] where God’s kingdom, Christ’s reign, the Spirit’s effects, are all fully realized. It is the place of the healing of the nations, the river of life, where death and sin have no power. However, since we are not yet there… more correctly, ...

2 Corinthians 5:6-17; Mark 4:26-34             When I was back on the East Coast a couple weeks ago, I went to visit my maternal grandparents’ grave. I went by myself and took flowers and water. I brushed off the stone, pulled the dead grass from around the edges, and then sat for a while and talked. My grandfather has been dead for just over eight years and my grandmother, for not quite four.             I miss them frequently. When I was sitting at their graveside and talking to them through my tears, I kept thinking about what I was doing. If I believe they are resting here until the last days, why have I occasionally perceived them with me? Or if I believe that they are now in the presence of God, why is it so much more meaningful to be here in the place where I last saw their bodies?             Somewhere...

Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today. Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgement you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, " Let me take the speck out of your eye, while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye. [Jesus said, during the Sermon on the Mount], Matthew 6:33- 7:5 Jesus said to his disciples, "Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to anyone by whom they come! It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck and you we...