At the end of history, Paul says our bodies will be transformed in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye. God will dress us with new bodies and introduce us to a feast that will last forever.
Not to Escape
The point is not to escape from earth and find oneself at last in heaven, but to let the present ‘heavenly’ life change the present earthly reality.
{N.T Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God, 355}
Creation is Re-Created
Chittister writes:
But only here in this time, between the bursting of the Holy Spirit, does the full awareness of what it is to live in Christ, with Christ, and through Christ finally dawn. Indeed, these first Christians were the first citizens of the new creation. Now began the breaking open of the future. Now the human community sees life lived as it is meant to be. Now creation is re-created.
{The Liturgical Year, 173}
The Rushing Wind
“But when Jesus ascended on high, the spirit descended from on high “like a rush of a mighty wind.” Through this it is made clear that nothing will be able to stand against them and they will blow away all adversaries like a heap of dust.”
–Saint Chrysostom
Unbridled Rejoicing
We do not merely live out our length of days and then have the hope of the resurrection as an addendum; rather…Christ’s resurrection has set in motion a chain of inexorable events that absolutely determines our present and our future…That ought to reform the way we currently live and to reshape our worship into seasons of unbridled rejoicing. –Gordon Fee
Fourth Sunday in Lent: Psalm 107:1-9: Let the Redeemed of the Lord say so
People of God, this morning we are going to sample a little more of the Lenten journey in the Psalter by focusing on a small portion of the lengthy Psalm 107. This is a psalm of desperation.[1] It is a song of dire predicament, sincere petitions, a glorious pardon, and jubilant praise.[2] Though it specifies a variety of circumstances, this psalm does not want us to focus on the circumstances as much as it calls us to give thanks.
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever! Continue reading “Fourth Sunday in Lent: Psalm 107:1-9: Let the Redeemed of the Lord say so”
Everything is Allowed
A parishioner gave me a copy of Randy Alcorn’s collection of quotations about heaven, the new earth, and the life after death. The book is over 600 pages, and I can already imagine myself enjoying it for years to come. What will appear here for many months will be various quotations from the book. I hope they will be satisfying and provide a taste of heaven.
Everyone raised his hand to pick the fruit he best liked the look of, and then everyone paused for a second. This fruit was so beautiful that each felt, “It can’t be meant for me…surely we’re not allowed to pluck it.”
“It’s all right,” Peter. “…I’ve a feeling we’ve got to the country where everything is allowed.”
Second Sunday in Lent: Psalm 22:23-31
People of God, we will be journeying this Lenten Season through the Psalter. And this morning we come to Psalm 22. This is a psalm generally associated with the crucifixion of our Lord. The words of David in verse one are echoed by Jesus at the cross when he cried: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This is something we must not overlook: that in the time of most turmoil, our Lord could think of nothing else, but to utter the expression of the psalmist. Of the thirteen Old Testament references made by our Lord in the Passion Week, nine of them came from the psalms. And of these nine, five of them come from our passage in Psalm 22.[1] Psalm 22 is a Lenten Psalm. It points us to the death of our Lord. We have made this point before, and it is well worth saying it again: when the New Testament points us to an Old Covenant verse, they are not isolating that verse, rather they are pointing to the entire passage. So, by uttering “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me,” Jesus is saying that all of Psalm 22 speaks of his suffering; all of it manifests his agony and his triumph. The Psalm and the Passion story come together. Psalm 22 “invites us also to undertake to understand Jesus in terms of the psalm, that is, to view him through the form and language of this prayer.”[2] Continue reading “Second Sunday in Lent: Psalm 22:23-31”
Theocracy and Libertarianism
“Few things are more commonly misunderstood than the nature and meaning of theocracy. It is commonly assumed to be a dictatorial rule by self-appointed men who claim to rule for God. In reality, theocracy in Biblical law is the closest thing to a radical libertarianism that can be had” — Rousas John Rushdoony, Roots of Reconstruction pg. 63
Exodus and Bedroom
Peterson’s brilliant Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Ministry has been refreshing to re-read after all these years. Here is a stunning observation on the inter-connectedness of life:
Life-changing love, massive and overpowering in the history of the Exodus, is celebrated in the domesticities of personal relationship in language everyone can understand and in an experience that is not farther away than the bedroom (32).