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PERICOPE STUDY -
CENTER FOR THEOLOGY, LRC
The Sunday of All Saints
November 2, 2003
The Old Testament Lesson: Isaiah 26:6-9
On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of wine on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wine on the lees well refined. And he will destroy on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death for ever, and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth; for the LORD has spoken.
1. The "feast of fat things" section in Isaiah follows an interesting sequence: first, a poem on God's laying "waste the earth" and making it "desolate," on account of the sins of the people (24:1-12) … and, after a brief few verses of praise (24:13-16a) for an expectation of triumph, there is judgment an a kind of eschatological cataclysm … with storm and earthquake, eclipse, and celestial and earthly punishment (24:16b-23). Then another thanksgiving poem for victory (25:1-5) immediately precedes the narrative section that announces that God will "swallow up death forever." Scott in Interpreter's Bible argues that "this collection of eschatological prophecy, psalms, and prayers" (which includes 24:1 - 27:13) dates "from the later postexilic period" and "was appended to an earlier edition of the book of Isaiah which comprised the bulk of the material now found in chapters 1-23." (Vol. 5, p. 297) Eschatological prophecy interspersed with psalms contains this declaration from the prophet as to what God finally intends. What is here in this small section seems to be the telos of God's eschatological intent, an announcement of ultimate triumph not so much for the nation as for all peoples - it is, after all, open to all humanity, this covering and veil that is destroyed on this mountain. Restoration moves beyond the Sinai chosen and back to the promise to Abraham … in this feast all peoples shall find themselves a blessing. God will wipe away tears from all faces.
2. Ernest Becker, in Denial of Death, written in the early 1970s as he struggled with terminal cancer, explored the human condition as to the veil, arguing that, contra Freud, it is less sexuality than mortality that shapes human personality, human consciousness. In this view, Copenhagen's Kierkegaard rather than Vienna's Freud understood best what is fundamental to the human condition. Freud's disciple Otto Rank sided with Copenhagen in the "debate": the fundamental reality of "the veil" informs human activity more powerfully than sexuality, whether overtly or subliminally. For Kierkegaard, what he called the "characterological lie" is the necessary move that we make to facilitate basic human functioning, getting along from day to day. Though we know we are going to die, he said, we bracket that knowledge of mortality, put it aside - actually, live as though we are not mortal - just in order to be able to put one foot in front of the other, to get done what we basically need to do. Otherwise, we would despair, as in "what's the use"?
3. Becker, who professed no allegiance to Jesus as Son of God, much less his Lord and Savior, nonetheless applauded the Christian faith for, as he said, "getting it right." If the "fundamental human problem" is death, then the Empty Tomb, the Resurrection, is the key question for religion and faith. Not ethics. Not an "immortal soul." Not praise. Not keeping the Law. But resurrection. The Christian faith addresses at its core the key issue: what to do about the veil.
4. At the other end of the spectrum: somewhere in Arizona the severed head of Teddy Ballgame awaits its cryogenic apotheosis. The sad tale of conflict between the Williams siblings turns not so much on immortality as on greed, with the brother seeking to make money on the future possibility of science. But the tale, the sad yearning, is as old as Faust, even older. Studies in aging report, a few weeks ago, that human beings could perhaps forestall the aging process, even doubling the current life span. Never mind the succeeding generations, as to their burden or their crowding. Common sense, whether as to charlatans or as to science, knows the human condition. Becker, for all his philosophic examination of several traditions and his concession to the "Christian solution," did not seek immortality or eternal life on this planet.
5. Isaiah of old foretold it, this passing of the pall. Seemingly "out of the blue" in that section that alternates between destruction and punishment on the one hand, and victory on the other, comes the victory. The saints who from their labors rest do so in sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life. The vision of the prophet twenty-five hundred years ago came to glorious fulfillment on Golgotha. The place of the skull was the setting, the "mountain" where God destroyed the "covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations." The hysterically (!) joyful announcement of the women - last in creation and first in temptation; last at the cross and first at the empty tomb - heralded both the tiny band of cowering apostles and the vast multitudes of generations yet unborn: He is Risen! The message is incipiently there, already, in Isaiah: "On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of wine on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wine on the lees well refined. And he will destroy on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death for ever, and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth; for the LORD has spoken." God's promise is true, and faithful altogether.
