Today's readings: Ps 93, 147:12-20; Isa 25:1-9; Rev 1:9-20; John 7:53-8:11
Isaiah 25:8 looks toward the day when “God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth.” Today’s reading from Revelation begins to introduce John’s vision of Christ’s victory over all the evils in the world. Both are standard readings for the Christmas season, as we celebrate Christ’s arrival in the world. To which victory of the Lord do these readings really refer?
On Tuesday we touched on the idea that ancient people read scripture with a different understanding of time and meaning than we might. While Isaiah’s vision was about the eventual restoration of a Jewish people exiled in Babylon, early Christians co-opted it to tell of the coming of the Messiah. This approach might seem odd to modern sensibilities, but for people of the time it was part and parcel of an understanding that God’s plan of salvation unfolds in the past, present and future.
Isaiah 25 belongs to a genre known as apocalyptic literature (Isaiah—an early form—is more properly classified as proto-apocalyptic). Revelation is also apocalyptic literature. Typical of the genre, both blur the lines between the past and the future. Apocalyptic literature is not so concerned with historicity or specific prophecy as with the idea of the cosmic story of salvation. Time is fluid in these writings because God is always revealed anew to us, and the world is always being remade.
Apocalyptic literature invites us to dwell in the mystery of God’s unfolding plan, better expressed through visions and dreams than facts. The events have already happened, yet are still to happen. This paradox offers confidence that change will come, because it has come. During the Civil War and Civil Rights eras, African-Americans and their allies found inspiration in apocalyptic themes, which assured God’s eventual deliverance. Though mysterious, these themes were comforting.
If we read Isaiah only for the past, or Revelation only for the future, we miss the message of what God is doing today.
Comfort: God’s plan is unfolding—and we are part of it.
Challenge: Watch the news for modern stories of God’s deliverance.
Prayer: God of Mystery, thank you for your people’s dreams and visions.
Evening reading: Ps 89
Tomorrow's readings: Ps 98, 148; Isa 26:1-6; 2 Cor 5:16-6:2; John 8:12-19
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