Word to the Wise
Monday, November 19, 2012 - Monday in the 33th Week in Ordinary Time
[Rev 1:1-4; 2:1-5 and Luke 18:35-43]Yet I hold this against you: you have lost the love you had at first. Realize how far you have fallen. Repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent!
One liturgical cycle is about to end [B-2] and another is about to begin [C-1]. Since the purpose of these "cycles" is to bring as much of the scriptures to the attention and faith of the church over a period of years (three in the Sunday cycle - A,B,C - and two in the daily cycle: "Year 1 and Year 2] there is a selection take from each book as much as possible throughout the year. We are nearing the end of the liturgical year, so we are also nearing the end of the Bible. The last "book" is the Book of Revelation. If I may borrow from T.S.Eliot, the bible does not end with a "whimper" but with a "bang!" Only the books of Daniel and Ezekiel can compare with the imagery and scope of the visions in Revelation (or, in Greek, "Apocalypse"). For this reason, the Book of Revelation attracts a great deal of attention - much of it sheer fantasy and speculation, born in some ways from conditions that gave rise to the Book of Revelation in the first place. Nevertheless, this one piece of apocalyptic New Testament literature is the only example from many that existed at the time that the Church regarded as true "revelation" of Christ's gospel.
The historical setting of the book is that of a community throughout the Roman Empire around 96 AD that was under severe persecution. The Letter is addressed to a selection of those communities, but they were probably all reflective of the general situation and other locations. If these communities were represented each by one person and sitting around a table with the author, the situation would probably get tense. The author gives them all a critique that is unsparing! How are they going to bear up under the persecution if they don't "shape up?" Today's passage begins with the church at Ephesus! They are told to recover their first enthusiasm for the faith. Yes, they did some wonderful things in the past, but they need to "keep up their good work," as it were. More critiques are coming in the next couple of days!
Survival conditions make long term plans difficult to contemplate! Yet, the Book of Revelation is trying to get the church to persevere. The highly symbolic imagery is somewhat "coded" for people of our age, but were common images when the book was written. Confidence in God is the most important thing. God is the alpha and omega. The author may have thought his hopes would be fulfilled very soon, but we know that didn't happen. That ought to be a sign to others in our own time. Despite the wonderful and sometimes bizarre imagery that follows the "critiques of the churches," those critiques may well be the most important part of the book. How do we resemble those churches? AMEN
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