A Stable God Amidst Humankind Chaos
Reading: Revelation 21:1-6a
New heaven and new earth
21:1Then 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.
21:2And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
21:3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and be their God;
21:4he 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."
21:5And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true."
21:6Then he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.
SERMON: A Stable God Amidst Chaos.
The book of Revelation gets a hard rap. It’s been used to scare people into religious submission. It’s been used to warn “bad” Christians about being cast into Hell because of the lives they lived while alive. There’s a lot of scary terms that the movie industry has taken and run with- numerology, horsemen of the apocalypse, conspiracy theories abound.
But Revelation’s text is simply just that- a revelation from God to John to let him know what must happen soon. According to John, the vision- the “revelation” shared in this scripture here, was given to John, mediated through Jesus Christ and an angel.
So, how did revelation become such a scary book in the Bible? What about that word- apocalypse? Revelation in Biblical Greek translates to the word: Apocalypsis which means- the uncovering of hidden truths.
Apocalyptic literature expands beyond the book of Revelation, it extends to the Old Testament, where we have the same style of writing in Ezekiel, parts of Daniel, Isaiah and even in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 13.
The writers of these Scriptures narrated visionary experiences and used symbolism to communicate deep and difficult truths about God and the World.
I find there’s a natural correlation in the world with Election Cycles and media references to the Apocalypse. As we enter this week ahead where we will cast our votes at the polls, it’s easy to be pulled into the fear and angst that so many are feeling.
There’s a lot at stake with who is in power. When we vote, we are thinking of our own new heavens and new earths- where our voices are heard and lifted up to those on gilded political thrones.
And well, the apocalypsis-- the revelation that we experience during any political season tends to be the unveiling of nastiness between our neighbors, when opinions differ.
This past year, I had two memorable pastoral visits. One was with a republican, the other was with a democrat. Both, of course- over a warm cup of coffee.
The Republican was beside themselves. The state of the world. What if their candidate loses! What if the other candidate wins? What will become of their loved ones, their family, this country?
The next week, with the Democrat- the conversation followed the exact same format. The state of the world. What if their candidate loses! What if the other candidate wins? What will become of their loved ones, their family, this country?
It was the exact same conversation. I found that so interesting.
It turns out, we are not each other's enemy - when God reveals we all want safety, protection, love and justice for ourselves and the ones we love. We’re just human.
The passage we read from Revelations says that the Home of God is Among Mortals. Meaning perhaps that God is in the depths of our fears, witnessing and experiencing the same pains and pangs that our flesh and bone bodies experience.
There’s a divine promise of newness after destruction and pain. There’s a promise of rebirth-
In Revelation’s theology, God did not create just once - God- our God of Genesis, of beginnings and ends, works cyclically. Rebuilding, creating, rebuilding, creating, again and again.
There is no description of eternal punishments in Revelation, if you stick to the text-you cannot find it. There’s only the promise of a God who is with us - through everything.
In revelation, humans are not evil, but they can participate in evil and become complicit in its injustices, sometimes unwittingly. Systems are tricky like that. We grow comfortable in what we can count on.
Recently, I found on my phone a video from two years ago that I had filmed with my grandmother who was dying of Alzheimer’s in Black Mountain, North Carolina. In the video, we were chatting about her desires for her funeral service. Her life, like yours- was lived faithfully. She loved Jesus Christ, and was proud to be a Christian Servant, giving so much of her time and energy to the Church and its people.
She wanted her memorial service to call for the Unity of God’s People. All People. Because that was what God represents, a messy togetherness.
Revelation in a way, holds this same message- calling for a time of new love, new energy, new reconciliations. Visions of hope shape our Sacred Text, guided by the memories of our history and our ancestral past. Of a God who wipes tears from our eyes lovingly.
The God revealed to us is one who is consistent, faithful, just and watchful, and regardless of how the week ahead unravels, we must not despair, because before all, we are God’s Children. We are loved, and we are called to love one another.
Our God is stable, amidst chaos.
There is no storm, no season, no act of hate that rocks the love of our divine Lord.
