Read the Bible with Me!

Welcome to the Pauline Family's "Year of the Bible"! We are about to finish our year-long project, so read along with me. But first, let us pray: 

Come, Lord Jesus! 
Come to me as I read these divinely inspired writings.
Come and enlighten me so that I receive from them the nourishment I need to be your faithful witness in the world today.
Come to people who are seeking you, and to those whom I may meet on my daily round.
Come to those who see the Word lived by those who do not even know your name.
Come to those who hear the Word proclaimed, but see it contradicted by those who speak it.
And when the last day dawns, come to take us all to be with you!
Maranatha!
Come, Lord Jesus!

Today's chapters are Revelation 3-5 and (because it is Sunday) Psalm 149.

After the messages to the seven churches (wealthy Laodicea gets a severe warning!) comes the first of the visions from Heaven itself. It is typical of the Book of Revelation to keep switching scenes like this, so pay attention to clues (like the one in 4:1 about the "open door") that something new is going on. John's vision of Heaven's royal throne-room with the "living creatures" and the "crystal sea" takes us back to Ezekiel, but now completed by the presence of the Lamb: the Lamb who is also "the Lion of the Tribe of Judah"; the Lamb who is alive, but also slain; the Lamb before whom the elders and the living creatures fall down in worship and countless angels sing. And the prayer of praise that is offered to the Lamb is the selfsame prayer of praise that is offered to the One who is seated on the throne.

All of this is going on inside the open door.

Today is the last Sunday of our Bible reading marathon, and we are at the second-to-last Psalm, one which goes very well with the last verses of our reading for today with all of the heavenly court singing the "high praises of God" and the Lamb! Whereas Psalm 148 had called on the various "choirs" of creation to praise God, Psalm 149 now gives that honor exclusively to the people of Israel. They praise God for vindicating them definitively over all those who threatened their very existence. Although the Psalm uses military imagery, its overall message seems to be that praise is more powerful than even the "two-edged sword." 

Start reading Revelation here and Psalm 149 here.

For more background

Years ago I attended a lecture series by Dr James Papandrea on the Book of Revelation and found it very helpful. His book, The Wedding of the Lamb: A Historical Approach to the Book of Revelation, is kind of expensive, but there is a Kindle version in case you are looking for a companion to Revelation by a Catholic theologian. 

Another helpful resource (one that I am currently reading) is by Dr Michael J. Gorman, a Scripture scholar who is a particular expert on St Paul. Gorman is a United Methodist, but he teaches at a Catholic seminary and I have no hesitation about recommending his work. Catholic readers will just find that most of his immediate applications are to mainline Protestant experiences, rather than Catholic parish life. (By the way, I find Gorman's understanding of Paul on "Cruciformity" very much in line with our Founder's thought and with the teachings of St John Eudes.)