6. From earth's wide bounds they come, from ocean's farthest coast. Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host. Singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Alleluia! Alleluia!
JLY - 10.28.03
The Gospel Lesson: St. John 11:32-44
1. The new lectionary series changed the gospel lesson for All Saints Day from Matthew 5:1-12, the Beatitude litany of the blessed, to a portion of St. John's account of the raising of Lazarus. Thus is the "hagiological focus" shifted from the shape of discipleship--the penultimate beatitudes--to the victory over the last enemy, the resurrection reality of the eschaton.
2. The account of Lazarus' illness and death opens the eleventh chapter. As St. John tells it, Jesus is across the Jordan, at "the place where John at first baptized," in retreat from his most recent confrontation with the Jews at the feast of the Dedication. To his question, "I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of these do you stone me?" the Jews have answered: "It is not for a good work that we stone you but for blasphemy; because you, being a man, make yourself God." (10:32-33) In the aftermath of that exchange, "again they tried to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands."
Jesus waits two days to respond to the request of Mary and Martha to come attend their brother, and tells the disciples plainly, at the point of leaving, that Lazarus has died. Martha goes out to meet him with the greeting, a gentle chastisement but a chastisement nonetheless, that "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. And even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you." Jesus said to her, " Your brother will rise again." Martha said to him, " I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world." Mary arrives and repeats Martha's grief-stricken greeting: "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." (11:23-32)
3. After these two exchanges, Jesus is deeply moved by the sorrow of Mary and Martha: "Jesus wept," according to St. John. Onlookers themselves were moved: "See how he loved him!" is their observation. Then he came to the tomb and spoke a single sentence: "Take away the stone." Mary protests that after four days there will be already an odor. Jesus responds, "Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God"? After the stone is rolled, Jesus sprays: "Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. I knew that thou hearest me always, but I have said this on account of the people standing by, that they may believe that thou didst send me." When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out." The dead man came out, his hands and feed bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go." (11:35-42, passim)
4. What for us is prolepsis to both the resurrection of Jesus as well as to the final resurrection was to the Jews of Jesus' time the occasion for serious, even frantic, counsel. They concluded that Jesus was Trouble, with the capital "T." Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said it plainly: "You know nothing at all; you do not understand that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish." (11:49-50) St. John teaches that Caiaphas "did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. So from that day on they took counsel how to put him to death." (11:51-53). And thus unfolded God's plan.
5. It was, of course, His death and resurrection that accomplished the necessary precondition to God's calling of each of us to be among the agioi qeou, the saints of God. In baptism God has made us His people, His persons, His children. To be declared righteous, to be thus justified, is to be received holy into the family of God. Paul writes "to all God's beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints," (1:7), to "the church of God which is at Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours." (I Cor. 1:2) And again "to the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia." (II Cor. 1:1) Still again, "to the saints who are also faithful in Christ Jesus" (var. "who are at Ephesus and faithful"). (Eph. 1:1). And on, and on.
6. It is clear that the Last Apostle understands as saints those who are called to discipleship in the ekklesia of God. That he also expects from them a saintly life is equally clear. He knows that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). He knows that some of us sinners have been immoral, idolaters, adulterers, sexual perverts, thieves, greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers--those who "will not inherit the kingdom of God." (I Cor. 6:9) What makes us saints is that we have been "washed, … sanctified, … justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." (6:11)
7. The life of discipleship is a life in the discipline of faith, walking by the Spirit. As Paul says it in Galatians: "walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh….Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before (see above, in the first Corinthian correspondence), that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us have no self-conceit, no provoking of one another, no envy of one another." (5:16-25) That is the shape of sainthood, its living content. Its status is God-declared.
