Revelation 1: The Hard and Holy In-between

(Revelation 19.6, 11.15, 19.16: The text of the "Hallelujah" chorus by G.F. Handel)
A sermon preached by Dave Shull
Spirit of Peace United Church of Christ
Sammamish, Washington
The 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time: September 6, 2009

The ninth in a summer series on topics members of the church asked to hear sermons about.
This morning's topic: What is the Revelation to John about?

The question came up during the sermon talk-back last Sunday. What is the book of Revelation about? I'd read a passage from Revelation in that morning's sermon. Strange words about seals opening and riders on horseback taking peace from the earth and destroying a fourth of earth's creatures. So Dorothy asked to hear a sermon about the Revelation to John.

The Revelation to John is probably the most confusing book in the Bible. It's also the most mispronounced, since I've even heard a lot of clergy pronounce it Revelations. And it's one of the most misused books in the Bible. For over a hundred years Christians have tried to read it literally. So they have found within its pages coded language they say predicted the creation of the United Nations Security Council as an agent of Satan, for example.

I'm going to spend the next two weeks preaching about Revelation, because I think progressive Christians need to reclaim it. I think we need to know something about this book so we can respond when other Christians misuse it. And I think we need to hear its words of warning and promise.

John wrote Revelation at end of the first century to Christians in seven churches in western Turkey. These Christians were caught in the hard and holy in-between. They knew God had come to earth in Jesus. They knew Jesus had promised always to be with his followers. They knew God would not abandon them. And yet every day they knew they or someone they loved could be taken to prison. Or tortured. Or killed. They were in-between hearing the promise of God that their lives would be blessed by justice, dignity, love, and hope. And the fear that maybe God had forgotten them, because so many of them were suffering. The lives of these Christians was extremely hard. Christianity did not attract the movers and shakers of society; most Christians came from lower socioeconomic classes. Because people outside the church knew every time Christians gathered for worship they ate the body of Christ and drank his blood, they called Christians cannibals. Because their leader, Jesus, had been crucified as a rebel and enemy of public welfare, people outside the church called Christians unpatriotic. Because Christians called Jesus "son of God" and refused to call Caesar by that name, those outside the church called them atheists. Many Christians had their property confiscated. Many were tortured or executed (Eugene Boring, Revelation, Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1989, pp. 11, 18).

How do you hold on to faith in times of such severe persecution? When you or the people you love are being tortured and killed, how can you talk about a God who is faithful?

That's what the Revelation to John tries to do. The book is filled with wild images and symbols. Images and symbols often inspire the passion and creativity of artists. The Revelation to John is no exception. Here is how three verses from Revelation inspired one such artist 250 years ago. Listen for a Word from God.
a recording of G.F. Handel's "Hallelujah" chorus from "The Messiah" was played;
the text for the chorus comes from these verses:
Revelation 19.6: And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, "Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth."
Revelation 11.15: And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
Revelation 19.16: And on his robe and on his thigh, Christ has a name inscribed, "King of kings and Lord of Lords."

What does this piece make you feel like? (the congregation responded: it makes me grateful that the early Christians held on to their faith in spite of persecution, or we wouldn't be here today; joyful; triumphal)

I think these are some of the feelings John hoped his words to Christians would inspire: gratitude for the God who was with them, joy in having companions who encourage each other to be faithful, and belief in the God who triumphed even over death. Hope for people caught in the hard and holy in-between that God will be faithful and not leave them to suffer alone.

The Roman Empire was like any empire. Empires try to seduce us into believing we should do whatever they say. They have the wealth, they have the army, they have the secret of what it takes to have a good life. So the empire says, follow us, obey us, worship us – and you'll be happy. You'll be successful. You'll have everything you could want.

And in Revelation, John says to the Christians in western Turkey, Don't believe it. Don't let yourself be seduced by the Empire. Don't worship violence or greed or power. John calls Christians to keep following Jesus. Who had no wealth. And had no army. The only power Jesus had was love. A healing, calling, story-telling, boundary-shattering love. All he had was a love that refused to let itself hate so much it became violent. Rome thought they'd destroyed that love when they put Jesus on the cross. But that love could not be destroyed. That love came back to life . . . and the Roman Empire ended up being destroyed.

Last month, my spiritual director, the motorcycle-riding ex-nun who doesn't let me get away with much, told me I didn't expect enough from God. I sat with that all month. And when we met yesterday, I asked about it. She said, "Look how most people in this culture related to God. We decide what we want. And because we're good individualists, we try by ourselves to achieve that. And when we can't quite make it happen by ourselves, we ask for God's help. If we end up getting what we want, then we believe in God. If we don't get what we want, then maybe we start to doubt. But it's all about getting God to help us get what we want. But that's totally backwards. That makes God our servant. Instead, we should be listening. . . listening in prayer to hear what God's desire and dream for us is. We listen for that, and then we try to make that real. So we're God's servants, doing what God want us to do." She said she thinks oppressed people seem to understand that. Maybe it's because they don't have many other options. Slaves and the victims of military dictatorships in Central America are people we might expect to have a weak faith because of their suffering. But they often have a stronger faith than those of us who have so much. "It seems that oppressed people who from the outside look like they'd have good reason not to believe in God's faithfulness have a much stronger faith than people like us who have so much. They hear the promises of God. They feel the love of Jesus Christ. And they trust. They follow where Jesus calls them to go. They commit their lives to making God's dreams for them real.

That is what John calls us to do today. To hear the promise that this King of kings and Lord of lords will reign forever and ever. And it is this risen Jesus who reigns in love. It is this risen Christ who calls us to listen for God's desire and dream for us, so we can live into that, expecting God to give us what we need to make it real. And John assures us when we are in tune with God's song, no force can defeat us.

Amen.