How are you? I have to say that I can’t help by smiling at the thought that over the next few days this poorly written words will find their way to you, spread all over our town and beyond. My desire and prayer as I write this message to you is the by connecting with our news and this message you will feel a bit closer to our lovely congregation, that you will know that there are people praying for you and a great community that loves and cares for you. As I was reminded in a lovely message this week, the term that we are using to define this time is wrong: we are physically distant, not socially, as we find ways to remain connected through phone calls, messages, letters, visits, emails, videos or any ways we can create to be closer to one another in deeper ways that we ever imagined.

Thank you very much for the many messages that we continue to receive at the church, giving us feedback and telling us stories filled with hope and joy. You’ve been inspiring to me personally and also to my family. Thank you also to the ones that are braving the new world of online banking in order to continue to contribute with the work of the church, and to the ones that are coming on Thursday morning to the church with your offerings as well. I also heard from some of you how you are putting aside the envelopes with your tithes and offerings, waiting for the day to come to church to present them during our worship times. We continue ahead, with that hope very present in our hearts that soon we will be able to be together and look to the future as one more battle is won.

It is interesting how a particular question keeps coming my way. No, not that one about how on earth I got Fernanda fooled into marrying me… That is worth asking but after 21 years of marriage I still don’t have an answer to it, so we will have to keep asking together! No, the question that keeps coming my way is if we are living the last days of this world. And my answer, as I reflect on the meaning of those words, have changed! Yes, I answer very gladly when I am asked that question: I definitely hope so!

It’s not just that we are praying and hoping and wishing that the promised return of Jesus will happen soon, but that I hope we are living our own Apocalypse right now. Let me explain this. The word Apocalypse doesn’t mean what we think it means- it’s not word that means “end of the world” or “cataclysm”. The word apocalypse in its original Greek apokalypsis (why did we change its spelling??? It looks a lot better in Greek!) means “unveiling”, or more accurately, the translation used to name the last book on our Biblical cannon, “Revelation”. The John of Patmos is writing this letter to the churches living under the persecution of the Roman Empire, he is poetically and prophetically unveiling what is happening in the world and showing the upcoming end to the world in which they were living and the kingdom of God coming to be manifested in their midst. There was a system under which the people were living, under which the church was suffering, a system based on abuse, excess and oppression, which John saw coming to an end and a new world rising as the people came to live under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. He saw the Roman Empire falling, Caesar exposed as a false god, and people coming to Jesus. All of that happened. Sadly, the system was later substituted by other systems of oppression, some in the name of the church, and other generations found in the words of Revelation the hope they needed to persevere, knowing that change would happen and the coming of Jesus was closer.

Once again another generation looks for hope at the words of John. We see the potential for death and destruction around us, the struggle between the need to protect life and the need to preserve the economy, the fight between science and superstition, the battle between the voices of doom and the prophetic voices that are raising to call us to another season of deep transformation. The more and more this distancing goes and the more the economy and relationships suffer, the more we become aware that the majority of the problems we are facing were not created by the pandemic, but simply exposed by it.

We haven’t become selfish because of this pandemic; we have been selfish in many ways, but this pandemic just made it clear and obvious. We haven’t become dependent of a religious system based on a centre building now, we have been stuck into that system for a long time resisting to change, and now we find ourselves forced into change and we find out the true strength of the church- and for many that has been a wonderful discovery, while others have struggled deeply. We haven’t become greedy and over-consumers in the last weeks, we have become dependent of a system that is constantly telling us that we need more, that we need newer, that alone we are not enough unless we have… (you can fill in the blanks). The empires of today have manipulated the church while giving us a false sense of hope based on political alliances, transforming our churches from a movement into an industry, and taking our eyes out of the kingdom of heaven and bringing our focus on our own survival, as the promises of prosperity break down under the power of a virus. Can I have a witness???

Yes, this pandemic has brought us to new unveiling. The economic inequality of our society has been exposed. The predatory nature of some of our industries has been exposed. What some leaders think about the value of life, especially of those over 65, has been exposed- they are happy to sacrifice those lives in the altar of their way of life. The inability of human kind to provide answer to the deepest questions of the soul has been exposed, as demonstrated by the high number of people flocking to online Christian services, as just one example. It has become clear that we were being pushed harder and harder into a life style where over-consumption, inequality, injustice and oppression were tolerated in the name of our comfort. And now that the system, so many times challenged by the prophetic voice of the church, has been exposed we need to make decisions about how we are going to live in the future. I insist in being hopeful.

Hope that the church that will raise after this season will insist in holding the world accountable to the values of the Kingdom of God; a church more generous, more committed to make creation a blessing to every human being in the planet, a church that by consuming less will have need for less and therefore will have more to share with the ones in need; a church committed to remain active in watching over one another, caring for their brothers and sisters, their communities and caring for themselves as well; a church that is led by people committed to change the future while honouring the past, unafraid of change and self-sacrifice (and yes, you can hold me accountable to it!); a church that will go back to declaring the power of the Gospel to bring people into a way of life centred on the love of God as shown in Jesus Christ, unashamed of proclaiming the message of the cross and living in the power of the resurrection. Yes, a church living with eyes wide open to the reality of the world and depending on the power of God to bring the revelation of his Kingdom to the world.

So, are we living the Apocalypse? Yes, I hope so! And I hope the system falls and that the church that raises afterwards will live up the reality of the Kingdom of God, knowing that Jesus’ return is closer and that we can’t waste any more the opportunities given to us. Let’s pray, prepare and be ready for the reopening of our society to a different future- one that is better than the one we got used to. Would you dream with me? This is dream worth dreaming!