Reconciliation Lectionary: Revelation 21:1-12

Thr fourth of four selections from the Book of Revelation. The first five verses were proclaimed just last weekend at Sunday Mass on the 5th weekend of Easter. And verses 10-12 contribute to a longer text the following Sunday. We’ve got a lot of words to digest, so let’s get to it.

Verses 1 through 12 are a longer passage provided in Appendix II of the Rite of Penance, a sample penitential service for the season of Advent. A shorter version, just the first eight verses are to be found in the main seciton of the rite, number 175. The light colored text below indicates the extra verses.

Here’s the start of it:

Then I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth.
The former heaven and the former earth had passed away,
and the sea was no more.
I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race.
He will dwell with them and they will be his people
and God himself will always be with them as their God.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes,
and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain,
for the old order has passed away.”

And so far, this is a great reading for a funeral, too. As popular as many of the selections I hear. God’s desired intimacy with his people, and especially with penitents (as Luke 15 tells it) is something to always keep in mind.

The One who sat on the throne said,
“Behold, I make all things new.”
Then he said, “Write these words down,
for they are trustworthy and true.”
He said to me, “They are accomplished.
I am the Alpha and the Omega,
the beginning and the end.
To the thirsty I will give a gift
from the spring of life-giving water.
The victor will inherit these gifts,
and I shall be his God,
and he will be my son.
But as for cowards, the unfaithful, the depraved,
murderers, the unchaste, sorcerers, idol-worshipers,
and deceivers of every sort,
their lot is in the burning pool of fire and sulfur,
which is the second death.”

Pastoral reasons would seemingly dictate these last verses not be included in a funeral. But for the living penitent, they are an obvious part of the canon of Christian Scripture.

Look at that laundry list of sins:

• cowardice
• unfaithful
• depravity
• murder
• lack of chastity
• sorcery
• worship of false gods
• deception

Not exactly the seven deadlies. But very serious material here. So … if we are thinking about the use of this passage, are we aiming at form I, with a single serious penitent caught up in one or more of these? That would be my pastoral sense. Most Catholics, who routinely celebrate individual confession regularly with a priest, are not bringing material to the sacrament like this. Not usually. (If they were, there would be some question about the particular efficacy of the sacrament, one might think.)

This passage, plus the verses that follow, are suggested for an Advent Penance Liturgy. I’d want a good pastoral reason for including this and not another passage. That list of serious sins can also be an occasion for many penitents to breathe with relief, “Thank goodness I’m not caught up in crap like that!” Which isn’t the mood I’d want to set.

One of the seven angels who held the seven bowls
filled with the seven last plagues
came and said to me,
“Come here. I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
He took me in spirit to a great, high mountain
and showed me the holy city Jerusalem
coming down out of heaven from God.
It gleamed with the splendor of God.
Its radiance was like that of a precious stone,
like jasper, clear as crystal.
It had a massive, high wall, with twelve gates
where twelve angels were stationed
and on which names were inscribed,
the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.

A passage from Revelation during an Advent liturgy. That seems to fit better during the early days of the season when the Lectionary for Mass proclaims the Second Coming and believers are urged to prayer, penance, and preparation for the end. This last section was proclaimed this past weekend at Mass. Our homilist this weekend touched on it. The beauty of the city is almost beyond words. It’s certainly beyond an ordinary description.

As horrible as sin is, the final elevation of believers is indeed in the image of this city. The splendor of God is the cause of our joy and beauty. But God will make us the bride of Christ nonetheless. It is our destiny, should be align ourselves with the Lamb and the Gospel he preaches.

In the end Revelation 21:1-12 gives us a long arc on which to reflect. A message of comfort and compassion. Followed by a grave warning. Concluding with a message of eternal joy. It’s a three movement symphony packed into not so many words at all, when you think about it.

 

Favorite Bible Verses, Round 2

The Ethereal Eighty-One Bible verses have been sifted into the Twilled Twenty-Seven. From here, we will continue with daily voting as these Bible verses are reduced to nine. From there to three. Then the most popular, at least from among our readers bothering to vote.

If you are interested, fifteen of the Twilled 27 are from the Gospels. John has the most with 6, Luke 4, Matthew 3, and Mark 2.

The Old Testament sends nine to this round: three from the Psalms, three from the prophets (Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Micah), two from the Pentateuch (Exodus and Deuteronomy), and one verse from Joshua.

Other New Testament books contributed three, each attributed to the apostle Paul, and from the letters to the Colossians, Galatians, and 1 Corinthians.

 

Reconciliation Lectionary: Revelation 20:11-15

One of the apocalyptic narratives from Revelation holds a dire warning for those not be named in the book of life.

Here’s the text in full:

Next I saw a large white throne and the one who was sitting on it.
The earth and the sky fled from his presence
and there was no place for them.
I saw the dead, the great and the lowly, standing before the throne,
and scrolls were opened.
Then another scroll was opened, the book of life.
The dead were judged according to their deeds,
by what was written in the scrolls.
The sea gave up its dead;
then Death and Hades gave up their dead.
All the dead were judged according to their deeds.
Then Death and Hades were thrown into the pool of fire.
(This pool of fire is the second death.)
Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life
was thrown into the pool of fire.

