Today’s Scripture Reading (March 26,
2015): Revelation 12
On May 2,
1989, Hungary began to take down the 240-kilomoeter long fence that separated
the Eastern Bloc country from Austria and the West. It was the first visible
crack that something was desperately wrong behind the Iron Curtain. Hungary had
decided that if the nation was to survive economically, then it had to pursue
financial relationships with the West, and renewing acquaintances with their Austrian
friends was a good first step. But the removal of the fence also allowed
something else, a way for East Germans to move to West Germany. And that was a
situation that made Eastern political thinkers shudder. Not since the early
days of the cold war had it been easily possible to move from East to West, but
the removal of the Hungarian- Austrian fence changed that. And in those early
days after the fence’s removal, many East German residents made use of the hole
and they left their home to make a new one in West Germany.
The end
result of Hungary’s decision to remove the barrier separating it from the West
would be the demolition of the entire Iron Curtain. And maybe the most poignant
symbol of the demolishment of the Iron Curtain was the demolition of the Berlin
wall and the reunification of Germany. For me, this ranks as one of the biggest
surprise happenings of my life. Prior to May 2, 1989, I am not sure that I
could have imagined what would have to happen in order for the Germanys to
become one again. They both seemed to be engulfed in divergent paths that could
never again be brought back together. But on May 2, 1989, a process was started
that would relegate, it seemed almost overnight, the East-West German split was
into the nightmare section of the history books. The nation that shared common
ancestry once again shared a common political structure and a common future. It
was a long time coming, but finally it had become a reality. The twins had been
reunited once again – and hopefully forever.
Revelation
12 marks the second and the final major movement of the Book of Revelation. And
part of how we understand this section of the book depends on how we identify
this woman “clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet
and a crown of twelve stars on her head.” There have been many fanciful
attempts to identify this woman and her child, but maybe the most interesting
is also the most obvious: the woman is Israel and her child is the Christian
Church. The imagery is straight out of Genesis and one of Joseph’s dreams, and
Joseph was the son of Jacob, the man whose name would be eventually be changed
to Israel. In the dream Joseph says that “the sun and moon and eleven stars
were bowing down to me” (Genesis 37:9). Here Joseph himself becomes the twelfth
star and it is out of this family picture that the nation of Israel was born.
We have a repeat of the same imagery here in John’s vision, this time
surrounding a woman and her child.
And if we identify this woman as being Israel, then it follows that the
child she gives birth to must be the Christian Church. What excites me about
this interpretation is that it provides a picture of the reunification of two of
the great Abrahamic faiths. And I think reunification is exciting, even if it
is never easy. It also provides the Christian with a foundation that is from the
beginning, and it encourages the Christian Church to continue its practice of
telling the great Hebrew stories found in the Hebrew Scripture. We continue to
share the job of telling the stories of God with our Jewish brothers and
sisters, or maybe more appropriately according to John’ vision, with our Jewish
parents. It reminds us of the importance of the parent faith of whom we are
often estranged, but need to regard with great respect and love.
Reunification is never easy. But when it can be accomplished, it is
always beautiful. And a reunification of the Abrahamic faiths may be the most
beautiful thing possible.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading:
Revelation 13
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