Daily Lectionary Readings for November 1, 2010
Psalm 2
Isaiah 26:1-21
Revelation 21:9-22:5
Matthew 5:1-12
Revelation 21:9-22:5 and Matthew 5:1-12
These two passages seem appropriate for All Saints Day, a day specifically placed to remind us of those who have gone before us, lived the faith and left us a legacy for which we can only be thankful. The Revelation passage is one of vivid hope. The light of God's coming Kingdom will be brighter than the sun - it's a glorious passage in which the light illuminates the hope of the book of Revelation. It seems that Revelation is forever being explored by those who would use it as a biblical version of tea leaves as though if one looks at it just right, with just enough imagination and creativity and divine inspiration one will know with great specificity what the completion of history will look like in a highly literal way. To which I can only think, what? Without traveling much farther down that road I'd simply point to passages where Jesus implores us to keep awake because he could return at any time, combined with passages where he suggests that it's not for us to know with precision what the end will be like. Revelation is not a road map wrapped in a secret code - it's good news and here in this passage is the good news - the very good news that inspired all those saints who we remember. The words of the Beatitudes in Matthew 5 of course also point us to the lives of the saints who have gone before us - to the way they lived their lives, the way those lives inspire us and push us to be more and more the people God created us to be. Thanks be to God for the folks who did the day after day work of living grace filled lives and for the hope that calls us forward into each new day and to God's glorious future.
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