In the Midst

One of the most popular references and images from Revelation is of the Beast.  When we hear this word, we probably also think about the corresponding number: 666.  To give you a bit of background before you tackle this text, chapter 12 involves a dragon who cannot defeat Christ on his own.  The dragon represents Satan and due to his inability to conquer on his own, he calls the Beast to do what he cannot accomplish.  Read Revelation 13 for the Biblical text about these “beasts.”

Let’s begin with the first beast.  Scholars agree that this beast represents the Roman Empire at the period.  Remember that this government demanded ultimate authority!  The emperor was called “Lord and God” which would have been blasphemous to the Christians of this time (see verses 5-7).  Christians were persecuted and martyred if theydid not obey these secular, cultural demands.  And so we come to the second beast, this one representing the emperor cult of Rome.  The Emperor cult require worship of the people in all aspects of their life.  For Christians who attempted to live against this…well, let’s just say life would not have been easy!  So the beast(s) is all in reference to the life that Christians had to face within secular Rome.

But this beast falls short of Christ is many ways.  First, remember that the number seven represents completion and wholeness in this book.  Gemetra was a popular “game” in which letters were given numerical values.  Nero’s name is calculate to this numerical reference of 666.  Think about this for a second: 6 is just one short of the number that represents perfection, 7!  So everything that this beast does, from signs to actions, poses as the real think that people should be worshipping!  It is almost messianic perfection…but not quite and this is where we begin to see the victory coming in the end of the book!

As you read this chapter, think about these questions:

• How can or will our response to government change in light of this text?  What is the proper response to governing powers?  How do we determine what should be opposed and what should be defended?
• What does it mean to persevere for people from the period of this book as well as for modern humanity?
• What are the marks that define you?  Why do you bear them?

This Wednesday we will conclude our study of Revelation.  It’s been a long ride and we’ll see if we can see a more wholistic picture of the book.  E-mail me if you have any questions or topics that you would like to discuss!

Revelation 6: 1-17 ,7:1-17, 8: 1-5

Last night we had some interesting conversation about the seven seals…the first four were the famous four horsemen of the apocalypse.  These four point us to the challenges of history: war, famine and death.  Yet the first seal and horseman revealed a Christ-figure who did not call out these three issues for humans but illustrates that God comes before and is present with us throughout history.  These problems and more continue even to today.  We should pause and ponder if there are solutions, if they have been tried, or way none exist at all. 

The fifth seal doesn’t really give us anymore hope as all of the “souls of those who had been slaughtered for the word of God and for the testimony they had given” were revealed.  This would have been a reality for the Christian readers of this period for whom martyrdom was familiar.  And the sixth seal?  Well, no more hope here either.  Natural destruction takes place and NO ONE is safe from it!  But one question follows that seal: Who is able to stand?!

As a reader you may think that the seventh seal would come right up…but another literary license is taken here.  A whole chapter comes between the sixth and seventh seals!  And this section brings up other well-known Revelation tidbits.  The passage opens with the 144,000 saved souls.  Before you wonder whether you are in the 144,000 saved, remember that this book is all about wholeness.  This round number arrived at by multiplying the number of tribes of Israel (12) and looking at 1,000 as an Old Testament illusion to a division in the military, we realize that the actual number itself is not what we are to ponder.  Instead, it is the completeness of the whole image.  We must look at the 144,000 as well as the innumerable others in the second half of the passage.  This is really what it is all about.  The number is complete, perfect and includes every tribe and nation as a marked and sealed people. 

And finally, we get to the seventh seal after a chapter long break…and it’s silence in heaven.  It is here that people’s prayers are recieved and heard by God as illsutrated in the golden censer.  In the silence, there is listening which must happen before we act.  So wonder to yourself after getting through all of these seals, what is the purpose of silence?  What are the benefits of silence?  What, then, can you take away from the whole experience of reading these sections?

