Sunday Stretch: Vol. 102

Start off your week with a grounded take on Bible, prayer, the world, and your life ...

Hi Readers,

Glad we’re still here together. I’m grateful for you!

If you’ve been reading here awhile, you’ve been following my work around Christian Nationalism and the prominent role it has played in the lead-up to the 2024 Presidential Election.

As part of my work as Pastor of Visitation and Public Theology, I preached last Sunday at Lake Nokomis Lutheran Church. In my sermon, I addressed where we go from here as Christians who want to resist Christian Nationalism and cling to the truth of the Gospel, dwelling deep in the theology of the cross. A big part of that starting point involves confession and self-examination. That work is ongoing for me, and it’s not easy, but it’s important.

If you’d like to watch the sermon, you can view it here. That link is to the entire service; you can scroll ahead or back as desired.

As part of my own self-examination, I’m looking at the time and information I gather on social media apps and news websites, and I’m looking for ways to scale it back - in favor of deeper engagement in community and truth. So … let’s get to the texts!

Bible Stories

Daniel 12:1-3

Dan. 12:1   “At that time Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people, shall arise. There shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations first came into existence. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. ² Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth^a shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. ³ Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky,^a and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

It’s a sign that we are moving closer to the season of Advent, that the texts for this week, including this one from the apocalyptic book of Daniel, all speak to a forthcoming change in the world, a new era of God’s presence among us.

Foremost in this passage is the foretelling of the coming of “Michael, the great prince.” Michael is not one of the names I think of first when I think of biblical names, but Michael is also known for being an Archangel, a portent of both violence, change, and power. What does Michael’s coming mean for us?

Questions to Ponder

Why do you think the prophet Daniel foretells that Michael will bring both protection and anguish? How can the two coexist?

How does this passage in Daniel relate to passages about Michael in the book of Revelation? How are these two books connected, and why?

Why do you think some will awake to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt? Is this about heaven and hell? Or something else?

Hebrews 10:11-14, 19-25

Heb. 10:11    And every priest stands day after day at his service, offering again and again the same sacrifices that can never take away sins. ¹² But when Christ^a had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, “he sat down at the right hand of God,” ¹³ and since then has been waiting “until his enemies would be made a footstool for his feet.” ¹⁴ For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.

A Call to Persevere

Heb. 10:19   Therefore, my friends,^a since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), ²¹ and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²² let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. ²³ Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. ²⁴ And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, ²⁵ not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

As I read through this lengthier passage from the letter to the Hebrews, which, as I’ve noted - is not usually my favorite of the letters in the Bible … I’m reminded of myself as a new