2 May 2010 Revelation 21:1-6

Revelation 21:1-6

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

‘See, the home of God is among mortals.

He will dwell with them;

they will be his peoples,

and God himself will be with them;

he will wipe every tear from their eyes.

Death will be no more;

mourning and crying and pain will be no more,

for the first things have passed away.’

And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ Then he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.

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The Book of the Revelation of John, usually referred to simply as Revelation or the Book of Revelation, is the last book of the New Testament. It is also called the Apocalypse of John. Apocalypse, from the Greek, is a synonym for "Revelation", but also from it comes the name for the type of literature; an "apocalypse" is a work of apocalyptic literature. John's is the only book in the Canon that is wholly composed of apocalyptic literature.

Revelation is a cryptic document which has been interpreted in many ways. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Revelation)

Apocalypticism is the religious belief that there will be an apocalypse, a term which originally referred to a revelation of God's will, but now usually refers to belief that the world will come to an end time very soon, even within one's own lifetime. This belief is usually accompanied by the idea that civilization, as we know it, will soon come to a tumultuous end with some sort of catastrophic global event such as war. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalyptic)

25 April 2010 Acts 9:36-43

Acts 9:36-43
Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, ‘Please come to us without delay.’ So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, ‘Tabitha, get up.’ Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.

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The Acts of the Apostles, usually abbreviated to Acts, is a continuation of the Gospel of Luke by the same author. Acts tells the story of the birth and expansion of church from the time of Jesus' death to the arrival of Paul in Rome. The story in this week's lectionary, where Peter raises Tabitha from the dead, links Peter and the early church's spiritual authority to Jesus who raised the dead. Just as similar stories about Jesus linked him to the Old Testament prophets Elijah and Elisha. Elijah and Elisha were men of God who raised the dead, Jesus was a man of God who raised the dead, and Peter is a man of God who raises the dead. God, through earthly surrogates, is still active in the world and Peter, and by implication the church, is his agent.

I'm not a theist, I'm agnostic, and don't subscribe to Luke's world view of a God working through human agents. Or do I?

18 April 2010 John 21:1-19

John 21:1-19

After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, ‘I am going fishing.’ They said to him, ‘We will go with you.’ They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, ‘Children, you have no fish, have you?’ They answered him, ‘No.’ He said to them, ‘Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.’ So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’ When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the lake. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.
When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, ‘Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.’ So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, ‘Come and have breakfast.’ Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’ He said to him the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ And he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep. Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.’ (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, ‘Follow me.’

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Simon Peter is my favorite apostle. Perhaps it this is because I can relate to his human motivations and failings. He is a simple man, a fisherman, and probably married. Peter is quick to act and to proclaim his faith in Jesus as Messiah. Sometimes his actions baffle me, often his follow through is weak. He tries (and fails) walking on water, cuts off the ear of the servant of the High Priest when Jesus is arrested, and later that night he denies Jesus three times. At the transfiguration, he offers to build three tabernacles, one each for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. In this week's reading, he gets dressed and jumps in the water when he recognizes Jesus. Go figure.


Once when Jesus asks, "Who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answers, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus declares him to be blessed for having recognized Jesus' true identity. Then Jesus addresses Simon and says, "On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it." Truly, the Lord works in mysterious ways.

11 April 2010 John 20:19-31

John 20:19-31

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

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John's anti-Semitism comes through clearly in the beginning of this passage: "and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews." John uses the term "the Jews" to vilify all Jews even though Jesus, all his disciples, and many of the converts were Jewish. John's anti-Semitism, seen here and other places in his gospel, has tainted the Christian church and Western civilization for almost 2000 years.

I too use labels that are loaded with stereotypes to judge groups of people: Muslim, Zionist, fundamentalist, African American, Christian, Mormon, UU, Yankee, Republican, Catholic, clergy, lawyer, banker, plumber, Asian, Communist, politician, Democrat, homeless, mentally ill, movie star, athlete and so on. The labels are often useful, even necessary, but harmful when I judge a group by the actions of a few of its members, or think I have said something about a person when I have labeled her.

4 April 2010 Luke 24:1-12

Luke 24:1-12

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.’ Then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.
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"Why do you look for the living among the dead?" Spring is here. The Bradford Pears, daffodils, and forthysia are past their prime. The dogwoods and azaleas will soon be in bloom. Dandelions and wild onions are raging. Birds are nesting. This weekend, Easter weekend, promises to be warm and sunny. Many of our neighbors, and perhaps some of us, will flock to the garden centers and buy annual flowers and tomato plants, eager, perhaps too eager, to participate in the rites of spring.

Spring, and Easter, is about growth, new life and new possibilities. Growth, any growth, requires sacrifice. I find myself wondering what comfortable but useless, or even harmful, habits (addictions really) am I willing to give up so that I might grow. What are the weeds that I am allowing to grow in the garden that is my life? What about the chives and mint I planted years ago that are now out of control. Am I willing to put in the time and effort to eradicate them, or at least get them under control? I've been here before, so have the weeds.

It seems to me that the weeds are as eager to grow and reproduce as the flowers and vegetables that I plant, and the weeds seem to have an edge. I'll wait until April 15th to plant my tomatoes. Until then, I need to get after those weeds.