Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Good Morning

 

Remember that www.leapclass.blogspot.com has all of our back emails and links to various Methodist church resources.

Today's Reading:  Revelation 6:9-11; Pages 13-15 in Barclay, stop at "The Shattered Universe"

 

-- second of two sections on his passage.

 

-- this section introduces some really interesting thoughts.  The first bullet talks about the martyrs cry of how long, and this reminds me very much of one of the famous sermon topics from Martin Luther King, when he preached along a refrain of "How long? Not long"  But even in heaven, there are those who don't understand or realize or can see what God's plan is, or how he is working it out.  I may be reading this wrong, but here is a group that is in heaven and apparently not happy or content.

 

-- the third bullet point notes that the explanation given to the martyrs is that there are more to join them -- more to be killed, to be sacrificed, before it will be time for God to move.  There is an sadness to that for me.

 

-- the second bullet point is the most interesting and possibly controversial -- the cry of the martyrs is that God avenge them and punish those that had persecuted and killed them.  "Vengence is mine, said the Lord" is what the scriptures say, and the martyrs are not disputing that, but simply asking God when he will be taking his vegence, because they are ready for him to do it.  There is an apparent eagerness to see that happen that is at odds with our image/impression of our state of mind and emotion in heaven.  The passage that Barclay includes in his commentary from the Christian philsopher Tertullian, about his coming delight to see his persecutors tormented in hell, is really at odds with what we consider Christian attitudes. Barclay notes that we shouldn't criticize these thoughts until we have gone through what they had gone through -- burning at the stake, being tortured and eaten by lions and killed for sport in front of thousands -- but this attitude, this thought, is just one of the more subtle reasons I believe some early church scholars didn't want to include Revelation in the Bible.  This is not a passage about turning the other cheek, or forgiveness, or loving your enemies. The four horsemen get a lot of the credit for making Revelation a scary book, but this passage is very dark in its own subtle way.

 

Today's Scripture (from Bobby's sermon on Sunday)

 

For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life

1 Thessalonians 4:7

Today's prayer requests:   Angie, Brigitte Severance's co-worker

Angie was on our prayer list a week or so ago.  Here is an update from Brigitte:

Good morning!  Angie's surgery went well.  It is a grade 1 tumor, which is the best.  She has some numbness on her left side that they hope is not permanent, but only time will tell.  She is still nauseated and her head is still hurting, but that is to be expected.  She came home Friday, and is glad to be home.  She is asking for continued prayers as she is debating on radiation treatment vs no treatment.  Thanks for all the prayers!

Today's class member prayer:

Brad Douglas

Jay