During this Easter season our second lesson each week has been reading from the Book of the Revelation to John. It is the last book of the Bible, and is often misunderstood. It is what is known as apocalyptic literature and comes from a Greek word that means “disclosure,” or “unveiling,” or “revelation.” Apocalyptic literature in both the Old and New Testaments frequently reflects a negative view of this world and expresses the hope for salvation in a new creation or in another life. Its purpose was to comfort and encourage the faithful in difficult times.
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During our Easter season our first reading is always from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles. The author of Acts is the same person who wrote the Gospel of Luke. The two books are like a two-volume set: one tells of the life, ministry, teaching, death, and resurrection of Jesus; the second volume, the Book of Acts, tells the story of the early church. The Book of Acts begins in Jerusalem and ends in Rome. The story begins with a tiny and fearful sect of Jews huddled behind closed doors in their sacred city; it ends with a vibrant movement in the capital city of one the greatest empires in history. The final sentence of Acts describes how in Rome Paul preached the good news of God's love "boldly and without hindrance" for two years.
The late Howard Thurman was the dean of the chapel at Howard University in Washington, D.C, and later at Boston University. He was a mystic, philosopher, theologian, educator, civil rights leader, and author. In his book, Jesus and the Disinherited, he told the story about his grandmother, a former slave who, because she could not read, made him read the Bible to her in the evenings. He was free to choose any portion of the Bible, except for Paul’s epistles.
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REV. TED VOORHEES
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