The lectionary for Easter 7c leaves out verse 15 of Revelation 22 presumably because verse 15 leaves out “dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.” I don’t know about you, but the Heinze household believes all dogs go to heaven, except maybe our bad dog Chihuahua, Feliz Puppydad, who will need to be potty trained in purgatory first. Verses 18 & 19 don’t make the lectionary lesson either, but that has more to do with what one would add to Revelation than whatever one might leave behind. So warning and welcome live side by side and we do a disservice to the scripture when we pick and choose, even though denominations clearly discriminate. Those more liberal, or by self definition progressive, need to acknowledge the nasty with the nice, while those intent on saving the world as long as it is monochromatic need to look more closely at the Jesus who consistently colors outside the lines. But both sides should take note that while we argue about what verses to include or exclude the rest of the world doesn’t give a damn, which doesn’t really matter if they are all going to hell. But if Jesus died to make a difference then we better figure out a better way than “turn or burn” or “all paths lead to the same place” to speak the truth of Jesus so the dogs in verse 15 might actually want to find a welcome place in verse 17.
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