8. As for those who from their labors rest, whose names we remember and whose lives we respect, they are the ones for whom the resurrection is a reality on a level radically more intimate and more personal than we presently experience. The resurrection of Lazarus is the single most pointed event during the ministry of Jesus as to the power of Love over death, the power of God over the last enemy to be destroyed. The new heaven and the new earth, visioned by St. John of Patmos, are the venue for the dwelling of God with humanity. "He will dwell with them and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away." (21:3-4)
Thanks to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the heavenly chorus swells by the ranks of saints joining. As sine nomine sings it: "from earth's wide bounds, from ocean's farthest coast, through gates of pearl streams in the countless host. Singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost: Alleluia, alleluia!" Indeed, Alleluia!
JLY - 10.31.00…rev. 10.27.03
Sunday, November 2, 2003
All Saints Sunday
Revelation 21:1-6a
The Rev. C. Pierson Shaw, Jr.
SECOND READING: Revelation 21:1-6a
In the book of Revelation, John describes his vision of heaven, where the saints of God will live in light and glory. Of all the blessings found there, none will exceed that of simply being with God.
I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
"See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them as their God;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
4he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away."
5And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true." 6aThen he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end."
Sitz im Leben
The style of the Revelation of St. John the Divine is one of an epistle. In that respect John (whom ever he may be) intends that this letter be read aloud in the worshipping communities to which it is addressed. With this in mind there is a "cover letter" 1:4-20 addressed to the seven Churches in the Roman Province of Asia. Then there are the 7 letters to the Churches of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicia.
John seems to see the Ephesian Church as most important by its placement in the list. Ephesus it seems has taken a stance against false teachers among them the Nicolaitans. This is the first of three of the churches that seem to be dealing with the Nicolaitans. There is some debate as to what the followers of this movement were engaged in teaching. Some have speculated that the Nicolaitans were followers of Nicolaus of Antioch, a proselyte mentioned in Acts 6:5 who was one of the seven appointed to look after the distribution of food and goods held in common. Scholars debate not only as to whether this is the nature of the heresy as well as to whether Nicolaus of Antioch was even its leader. Some have speculated that he encouraged the consumption of food offered to pagan idols. A matter addressed by Paul and the early Jerusalem Church. If in fact the Nicolaitans held to this some may have slipped back into more pagan customs of sexual immorality and living a double existence. If this is true they may well have been an Antinomian sect remaining in the Church, yet causing a great deal of distruction. Not only did Irenaeus see this as the nature of the heresy but he saw Nicolaus of Antioch as its instigator. Tertullian on the other hand, while not disputing who was behind the heresy, would suggest that they were a cult who believed in mortifying the flesh. Whatever the exact nature of the heresy, or who started it, we may assume that the false and perverted doctrines of this movement likely reared their ugly head again and continue to do so to the present day though in new revivalist forms.2 Despite the Ephesians perseverance against the Nicolaitans John suggests that the same spirit of love is not in this community as much as at one time.
Smyrna receives not just praise but chastisement. There may be some there that in order to avoid persecution may be claiming to be Jews. Another possibility is that John may be raising with them a concern that some in the community may be seeing the Church in exclusivist terms as the "New Israel." Whatever, John's particular concern, it is a church that is enduring amid much loss and persecution, and a church that may well experience the death of some martyrs in their midst.
Pergamum for its part must endure being the capitol of the province of Asia. John mentions "the throne of Satan" in which John may be alluding to the temple to Augustus and to the goddess Roma. As center of the emperor cult the members of the Church at Pergamum had much to endure. But they are warned to be aware of the teachings of Balaam. This allusion to corrupt teachers may be again a caution against the Nicolaitans.
In Thyatira John seems to be commend the congregation for its patient endurance under persecution. However the community seems to be tolerating a false prophetess whom John compares to Jezebel. This false teacher may well be again the influence of the Nicolaitans or another heretical movement. "Her children" likely refers to the followers of this false prophetess rather than to literal adulterous offspring.