And when we feel God’s absence, and our fears prevail-
When we feel as if it’s all on the line,
When we cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel,
When our emotions take over,
Our depression keeps us in bed,
When our hearts cannot take one more heartache-
One more disappointment-
Our God Bears Witness. The Spirit Guides us Forward. And Christ Saves us, through every breath we breathe.
I’ll wrap up with a tool I use in my work called Nonviolent Communication- it was developed by a Psychologist Dr. Marshall Rosenburg , and I will likely use it in the days ahead as I support congregants experiencing angst and worry this week.
I learned this in Seminary during my Chaplaincy training at a hospital. One of the pieces of that training was a required course in nonviolent communication. Once you begin to practice this, you’ll find that God is at work in great ways and your personal relationships much improved.
There are four components here:
Observe
Feel
Need
Request
Nonviolent communication requires a person who might be in a difficult conversation to stay in the conversation through these four parts.
There is a heavy cost when we don’t express our feelings. I think as Christians, we lean towards bottling up our emotions for the sake of avoiding conflict and tension especially in our communities, but that’s simply because we see anger, frustration, sadness as less-than-emotions. Weaknesses, but they’re not that.
They’re just as valid as joy, hope, laughter, and we cannot experience the lightness in our lives, without giving attention to the other side.
In the days ahead, do not think less of yourself if you feel low. But instead be brave. and observe how you are feeling. Express it softly to those who love you. We have a God who loves us. No matter how we feel.
Think of what you might need, when you communicate how you feel, and observe your emotion, name it, identify what you need that is lacking and causing that emotion, and ask for whatever that is.
I’ll say it one more time: Think of what you might need, when you communicate how you feel, and observe your emotion, name it, identify what you need that is lacking and causing that emotion, and ask for whatever that is.
An example: I feel anxious and tired. I need to turn off the news for the night and to spend time with my family away from technology. Would you be willing to postpone our errands this evening until later this week?
Perhaps, we are called to observe our own hidden truths-our own hidden emotions and griefs and tears that God wipes away privately when no one is looking.
Maybe that’s the secret to deep relationships that withstand the systemic power holds that manipulate us and pit us against our neighbors.
In Revelation in a different part of the Bible, and in the Apocrypha (parts of scripture that are not in the PCUSA-reformed bibles) there is a consistent reference to Dragons. I know, from limited understanding that the Dragon holds great significance to your culture. Correct me if I am wrong, but in Chinese culture the Dragon represents good fortune and ambition.
In Revelation and in the Apocryphal text, Bel and the Dragon, the Dragon is a symbol to represent similar interests, but to the far extreme of what happens when ambition and fortune are left unchecked and are out of balance. I read it as a representation of too much yang, and not enough yin.
The moment that the Dragon appears in Revelation, it brings death and destruction. The final book of the bible has archangel Michael in a holy fight with the dragon, casting him down to earth. When we have too much and no longer need God, is that when we become our own version of a fiery dragon?
We’re called through our faith to be brave. To trust that the Lord is our shepherd, regardless of our own meekness and sheepishness. We follow a God that leads us to green pastures, on paths of righteousness.
How can we live with the dragons in our hearts pushing us towards our paths of ambition? How can we honor God but still be completely human?
I think a healthy start is by practicing healthy communication with one another.
When we speak our needs so that we can heal the parts of ourselves that we have been suppressing, we’re acting in covenant with the God of Israel. We’re trusting God to care for us, even the parts of us that hurt.
God, who makes all things new.
Make us new.
Apocalypsis.
To God, through Christ, Revealed by Spirit- be the Glory.
Through God, let us regain our stability in our messy togetherness.
Amen.
Prayer after Sermon:
God of the Unknown, in your mystery no words can capture your greatness. Be still, you say, and know that I am God. So we will be still, we will listen. In the silence, we will hear the beating of our hearts, the racing of our minds. Knowing that you are working through all. Let us be brave and witness the newness that you are creating, Alpha and Omega, time and time again. Amen.
Benediction:
God revealed a new heaven and a new earth,
God revealed a holy city,
God is with the mortals. Dwelling by our side.
God wipes the tears from our eyes.
God loves us, without restriction.
So go in peace, to love and serve the Alpha the Omega.
For through Christ, all things are made new.