"Apocalypse ... how??"

Today is Bible Sunday. We call it that because of the collect for the day. It was written by Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer and was originally assigned as the collect of the day for the second Sunday of Advent. Its focus on hearing, reading, marking, learning and inwardly digesting the Holy Scriptures that we may hold fast to the blessed hope of everlasting life is a cornerstone of our reformed catholic theology. Art Reid posted a meme on my Facebook page the other day that had a picture of a Bible and the caption “Episcopalians take the Bible too seriously to take it literally.” I love that and it’s a big part of why I am an Episcopalian.

It’s also why we are lectionary preachers. The practice of preaching from a set of prescribed readings really goes back to our Jewish ancestors who read from the Torah and the haftarah (the prophets and writings) on a systematic basis each week and the rabbis would offer commentary on the texts. The early Christians followed this pattern and Archbishop Cranmer codified the one year Sunday lectionary and readings for the Daily Office for the English Church when he wrote the Book of Common Prayer in 1549. The three year lectionary came out of Vatican II in the 1960’s and now we have a Revised Common Lectionary which has been out for a few years. And this is all well and fine … until you get to readings you’d rather not deal with … like today’s gospel reading.

Today I willingly tip my hand and admit that I do not like apocalyptic literature. You know the stuff: that doom and gloom genre about end times. When I read it, I either get REM’s “End of the World as We Know It” or Wagner’s “Flight of the Valkyries” running in my head and it totally distracts me. But in all seriousness, when I have to deal with Revelation with its destruction and four horsemen of the apocalypse, or parts of the Book of Daniel, or even when prophets start talking about the “great and terrible day of the Lord” … well … I tend to cringe. So when I saw Jesus talking about wars and insurrections, nations rising up against nations, famines and plagues, “dreadful portents and signs from the heavens” … I thought, “Oh no, not that again” (which made me sound like Marvin the Manically Depressed Robot from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy). I started looking at Isaiah because there’s some hope going on there. 2nd Thessalonians … nah … sounded like mom nagging about not being a slacker. Hmm … preach the collect … starting to sound good.

But as I was writing thank you notes last night, I kept getting this sense I was supposed to talk about this kind of literature … one of the items on my “10 things I detest” list: its right up there with polyester double-knit, spray cheese in a can, lutefisk aaaand apocalyptic literature. What kept coming to me is that the stuff that irritates me about apocalyptic writing might just be bugging you too. Or not … I’ll take my chance and hope the Spirit was right in moving me towards talking about this. So here goes nothing.

I think the real reason I don’t like this kind of writing is because it has been so terribly twisted and abused in certain sectors of Christianity. One danger is when folks look for “dreadful signs and portents” and start using apocalyptic literature as some sort of Redneck Comedy Tour “Here’s Your Sign” shtick. You know, hurricane hits the Philippines, that’s a dreadful sign and portent of God’s wrath … must be God’s punishment on … {your favorite marginalized group named here}. We hear that stuff from the likes of Pat Robertson who blamed the destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina on gays. Yeah, and he used apocalyptic writings to “prove” it! If that’s true, I stand in total awe and wonder at the magnificent power of gay-ness to get God’s attention so much so as to impact weather patterns. We straights can’t seem to pull off that kind of awesome. But in fairness, Pat often will blame feminists too … and abortion providers … and liberals … you name it. But repeatedly Jesus tells us in the Gospels that we are not to know the times and dates that God has set. In today’s reading he warns against those who come trying to show signs of “I am he” and “the time is near.” Jesus in essence tells us not to be fooled by this.

Another problem is when it gets distorted by people trying to take it too literally who are also tempted to “know the day and the hour” of the second coming. It’s a twist on the “Here’s Your Sign” theme. Sometimes they reweave it into something strange and bizarre like John Nelson Darby’s dispensationalism which turned into rapture theology. You know, that Left Behind stuff? The idea that the Second Coming of Christ would be some sort of celestial evacuation plan for those deemed worthy to get zapped out of here and then the rest would be left behind to suffer. That’s not Scriptural at all. The movement of God throughout the biblical witness is coming towards us not us being snatched up and out of here. It also says that as God moves towards us there will be a new heaven and new earth – that’s what Isaiah is talking about!

The other thing that gets me is when people spend their time focused on the scary doom and gloom stuff. Earthquakes, famines, plagues, wars and insurrections … been happening since the beginning of time and still happening. Families turned against each other and fighting? Well … Thanksgiving is coming, isn’t it? Some of us live it at the holidays, don’t we? Dysfunctional families have been around since Adam and Eve’s first two kids. Persecutions and arrests? Well, not so much in this country but definitely in other places. For the record, people who abuse apocalyptic writings also tend to mistake being inconvenienced with being persecuted. You are not being persecuted if you are not allowed to pray in the name of Jesus before your kid’s high school sports event. You are being inconvenienced. Persecution is when you exit the Anglican Church in Peshawar Pakistan and a Taliban suicide bomber detonates his explosives … 95 people killed … THAT’S persecution. But I digress. When Jesus talks about this kind of doom and gloom stuff, he’s really telling us how things are: in essence, “It is what it is.”

So what’s good about this kind of literature? If we pay attention and don’t get sidetracked by the abuses, there is a message of hope here. Jesus tells us that no matter what happens to us, even if we are put to death, not a hair on our head will perish. What is eternal within us, stays eternally held secure in God. Period … no exceptions. It is a promise that when things get scary, and they will get scary at some point in your life, not … a … hair … on … your … head … will … perish. Absolutely nothing can take you out of God’s hands. As Henri Nouwen said in his book “Finding My Way Home,” we are God’s beloved before we were born, throughout our life, and through death – beloved all the way. Our time on earth is a mere brief moment where we are given the chance to say to God, “I love you too.” You are beloved, not a hair on your head will perish, so remember to tell God, "I love you too."