Archive for the ‘Revelation of John 2’ Category
Above: Alpha and Omega
Image in the Public Domain
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READING REVELATION, PART XVI
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Revelation 22:6-21
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How soon is soon? We read that, in a text from the 90s C.E., that Christ will return “soon.” We may safely assume that John of Patmos understood “soon” be within the lifetimes of many members of the original audience.
The passage of time has handed down a verdict on that expectation, as well as many other expectations regarding the timing of the Second Coming of Jesus.
If we assume Amillennialism to be true (see Revelation 20), we accept that the “millennium” has been in progress for thousands of years. Given that numbers are symbolic in Revelation (except in the case of the seven churches in the first three chapters), why not interpret “millennium” is a non-literal way?
Details of the Second Coming reside with God. I am content to leave them there. In the meantime, I have faithful living in which to engage. Trying to understand how to live faithfully in concrete terms, can prove challenging sometimes. I suspect that God cares about how I live faithfully, within circumstances, than about how I understand any detail of an ancient apocalyptic text.
I do focus on broad strokes, though. Serve only God, who is sovereign. Reject the bad value systems (exploitation, militarism, slavery, et cetera) of “Roman Empires.” Stick close to Jesus. Resist evil. Trust in the faithfulness of God.
God will handle the rest.
Thank you, O reader, for joining me on this journey through Revelation. May something you read along the way have benefited you spiritually.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 21, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF GEORGE MCGOVERN, U.S. SENATOR AND STATESMAN; AND HIS WIFE, ELEANOR MCGOVERN, HUMANITARIAN
THE FEAST OF DAVID MORITZ MICHAEL, GERMAN-AMERICAN MUSICIAN AND COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF EMILY GARDINER NEAL, EPISCOPAL DEACON, RELIGIOUS WRITER, AND LEADER OF THE HEALING MOVEMENT IN THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
THE FEAST OF SAINT LAURA OF SAINT CATHERINE OF SIENA, FOUNDER OF THE WORKS OF THE INDIANS AND THE CONGREGATION OF MISSIONARY SISTERS OF IMMACULATE MARY AND OF SAINT CATHERINE OF SIENA
THE FEAST OF WALTER SISULU AND ALBERINA SISULU, ANTI-APARTHEID ACTIVISTS AND POLITICAL PRISONERS IN SOUTH AFRICA
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Above: The Last Judgment
Image in the Public Domain
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READING REVELATION, PART XIV
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Revelation 20:1-15
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TEXTUAL ANALYSIS
In Revelation, 1000 symbolizes a large, uncountable quantity.
Interpretations of the millennium vary.
- Premillennialism flourishes during unsettled, difficult times, such as 1914f.
- Postmillennialism is more popular during good, relatively peaceful times. My great-grandfather, George Washington Barrett (1873-1956), was a minister in the old Methodist Episcopal Church, South (extant 1845-1939), then Methodist Church (extant 1939-1968). He came of age during La Belle Epoque, which World War I terminated. My great-grandfather was a Postmillennialist.
- Amillennialism interprets the millennium allegorically, understanding “1000” to be symbolic in Revelation 20.
- John Nelson Darby’s Dispensationalism, one of the pillars of C. I. Scofield’s study Bible, the “manual of fundamentalism,” is rank heresy, as is fundamentalism. The rapture is absent from historic Christianity. The rapture also entails two Second Comings of Jesus. Would not the second Second Coming be the Third Coming?
I am an Amillennialist. The only number in Revelation I take literally in Revelation occurs in the first three chapters; I count messages to seven (more than six and fewer than eight) congregations. After chapter 3, all numbers are symbolic, and seven indicates perfection. Anyhow, Amillennialism holds that the present time is the “Millennium.” One may notice that the “Millennium” has been in progress for longer than 1000 years.
In Revelation 20, God, having temporarily subdued evil, finally vanquishes it. In the meantime, the martyrs reign.
Revelation 20 refers to the resurrection of the dead, a doctrine unambiguously present in Judaism since at least the first century B.C.E. (Daniel 12). This doctrine, imported from Zoroastrianism, exists in other ancient Jewish and Christian texts, both canonical and otherwise. Examples include:
- 1 Corinthians 15:50;
- 2 Baruch 49-51;
- 1 Enoch 5:1; 61:5; 62:15-16; and
- 2 Esdras/4 Ezra 7:32.
