Friday, March 3, 2006

Good Morning

 

Don't forget about the ASP lunch and dessert auction on this Sunday.

 

Today's Reading:  Revelation 4:6b-8; read pages 175 - 178 in Barclay; (two sections) stop at "God the Lord and Creator"

 

-- doing these two sections lets us finish the commentary on this particular verse.

 

-- the first of the two sections today talk about what might the four creatures symbolize, and goes through a number of schemes that Christian thinkers over the years have developed to tie the four creatures to the four gospels.

 

-- I think that those work at some level, but I think to a certain extent, those are symbolic meanings that were fitted after the fact.  There is, implicit in these explanations, the idea of trying to figure what John meant when he created these creatures.  As we discussed yesterday, the way that Revelation reads, John didn't make these creatures up, they are not a product of his imagination -- this is an account of what he said he saw in his vision.

 

-- That said, it is entirely possible that the four creatures were created by God as the lion, the oz, etc for the reasons given -- to serve as symbolic reminders of those qualities.

 

-- The second section for today talks about the hymn of the creatures, which is captured in our hymn "Holy, Holy, Holy" as we discussed the other day.

 

-- The thing that I took away from this section is the idea that Barclay mentioned -- the first audience for this writing were Christians who were being persecuted by the most powerful empire the world had ever known.  The idea that you worshiped a God that was more powerful than that empire -- one that you could depend on, that was everlasting -- was comfort and encourgement to those Christians, and all of us who have followed them.

 

Today's Scripture (from the Ash Wednesday lectionary)

 

Jesus said to them: "Watch out that no one deceives you.  Many will come in my name, claiming, "I am he," and will deceive many.

 

Mark 13:5-6

 

Today's prayer requests:   Kathy Nabkel, Valerie's aunt

 

Kathy lives in San Francisco, and is having major surgery today for endometrial cancer that was discovered about 10 days ago.  Need to remember her and her family, and pray that things go well with her surgery.

Today's class member prayer:

Jay Waters

Have a great day.

Jay

Thursday, March 2, 2006

Good Morning

 

Don't forget about the ASP lunch and dessert auction on this Sunday.

 

Today's Reading:  Revelation 4:6b-8; read pages 173 - 175 in Barclay; stop at "Symbolism of the Living Creatures"

 

-- I have a bit of problem with one thing Barclay has in this section.

 

-- in the first paragraph of this section, Barclay talks about how the creatures fit into the imagery of heaven that John had grown up hearing and understanding.  Essentially, he is saying that John, when writing Revelation, used imagery that he was familar with from his understanding and background. In the next paragraph, Barclay writes "How did John himself think of the symbolism of the four living creatures?"  In other words, how did he come up with that on his own?  My answer is that he didn't come up with any of this on his own, he is reporting what he actually saw, rather than making up a story using his own imagery.  Barclay, to me, implies that all of the writing from Revelation is more from the imagination of John than an actual eyewitness account.

 

-- to me, the reason John's descriptions of heaven and the creatures line up with other descriptions in the Old Testament is not because he knew about those writings, it's because both writers are describing the same real thing.  When a writer in a book today describes " a blood-red sunset", and that is the same language used by someone like John Grisham -- the writer didn't use that description because he was familar with John Grisham's work - he used it because that is his description of something that he had personally seen.

 

-- maybe I'm being too literal -- that would be a discussion point for Sunday -- based on what we've seen and read so far, do you think of what your reading as an eyewitness account -- that John was given this glimpse into heaven and into the future by God, and he simply wrote down what he saw, or did God give him a vision full of symbols that tell the story of the future, not through direct observation of the future events?

 

Today's Scripture (from the Ash Wednesday lectionary)

 

When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting.  I tell you the truth, they hae received their reward in full.  But when you fast, put oil on your head ans wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen, and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

 

Matthew 6:16-18

 

Today's prayer requests:   Dr. Page

Dr. Page is Ron and Brads' finance teacher at Auburn, who has lymphoma, and is not doing well.  We need to remember him as he struggles with the disease and the treatment.

Today's class member prayer:

Andrew Peebles

Have a great day.

Jay

Wednesday, March 1, 2006

Good Morning

 

Short email today.

 

Today's Reading:  Revelation 4:6b-8; read pages 171 - 173 in Barclay; stop at "The Four Living Creatures (2)"

 

-- Barclay goes into depth about these four creatures, and it is broken into several sections.

 

-- the two key things in today's commentary about this section are:

 

-- the imagery in Revelation from John is very similar to the imagery from the visions of Ezekiel in the Old Testmant.

 

-- while not specifically identified as such in Revelation, the creatures in Ezekiel are identified as cherubim.  In the dictionary, they are defined as "winged celestial beings" -- there are some discussions online as to whether they are angels or not.  Also, in the art world, cherubs have been portrayed as small, plump young children, not the exotic, multi-eyed creatures described in Reveleation and Ezekiel, so there is a bit of a disconnect there.

 

-- odd little aside here, but something that I remember about a movie/documentary that was shot in 1973, called "In Search of Ancient Astronauts"; that film asserts that what Ezekiel was actually describing was not heavenly beings, but actually machines such as a spacecraft, and that the language he used was simply the best he had available to describe this advanced machine.

 

Today's Scripture (from the Ash Wednesday lectionary)

 

Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them.  If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.  So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men.  I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.  But when you give to the needy, do not let our left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret.  They your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

 

Matthew 6:1-6

 

Today's prayer requests:   Chris Brymer

 

From Michelle:  Chris Brymer is the 19 year old son of a man I work with.  They have found a banana sized tumor in his neck that looks like lymphoma.  They will do surgery tomorrow and will know more after.  He is the 2nd child of 5 from 21 to 5.  Please be in prayer for that family.

