Resurrection of the Dead, Part III

Above:  The New Jerusalem

Image in the Public Domain

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

For the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year 2, according to the U.S. Presbyterian lectionary of 1966-1970

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

O Lord and Master, who by thy Word hast called us to watch for thy return:

grant that when thou comest we may be found at work,  serving men in thy name.  Amen.

—The Book of Common Worship–Provisional Services (1966), 126

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Isaiah 65:17-25

Revelation 21:1-14

John 14:1-19

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Gospel of John functions on two levels–literal and metaphorical.  In the Johannine Gospel, we read, Jesus dwells with God the Father.  Jesus also dwells with followers, who can, in turn, dwell with God.  In the Gospel of John, eternal life is knowing God via Jesus.  “Eternal” is a description of quality, not time.  Eternal life, in the Fourth Gospel, is the counterpart of the Kingdom of God in the Synoptic Gospels.  Eternal life begins on this side of paradise.

That paradise is to be an earthbound one, according to Isaiah 65 and Revelation 21.  The afterlife and the resurrection of the dead are absent from the ideal future in Isaiah 65, for Judaism did not have the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead yet.  The resurrection of the dead is part of Revelation 21, however.  And the Father’s house has plenty of room for all the faithful.

Of course, there is plenty of room in the Father’s house.  God is the God of extravagant abundance, ever scarcity.  Do we believe in divine abundance, all the way to the parousia?  Or do we project scarcity upon God?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 25, 2019 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT JAMES BAR-ZEBEDEE, APOSTLE AND MARTYR

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++