Revelation 20 is both similar to and different from certain Pseudepigraphal texts. The Messiah, sitting on the throne, judges in 1 Enoch 45:3; 69:27-29; and 2 Baruch 72:2-6. Yet God sits on the throne and judges in Revelation 20:13.
SPIRITUAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY
I have always been religiously calm. The fires of revivalism have never appealed to me. No, I have immersed myself in scripture, ecclesiastical tradition, proper liturgy, and intellectualism. The Presbyterian motto,
decently and in order,
is “my song,” so to speak. (Yet I have defined “order” to include The Book of Common Prayer.) My dominant spiritual path has been that of intellectual discipleship–Thomism. I have always been “cool,” not “hot,” in particular connotations of these words. I have frequently been an outlier, relative to religious subcultures around me.
I am a product of my personality and milieu. My experiences shape me, but do does a path that fits me naturally. I hope you, O reader, interpret what follows in the manner in which I intend it:
I know too much to hold certain beliefs. Also, certain experiences turn me off from some doctrines.
Regarding details of divine judgment and mercy, as well as the divine conquest of evil (the sooner the better, I say), I assert that these reside entirely within the purview of God. I am content to leave them there.
I stand within Western Christianity. I also critique my tradition. One of the characteristics of Western Christianity that frustrates me is the tendency to explain too much. I prefer the Eastern Christian practice of leaving mysteries mysterious. God is in charge. I can relax about many matters, given this. God knows x, y, and z; that much suffices. God has done a, b, and c. So be it. Why should I want to explain how God did it?
As I age, this intellectual is turning into something of a mystic. Life is replete with surprises.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 19, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE MARTYRS OF NORTH AMERICA, 1642-1649
THE FEAST OF CLAUDIA FRANCES IBOTSON HERNAMAN, ANGLICAN HYMN WRITER AND TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF JERZY POPIELUSZKO, POLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1984
THE FEAST OF SAINT PAUL OF THE CROSS, FOUNDER OF THE CONGREGATION OF DISCALED CLERKS OF THE MOST HOLY CROSS AND PASSION
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Above: Ruins of Ancient Thyatira (now Akhisar, Turkey)
Image in the Public Domain
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READING REVELATION, PART V
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Revelation 2:18-29
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Apollo, the sun god, was the deity of Thyatira. His local cult merged with emperor-worship. The opening of this passage set Jesus against and above Apollo and the emperor, officially, the Son of God.
The positive words for the Thyatiran congregation enduring patiently give way quickly to criticism for tolerating a false prophetess, “Jezebel.” The reference to the wicked Queen of Israel and wife of King Ahab fits. The text accuses “Jezebel” of having led members of that congregation into idolatry–figuratively, adultery.
In contrast, Thyatira was a center of commerce. Business interests encouraged compromises for the sake of profits. Some of the compromises compromised the Christian witness of the Thyatiran congregation.
Those who remain faithful will reign with Christ, we read.
Knowing when to compromise and when to hold fast can be difficult, in contexts. Some compromises are necessary. They are either harmless or proper. Yet other compromises are detrimental and counter-productive. They give away the store, so to speak. Knowing when to compromise and when to hold fast is crucial.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 10, 2021 COMMON ERA
PROPER 23: THE TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF JOHANN NITSCHMANN, SR., MORAVIAN MISSIONARY AND BISHOP; DAVID NITSCHMANN, JR., THE SYNDIC, MORAVIAN MISSIONARY AND BISHOP; AND DAVID NITSCHMANN, THE MARTYR, MORAVIAN MISSIONARY AND MARTYR, 1729
THE FEAST OF CHRISTIAN LUDWIG BRAU, NORWEGIAN TEACHER AND POET
THE FEAST OF EDWARD WHITE BENSON, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
THE FEAST OF LOUIS FITZGERALD BENSON, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMNODIST
THE FEAST OF VIDA DUTTON SCUDDER, EPISCOPAL PROFESSOR, AUTHOR, CHRISTIAN SOCIALIST, AND SOCIAL REFORMER
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Above: Ruins of the Acropolis, Pergamum, Between 1888 and 1910
Image Source = Library of Congress
Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-ppmsca-03770
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READING REVELATION, PART IV
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Revelation 2:12-17
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Pergamum, a prominent city, was the seat of the local Roman imperial Provincial Council. Zeal for enforcing emperor-worship was great. In the worldview of Revelation, Pergamum was on the short list of places where Satan was enthroned.
