| Revelation 21:1-4 "When First Things Pass Away" |
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| Written by Rev. Don Lee | |
| Saturday, 12 May 2007 | |
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Prayer: Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created and you shall renew the face of the earth. Amen. Greetings on this 5th Sunday of Easter, Mother’s Day! This week I called my mom to wish her a Happy Birthday and a Happy Mother’s Day. It dawned on me that when we visit my mom always manages to tell me three things. Mom tells me 1) she loves me, that 2) she is proud of me, and that 3) she just wants to know I’m okay. Nothing very profound, but important stuff to communicate to the people you love (note to self!). And when you get down to it, I think that’s a pretty simple way of understanding the book of Revelation. In it: -Jesus affirms his love for his church -Expresses pride over his church’s faithfulness even in the face of persecution. -Thirdly, calls his church to accountability. These 3 messages are implicit in our reading from Revelation 21. In it, 1) Jesus affirms his love for his Church. Vs.1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. What the writer of Revelation is describing is a “2nd Genesis” that comes on the heels of APOCALYPTIC CHAOS! The guest speaker for the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast for the cities of Carrollton-Farmers Branch and Addison held on National Prayer Day was Lt. Col. Brian Birdwell. Birdwell’s office at the Pentagon was pretty much ground zero, when terrorist slammed a hijacked passenger jet full of fuel into it. The scene he described was a literal Dante’s inferno. I won’t go into graphic detail but his injuries were so severe it took 39 surgeries to get him anything close to normal. It is into this kind of apocalyptic chaos that God’s maternal “let there be” 1st spoken in Genesis (the book of beginnings) is spoken again in the final chapters of Revelation, the book of last things). God is doing a new thing! Just as in the beginning, humanity is the progeny of God’s love, so in the end, it is by God’s loving initiative that humanity is given new life in a new world order. And here I want to stretch you, theologically. Dr. Alyze McKenzie, Associate Professor of Homiletics at Perkins School of Theology states that “[God’s Kingdom} doesn’t refer to a utopian social order that would be established by human efforts on earth…[or is it to be] equated with any political philosophy or agenda. [But rather] it suggests the idea of a “reign,” highlighting the relationship between the sovereign God and the individual.” In other words, it’s not my job or yours to make God’s kingdom come here on earth. God’s Kingdom is already breaking in upon us at this very moment. Our job is to live in that Kingdom. The movie, Night at the Museum, is the story of a down-and-out dad who hasn’t been successful in the business world or in his relationships. It’s the classic story about the unlikely hero, who saves the day, and wins the girl. It’s a romantic and heroic story line but it is not the Gospel story! On the contrary, Jesus loses everything, even his own life. By society standards he is the “biggest loser of them all.” And get this: 2 billion of us claim him as God and Savior! We’ve bought into a different kind of epic story. The hero of this story is God (not us); the weapons of choice are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control; and the “happily ever after,” is the coming Kingdom of God. The road to God’s Kingdom is paved not with good intentions but with intentional discipleship! I think we honestly forget just how hard it is to live the Christian life! When you’re not about our best, life still keeps coming at you. Isn’t that true? Last week I visited Mary Ray, one of our older members in the hospital. As I was leaving we prayed the Lord’s Prayer together. I was amazed by the conviction and feeling Mary prayed these familiar words. And it struck me that it is with this same kind of feeling and conviction that God speaks to Mary (and to us) the words, “I love you!” I can’t promise you a lot but I can promise you this, “You are loved…by God.” Jesus affirms his love for his Church. 2ndly, in this scripture reading, Jesus expresses pride over his Church’s faithfulness. Verse 3, See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his people…” These words are clearly intended for those who inhabit God’s Kingdom. God is pleased with where they have chosen to “pitch their tents.” “Where you pitch your tent,” is important to God. To pitch your tent in God’s kingdom is to choose to daily live in God’s love instead of (say) “living out of your opinions, agenda, anger or bias. More and more I hear people (and preachers) selectively using the teachings of Jesus to justify positions on any number of controversial issues. According to my Bible, Jesus was not a legalist! Rather according to the overall biblical witness, he was the epitome of grace! Matt 7:21, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of God, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. It is our failure to love [one another] that is the biggest obstacle to life in the Kingdom. Jesus is pleased when we pitch our tent in God’s backyard. So pleased in fact, that God has pitched a tent among us! During Israel’s 40 years of wilderness wanderings recorded in Exodus, it was the Tent of Meeting, set up in the middle of their camp that reminded them of God’s presence among them. I like how the Message Translation of the Bible paraphrases verse 3: I heard a voice thunder from the Throne: “Look! Look! God has moved into the neighborhood!” If anything ought to get us out to meet the neighbors it’s the promise that God has moved into our neighborhood. That we have pitched our tent in the Kingdom pleases God. Jesus expresses pride over his church’s faithfulness. And 3rdly, Jesus calls his church to Accountability. Verse 4, he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away." Human suffering is the evidence of just how far the kingdoms of this world have strayed from God’s intent for the creation. It is contrary to our identity as Kingdom people to contribute to human suffering. More radically still, our “Christian” identity is tied up in the relief of suffering. All anyone has to do is look at the life of Jesus to know that’s true! In the words of Jesus, I was hungry and you gave me food, thirsty and you gave me drink; a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, sick and you cared for me; in prison and you visited me.” Matthew 25:35-36 The guest speaker for our minister’s luncheon last week was a representative from the Salvation Army. Do you know what the mission statement of the Salvation Army is? It is simply to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination. That’s our job description as Kingdom people. Yesterday at the Journeymen Junktique, one of our members pulled me aside because he had met someone in the crowd who was hurting and he wanted me to talk to them to see what we could do to help. Gary said, “Don, this is not about all this (motioning his hand toward the junk). This is about a Kingdom issue.” We have to learn to tell the difference between all this stuff and those Kingdom issues. Jesus calls his church to Accountability. Church, we don’t make God’s kingdom happen; its already here, we just need to live in it. Christ is in us for each other as we gather to worship, to break bread, baptize and challenge one another to love, justice and peace, as we live out of God’s love in Christ. And when we do that, Jesus is speaking through us, saying to the world, “I love you, I am so proud of you, I just want to know how you are okay.” Pray with me. Make us worthy O Lord, to serve those throughout the world who live and die in poverty or hunger. Give then, through our hands this day their daily bread; and by our understanding love, give peace and joy. Amen. |
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