Acts 11:1-18

I talked last week about the symbolism of Peter's journey to Joppa. This week, he pretty much does that for me. This is the famous discussion of whether or not people should have to get circumcised to be considered a follower of Christ. They didn't have the name "Christian" yet. There was still argument about whether or not you should sit down and share a meal with the uncircumcised. Here, Peter says God told him it is totally cool.

This has a line that I wish was used more often, "who was I that I could hinder God?" I saw a discussion on facebook where someone was worrying about the effect of what they said and how they treated someone who was considering going to church. Someone replied that it was rather arrogant to think that their small actions could alter whatever plan God had for that person. George Carlin loved to point out that prayer is a strange petition to an all powerful being. If there is a divine plan, why would one person's request alter it? Half the time the prayers are answered and half the time they are not, but either way it is considered the will of God. Why speak to God at all?

Revelation 21:1-6

As weird as Revelation gets, this is pretty mild. The symbolism is pretty much all references to other symbols that have been used in other places in the Bible. It could be a fun exercise to look them all up, but, nah. The Lamb of course, palm branches from Palm Sunday, the bride and preparation. Preparing a place for you is given in more detail just a few verses after the John passages. Then there's the end of Death and, the idea that there is an end to this story, a goal, an Omega. It's an end, but it's a time of all things being new and fresh. The last words of Jesus on the cross, in the Book of John are "It is finished".

Of course, despite any interpretations that might say these stories were intended to end the Temple cult and end the need for constant sacrifices given to the priestly class, that all starts up again a century or so later. Another millennia and Martin Luther will need to say the same about the Catholic Church, that they shouldn't be taking people's money to get their loved ones out of purgatory. Things change, and they stay the same.

John 13:31-35

I am surprised this one does not come up more often especially since it is so common to cite the 10 commandments. Both believers and non will do it. Believers will say they are a good basis for law and ethics. Non-believers will point out where they fall short, like not mentioning that pedophilia is a bad thing, or the ambiguity of the "shalt not kill" one. But here we are, in one of the gospels, one that forms the basis of a lot of rituals and of the more common image of who Christ is and why he is here. And it says, "lets add another commandment, one about love". What a great idea.

A couple years ago, we slogged through the book of Romans and found Paul saying something very similar. In some Bibles these words are in red, signifying the words of Jesus. He makes it quite clear, using three grammatical versions of the command to love one another.