Nevertheless, the church there persisted in faith, even after the martyrdom of one of their own, Antipas.
The story of Balaam fills Numbers 22-24. In that account, Balak, the King of Moab, afraid of the Israelites, hired the soothsayer Balaam to curse and weaken the Israelites. Numbers 22-24 reveal that God prevented Balaam from doing that. The Jewish tradition upon which Revelation 2:12-17 relied expanded on that story, making Balaam the prototype of evil people who taught Jews to commit idolatry and to eat food sacrificed to idols (Numbers 25:1-3).
The Nicolaitans favored accommodation to the dominant culture, the one John of Patmos considered evil.
The text of Revelation 2:12-17 is vague about the sins of some of the Christians there. Some guesses are reasonable, though. One may surmise that some Christians were eating food sacrificed to idols, for example. One may recall 1 Corinthians 8:7-13 regarding that matter.
Revelation 2:12-17 concludes with a divine promise to the faithful–a blessed afterlife with spiritual manna. This conclusion is similar to a passage from Second Baruch, from the Pseudepigrapha:
And it will happen at that time that the treasury of manna will come down again from on high, and they will eat of it in those years because these are they who will arrived at the consummation of time.
–2 Baruch 29:8, translated by A. F. J. Klijn
The white stone was blessed because it was white. (White symbolized holiness in Revelation. Jesus had white hair. The martyrs wore white robes. Et cetera.) The stone bore a new name, perhaps that of Jesus. The faithful, having remained faithful to Christ, received a positive afterlife.
Not conforming to the dominant culture can be difficult when one belongs to a powerless minority. When that dominant culture oppresses one’s religion, conforming is an easy way out of persecution. Human beings are inherently social creatures. Conformity, therefore, is a powerful pressure. When nonconformity is righteous, conformity is sinful.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 9, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT DENIS, BISHOP OF PARIS; AND HIS COMPANIONS; ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS, CIRCA 250
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN LEONARDI, FOUNDER OF THE CLERKS REGULAR OF THE MOTHER OF GOD OF LUCCA; AND SAINT JOSEPH CALASANCTIUS, FOUNDER OF THE CLERKS REGULAR OF RELIGIOUS SCHOOLS
THE FEAST OF PENNY LERNOUX, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC JOURNALIST AND MORAL CRITIC
THE FEAST OF ROBERT GROSSETESTE, ENGLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC SCHOLAR, PHILOSOPHER, AND BISHOP OF LINCOLN
THE FEAST OF WILFRED THOMASON GRENFELL, MEDICAL MISSIONARY TO NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR
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Above: Smyrna, 1900
Image Source = Library of Congress
Reproduction Number = LC-USZ62-98265
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READING REVELATION, PART III
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Revelation 2:8-11
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We read an intra-Jewish text. Let us avoid anti-Semitism.
Many early Christians were Jews. Christianity, despite attracting many Gentiles, was a Jewish sect until 135 C.E., during the Second Jewish War. At that time, Christians refused to acknowledge Shimon Bar Kokhba as the Messiah. This led to the expulsion of Christians from synagogues.
Jewish-Christian tensions–or should I write–intra-Jewish tensions–were increasing in the 90s C.E. Those tensions informed Revelation 2:8-11.
The church at Smyrna was poor and oppressed. Yet it was rich in faith. Those who remained faithful would never be separated from God, John of Patmos wrote.
