Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Revelation 13
We spent a lot of time comparing the Roman Empire with the American Empire. The goal is not to glorify or bring down what the United States is, but to see how the text applies to our context today. And, our critique should be that of 'the lamb who was slain,' or Jesus. And, according to Revelation 13, Jesus' critique of the Roman Empire (represented by the 2 beasts in chapter 13, and the dragon in chapter12) was that it was all about power, and that power was empty. It was power for it's own sake. The Church is not to partake of or desire that sort of power. On the other hand, the power that is in God has substance for he is the author of all that is.
So, what should our response to the power of this world be? WORSHIP! When we worship God, we are glorifying Him, and honoring Him and his creation; we are glorifying He who has substance and is the author of all that is good. And it operates in contrast to the power of this world. To create 'peace,' empires must enforce their power on others. Rome had the Pax Romana (the peace of Rome) which existed from the time of Jesus until the 300s, but it required force of arms and acquiescence to the power of the Roman Empire to enforce. The peace of Christ is not based on force, but on the 'lamb who was slain'; it is based on Jesus laying down his life, and we demonstrate that we do not partake of Roman style power by worshiping the creator instead.
Another minor point made on Sunday was that in Revelation, worship is never a solitary act, but it's always a communal one. I don't think this is making the point that we cannot worship God on our own, but that there is particular value in our corporate worship as a body of believers. More than that, when we worship together, we are making a statement that we value the power that comes from 'the lamb who was slain.' It's in opposition to the sort of power that is wielded by empire, or any earthly power source for that matter.
Some Questions to Ponder:
1. What does our worship as a body of believers look like? If it's that important, how do we find opportunities to do it more?
2. Are there ways (overt and subtle) which we participate in empire-style power in our own lives? How do we respond?
3. Wouldn't some home-made ice cream taste real good right now?
Monday, July 20, 2009
Revelation 12
This week we discussed the story in Revelation with the woman, the child, the dragon, and the war in heaven with the angels. The woman represents humanity, and the child who is given birth is Jesus. The dragon represents Satan, and the powers and principalities of this earth. In the story, the Son "sheperds all nations", while the dragon tries to lead the earth astray. The dragon is thrown down while the son is raised up, and the woman (humanity/God's people?) are kept safe in the end though the dragon tries to drown them.
There are several things that I latched onto as we discussed. The first is that the dragon tried to raise himself up and was thrown down, and that Jesus descended before he ascended which respresented a choice of humility and servanthood over pride and haughtiness. Sam pointed out some scriptures in Colossians? in which Paul pointed out that it was God who raised Jesus to the highest place. I also think about Jesus' message to his disciples that the first shall be last and the last shall be first. I think of how often I seek to be recognized when what is needed is to fade in to the background and allow God to work. In the heavenly economy, it's the servant of others who is in the highest place.
There was also lots of discussion about bringing how we divide the secular and the spiritual. During the Enlightenment, there was a movement toward trusting science and technology to arrive at the truth while relegating religion to a separate sphere resulting in our faith being taken out of the marketplace of ideas and relevancy to the problems of the day. However, our faith is central to the issues of our day. Moreover, we should not separate the mundane of everyday life from the spiritual, for Jesus is not in the stained glass and the monasteries and the mountaintops any more than he is in our relationships, or our everyday routines, our finances, and in the power structures of our society. We must make Jesus central to all of life, and not put 'religion' into a separate sphere.
There was also a discussion of the principalities, and powers (Ephesians 6). Sam pointed out that these powers are not just spiritual (again, an effect of the dualism which separates the sacred and the secular), but real, tangible, and earthly. The powers and principalities seem to refer to government, business, or any other group that possesses authority here on earth. I'm glad this was brought up since it becomes too easy to make things into a whole discussion on spiritual warfare, angels and demons. It's the reason for the phrase, "so heavenly focused that they are of no earthly good.' I think our understanding of all of this has to do with bringing our faith to bear on our everyday lives through prayer and action. Furthermore (this may just be me going off on a tangent), another way I think we can avoid being complicit with the 'powers and principalities' is through the local and through community. I have more to say on that, but I have no more time....
This week we discussed the story in Revelation with the woman, the child, the dragon, and the war in heaven with the angels. The woman represents humanity, and the child who is given birth is Jesus. The dragon represents Satan, and the powers and principalities of this earth. In the story, the Son "sheperds all nations", while the dragon tries to lead the earth astray. The dragon is thrown down while the son is raised up, and the woman (humanity/God's people?) are kept safe in the end though the dragon tries to drown them.
There are several things that I latched onto as we discussed. The first is that the dragon tried to raise himself up and was thrown down, and that Jesus descended before he ascended which respresented a choice of humility and servanthood over pride and haughtiness. Sam pointed out some scriptures in Colossians? in which Paul pointed out that it was God who raised Jesus to the highest place. I also think about Jesus' message to his disciples that the first shall be last and the last shall be first. I think of how often I seek to be recognized when what is needed is to fade in to the background and allow God to work. In the heavenly economy, it's the servant of others who is in the highest place.
There was also lots of discussion about bringing how we divide the secular and the spiritual. During the Enlightenment, there was a movement toward trusting science and technology to arrive at the truth while relegating religion to a separate sphere resulting in our faith being taken out of the marketplace of ideas and relevancy to the problems of the day. However, our faith is central to the issues of our day. Moreover, we should not separate the mundane of everyday life from the spiritual, for Jesus is not in the stained glass and the monasteries and the mountaintops any more than he is in our relationships, or our everyday routines, our finances, and in the power structures of our society. We must make Jesus central to all of life, and not put 'religion' into a separate sphere.
