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 Jude and Revelation 1-2.
We are delving into apocalyptic territory today, after a final pastoral admonition from Jude (who uses a bit of apocalyptic language himself). Because the Letter of Jude ("brother of James") reflects Jewish writings that are not recognized as Scripture, the letter itself was considered suspect by some in the early Church, but it was always included in the official lists of New Testament books, and had in St Jerome an especially vigorous advocate. Jude appeals to Old Testament stories and teachings, and to the non-canonical story of Enoch, to support his pastoral exhortation: Beware of false teachers! Their doctrines lead to sexual immorality and put your souls at risk! (Jude also highlights the meekness of St Michael, and gives us one of the invocations we pray in the St Michael prayer.)
And so we come to the most mysterious book in (probably) the whole Bible: the Book of Revelation. (Many people may be scratching their heads over the name, wondering what is being "revealed" in such a mysterious book.) Despite all the images and the many creative attempts to de-code the book, Revelation is not written in secret code! (Disappointing, but true.)
Maybe we would do better to read these final 22 chapters of the Bible the way the first recipients of John's mysterious message did: as people of faith, receiving a Word of faith, encouraging them to live by faith even when everything around them seemed to be saying that all was lost and that their faith had deceived them. Jesus himself is presented as "the faithful and true Witness" (1:5; 3:14) to such as these: people who may have been on the verge of giving up and giving in. John shows them Jesus as Daniel's Son of Man risen from the dead and walking among the lampstands: their lampstands, with the quivering flames of their faith, and speaking to them!
The Book of Revelation opens on a Sunday, the day when the recipients would be gathered for worship. Worship will mark the entirety of the book: Pay attention when doors and windows to Heaven open up and we get a look inside! What is going on in Heaven in Revelation continues to happen all the time, even now. The book is not so much concerned with "foretelling" future events like the end of the world (although there are some things "still to come"), as with revealing (unveiling; apocalyptein) reality, especially the reality of Jesus' victory over every possible evil. This can encourage us all to stand firm, no matter what threatens us!
The messages to the "seven churches" (the "angel" is the local bishop) read a bit like the last two Epistles we read. For the most part these are short exhortations to faithfulness, including a pointed warning about the particular temptation facing the local community. There are two exceptions: The Churches of Philadelphia and the Church of Smyrna receive no reproach or call to repentance. With regard to Smyrna, it is hard to resist the possibility that the local bishop there was none other than Polycarp, disciple of John the Evangelist and future martyr, whose death in Smyrna at age 86 was one of the first martyrdoms ever recorded by eyewitnesses.
Read Jude here and start the Book of Revelation here.
The Arches and Apse of Santa Prassede, Rome Photo by Nicholas Hartmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons |
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.)
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