One of the things I realized throughout our conversation is that it can be quite hard to get our notions about Revelation out of our heads.  Thoughts about prediciting the eschaton (the end times) through mathematical calculations or reading the visions as illustrations of what will occur are strongly held stereotypes about the book.  But I point us back to the title of this text, Revelation.  Notice it’s not RevelationS…it’s Revelation.  One revelation.  One depiction that must be viewed in its entirety to be fully understood.  So keep on with it despite the challenging images and culturally normative understandings that can cloud our understandings.  You’re doing tough work but I hope that you feel rewarded with the fruits of your labor (if not, you should!).

Next week we will be talking about the Beast…yet another image and idea that we connect with Revelation!  Come for more indepth discussion about this book next Wednesday and learn what this might be all about!

Well, it was quite a whirlwind to get through those seven churches last week!  Here is a basic outline of each letter below.  If you are trying to tackle this on your own, these basic points give you a foundation to start from:
o    Address to an angel
•    There is an individual and corporate understanding here.  John sees angels as representative body of people.  In Daniel 10:13, 21 and 12:1, Michael is seen as the guardian angel of Israel but other nations have similar representative angels, too (Daniel 10:20).
o    Name of a city
•    “The order of the seven churches forms a circular route that begins in Ephesus, likely following a Roman postal route.  The revelation of Jesus Christ, though it has universal application, still addresses local needs and concerns.” (26)
o    Prophetic messenger formula
•    “Thus says the Lord…”
•     John is using this formula and these four words to highlight that these are the words of Jesus, the Lord, in his vision.
o    Christological ascription
•    “It is not just a matter of where are you from but whom you are connected with.  The recipients are more than residents of particular cities.  They are the Lord’s (which is the meaning of kyriakos, “church”).
•    Remember that Christ stood among the seven lampstands thus signifying that he was and is among them.  This is important to remember as the people connect their identity directly to their faith.
o    Divine knowledge
•    Christ illustrates (as said above) that he is among their communities and therefore knows what is going on.  He knows what is going well but also the ways that these congregations struggle.
o    Body of letter: affirmation and correction
o    Universal call to listen and obey (“Let anyone who has an ear…”)
•    What is said to one church applies to all churches.
o    Eschatological promise to those who conquer
•    There is a theme that connects each of the churches: life eternal and abundant.
•    The church should hold onto what is good in the communities.  The affirmations should not be taken lightly.
•    We observe the promise that we have through God.  This is the thing that keeps us encouraged and sustains us on the journey.
•    Therefore, even in the blessings and trials of faith, we are striving to conquer.

There are a lot of culture references within the text that you may not be able to pick up on your own.  Still, I encourage you to look at each letter and think about the overarching promise.  These promises stand true for us today as well!  Ask yourself, what can we learn from these seven letters to the churches?

If you were going to write a letter to Lake View Presbyterian Church, what would you write?

So our journey in Revelation begins…with a clip from “The Simpsons.”  In “Thank God It’s Doomsday,” Homer attempts to calculate when the rapture will occur only to find that he desires to be with his family instead of in heaven on his own.  Each week we will continue to view some take on themes in Revelation, how directors and movies depict the book of Revelation, and other jumping off points for our discussion.  Stay tuned!

We marked the beginning of our study by reading Revelation 1.  Here are some basic points about the context of the book before you read it (again):

• There are 500 allusions of the Old Testament in Revelation!  In its 404 total verses, contemporaries to the text would have recognized all of these references.  But the connections aren’t as clear to us in 2009…which means we have to be careful when we read each section!  We have to have clearer understandings about the connections to see the meaning of its message.
• The narrator is identified as John; but which John?  Well, the name John was as common then as it is now which means it is hard for us to really know much about our writer.  We do know: 1) He was send to the island of Patmos 2) most likely he ended up there because of his Christian faith and 3) was probably seen as a threat to the Roman government which was why he was sent to the island in the Mediterranean.
• Many scholars speculate that the book arose during or following the rule of Domitian.  Domitian was a Roman emperor who slowly tried to move the government to absolute monarchy.  If anyone seemed to be a threat (just a slight idea or mention of the possibility), they would be persecuted, martyred and/or sent away.  Revelation is a book in response to the controlling Roman empire; this is an important point to remember.

