Week 52: Jesus, Day 4

Read:
Revelation 12:1-11
Psalm 109

Reflect:
 The Book of Revelation is best read as a series of visions, in which the Gospel of Jesus Christ is depicted and explored from a variety of perspectives. This is especially true of chapters 6-22. Each of these visions has something to do with “the things that must shortly take place” (Rev 1:1), that is, with the future that is fast bearing down on the Church as it struggles to remain faithful to its Lord. But in sketching the future, the visions also dig deeply into the Biblical past. Here is the power of the language of the book, which draws on Old Testament imagery in a rich way, going beyond mere citation, and rather imitating its very qualities and cadences.
 Today’s passage presents us with a vision of a woman giving birth to a child, an attack on them both by a dragon, God’s act of protection, and a voice commenting on the scene. The question that springs to mind is, “who are these figures?” The text gives us some help with that, but also suggests a complexity that leaves matters somewhat mysterious. The dragon, it is clear, is Satan (12:9), who at the start of the vision has tremendous power, and part way through it is “thrown down to the earth” (12:9) where however he still represents a huge threat (5:13-17). The identity of the child is not stated as clearly, but the fact that He is “to rule all the nations with a rod of iron” (5:5) tells us that this is Jesus Christ (compare 19:15-16). That should make the mother Mary, and yet there seem to be layers of signification that push this identification in other directions. She is “clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars” (5:1). This has led some commentators to see here a reference to the earth itself, emphasizing the beauty of the Lord’s original creation (over against the viciousness of the dragon) so that Jesus is a true “son of the earth.” As events unfold, she is also hidden and nourished by God in the wilderness (5:14), which reminds us of aspects of the history of Israel; and so some see here a specific reference to Israel as the “mother” of Jesus. These three references are perhaps not inconsistent with each other: the perfection and beauty of the original creation was taken up in Israel’s worship and experience as the people of God, and Mary certainly represents the obedience and beauty of Israel’s faith. The swirling themes allow the vision to carry several legitimate levels of implications.
 On the other hand, the reference to Bethlehem is clear, though astonishingly gruesome. Samuel Beckett shocked the world in his play Waiting for Godot, by depicting the quality of human life as a woman giving birth while straddling a grave: a quick and dirty womb-to-tomb experience. His image was not less shocking than the John’s image of the dragon awaiting the birth of the Savior with an open maw. (I’ve never seen a crèche like this.) Only one thing prevents disaster: God intervenes, and allows the natural development of the child to take its course. Only the action of God stands between the unslaked ferocity of Satan and the vulnerable baby who must grow before He can conquer. Only God stands against the mind-blowing pointlessness of evil – or for that matter of Beckett’s empty philosophy. God insists on retaining human life as beautiful, meaningful, and full of wonder. And He does it by protecting the natural, normal, quiet, vulnerable processes of nature and family. Again, a powerful reiteration of the real meaning of Christmas: God saves!

Respond:
Verses 10-11 pattern our response as “the brethren” who have known the salvation of God. As beneficiaries of His blood, they became His witnesses, and turned from a life of their own to a life lived (and lost) for Him. So much about Christmas seems to bring out our human selfishness. But there is much too that can turn us away from a life lived for self.

Pray:
Lord, thank You for the faithfulness of so many of Your servants – the prophets of Israel, Mary and Joseph, and the many faithful witnesses in our lives who have shown us the light of life in Christ. Help us shine Your light today.

- D.D.