Faith + Imagination - October 27

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 45; PM Psalm 47, 48; Ecclus. 24:1-12; Rev. 11:14-19; Luke 11:27-36

I laughed out loud when I read our New Testament reading today.  It begins, “The second woe has passed.  The third woe is coming very soon.”   The book of Revelation has nothing on the year 2020.  I just read they found the first nest of Murder Hornets in Washington state.  Dear 2020, the forty-seventh woe has passed and the forty-eight is coming soon.

When I was in college, the “Left Behind” series was written and became wildly popular.  The books were written as if the book of Revelation was an apocalyptic prophecy for what is to come when Jesus returns.  The book starts out with the rapture, with what are described as true Christians just disappearing from earth.  The series is about the people ‘left behind’ after the rapture to figure the mess out.  Some become Christians and others follow the Mark of the Beast.  It is a story of good verse evil. There is violence and destruction, plagues, and earthquakes, and much more.  It was a whole lot of fun to read. 

I didn’t realize until after finishing the books, that many people assumed this was nonfiction, written as if this was the real way the story will unfold.  Many fundamental Christians see Revelation as a future prediction of the world to come. But apocalyptic literature was not new when the Book of Revelation was written.  At that time, apocalyptic literature was a common genre which used creative imagery to help the reader process conflict and turmoil in their current setting.  When communities and people faced violence, conflict, and oppression, the use of vivid imagery, especially visions of a heavenly realm became hopeful stories. Imagination became a tool to help people cope with extreme challenges.  In Jewish Literature such as 1 Enoch, Daniel 7-12, 4 Ezra, 2 Baruch, and The Apocalypse of Abraham, we see such imagination but none have captured the attention of Christians as the Book of Revelation. 

Maybe there is something to be learned from Apocalyptic literature.  I think we keep looking for science, data, or knowledge to pull us out of our shared reality.  The book of Revelation offers us a different tool.  Faith plus imagination can become a way of handling unforeseen challenges.   Do you think of your imagination as a tool to help you thrive in the midst of this crazy year?  What kind of hopeful world can we imagine when this year has passed? What if we used art, or music, or literature to dream about it?  If you were the author of a new story of Revelation how would it end?  When all else fails, maybe our imaginations can help us through this day. 

John+

Questions for Self-Reflection:  Do you consider yourself to have an active imagination?  Was there a time in your life that you used to dream or imagine more?  Why is this so?

Daily Challenge:  Use one of your creative outlets to dream of the world we are to inherit.  Maybe poetry, art, or music could be a tool.