In addressing Sardis John speaks to a congregation that has become spiritually apathetic. In light of this John uses words credited to Jesus in the Gospel accounts, along with admonitions of the Apostle Paul, in passages by the time of this writing, have likely achieved authoritative status through usage. (Mark 13:33) John urges the congregation to recall what they have seen and heard, to holdfast and to repent, immediately. They should be on guard for Christ's second coming will be "like a thief at night" (Matthew 24:43-44; I Thessalonians 5:2-4). Yet in Sardis there are those who have remained faithful and are worthy of the white garments of purity, a thought not unfamiliar even to the Psalmist (Psalms 104). While there is no specific mention of a bodily resurrection here as in Paul, it may be assumed that this is what is meant as the reward that awaits those who are written in the "book of life." This is indicative also of Christ's heavenly acknowledgement on the Day of Judgment. (Matthew 10:32; Luke 12:8)
Philadelphia as the sixth Church receives nothing but praise. The letter to them in 3:7-13 is one of encouragement in which through the "open door" opened by the "key of David" Christians may see an opening for missionary work but also the entrance into the new kingdom.
Finally, Laodicea as the Seventh Church is a place of apathy. Here they are reminded that it is Christ who is "the amen" and is called the "beginning of God's Creation. This is reminiscent of Paul's "first born of the dead," more than a doctrine of Christ's pre-existence as in the Deutero-Pauline letter to the Colossian Church. John refers to Laodicea as the lukewarm church to which God declares I stand at the door and knock on the door of the house church. This is an image in which Christ comes to the whole community and seeks welcome (Not as is so often portrayed the door of the individual Christian heart of so much piety). The image is one who comes into the banquet, which is a foretaste of the feast to come.
The environment, which gave rise to the book of Revelation, was an attempt by imperialist Roman authorities to reintroduce emperor worship in the lives of Roman citizens. The author John the Divine, pictures the empire as a seven headed beast rising out of the sea. The imperial priesthood, so necessary to the emperor cult is represented as a second beast, having two horns, which attempts to emulate the lamb that is the messiah, only it this beast has the voice of the dragon suggesting that it is of Satan. By working great signs and imposing hardships the horned beast suggests an instigation of the emperor cult worship.
In the early '60's Nero instituted a violent persecution of the Church but it was restricted to the Church of Rome not a systematic persecution throughout the empire. In addition, Nero's persecution did not accompany an attempt to establish the emperor cult. However, some 20 years later under the reign of Domitian there was a systematic persecution. John writes as an exile from the Island of Patmos. This would suggest a possible writing of the book toward the end of the '90's. This certainly was the view of Irenaius who dated the book in that last decade of Domtian's reign. The challenge to this dating comes if one considers that the number of the beast in 3:18 (666) is referring as many have supposed, to Nero. Perhaps the allusion to Nero is a recalling of past events and bringing them into the present. While the book of Revelation differs from traditional Hebrew apocalyptic literature in that it is not written under a pseudonym, it may well make use, at least in this case, of calling forward into the present, events from the past to give comfort both in the present and in the future. The use of Nero may also suggest some suspicion that the fifth Roman Emperor did not in fact commit suicide in 68 and would come again to afflict Rome. Some might have seen Domitian as the reincarnation of Nero. What might be more plausible is that Domitian is certainly an archetype of the tyrannical rule of Nero. A mater of history that may further help to date the book may be alluded to in Revelation 6:6. "And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, A quart of wheat for a day's pay, and three quarts of barely for a day's pay, but do not damage the olive oil and the wine." (NRSV) The image of the black horse and its rider holding a balance is an apocalyptic image. The image of the quart would suggest a day's food for a person at a day's wage. A day's food for a denarius suggests apocalyptic famine. But there well may be something more here. At the bequest of Italian winegrowers Domitian issued an edict in 92 AD restricting the cultivation of vineyards to the provinces. The opposition was so great in Asia Minor (The very region of the seven churches to which John is writing) that even Domitian was compelled to revoke his earlier order. The dating of this "protectionist trade policy" may help us to further date the letter. Finally, one further support for the writing of the Revelation of John in the 90's is that Domitian's enforced emperor cult was especially conducted with the greatest in Asia. In addition, a temple to Domitian was erected in Ephesus, one of the seven cities to whom John writes. 3