There was also a discussion of the principalities, and powers (Ephesians 6). Sam pointed out that these powers are not just spiritual (again, an effect of the dualism which separates the sacred and the secular), but real, tangible, and earthly. The powers and principalities seem to refer to government, business, or any other group that possesses authority here on earth. I'm glad this was brought up since it becomes too easy to make things into a whole discussion on spiritual warfare, angels and demons. It's the reason for the phrase, "so heavenly focused that they are of no earthly good.' I think our understanding of all of this has to do with bringing our faith to bear on our everyday lives through prayer and action. Furthermore (this may just be me going off on a tangent), another way I think we can avoid being complicit with the 'powers and principalities' is through the local and through community. I have more to say on that, but I have no more time....
Monday, July 6, 2009
Hey folks,
At our retreat in May, I said that I would try to create a discussion forum to provide thoughts, ideas, insights, etc. about whatever was discussed the previous Sunday. Well, it's taken me 1 1/2 months to finally get around and do it. What I will try to do each week I am there is to provide a summary, thoughts, and provoking questions on what we discussed each week. The goal (mine at least) is for people to respond in whatever way they want. It could be further thoughts on something, questions, insights, personal stories, whatever. My hope is that it will function in a few ways. First, I think it will provide Sam some feedback on where people are, and perhaps some ideas on where to head the following Sunday. Next, I hope it will encourage us to be thinking "God thoughts" throughout the week. And, ultimately it's just another way the Body of Christ can be the Body of Christ since it's partially through listening to and sharpening each other in Jesus that we are more of who he intended us to be.
Recognize that some of the initial thoughts here may come directly from the Sunday, discussion, some from me, and I may have missed some things as well, so extending grace to me on this is assumed.
Sermon on Revelation 7
1. Sam talked a lot about where we get our identity from (people, trends, the types of flip-flops we wear), but that our id. is in Christ and the fact that we are 'sealed' in him. This makes us distinct, and should make us stand out in some way. In what ways should we stand out? We spent some time discussing what that looks like as individuals and as the Body. Thoughts......
2. There was some discussion on the 144,000 who are sealed, mention of the Jehovah's Witnesses and their belief that there will be 144,000 who will be 'saved.' (please don't interpret this as their doctrine, as I don't know it that well). Sam, sorry you lost me on the specifics of the 144,000. Thoughts....
3. There was also talk about how Revelation uses the language of conquering, and that the 144,000 refers to the 'church' being a set aside group whose goal is to 'conquer.' However, the Church does not conquer through physical violence, but by the lamb who was slain, by the blood of Jesus, and so we identify with the 'Lion of Judah' who was also the 'lamb who was slain.' Gosh, there is so much here because Jesus conquered by willingly submitting, not by exerting his will. ('not my will, but YOURS be done,' 'He became nothing, talking on the very nature of a servant'). I suppose we should ask ourselves what it means to identify with the lamb who was slain and what that sort of 'conquering' looks like.
4. I'm sure I missed a lot, so feel free to add any other threads to this. My hope is that this forum can also be a safe place where people don't post thoughts and questions because they feel like they will appear ignorant. We're all brothers and sisters, so let's build one another up....
-Michael
At our retreat in May, I said that I would try to create a discussion forum to provide thoughts, ideas, insights, etc. about whatever was discussed the previous Sunday. Well, it's taken me 1 1/2 months to finally get around and do it. What I will try to do each week I am there is to provide a summary, thoughts, and provoking questions on what we discussed each week. The goal (mine at least) is for people to respond in whatever way they want. It could be further thoughts on something, questions, insights, personal stories, whatever. My hope is that it will function in a few ways. First, I think it will provide Sam some feedback on where people are, and perhaps some ideas on where to head the following Sunday. Next, I hope it will encourage us to be thinking "God thoughts" throughout the week. And, ultimately it's just another way the Body of Christ can be the Body of Christ since it's partially through listening to and sharpening each other in Jesus that we are more of who he intended us to be.
Recognize that some of the initial thoughts here may come directly from the Sunday, discussion, some from me, and I may have missed some things as well, so extending grace to me on this is assumed.
Sermon on Revelation 7
1. Sam talked a lot about where we get our identity from (people, trends, the types of flip-flops we wear), but that our id. is in Christ and the fact that we are 'sealed' in him. This makes us distinct, and should make us stand out in some way. In what ways should we stand out? We spent some time discussing what that looks like as individuals and as the Body. Thoughts......
2. There was some discussion on the 144,000 who are sealed, mention of the Jehovah's Witnesses and their belief that there will be 144,000 who will be 'saved.' (please don't interpret this as their doctrine, as I don't know it that well). Sam, sorry you lost me on the specifics of the 144,000. Thoughts....
3. There was also talk about how Revelation uses the language of conquering, and that the 144,000 refers to the 'church' being a set aside group whose goal is to 'conquer.' However, the Church does not conquer through physical violence, but by the lamb who was slain, by the blood of Jesus, and so we identify with the 'Lion of Judah' who was also the 'lamb who was slain.' Gosh, there is so much here because Jesus conquered by willingly submitting, not by exerting his will. ('not my will, but YOURS be done,' 'He became nothing, talking on the very nature of a servant'). I suppose we should ask ourselves what it means to identify with the lamb who was slain and what that sort of 'conquering' looks like.
4. I'm sure I missed a lot, so feel free to add any other threads to this. My hope is that this forum can also be a safe place where people don't post thoughts and questions because they feel like they will appear ignorant. We're all brothers and sisters, so let's build one another up....
-Michael
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