“A Message of Hope” 

John 14:23-29

Revelation 21:10, 21:22-22:5 

5-year old Johnny was in the kitchen as his mother made supper. She asked him to go down to the pantry and get her a can of tomato soup, but he didn't want to go in alone.

"It's dark in there and I'm scared."

She asked again, and he persisted.

Finally she said, "It's OK--Jesus will be in there with you."

Johnny walked hesitantly down the stairs and to the door of the pantry. He slowly opened it. He peeked inside, saw it was dark, and started to leave when all at once an idea came, and he said: "Jesus, if you're in there, would you hand me that can of tomato soup?"

This funny story points out one boy's fears and in doing so presents a much more serious and real question “Where is God?” Many times, when presented with scripture from the book of Revelation, what comes to mind are fears and visions of destruction and end times, events that seem to be without God's presence.

Earlier in the book of Revelation, before the verses that I read just a few moments ago, John paints a vivid picture to the seven churches of his time. He speaks of beast one for instance being described as a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. He tells them of his visions and compliments them on their faithfulness as well as cautions them about dangers of temptation and beasts.

Do these abstract visions speak to us today? Were they intended only for these churches?  Are they predictions of what will come? Friends, they do speak to us, but not in that they make up a blueprint of God's plan to punish and bring an end to the earth. They call us, in the midst of our own beasts, our own challenges and temptations, to be steadfast and to accept the gift of the Lamb of God in our lives.

If we look at the book of Revelation, the central message presented speaks of Christ in a vision of hope and peace and forgiveness. Christ as our Lamb has shed his blood for us and cleansed us. His forgiveness and love are with us. In the reading we heard from the Gospel of John we are told of the Holy Spirit coming as an advocate who will be with us-teaching us, and God is described as our light that cannot be overcome. So where is God for us and in these texts?

The message in Revelation is call for repentance and hope, rather than damnation. These days, in which we are living, cause a lot of people to ask: Who's in control of this world anyway? Is God involved?

Revelation was written to people whose world was falling apart. Their faith was challenged, undermined, denied, even forbidden. In response the living Christ called the author to address them with words of assurance. The overwhelming presence of God's mercy and love are present here. There are continued calls for repentance, the destruction is continually delayed, and even in the end, the gates are left open, and the light is always on.

Our times also abound with problems of apocalyptic proportions, from random gun downs to the AIDS virus and everything in between. Revelation addresses the issue of trying to make sense of all of this perhaps better than any other biblical book. Barbra Rossing, a Professor of New Testament at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago and the passionate writer of the book “The Rapture Exposed,” put it this way; “Revelation is not a book written to inspire fear or terror. But it is definitely written to increase a sense of urgency for our world. It is an apocalyptic wake-up call for each of us, precisely because there is hope for us and for our world.”

A glance at any newspaper makes it clear that we are not, in fact, so far removed from those Christians at the end of the first century A.D. who first read these words from the Revelation of John. The literary genre seems at first to be so foreign to us. It is a parade of what appear to be strange, even weird, images. These are wild beasts and mixtures of wild beasts that exist nowhere but in the mind of the one who sees them.

What beasts or idolatries are you and I facing today? Some could point to the threat of Global Warming and our impact as humans in its potentially devastating and unimaginable effects. Others could point to the threat of terrorism. What about the seemingly unnecessary loss of lives in Iraq spanning from soldiers to suicide bombers and innocent civilians? In our Wednesday morning discussion group we are tackling beasts that come in the form of extreme poverty, lack of education, inequality towards women, child mortality, poor maternal health, HIV/AIDS, Malaria, environmental abuses and fair trade and debt relief. All issues being addressed by the UN in its Millennium Goals, which the U.S. along with 182 other countries has signed on to face.

These are our beasts and they are real. Ignoring them or writing them off as unavoidable stepping-stones in the grand scheme of God's plan for the Great Tribulation is naïve. We may be tempted to react to these situations with cynicism or without care but to do so would be a missed opportunity to follow God's call to us as the entrusted care takers he intended us to be. God can take ordinary people like you and I and do extraordinary things.

In light of Mother's Day I am reminded of how when I was growing up my mom was always able to take the beat up scraps of fabric around the house, our old out grown clothes, and create magnificent and beautiful quilts.

And with a more spiritual perspective we can look towards the example of communion where God takes ordinary elements and fills us with extraordinary peace and love and forgiveness. God can and does take ordinary people like you and I and does extraordinary things.

Our youth have set an example for us by eagerly fasting for 30 hours in order to experience and impact change in the world by fighting hunger. They are also committing to raising funds and sacrificing a week's worth of precious school-less summer vacation to embark on a mission trip. Sure there will be fear them as well as for us in our endeavors of life; we are only human.

The beasts that exist in our world seem sometimes overwhelming and the beasts close to our hearts of depression, stress, financial concerns, mischievous children, even whether or not we will be able to accomplish our goals of renovating this building sometimes strain our ability to feel like there is hope. But we can be assured that God is with us. God has given us a message of hope and in the reading from the Gospel of John, Christ leaves us with these words; “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” I would encourage each of you to take time during this season of Easter and explore for yourself the Revelation of hope that is for each of us.

When Paul first presented me with this opportunity to preach I reluctantly agreed. I even contemplated taking back my acceptance because I thought, “I am in no place to be preaching to anyone, I am stressed out and feeling down about circumstances in my life and not feeling extremely spiritual or enlightened.”

After coming to our staff meeting a week or so ago with the intension to back out, Paul beat me to it by informing Pam and I that he might take this week where he is not preparing a sermon to fly back to New Jersey to tie up some loose ends. Of course at that point I was stuck. No way out of it now.

Then I began to study and dig into the scriptures and, lo and behold as God so often does in my life, he took what I was perceiving as a frightening and dreaded experience and renewed me and provided love and hope in a way that I was not expecting or even asking for. This message is for all of us. God can take not only our lives and transform them but he can also use us to transform and impact the world. Certainly God is here. God is with us as the Lamb who was slain, the Holy Spirit advocating for us even when scripture surpasses our understanding and as the light shining hope in our lives. Amen

 
 

May 13, 2007

Lauri Muller

First Presbyterian Church

Logan, Utah