There are several other points we touched on, but I am sure they will come up throughout our study.  So please, join us and jump into Revelation 2-3 this Wednesday when we talk about the seven churches referenced by John!

This week we will begin our journey through the Book of Revelation.  It’s hard to know where to start with this controversial final book in our Biblical canon.  So, it’s best to start at the very beginning…thinking about the context from which this text arose and some of the themes that it approaches.  In the coming weeks we will be discussing its imagery and symbolism, some of the most familiar references to us, and what it can say to us today.  There will be movie clips and current topics all interwoven within the study.

To whet your appetite, check out this study from the Pew Research Center (provided by Ashley Heher): http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1187/poll-christians-jesus-second-coming-timing

Come and join us for conversation about this intriguing book!

This weekend I preached at the REYWT retreat/ meeting and focused on the text from 2 Corinthians 4: 1-15.  It’s an interesting passage and you are probably familiar with at least parts of it.   Clay is malleable and able to be shaped into whatever the potter would like.  If it isn’t quite “correct,” the craftsperson can remold it until he or she feels like the creation is just right.  It is only after the clay is fired that it becomes hard and brittle.  Unfortunately, unlike glass that can be refired and recreated, clay jars are easily broken and disposed of regularly because they cannot be refired once broken.  Paul’s use of this tangible, everyday material highlights the way in which our bodies exist in much the same way.

I love this passage because Paul takes this imagery one step further.  Despite the easily broken nature of our bodies (and perhaps even our spirits, etc.?!), God still places the treasure within us.  With this treasure, Christ gains new life through our own lives.  Our death to personal needs and desires for the way of faith gives life to Jesus Christ.  So what do we do with this new life?  How do we live each day differently because Christ has gained life in us?  These are the questions to ask as we journey to Easter…

I am in Louisville getting ready to attend the General Assembly Council meeting with other REYWT (Racial Ethnic Young Women Together) members.  First, a bit of history.  In November REYWT lost its associate in the denominational office.  It was a HUGE loss to our ministry and has inhibited our work quite a lot; we’ve been at a standstill trying to determine what the next move is for our group.  We are now having to face the future under a complete restructuring of our ministry office overall as well.  It’s a daunting time…and it has pushed us to look at the crossroads before us.

I will be the first to admit that I am still stuck back in our conversation from last week about power and priviledge.  As someone involved in the national church, it is hard to hear how “we” want young people in our church and yet acting in a completely different way (i.e. cutting our associate’s position and restructuring the ministry office without regular consultation with our leadership team).  Those in positions of power within the denomination are the ones who hold the keys…kind of like my last post about those in power and priviledge making decisions for us.  It will be interesting to see how this General Assembly Council conversation plays out!

All of this to show how the local congregation can also be disconnected from the larger church.  LVPC is packed with young adults and there can be much to learn about how our context draws them/us.  At the same time, racial ethnic young people’s issues and challenges are different and add another layer (or even more than just one layer) of significance.  How we explore this tension in the national church level can, in the end, have an impact on the local level.  If it doesn’t, then what’s the point of our ministry together?

Hopefully once this meeting is over I will be able to explore the Eastertide chapter with you all!

Here is the current and proposed language for our Book of Order concerning ordination:

• Amendment 08-B would remove the current language of G-6.0106b: Those called to office in the church are to lead a life in obedience to Scripture and in conformity to the historic confessional standards of the church. Among these standards is the requirement to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage of a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness. Persons refusing to repent of any self-acknowledged practice which the confessions call sin shall not be ordained and/or installed as deacons, elders, or ministers of Word and Sacrament.”
• In its place would be new G-6.0106b: Those who are called to ordained service in the church, by their assent to the Constitutional questions for ordination and installation (W-4.4003), pledge themselves to live lives obedient to Jesus Christ the Head of the Church, striving to follow where he leads through the witness of the Scriptures, and to understand the Scriptures through the instruction of the Confessions. In so doing, they declare their fidelity to the standards of the Church. Each governing body charged with examination for ordination and/or installation (G-14.0240 and G-14.0450) establishes the candidate’s sincere efforts to adhere to these standards.

