Dear Good People of Saint Philip’s,

There is now more than a hint of apocalyptic in texts as we inch closer and into Advent.

The word does not mean what you think it means. The culture has redefined it as “shoot ’em up, explosive terror and horror.” Consider titles of movies that use the word: Apocalypse Now, X Men Apocalypse, Apocalypse Redux, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, and War of the Dead: Apocalypse.

This Sunday’s Old Testament lesson is from Malachi, the last book of the Hebrew Bible.

Even though it is listed as prophetic, a hint of apocalyptic is there in prediction of a coming day of accountability when “the chickens come home to roost” or “time to pay the piper.” There will be a time of exposure when secrets are revealed out in the open.

The word’s etymological essence means revelation, unveiling, uncovering or disclosure.

The big apocalyptic books of the Bible are Daniel and Revelation. Both concern empires that are being exposed for their inhumane policies. Each scroll, originating centuries apart, uses symbols of ravenous beasts as representative of violent and oppressive empires. Daniel is laser-focused on the Babylonian and Greek empires in particular, and Revelation is calling out Rome.

An apocalyptic moment can be experienced as embarrassing and shaming at one end of its spectrum and relieving and welcoming at the other. For those in power, there will be shame, but those subjected to and forced by power into conformity with the empire’s desires will feel great relief and jubilation. Just imagine the patriots at the conclusion of the American Revolution.

On a lighter note, an apocalyptic moment appears in The Wizard of Oz when a little dog named Toto grabs a curtain and pulls it back. We all then see a little man who feels exposed ordering onlookers to “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.”

The jig was up. It was all a sham and pretense, but one that worked for a while. The Wizard had used smoke, fire, a manufactured booming voice, and spectacle to seduce the people.

That moment is a great reveal. An unveiling. Toto, following instinct, is the hero of the moment.

Now the people are forced to reevaluate. A few, in spite of an in-your-face dose of reality, will cling to allegiance to the fake wizard. Sometimes reality is resisted no matter what. Others will gradually process their experience vis-à-vis “the wizard” and integrate all that had happened into their lives.

It is no small thing to learn and profit from an apocalypse of discovery. As painful as it might be at first, one can decipher a way through it that enriches and benefits one’s life. The Way, after all, is all about growing in Christ. Paul called it sanctification. Nowadays, we usually call it transformation.

Growing up into Christ is available for any of us at any age. It cannot be done alone. Community is required. We do it together. As Archbishop Desmond Tutu once said, “I am because we are.” In the midst of an “us,” we are guaranteed apocalyptic moments.

If the Wizard is fortunate, he will accept accountability and choose to go in a different direction in his life (repentance). He will admit his need for help for he will know that he cannot lead his new life going solo. He will need to experience love and acceptance from a mature and wise community. B

oth he and community may arrive at gratitude for the apocalypse. Those who got taken in will profit from reflection on how they allowed themselves to be seduced.

What were the “hooks” that grabbed them in the first place?

What were the warning signs that they blocked out or brushed aside?

Your fellow traveler,

—Richard