Today's class member prayer:

Susanne Russell

Have a great day.

Jay

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Good Morning

 

Happy Mardi Gras!

 

If you didn't see them yesterday, I had a number of Lenten links in yesterday's email.  To review them, go to the website at www.leapclass.blogspot.com.

 

Today's Reading:  Revelation 4:5-6a; read pages 168 - 171 in Barclay; stop at "The Four Living Creatures (1)"

 

-- more description from John about his vision of God on his throne in heaven.

 

-- it is amazing how this imagery has been woven into our consciousness about God -- the idea that thunder and flashes of lightning might surround the presence of God is familiar to us.  There is a reference to God on Mt. Sinai, giving the law to Moses, and how that presence was marked with thunder and lightning and clouds.

 

-- An aside here -- this imagery reminded me some of the imagery from the movies "Close Encounters" and  "War of the Worlds" in particular, where the aliens arrive in a dark boiling cloud surrounded by lightning (but no thunder).  At some very basic, symbolic level, I wonder if the screenwriter was making a comment or reference to God, or a comment about the aliens.  It is interesting that they didn't choose for the alien space ships to simply appear -- they were shrouded in these clouds, etc. Maybe just for dramatic effect?  In Close Encounters, in particular, the cloud descends on a mountain to reveal itself to those gathered there, and Steven Spielberg, who is Jewish and who is familar with all the old movies such the Ten Commandments, very likely made that a very conscious choice.

 

-- The sea of glass description occupies the remainder of Barclay's time today.  Until he referenced it in his commentary, I hadn't really noticed the reference to this in a hymm, but actualy this whole section of Revelation is the inspiration for the hymn "Holy, Holy, Holy", which we all know.  Following is a link the lyrics, just as a reminder:

 

http://stedman.lam.org/music/holy_holy_holy.htm

 

-- I think that the major takeaway from today is the idea of overwhelming, unspeakable, undescribable majesty -- that is what John is trying to get his arms around and convey to us in this portion of Revelation.

 

Today's Scripture

 

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God -- this is your spiritual act of worship.

 

Romans 12:1

 

Today's prayer requests:   Corey, Megan's student

 

Corey has been on our prayer list due to brain tumor that he was going to have tests on on March 21.  On Wednesday, he as to be rushed to the hospital with a seizure related to the brain tumor.  His doctors at Children's Hospital are not willing or able to move his tests up, so it is a waiting game for everyone.  Need to keep Corey, his mother, his classmates and Megan's classroom staff in our prayers will Corey is treated.

Today's class member prayer:

Nicole McKinney

Have a great day.

Jay

Monday, February 27, 2006

Good Morning

 

-- Amazingly, the Volume 2 books are in already.  I have them in our Sunday School room.  We'll probably start on those books in a couple of weeks, so you've got plenty of time to get one.

 

-- Don't forget the ASP lunch and dessert auction on this coming Sunday.  The men of the church will be making the desserts for the auction.

 

-- Note that Lent begins on Wednesday, March 1, and I thought I would pass along some links to help in your preparation for Lent:

 

-- A general FAQ from the UMC web site:  http://www.gbod.org/easter/

 

-- A nice simple definition of Lent  http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=1&mid=2870

 

-- Some information from the Upper Room site http://archives.umc.org/frames.asp?url=http%3A//www.upperroom.org/askjulian/default.asp%3Fact%3Danswer%26itemid=65366

 

-- Some additional information from the GBOD site: http://www.gbod.org/worship/default.asp?act=reader&item_id=3864&loc_id=9,612,48

 

-- Some information from the MethodX site about Lent:  http://www.methodx.net/articles/columns.asp?act=showitem&item_id=71138

 

Actually, MethodX is a great site that I stumbled on - associated with the Upper Room, MethodX is a site for young adults -- college to 30s.  Has some really good resources and links at www.methodx.net .

 

Today's Reading:  Revelation 4:4; read pages 166 - 168 in Barclay; stop at "Around the Throne"

 

--  Today's section talks about the twenty four elders surrounding the throne of God.  Barclay gives some interesting alternatives as to who these people are, before settling on the idea that they are representative of the faithful people of God.  He also provides some thought as the meaning of the number 24 (in his opinion, it represents a doubling of the number 12, which is the number of the tribes of Israel.  Since at this point, the church is comprised of Jews and Gentiles, then 24 symbolically represents the total church).

 

-- the most fascinating thing I read today had nothing to do with Revelation.  Barclay, in one of his earlier possibilities as to who the 24 elders were, refers to an interesting bit of language in Genesis  -- Gen 3:22, where God says that "the man (Adam) has become like one of us".  Like one of who?  Based on a quick internet search, it seems like the consensus is that it is a reference to the Trinity. That makes sense to Christians.  The interesting thing is how does the Jewish faith explain this plural, since in their view, there is no Trinity.  That is where the idea of a council of God that Barclay talks about comes from -- for the plurals to work here and elsewhere, there has to be some sort of council to have the plural make sense --- unless of course you are a Christian.

 

Today's Scripture

 

But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage!  It is I.  Don't be afraid."

 

Matthew 14:27

 

Today's prayer requests:   Margaret Rose Severance

Brigette's grandmother has been battling complications from a broken leg.  She needs our prayers to help her recover more fully from the broken leg and the complications and immobility that has resulted.

Today's class member prayer:

Matt Rocksvold

Have a great day.

Jay