Here’s what I think is wonderful about this “new” language.  As we talked about in Nora Gallagher’s book in reference to homosexuality in the church…we had a conversation about the authority of Scripture.  What I think this second amendment and its language says is that we value living lives obedient to Christ, the authority of Scripture, and the historical tradition of our churd.  It says “yes” to all of these things while also recognizing that all God’s people are called to service.  Those who are called to serve specific purposes and seek ordination adhere to these “standards.”  And what better way to express our faith and God’s call than through Christ, the Bible and our traditions.  Even that order illustrates the value that we give to each…beginning with Christ, of course!

And so when people say that the conversation hinges on the authority we give Scripture, well, I disagree.  Those of us who believe that this change to the Book of Order and our ordination standards should occur value Scripture and its authority just as much as the next person.  To say otherwise would be to say that we are reading what we want in the Bible or that somehow we put the Bible’s authority lower than someone else.  I don’t know about you, but I disagree with the latter!

• What do you think about the change in language that our denomination is voting on right now?

After a lengthy and deep conversation with Mark concerning his coming out story, Nora shares her reaction: “…I feel disoriented and depressed.  Then I feel rage.  Injustice has a price: it exacts itself in a specific human history, specific flesh.”  The group talked about our parallel struggle in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) concerning ordination…over ten years after Gallagher has published her book we are still in the middle of it!  There are 173 presbyteries in our denomination and 87 votes are needed to pass changes to our Book of Order to allow lgbtq ordination and service in the church.  As Joy shared, this has been a debate across decades much like the ordination of women to positions of elder and minister of Word and Sacrament (pastors).

Think about women’s ordination…it was a group of men who pushed the limits, challenged the existing paradigms and sought the goal of ordaining women.  While women could state their cases, it was men who had the power to vote for or against this change.  It is a significant thing that occurred on behalf of women (I don’t want to discount that at all), but at the same time, it is important for us to examine the power and privilege that comes into play during these discussions.  In this instance, men possessed the power and privilege to determine the fate of women’s ordination.  Now we are in the midst of another conversation, this time about lgbtq ordination, and these two elements are factors once again.

Let’s return to the book for a moment here.  Mark discloses his sexuality to the council as they are determining whether or not to call him as a rector in the church.  Mark says this: “When the Trinity job came up, I talked to Anne Howard…about whether or not to disclose my sexuality to the search committee.  She didn’t think it was necessary.  One of the differences between being called as a rector and as an interim is that in the case of a rector, the focus is much more on the person.  In the case of an interim, the focus is more on the parish.  I told her that at the same time, I wasn’t going to hide my sexuality.  I was going to live my life as honestly and as sensitively as I knew how.” (95)

Nora’s experience in hearing Mark’s story placed the issue in flesh right before her.  She couldn’t disconnect herself from the injustice that affected him…she had a face, Mark’s face, to make it real.  Of course she was angry, depressed and saddened!  She could no longer turn away or disengage from his story and the stories of so many others who were kept from ordination.

• How are people who possess power and privilege in the church to be a part of this conversation?  Why is it important?
• What is it like to be a person who does not possess power and privilege (if this describes you)?
• Do you feel equipped to have conversations about LVPC’s open and affirming position with friends, coworkers, family members?  What makes it tough or hard to do so?
• Although our denomination ordains women, there are still discrepancies between men and women in the church.  Although the nation has elected an African American man as president, there is still racial injustice in our communities.  These are only two examples of many…  How can a victory still show us that there is more work to do?  How can we keep ourselves attune to injustice?

Today in our lectionary group one of the pastors began our discussion by asking a question: What is sacred and what threatens it (what you deem sacred)?  So once again I was taken on a trip with this idea about our own stretch of highway, LVPC, and how this creates a sense of sacredness for us.  And at the same time, there are things, issues, people, or any other number of things that we may feel threaten this sense of sacredness.  I wonder if this is what we are getting at when we talk about our own stretch of highway.  It’s scary to think that something can alter and negatively change what we embrace as sacred to our faith journeys.

So what do you deem sacred?  What threatens it?  And to go a step further, how does this impact your faith journey?