The real power of the Church is not related to wealth, status, influence, and membership (growing or declining). No, the real power of the Church flows from Christ. May the Church act and think accordingly.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 8, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF ERIK ROUTLEY, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST HYMNODIST
THE FEAST OF ABRAHAM RITTER, U.S. MORAVIAN MERCHANT, HISTORIAN, MUSICIAN, AND COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF ALEXANDER PENROSE FORBES, SCOTTISH EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF BRECHIN; CHURCH HISTORIAN; AND RENEWER OF THE SCOTTISH EPISCOPAL CHURCH
THE FEAST OF RICHARD WHATELY, ANGLICAN ARCHBISHOP OF DUBLIN, IRELAND
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM DWIGHT PORTER BLISS, EPISCOPAL PRIEST; AND RICHARD THEODORE ELY; ECONOMISTS
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Above: Ruins at Ephesus, Between 1850 and 1880
Image Source = Library of Congress
Reproduction Number = LC-USZ62-108956
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READING REVELATION, PART II
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Revelation 2:1-7
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Cultural accommodation can be a challenging issue. Being a faithful Christian does not entail serial, default contrariness. The outside culture gets some matters right.
The culture at the time of the composition of Revelation was pagan and Hellenistic. Most religions were polytheistic. Conventional expressions of patriotism included emperor-worship. The culture was hostile to young Christianity. The Nicolaitans favored cultural accommodation. The church at Ephesus loathed the Nicolaitans, at least. They had that much right.
Nevertheless, I have this complaint to make: you have less love now than you used to.
–Revelation 2:4, The Jerusalem Bible (1966)
Recall the First Epistle of John, O reader. The text prized theological orthodoxy–especially Christological orthodoxy. It also valued love.
Anyone who fails to love can never have known God,
because God is love.
–1 John 4:8, The Jerusalem Bible (1966)
The church at Ephesus had an opportunity to correct its error–or else.
Perhaps you, O reader, can think of at least one congregation strong in theological orthodoxy yet weak in love. You may have been part of this congregation, been a neighbor of it, or heard of it second-hand. Divorcing orthodoxy and orthopraxy from each other is foolish. The love of God in Christ is part of Christian orthopraxy. Maybe you, O reader, have struggled with this matter individually.
As I think about the mission of the church, as I hear calls for “more evangelism” and a stronger application of the Gospel to the social issues of the day, I wonder if we can do either unless we can love first–love each other and love the world, for Christ’s sake.
–Ernest Lee Stoffel, The Dragon Bound: The Revelation Speaks to Our Time (1981), 27
To that I add more quote:
If I have the eloquence of men or of angels, but speak without love, I am simply a gong booming or a cymbal clashing. If I have the gift of prophecy, understanding all the mysteries there are, and knowing everything, and if I have faith in all its fulness, to move mountains, but without love, then I am nothing at all. If I give away all that I possess, piece by piece, and if I even let them take my body to burn it, but am without love, it will do me no good whatever.
–1 Corinthians 13:1-3, The Jerusalem Bible (1966)
Love takes work. Love provides much satisfaction. Love hurts. Love laughs. Love cries. Love builds up.
This is much of the work of the Church.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 7, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF WILHELM WEXELS, NORWEGIAN LUTHERAN MINISTER, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR; HIS NIECE, MARIE WEXELSEN, NORWEGIAN LUTHERAN NOVELISGT AND HYMN WRITER; LUDWIG LINDEMAN, NORWEGIAN LUTHERAN ORGANIST AND MUSICOLOGIST; AND MAGNUS LANDSTAD, NORWEGIAN LUTHERAN MINISTER, FOLKLORIST, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMNAL EDITOR
THE FEAST OF BRADFORD TORREY, U.S. ORNITHOLOGIST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF CLAUS WESTERMANN, GERMAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND BIBLICAL TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF JOHANN GOTTFRIED WEBER, GERMAN MORAVIAN MUSICIAN, COMPOSER, AND MINISTER
THE FEAST OF JOHN WOOLMAN, QUAKER ABOLITIONIST
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READING THE GENERAL EPISTLES, PART XI
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2 Peter 1:1-21
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The pseudonymous author, of the second century C.E., presenting himself as St. Simon Peter, followed a practice his culture accepted. This author, in the first chapter of Second Peter, made some timeless points.
I like the translation of verse 4 in The Jerusalem Bible (1966):
…to escape corruption in a world that is sunk in vice.
The variation of this line, in the Vulgate, translated as:
…the corruption of the vice that is in the world.
My survey of other translations yields mostly “lust” in lieu of “vice.” However, The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011) offers:
…after escaping from the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.
