Daily Readings: Psalm 42; Ezekiel 47:1-12; Jude 1:17-25

But you, dear friends, carefully build yourselves up in this most holy faith by praying in the Holy Spirit, staying right at the center of God’s love, keeping your arms open and outstretched, ready for the mercy of our Master, Jesus Christ. This is the unending life, the real life!

Go easy on those who hesitate in the faith. Go after those who take the wrong way. Be tender with sinners, but not soft on sin.

Jude 1:20-23, The Message

It’s a few hundred words between John’s three letters and Revelation – Jude’s neighboring books get a lot more time and attention. But Advent gives me the chance to spend some time in this next-to-the-last book, this penultimate letter.

The words above come right at the end of Jude’s letter, right before the words of blessing that bring Jude to an end. For some reason, this strikes me: the last words of advice are ones of compassion for others, a plea to be kind to those whose faith isn’t on solid ground, to go out and find those who go the wrong way even when common sense says to let them live with the consequences of their errors in judgement. Jude doesn’t say to condone errant behavior; he says to offer those who stray another chance.

What if I lived into this sequence of events? What if my final acts were reaching out to those who need it most? What follows is a benediction to end Jude’s words – then Revelation and the end of all things partial (albeit writ large with amazing and horrifying imagery).

Perhaps seeking the hesitant and lost is the only way to appreciate a benediction and let go of the partial in favor of a new heaven and a new earth…

[This book is ascribed to the apostle Jude, also called Thaddeus – a brother of James and half brother of Jesus. Traditionalso links this Jude to Saint Jude, the patron saint of hopeless causes – perhaps why he advocates for seeking those who are lost…]