Okay, then.

Flippancy aside, I think the sensible Christian must confront these more difficult passages, and weigh them in context of the entire Gospel. There can be no denial that there are consequences for those who are not found in the book of life.

Obviously, Christ, not any mortal human being, is in charge of this. But gaining the displeasure of God is not something to be trifled with. And perhaps there are times when a person needs motivation from potential consequences. For use with a single penitent, this is in the confessor’s hands. For use with a larger assembly, I’m not sure a reading like this can be used any more than rarely. But you may feel differently. If so, please comment.

 

FBV 27

We complete the first round, the Ethereal-Eighty-One, with today’s choices. Polling will remain open for seventy-two hours, more or less, and we’ll take a break to let the voting get completed.

We have Matthew’s Great Commission today. We’ve already had this mission from Mark and Luke, but the verse is so popular, and the times so evangelical, I didn’t feel I could omit any one of them.

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit.

Preach it, Peter:

There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any name under heavens given to the human race by which we are to be saved.

Joshua throws down the gauntlet to the Israelites. He’s telling you where he stands. As a great leader, he expects his followers to follow. What about you and your household?

As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.

Where do you stand on these Scripture verses?

 

FBV 26

Even before Will and Kate had this lead off the only Scripture passage at their wedding, it was popular in Christian circles. Will a whiff of royalty lift Saint Paul to a rare triumph in the E-81? Consider it:

I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship.

Or will the ancient covenant between God and Abram, the foundation of the world’s monotheistic religions lift Genesis to a spot in the round-of-27?

The Lord said to Abram: Go forth from your land, your relatives, and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you.

Or will our voters favor the humble plea from the good thief?

Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

 

FBV 25

Elsewhere on this site, the Favorite Bible Verse Poll goes into overtime with entry number 22. Add your vote to the total there and break the tie, if you will.

In today’s polling, Saint Paul takes another crack at breaking into the second round, with a stern reminder to believers:

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

And a touchstone of monotheism, The Sh’ma Yisrael:

Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone!

And our last of four verses from the Sermon on the Mount:

Stop judging, that you may not be judged.

Stop judging, and start voting.

 

FBV 24

First, let’s take of some old business. We need a tiebreaker on FBV 21.

As for today, the conclusion of the most loved of wedding readings is one of your choices. Will love be the greatest of these three Bible verses?

So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Perhaps you prefer the third passage from Matthew 6, the Bible chapter with the most entries in this contest:

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.

We all know God rested on the seventh day …

God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation.

… but don’t you rest till you’ve voted.

 

Reconciliation Lectionary: John 13:34-35; 15:10-13

A little of this weekend’s Gospel reading, and a little more :

Jesus said to his Apostles:
“I give you a new commandment: love one another.
As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.
This is how all will know that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another.”

“If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you
and your joy may be complete.
This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

Number 51 in the Rite of Penance gives two examples of “Celebrations of the Word of God,” and this is an option given in the first, under the theme of “Love is the fullness of the law.” Where the framers of the rite seem to head with their selection is an emphasis on love of neighbor rooted in the basic love of God.

It’s not a surprise this theme pops up during Easter, as the later Sundays draw us deeper into the stories of Acts, and the Christian community’s struggle with living out the example of love given to us by the Lord Jesus.

People in love make signs of love. It’s what we do. It can be difficult enough within a marriage, a family, and a religious community living under one vow and one roof. It can be hard indeed for people who have few enough connections but for the Sunday Eucharist. But it is something laid down for us by the example of both Jesus himself and the early Church. The most tanglible advantage of form II Reconciliation is the obvious connection between our personal sin (which isn’t so personal) and those closest to us in the Lord. Those relationships, somehow, should be a consideration when we come before God for forgiveness.

 

FBV 23

How did it all begin? According to Saint John …

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

I know we’ve already voted on Mark’s version of the Great Commission (see yesterday’s Mass), but Luke includes the Holy Spirit in his. Plus it is a very popular choice among Protestants:

But you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

And one of the most-loved Old Testament prophecies, understood by Christians to be Mary with child:

Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.

Give us a sign: which of these verses do you favor?

 

Reconciliation Lectionary: Revelation 3:14-22

A very brief letter to the Laodiceans, and it calls them on the carpet in a very blunt way:

“To the angel of the church in Laodicea, write this:
‘The Amen, the faithful and true witness,
the source of God’s creation, says this:
“I know your works;
I know that you are neither cold nor hot.
I wish you were either cold or hot.
So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold,
I will spit you out of my mouth.
For you say, ‘I am rich and affluent and have no need of anything,’
and yet do not realize that you are wretched,
pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich,
and white garments to put on
so that your shameful nakedness may not be exposed,
and buy ointment to smear on your eyes so that you may see.
Those whom I love, I reprove and chastise.
Be earnest, therefore, and repent.

