The two prophets heard a voice (Revelation 11:4-12)

The Book of Revelation is a paradoxical book. On the one hand it’s utterly confusing. On the other hand it’s utterly clear.

Take today’s description of the two witnesses. It seems to fit Moses and Elijah, who tradition said would return to earth before the final Day of the Lord. And, certainly, they did return to earth to speak with Jesus during the transfiguration.

But other parts of the description leave us utterly confused.

Even though we may not know the meaning of many individual passages in Revelation, the main message of the book is clear. God is saying to the persecuted Christians for whom the book was originally intended:

“Hold on! Just as my Son emerged victorious after his suffering, so will you. So take heart!”

How do we “hold on” and “take heart” in trials?

Jesus said to his disciples, “You can do nothing without me.”

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The king has a strange dream (Daniel 2:31-45)

The four kingdoms of Babylonia, Media, Persia, and Greece took turns dominating the Near East for over 300 years. The king’s dream foretells that these four kingdoms will all be replace by a kingdom established by God.

The gospel writers interpreted Jesus to be the unhewn stone that destroyed the statue (the composite symbol of the four kingdoms). Luke says of Jesus: “’The stone which the builders rejected (left unhewn in the mountain) has become the cornerstone.’… It will crush anyone on whom it falls.”

New Testament writers also interpreted the kingdom of God, preached by Jesus, to be the eternal kingdom foretold by Daniel.

Do we believe God is at work in our world and that his plan for us cannot be frustrated?

“I would rather walk with God in the dark than go alone in the light.”

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Jesus talks about the kingdom (Luke 21:29-33)

  Ancient Greek philosophers believed that history followed a cyclic pattern. In other words, they believed that history repeated itself. Every 3,000 years of so some great disaster wiped out the world. After the disaster, human history began all over again, repeating itself.

Christians believe just the opposite. They believe history follows a linear pattern.

In other words, history moves in a straight line. It has a definite direction, a definite goal.

History’s goal is the final coming of God’s kingdom, which Jesus set in motion but left to us to complete.

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I saw the dead (Revelations 20:1-4, 11-21:2)

In London’s Westminster Abbey, there’s a tiny chapel called St George’s Chapel. It was built as a memorial to Londoners who lost their lives during the air raids of World War II.

Inside the chapel are four large books. These books contain the names of over 60,000 air-raid victims. One book lies open and on it shines a light illuminating the page of names.

Each day the page is turned, revealing a new set of names. As you read them you have no way of knowing whether the person whose name you are reading was rich or poor, young or old, handsome of ugly, black, white or brown.

Nor does it matter. All that matters is what each person became in the course of living his or her life on earth.

Daniel prophesies good news (Daniel 7:15-27)

These words, on a plaque at Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts, describe the Pilgrims who came ashore there:

“Here, under cover of darkness, the fast dwindling company laid their dead, leveling the earth above them lest the Indians learn how many were the graves. History records no nobler venture for faith and freedom than this Pilgrim band.”

The same could be said of every member of that countless army of believers who have remained true to their faith during the many religious persecutions that have dyed the pages of history red.

We have a great high priest (Hebrews 4:12-16)

  In 1892 Archbishop Jozef Glemp of Warsaw wrote a letter urging Polish young people not to become discouraged or frustrated in their quest for change.

He told them he could sympathize with them because he himself was beaten by police when he was young and militant like them.

The archbishop also said that his own father was punished severely for participating in a public protest against the Nazis.

Just as Archbishop Glemp understood the pain and the frustration that Polish youth felt, so Jesus understands our pain and frustration. Jesus was someone who was like us in all things but sin.

Jesus heals a paralytic (Mark 2:1-12)

A famous singer once said that he owed his singing career to his wife. She had faith in his singing ability at a time when he had lost faith in himself and was ready to quit.

Many of us are saved by other people’s faith in us – not our own. A teacher has faith in a student when the student has lost faith in himself and wants to quit.

A parent has faith in a daughter when the daughter has lost faith in herself and no longer cares.

The paralytic is another example of such faith. He is saved by the faith of four friends. It is their faith that attracts Jesus’ attention.

St. Michael's Parish, Remuera, Auckland, New Zealand

Be on guard (Hebrews 4:1-5, 11)

 

An exasperated mother asked her little boy, “How do you ever expect to get into heaven?”

Johnny thought a minute and said, “Well, I’ll just run in and out, and in and out, and keep slamming the door. Finally, someone will say, ‘For pity’s sake, either come in or stay out!’ Then, I’ll go in.”

I think the author of the Letter to the Hebrews would like that story. For he is doing for us what the mother did for her little boy. He is making us aware that entering God’s rest (heaven) should be a major concern for us. He is making us aware that the loss of heaven is the ultimate and unforgivable failure of a human life.

st. michael's parish, remuera, auckland, new zealand

Remain faithful to God (Hebrews 3:7-14)

In the late 1800s a boy was working in a London store. He rose at five o’clock each morning and then worked 14 hours. He lived this routine for two years and then told his mother that if he had to continue like this, he would kill himself.

Then the boy wrote a pathetic letter to a teacher he had in his earlier years. He explained how he was heartbroken and no longer wanted to live.

The teacher answered his letter promptly. He praised him, assured him he was gifted, and offered him a job.

That encouraging letter changed the boy’s life. He went on to become one of England’s best-known writers, H.G. Wells, who authored nearly 80 books.

Jesus cures Peter’s mother-in-law (Mark 1:29-39)

  A car driven by a University of Cincinnati student was struck by a speeding freight train. Miraculously, the student was uninjured.

The narrow escape had a profound effect on the student’s attitude toward life. He no longer felt his life was his own to do with as he pleased. He had been saved from certain death by no merit or skill of his own. He believed he had been “saved to serve.”

Peter’s mother-in-law responded similarly. When she was cured by Jesus, the Gospel says, “The fever left her and she began to wait on them.”

Jesus shares our lot (Hebrews 2:14-18)

  Frederic Remington was an American sculptor who worked in the early 1900s. His works sell for as high as $100,000 a piece. One of his most striking pieces is called The Rattlesnake. It depicts in vivid detail the classic moment when horse and rider encounter a snake on the path they are travelling.

The horse is reared up on its two hind legs; the rider is holding on to his hat – and to the horse for dear life; and the rattlesnake is poised to strike.

This dramatic bronze piece acts a lesson on how to deal with temptation when we encounter it. We should react as quickly and as seriously as the horse and the rider. It is something deadly serious.

st. patrick's cathedral, new york, usa

Hannah is barren (Samuel 1:1-8)

  Jay Kesler tells his story in his book Going Places. Late one night he was walking down a street in India. A boy with no legs hobbled up on crutches and asked for money. Jay obliged him generously.

Jay turned and continued walking. He hadn’t gone ten steps when he heard a terrible racket. He turned around and saw several beggars swarming over the boy. They were stealing from him the money he’d just begged.

Like Peninnah, who ridiculed Hannah for being barren, the other beggars made the boy’s burden even heavier to carry.

st. michael's parish, remuera, auckland new zealand