In textual context and the cultural context of Hellenistic Judaism, the soul that escapes from this corruption participates in the divine nature and becomes incorrupt. Christians, therefore, escape the fate of those who abuse their freedom and fall prey to corruption.
“Lust,” “vice,” or “evil desire,” depending on the translation one reads, indicates desire for the forbidden. This desire may be sexual some or much of the time, but is not solely sexual in nature. “Evil desire” is a fine translation, in this context. Forbidden fruit is frequently the most popular kind of fruit. My experience teaches me that forbidden fruits become boring relatively quickly. The satisfying path for the long term is the road of the godly and the merely decent. It is the road 1:5-11 explains. Divine law does not forbid building up each other in mutuality.
The targets of 1:19-21 were false teachers. Their class of people has existed at least since the days of the Hebrew Bible; prophets of God clashed with false prophets. In the context of eschatology, apocalyptic expectations, “Peter” condemned false teachers who argued against the parousia. The scriptural context of 2 Peter 1:19-21, replete with allusions to Numbers 24:17, Revelation 2:28, Revelation 22:16, Jeremiah 23:16-22, Ezekiel 13:1-7, Genesis 40:8, and 2 Esdras/4 Ezra 10:43, made the points of eschatology and the divine source of prophecy plain.
False teachers and prophets persist. Many identify themselves as orthodox Christians. Some of these retain audiences despite having made predictions of the Second Coming and lived long enough to witness the failure of their predictions. I leave details of the parousia entirely to God. Trying to live properly one day at a time can prove sufficiently challenging much of the time. I have no time to spare to obsess about prophecy.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 29, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT MICHAEL AND ALL ANGELS
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READING THE GENERAL EPISTLES, PART VIII
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1 Peter 2:1-3:17
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Whenever Christians to my right speak or write about what the Bible says about various matters, I invariably roll my eyes, at least metaphorically. Literalists overlook a documented fact: the Bible contradicts itself. Reading the germane texts for what they are reveals that context is key. If one mistakes St. Paul the Apostle for a systematic theologian, one may overlook the cultural contexts in which he ministered.
The cultural and geographical context of First Peter was northern Asia Minor, the Roman Empire, 70-90 C.E. The culture was hostile to Christianity, a young, small, and growing religion. Slavery, and patriarchy were cultural norms. The author bought into these norms, although he moderated them. The attitude of submission to civil authority (the Roman Empire, in this case) contrasted with the attitude of “John of Patmos,” who wrote Revelation. According of Revelation, the Roman Empire was in league with Satan, so submission to the empire was submission to Satan. Such submission was sinful, according to Revelation. Not surprisingly, the attitude of submission to the empire (in 1 Peter) has long been more popular with governments than the contrasting attitude in Revelation.
As always, context is crucial.
I argue with much of 1 Peter 2:1-3:17. I oppose all forms of slavery at all times and in all places. I affirm equality within marriage. I contend that one can belong to a powerless minority in a society and still say,
X is wrong. The social and cultural norms are askew.
I hold that living the Golden Rule, individually and collectively, is a divine mandate, not a suggestion. Living reverently in Christ (1 Peter 3:15) requires nothing less.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 26, 2021 COMMON ERA
PROPER 21: THE EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF SAINT PAUL VI, BISHOP OF ROME
THE FEAST OF FREDERICK WILLIAM FABER, ENGLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF JOHN BRIGHT, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF JOHN BYROM, ANGLICAN THEN QUAKER POET AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF LANCELOT ANDREWES, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF CHICHESTER THEN OF ELY THEN OF WINCHESTER
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Above: Ezekiel
Image in the Public Domain
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READING EZEKIEL, PART VI
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Ezekiel 8:1-11:23
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Ezekiel 8:1-11:13, the product of more than one person, contains some unusual editorial choices and odd shifts of attention. I mention that matter to get it out of the way, so that nobody can legitimately claim that I do not know it. Now that I have gotten that matter out of the way, I focus on themes, details, and the application thereof.
The figurer who looked like a man (or fire, depending on translation) in 8:2 is the divine Presence, Ezekiel’s guide. This figure recurs in 40:3f.
The date of the vision in 8:1-11:13 is September 592 B.C.E.
Idolatry recurs as a sin of the people of Judah.