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,
then I will enter his house and dine with him,
and he with me.
I will give the victor the right to sit with me on my throne,
as I myself first won the victory
and sit with my Father on his throne.
“’”Whoever has ears ought to hear
what the Spirit says to the churches.”’”

This is the last of the seven letters to churches of Revelation 2 and 3. When does a penitent or a community deserve such a public lambasting? What do we hear when we witness a community being called out like this? Certainly no believer or community is perfect. We all have sins, some noticeable, some hidden.

This seems to be another good selection for Lent, a time in which our grave sinfulness may get hidden amidst the general approach to universal penitence. Are we ready for a searching and fearless look within? The good news is that the True and Faithful Witness is prepared to embrace the one who responds to this call to repentance. We Catholics know this is true. But sometimes we can not quite believe it because perhaps we are all too aware of our pitiable state.

That last verse is intended for all seven churches: whoever has ears to hear …

 

FBV 22

Today’s poll, though in the midst of the Easter Season, has a strong strain of Lent about it, don’t you think? From the Old Testament, we have Joel’s challenge, heard in liturgical churches on Ash Wednesday:

Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord your God. For gracious and merciful is he, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment.

We also have the Lord’s invitation at the door of the Christians of Laodicea:

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me.

And we have Jesus turning expectations on their head, speaking of the notion of sacrifice:

For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

And now you have voting:

 

Reconciliation Lectionary: Revelation 2:1-5

Did you know that the New Testament contains two letters to the Ephesians? In the Book of Revelation, there is a place early in which the author addresses short messages to seven early communities. This is the first of them, to the Church of the premiere city of the Roman Empire in Asia.

Saint John addresses the people, using the words of Jesus:

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus, write this:
“The one who holds the seven stars in his right hand
and walks in the midst of the seven gold lampstands says this:
“I know your works, your labor, and your endurance,
and that you cannot tolerate the wicked;
you have tested those who call themselves apostles but are not,
and discovered that they are impostors.
Moreover, you have endurance and have suffered for my name,
and you have not grown weary.
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.

My first impression is an even-handedness in the diagnosis. Ephesian Christians have good points: they work hard, they resist wickedness, and they are tenacious. On the other hand, they seem to have lost an important youthful quality. So they are called to repent, and to return what worked for them in the past.

This narrative is also striking for its similarity to some groups in today’s Church. Like today’s self-styled orthodox, the Ephesian Church resisted and worked against those they considered “impostors.” But in their opposition to some of their own, they have lost something important, the chief of virtues: love. So they come across to others as cross, uncaring, and rigid.

It’s a mixed message for the Ephesians, and there’s a warning. Repent and renew, or the light will go out.

In considering this passage for personal reflection, are there times when the desire to do good has overpowered the basic virtues of joy and love and consideration? Are our tasks in God’s name so grave, so serious that criticism must be rendered at any cost? Clearly, the message is one of caution. Affirm the good. But keep an eye to the larger matters of virtues and don’t allow the inner self to be corrupted by singleminded opposition to others. In one’s personal life, this probably requires a careful discernment.

For a community, this might be an apt and challenging reading to proclaim at a form II liturgy. The homilist should be prepared to preach on it, or at least allow this text to inform the examination of conscience. You don’t drop a powerful message like this into the Liturgy of the Word then ignore it. That said, it seems a good passage to use during the season of Lent.

 

FBV 21

Gospel verses are polling ahead of the other two categories, nine to six (Old Testament) to two, as of last night.

We have another “I am” statement from Jesus via John the Evangelist today. From the Last Supper, a message of comfort to Thomas, and to us believers:

Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Another message of comfort and hope from the prophet Jeremiah:

For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe! Plans to give you a future full of hope.

Another passage from Romans that has polled high amongst all Christians:

But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.

Three verses of hope, perhaps highly regarded because they provide something to the believer in the face of doubt and turmoil. Which will move into the round-of-27?

 

FBV 20

In today’s polling, a Protestant favorite, the first and only entry from Proverbs in the Ethereal 81:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, on your own intelligence  rely not.

And an echo from the Easter Vigil, which still might be fresh in our minds this Paschal Season:

Or are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus  were baptized into his death?

And Saint Luke relating the Lord’s insistence that we ourselves be insistent when we come to prayer:

And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find;  knock and the door will be opened to you.

And now, the voting:

 

FBV 19

An intriguing set of choices in today’s polling. A Protestant favorite from the New Testament letter with an unidentified author:

Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.

One of the longer single verses in the Bible, but still a powerful summary of what believers expect when they seriously engage God through his Word. What did those “Hebrews” think when they first heard this?

Moses gives the Israelites a similarly powerful challenge toward the end of the Torah, in Deuteronomy. It has become a favorite of the pro-life movement. And why not?

I call heaven and earth today to witness against you: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live.

And we have the Lord’s affirmation of Peter, according to Matthew:

And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the agates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.

I found this highly rated on Protestant web sites, so clearly, this apostolic endorsement means more than just the present-day ministry of Peter’s successor. It speaks of a Christian confidence that nothing shall ever supercede the faith.