Exegesis of Revelation 21:1-6a
John as the seer in our pericope envisions a new heaven and a new earth. He looks out upon a new creation in which the vast sea, indicative of the waters of chaos is no more. The new Jerusalem, the holy city to which pilgrims over the centuries had ventured is portrayed as coming down out of heaven. The temple, which by this time of this writing had been destroyed for over twenty years, was but a fleeting memory. But now it comes from heaven as a bride adorned for her husband. No longer is Jerusalem the harlot chastised by the prophets, but it is in her wedding dress adorned for her husband the Christ. Jerusalem, the Holy City as home for God's people is brought down to meet her husband. This is an eschatological vision not a vision of the Church in the present age supplanting Judaism, as perhaps the Nicholaitans may have perceived the realities of the present age. Rather this new Jerusalem comes at the end, when all things will be made new. God speaks from the throne. The voice that spoke the creation into existence now heralds in an age where God's home is among humankind. God will tabernacle with them as had Lady Wisdom in the Jewish Wisdom literature and as the Word had tabernacled with us in Christ. We will be God's people and God will be among us, with no more separation that has been part of the world since the fall. Once God had walked with Adam and his helpmate Eve in the cool of the evening there has been no relationship like this. In the age to come, that level of relationship will be restored. God will wipe ever tear from their eyes, grief and brokenness of the world, and death to sin will be no more. Mourning and crying and pain along with death were part of the fallen broken existence after the fall. In the age to come they are no more.
Then God makes a pronouncement saying "I am making all things new, and then commands that the seer as God's scribe, revealer and mouthpiece write these things down that they may be continually proclaimed. Then in words of completion declares, "it is done." As Jesus whom the Evangelist John tells us from the cross cries "it is finished" declaring that God has been glorified in the cross, and so ushers in a new age, so now God declares what has been done in this new creation has brought the eschatological new age into existence. "I am the Alpha and the Omega" the beginning and the end. This again is not the doctrine of the Christ who was before all time, but rather the first fruits, (the beginning), and the one who has and who will end the old world as we know it.
Preaching on Revelation 21:1-6a
So often preachers in the mainline Churches have relegated this wonderful book to fakers and dooms dayers who see this apocalyptic material justification for their own paranoia. Sad, because in this Revelation of St. John there is so much comfort and assurance that indeed God bring ultimate victory out of defeat and suffering. In the seven churches we see our own congregations who often deal with the same complacency and heresies as the first century. While ours is not a world of persecution as one found in 93 AD, we do live in a post-Christendom age in which the world has little understanding of the images used here. Even the faithful have relegated this confusing imagery to books that appear on the New York Times best seller lists such as Left Behind or the Late Great Planet Earth. In the verse that follows our pericope there is the river to which all who are thirsty are welcome with out price. It is reminiscent of Isaiah 55:1 "Ho everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, and you that have no money come buy and eat!" Revelation like Tritio-Isaiah speaks to Exiles who see a view of their restored Jerusalem. For Isaiah's returned exiles it is a time for rebuilding. For the exiles of this age it is a people who look forward to the wedding feast, which has no end, when at last we are present with our Lord who is the one who is the beginning of the new age. It is he who will bring the old age to an end. The one who has been raised from the dead is our bridegroom, who awaits the whole company of saints at the heavenly banquet, which is Jerusalem. In our individualistic culture this vision of the whole company of the departed saints is maybe even more of a relevant image. But this image of the next kingdom is one in which the chaos and brokenness of this age are no more. It is an age with now more pain, or tears or brokenness. But most importantly it is a kingdom in which God tabernacles with us, rather than us having to ascent into another realm. This vision of the Kingdom to come, as one that comes down and is among mortals is perhaps the most startling part of this "new creation." It is a creation and a heavenly wedding banquet of which we get a foretaste our weekly participation in the Eucharist. It like the waters in which we were baptized comes with out a price to us.
1Words for Worship 2003
2The Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible Volume 2. p. 548
3The Interpreter's One-Volume Commentary on the Bible; Including the Apocrypha, pp. 950-952.
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