We read that, contrary to what many people think, God has not abandoned Judah–yet–and does see what people are doing (9:9).
Above: Ezekiel’s Vision, by William Blake
Image in the Public Domain
Chapter 10 reads like a redux of Chapter 1, with some differences.
God departs Judah in Chapter 11.
We read of the divine promise of restoration and cleansing of exiles already in the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire. We read that those still in Judah are doomed (11:41-21). We read that God has moved to the exiles in Babylon (11:23).
Ezekiel 11:21 cautions that divine renewal of the exiles is not automatic; it requires human vigilance. Grace is free, not cheap.
Ezekiel 11:17-21 is thematically similar to Jeremiah 31:33-34; Jeremiah 32:39; Ezekiel 18:31; Ezekiel 36:26. We read that, in an ideal future, by divine action, disobedience to God will cease to be an option.
In Hebrew prophetic literature, as well as in the Revelation to John, divine faithfulness is never in doubt, from the author’s perspective. Also, divine judgment and mercy remain in balance. Creative destruction by God makes way for the establishment for the new, divine order. In Christian terms, God must destroy the old, corrupt order before the fully-realized Kingdom of God can become visible on the Earth, from a human perspective. As C. H. Dodd reminds me from the printed page and his grave, the Kingdom of God is; it does not come. Yet, from a human point of view, certain events make its presence more palpable than it used to be.
Another idea, frequently repeated in the Bible–especially Hebrew prophetic books–is that human sins have consequences. We human beings condemn ourselves. We leave God. We are the faithless ones. We are arrogant; we do not stand in awe of God. We read what he have sown.
Yet grace remains. As the great Southern Baptist theologian Will Campbell said:
We’re all bastards, but God loves us anyway.
And our only hope is in God.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 24, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE NATIVITY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST
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Above: Icon of Noah’s Ark
Image in the Public Domain
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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
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Genesis 6:9-22 or Acts 22:21-30
Psalm 127
Revelation 2:18-29
John 6:60-71
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Context matters.
Thyatira was a frontier city and a center of commerce. Idolatry was also commonplace, as in meat sacrificed to false deities. St. Paul the Apostle had addressed other churches regarding this matter. He recognized that, given the non-existence of those gods and goddesses, one could, in good conscience, eat meat sacrificed to them. St. Paul the Apostle also treated that matter cautiously. He knew that many people, still strongly influenced by their culture, did not know that there was only one God.
Whether to consume meat offered to idols remained an issue for many Christians. In my cultural context, however, that is a non-issue. Nevertheless, the question of what an equivalent issue in my time and place may be germane.
Ernest Lee Stoffel, in The Dragon Bound: The Revelation Speaks to Our Time (1981), wrote about improper compromises the Church makes with culture–an evergreen issue. The Church made unacceptable compromises with culture during the age of Christendom. The Church of 2021, increasingly on the margins of society in places where it used to be prominent, has continued to face the pressure to make improper compromises.
May we of the Church be careful, both collectively and individually. May we avoid mistaking being serial contrarians for being faithful disciples of Jesus. The larger culture is not wrong about everything.
And may we never lose faith that God is in charge. God still cares about us and remains with us. We may or may not receive protection from unfortunate events. Nevertheless, God will be with us. we still depend entirely on God. We continue to depend on each other and to be responsible to and for each other. Together, with God’s help, we will come through storms of life, even if they consume us physically, emotionally, and/or economically.
Consider Jesus and St. Paul the Apostle, O reader. Both of them suffered terribly. St. Paul died as a martyr. Jesus died on a cross. (He did not remain dead for long, of course.) As Daniel Berrigan (1921-2016) said, Christians should look good on wood.
I have heard of certain Evangelical megachurches without a cross in sight. Crosses are depressing, some people have explained. How do such people think Jesus felt?
The servant is not greater than the master.
The peace of God, it is no peace,
But strife closed in the sod.
Yet, brothers, pray for but one thing:
The marvelous peace of God.
–William Alexander Percy (1885-1942), 1924; quoted in Pilgrim Hymnal (1958), #340
Amen.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 18, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE CONFESSION OF SAINT PETER THE APOSTLE
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2021/01/18/devotion-for-proper-13-year-d-humes/
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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