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 Marking Time |
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26 November 2006 If our daily calendar wasn't based on the ancient Roman calendar, as of today, we Christians would be preparing for our new year's eve celebrations, ready to ring out the old, sing in the new. Of course, that isn't the case, and so we have this strange jumble of an American Thanksgiving, followed by the end-of-the-Christian-year celebration UCC folks call the Reign of Christ. It's the late-blooming liturgical nod to the close of one year before the commercial lunge into Christmas day, over and done with just in time for the post-Christmas sales of December 26. It's a strange Sunday. Thanksgiving is finished. Advent - at least this year - has yet to begin. And when it comes to the lectionary readings, it's even stranger, because one of the suggested readings is from the book of Revelation. Revelation, supposedly the stuff of what is technically known as premillennial dispensationalist theology - the 'rapture' references you see on occasional bumper stickers, and in that travesty of pop theology - the Left Behind series. But that's way too academic - or esoteric - for most of us. In fact, I'm willing to bet that most of us here don't spend a lot of time even thinking about being "Left Behind," let alone about that very strange book that ends our Bible, the book of Revelation. But the lection includes readings from this book because it is the book of Revelation that speaks most vividly - and very subversively - of the reign of Christ. We're going into some rarely-trod territory. Given that Revelation is intentionally difficult to understand, it should come as no surprise that there are huge differences as to how Revelation is interpreted. New Testament professor Barbara Rossing believes it is a mis-reading of Revelation that makes us think of it in connection with the end of time. Or the end of the earth. There is no question that Revelation speaks of great destruction. But Rossing makes a convincing argument that the >end' Revelation speaks of is the end of the imperial world under Roman rule - a rule that laid claim to the lands and the seas - literally, a world without end. Rossing compares Revelation not to seven years of tribulation at the end of time alà Left Behind, but to a courtroom scene in which God puts the empire on trial.[1] Suffice it to say, the empire does not fare well. We are a long way from the persecution of the Roman empire, but apocalyptic expressions are increasingly common, of which Left Behind and An Inconvenient Truth are two opposing, but well-publicized examples.. There are multiple reasons for this, of course. But I believe that one aspect is that our beloved nation is increasingly identified at home as well as abroad as an empire...a designation that causes some to celebrate, and others to cringe. A second aspect is that a number of chilling, highly possible scenarios snag our attention and play on our worst fears. These scenarios aren't difficult to envisage - especially since the media dwell on them regularly. Nuclear holocaust, with unstable states rapidly joining the nuclear weapons club; it's no longer just a Hollywood thriller for the latest incarnation of 007. Germ warfare. Even unprotected home media connected through the internet create potentially horrendous vulnerabilities.[2] Studied indifference also plays a role. Maybe you saw the one of a man driving what clearly is the latest model Hummer, while a woman sits next to him reading the newspaper, saying, "..says here that Earth's temperature is at a 400-year high.." he responds, "..that's okay..we've got A/C."[3] Just because scientific warnings go unheeded, doesn't mean that the consequences of global warming aren't taking place. Just one possibility: the end of all the fishes of the sea, accompanied by rising ocean levels that will make shoreline property possible in the state of Nevada. Suddenly the story of Noah's Ark has relevance to the apocalyptic experience of Katrina. And its relevance has to do with our covenantal relationship to God and with God's creation. "The central point in the story of Noah and the ark...is the covenant established by God with 'living things of every kind.' Here is where God's covenant promises first begin. And God's covenant is established not just with people; it is a covenant with all creation."[4] How we live into that covenant in spite of the tremendous social, economic, and cultural pressures to do otherwise is our journey of faith. Anne is among many who no longer exchanges gifts with most of her closest friends. It's a conscious decision on Anne's part to step off of the shopping-at-midnight-on- Thanksgiving-night express. Or getting up at 5:00am - so last year, according to the paper. Or in other ways getting caught up in the frenzy of holiday buying. It's not that she can't afford to do so. It's that instead, she sends donation in honor of these friends to non-profit groups they mutually support. In just a few days, Anne will also be moving into a small condominium, downsizing from her already tiny apartment. And as she makes the move, she is sorting through everything she still possesses, asking the questions: do I truly love it? Do I really need it? In other words, is the item in question a functional necessity - a cooking pot - or something that brings joy to her heart. I'm the first to admit, Anne is way ahead of me. Her faith-based commitment to living simply, to reducing the size of her ecological footprint is broader and deeper than mine. But her commitment strengthens my own, and influences my decisions, and I am grateful for her witness. Anne is a constant reminder to me. In the midst of all of our possibilities, from the car we buy to the clothes we wear, to the cleansers we use at home, to the ways in which we celebrate Christmas, we have choices. We choose in more ways than we often recognize, to be disciples of "the one who is...the faithful witness." Or not. Because the really hard part of Revelation is that it was written for those on the underside of the empire. Those who were persecuted, those who were without voice or vote or clout of any kind. It was written to the priesthood of all believers - then and now - who are called to create a new world without waiting for leaders of empires then or now to lead the way. We are not called simply to mark time, but to live as disciples in this time in ways that proclaim Christ's reign in our lives today. The good news is that the living Christ walks with us and guides us when we open our hearts to Christ's presence. *** |