"Writing Case" [Born to Free] — Post 2

So, what is this about a writing case? In Ezekiel 9, the prophet sees a man, a clear Christophany, dressed in linen and carrying a writing case who is told to pass through the city of Jerusalem and mark everyone who sighs (with dismay) over the sins committed in the city; this proto-baptismal mark, like the blood of the Passover lamb at the Exodus, plays a protective function, because the Lord was about to destroy the city, as he did the Egyptian firstborn in the tenth plague (a judgment upon Egypt for Pharoah's destruction of the male children of the Hebrew slaves). In short, those with this protective mark will be spared. Remember how the liturgy of the Sacrament of Baptism says: "child of the covenant, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked (!) as Christ's own forever." The water is applied, drips off, and dries, but the invisible, spiritual mark is permanent, yes, eternal, because the child of the covenant is now engrafted and incorporated into the very body of the Christ who has conquered death, himself the Resurrection and the Life. Baptism into Christ, in which he marks us as his own, is the death to sin that exempts us from a second, permanent death.

Meanwhile, Revelation (which frequently refers to the imagery we find in the book of Ezekiel) speaks of the Lamb's book of life (Rev 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12, 15; 21:27), a register of those whose names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20) and thus marked for salvation. [There is, of course, that other mark mentioned in the book of Revelation, i.e., the mark of the beast, universally recognized as the mark of those destined for a very different, unhappy end, but this is the happy opposite of that.]

NOTE (likely to be repeated): Although this track is available on most major streaming services, I actually use very few social media platforms; so, when it says, "Please share with those you love," I would be grateful if you would funnel this musical "Jesus prayer" to your loved ones by way of (copy and paste links to) any social platforms that you happen to use. Thank you for doing so. Thank you, as well, for going the extra mile to support indie authors and musicians by, not just liking, but sharing, purchasing downloads, spreading the word, etc. God bless you. God bless us, everyone.

Heinrich Bullinger's Sermons on the Apocalypse The First Vision (Revelation 1—3)

The first 22 of Bullinger's 101 sermons on Revelation. What more orthodox and trustworthy (human) interpreter of the Apocalypse could the church ask for than the author of the Second Helvetic Confession? 

Very reasonably priced hard cover with d.j.

Read the actual Apocalypse and calm down

Everytime I run across a cute or quasi-clever neologism that hitches the suffix –ocalypse to some popular impulse to set everyone's hair on fire, I think: Now whoever came up with that very likely has never actually read the Book of Revelation or has not done so recently or seriously. The same is true of the Bible generally. What does panic indicate so clearly and accurately as someone who does not know the Bible, is unaquainted with the promises and the nature of God, and has no sense of the sheer goodness and grace of God and his desire that none should perish? Put another way, when you find that reading the actual Apocalypse (the Book of Revelation) has a calming effect on you, when you come away from it profoundly reassured, then you know you are the right track and you can also recognize that all the folks in panic mode over everything are, to put it kindly, not. 

Don't cross tattoos and economics

Dude. Haven't these people read Revelation?

OK, so what would Year E look like?

I'm glad you asked. In the Introduction to Year D, I suggest the ideal of a seven-year lectionary (see Deut 31:10-11), and offer a few criteria for Years E through G.

As you may know, Year D does not really address the problem of Acts or Revelation, each of which are treated by the RCL as an epistle, even occasionally using Acts in lieu of the Old Testament, a decision that suggests certain undertones of Marcionism. I would suggest, by contrast, treating Acts as the Gospel for Year E and Revelation as the Epistle. This pattern would carry through the entire year, more or less continually, and without any obligatory sense of a need to tie them together, although the juxtaposition may well (and often does) prove very interesting.

To address the problem of the Psalms which are pretty thoroughly represented once Year D is added, I've suggested working with other poetic material from the prophetic oracles and the wisdom literature.

Meanwhile, since the untreated Old Testament material is so vast, I've suggested two parallel tracks for Year E — yes, a choice would have to be made — which I label OTE1 and OTE2. Furthermore, each track would have to be developed as "episodic," taking into account the fact that an event or episode may span several chapters, in which case the preacher would likely need to select the verses to be read much more narrowly, and devote a significant portion of the sermon to placing things in context.

By the way, take a moment to read through the lections from Ruth (First through Third Advent) as is, with all the RCL verses omitted (skipping even the bits in parentheses, which are provided for context, but are also bracketed so as to denote their prior representation in RCL). I find this obverse reading quite interesting, in that, anyone who is at all familiar with the story (esp. by way of hearing it read via the RCL) will find the whole well represented by this partial reading. The impression one gets is of a tapestry that reveals the same pattern on the back as on the front, even if the reverse is the less finished or formally presentable side.

Here is a sample you may wish to consider for this coming Advent and Christmas.

The Advent-Christmas-Epiphany Cycle

The First Sunday of Advent

OTE1: Genesis 12:10-20; 15:13-16 (18-19) 20-21

OTE2: Ruth 1:19-2:23

Song of Solomon 1:1-8

Acts 1:1-5

Revelation 1:1-3

The Second Sunday of Advent

OTE1: Exodus 1:1-7; 2:1-25 OR 6:14-27

OTE2: Ruth 3:6-4:12 (13-17) 18-22

Song of Solomon 1:9-2:7

Acts 1:6-11

Revelation 1:4-6

The Third Sunday of Advent

OTE1: Exodus 3: (13-15) 16-22; 4:18-31

OTE2: 1Samuel 1:1-3 (19-20) 21-28; 2:11, 18-21, 26; 3: (19-20) 21-4:1a

Song of Solomon 2: (8-13) 14-17

Acts 1:12-14

Revelation 1:7-8

The Fourth Sunday of Advent

OTE1: Exodus 5:1-23 AND/OR 6:1-13, 28-30; 7:1-13 OR Numbers 24:15-19

OTE2: 1Samuel 2:12-17, 22-25, 27-36 AND/OR 4:1b-22

Song of Solomon 3:1-5

Acts 1:15-26 AND/OR 9:10-19

Revelation 1:9-16

Christmas Eve

OTE1: Exodus 10:21-11:10; 12: (1-2) 15-31

OTE2: 1Samuel 5:1-12; 6:1-22; 7:1-2

Song of Solomon 3:6-11

Acts 1:9-11 OR 2:1-21 [AND/OR Matthew 1:18-25; 2:1-12]

Revelation 1:17-20 OR 12:1-9 (10-12) 13-17 OR 21:1-8

Christmas Morning

OTE1: Exodus 10:21-11:10; 12: (1-2) 15-32

OTE2: 1Samuel 5:1-12; 6:1-22; 7:1-2

Song of Solomon 3:6-11

Acts 1:1-21 OR 2:22-36

Revelation 1:17-20 OR 12:1-9 (10-12) 13-17 OR 21:1-8

Christmas Day

OTE1: Exodus 10:21-11:10; 12: (1-2) 15-32

OTE2: 1Samuel 5:1-12; 6:1-22; 7:1-2

Song of Solomon 3:6-11

Acts 2:22-36 AND/OR 2:36-47

Revelation 1:17-20 OR 12:1-9 (10-12) 13-17 OR 21:1-8

More to come as time allows ...