Luke writes the Acts of the Apostles after he wrote his Gospel, “In the first book… I dealt with all that Jesus did until the day he ascended.” At his ascension Jesus told the people, “You will receive power when the Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses… to the ends of … Continue reading “To the Ends of the Earth”
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Revelation: Truth and Peace
In the Book of Revelation, John of Patmos, is reporting on the persecution and violence experienced by early peacemakers. John exhorts them to keep praying and working for peace. John uses symbolic language that includes war images. He begins by writing of a “rider called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war.” … Continue reading “Revelation: Truth and Peace”
Revelation: Now
In the Book of Revelation, John of Patmos has a vision of a “new earth,” for the “former earth had passed away.” Some followers of the Book destructively misinterpret the vision. They insert belief in a destructive god who will set them in rule over the ‘new earth.’ They insert belief in the deity justifying … Continue reading “Revelation: Now”
Revelation: Mothers
John of Patmos uses the symbol of a lamb in his Revelation writings. He describes a gathering of peaceful people, “a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue (who) stood before… the lamb… who will shepherd them” John is borrowing the lamb symbol from Jesus who uses it … Continue reading “Revelation: Mothers”
Revelation: Love
What I did for love moved me far beyond my home in Galilee. I was an itinerant, journeying from one village to the next with my mission to love. So many people touched my life as I touched theirs. Some were hateful, lethally so. But they could not kill my milder Spirit. They could not … Continue reading “Revelation: Love”
Revelation: Visionaries
The writer of the Book of Revelation, John of Patmos, claims to relay the visions of Jesus, “This is the revelation God gave to Jesus Christ.” John claims Jesus claims to be the “ruler of the kings of earth” who “made us a royal nation.” Jesus’ lived revelation in the Gospel is not that of … Continue reading “Revelation: Visionaries”
Feast on Spirituality
“On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed.” While it was still dark and there is no light by which Mary could see, she is moved by the Spirit to venture out. Her spirituality, or … Continue reading “Feast on Spirituality”
Feast on Spirituality Fast from the Cross
“The soldiers then… brought Jesus before Pilate.” “Pilate then summoned the chief priests, the rulers” who “shouted out… Crucify him!” “The soldiers led Jesus away to be executed” on a cross. “When they came to the place called the Skull, the soldiers crucified him.” Jesus lived as a peacemaker, intentionally so. He was not ignorant … Continue reading “Feast on Spirituality Fast from the Cross”
Feast on Spirituality Fast from Shame
Old Testament rulers judge between unchosen and chosen people, proud to receive “honor” from “chosen people” and to shame unchosen people. The “Scribes and the Pharisees, brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle. They said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act … Continue reading “Feast on Spirituality Fast from Shame”
Feast on Spirituality Fast from Justice
Rulers call out Jesus for being unjust, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” “So, to them, Jesus addressed this parable” of an unjust son who “squandered his inheritance.” Suffering the consequences, the Prodigal Son wisely returns home to a loving father. An older brother is angry about the father’s loving spirit. He wants … Continue reading “Feast on Spirituality Fast from Justice”