Easter 5 – 15 May 22 – Year C

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

The text for this meditation is written in he 21^st Chapter of the Book of Revelation: Verses 1 – 7:

 

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. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold,  the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 

5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.  To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and ^rI will be his God and he will be my son.

 

 

“A Whole New World”: If you have seen the Disney film Aladdin, on his magic carpet Aladdin sings about it, but now in our text God promises He will deliver it. Are you looking forward to it? You should be, and today I’ll tell you why.

Yes, a whole new world. That’s what John sees in our reading today from Revelation 21. A new heaven, a new earth, a new Jerusalem. And he who is seated on the throne says, “Behold, I am making all things new.” We’re coming into the last two chapters of the Bible now, and we get a glimpse of where all this is headed. And it is new, and it is glorious, and it is something to be ardently looked forward to.

“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.” John has been witnessing the unfolding of history before his eyes, through a series of visions, and now he comes to the conclusion, the resolution of all that has been revealed thus far, the goal toward which everything is going.

A whole new world. Why? What was wrong with the first one? Do I even need to ask that question? You see the world we live in. It is filled with death and destruction and decay. All around us we see sorrow and sadness and sickness. And all within us we see sin, sin lurking inside and making its way out in the things we say and do and think. This old world and our old sinful nature are pretty messed up, seriously in need of a major renovation project. Well, that’s what God is going to do. He’s going to make all things new.

A new heaven and a new earth. Here in Revelation we’re coming to the end of the Bible, as I say, but now think back to the beginning. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” Including the man and the woman. But then something happened. Sin entered the picture. Sin entered us. We rebelled against our Creator. We broke his commandment. We wanted to be our own God. And so the curse fell upon mankind. “Dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” The death sentence, being driven out of the garden and cut off from the tree of life. Discord, friction between husband and wife. Futility in work. Futility in creation. Things don’t work right. Nature itself gets fouled up. Disasters, death, and danger. And it’s been that way ever since. We could use a whole new world.

Isaiah had foretold it. Isaiah 65, where the Lord says: “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness.” Isaiah had foretold it, and now in Revelation here it comes. New heavens and a new earth, and also a new Jerusalem: “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”

“New Jerusalem”: Well, again, what was wrong with the old one? If you know your Bible, you know the answer to that question: Plenty. There was plenty wrong with the old Jerusalem. Even though it was meant to be a holy city, set apart to be the dwelling place of the Lord in his temple–even so, old Jerusalem behaved in some very unholy ways.

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!” Yet Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem. “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death.” Which is what happened, of course. Old Jerusalem had lost its holiness and missed its Messiah, rejecting the very king sent by God. And so, God would send destruction on old Jerusalem in the form of a Roman army.

But now here in Revelation there is coming a new Jerusalem, a truly holy city, at last. And notice where this new Jerusalem is coming from. “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.” That’s always the direction where things you can be sure of are coming from. From God to us. Just as the Son of God came down from heaven for us men and for our salvation. So likewise does the new Jerusalem come down from heaven to earth. When God does the coming down, it is holy and it is sure.

“Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” Oh, this city will be beautiful! “Glorious things of you are spoken, Zion, city of our God; He whose word cannot be broken formed you for his own abode.” And so it will be. “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” This is the fulfillment of God’s plan for the ages. God and mankind together again, at peace, reconciled, dwelling in harmony and sweet fellowship. Paradise restored. What was lost in the garden is restored in an even greater way in the new Jerusalem.

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Imagine this. What will be so wonderful about this whole new world is what will not be there, what is no longer there that is here now. No more death. No more tears. No more mourning or crying or pain. Disabilities and degenerative diseases–gone. Divorce and depression–over. Loss and loneliness–things of the past.

“Behold, I am making all things new.” Notice, God says he is making all things new. That is different from saying, “I am making all new things.” No, you will still be you. God is going to raise up your body, only it will no longer be subject to death and decay. No more breaking down. No more getting frail and wearing out. No, you will be fitted out for eternity, ready to go. You know, mankind was never meant to die in the first place. Our sin spoiled that. But when God makes all things new, our bodies will be renewed, restored, raised up whole and glorious, transformed and transfigured–a real physical body, your body, but perfected in a way we can’t even imagine now.

And this creation will be restored, too. At this time of year we see all the beauty of springtime in full bloom–flowers and trees blossom, and fields greening up. But now multiply that by an indefinite amount and you might be approaching the beauty that is in store in the world to come.

How can we be sure of all this? Because God says so. You can count on his word. “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Trustworthy and true, the profound Word of God. Trustworthy and true, the promises of God to you, to me.

And God said to John, “It is done!” “It is done.” A fait accompli, a sealed deal, you can take it to the bank. “It is done!” John must have been reminded of a word he had heard years earlier: “It is finished.” That’s what Jesus said on the cross, as he was hanging there, dying for the sins of the world. And because Jesus did die for those sins, your sins and mine, our debt has been paid, the goal has been reached, and the deal has been sealed, good as gold. Jesus’ “It is finished” on the cross guarantees the “It is done” in the new Jerusalem. And the proof is in the resurrection of Christ, when he conquered the grave and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. “Because he lives, we shall live also.”

“It is done!” God says. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” It’s all a gift, God’s free gift to you. Are you thirsty? Drink up. Drink from the spring of life-giving water he offers you free of charge. You get a taste of that today as you drink from the cup of blessing here in the Lord’s Supper, Christ’s own blood shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. “And where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.”

“And I will be his God and he will be my son.” I’m reminded of what John says in his epistle: “See what kind of love the Father has given us, that we should be called the children of God, and so we are. . . . Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we will be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” It’s from John’s epistle, but it really fits in with his vision of the new Jerusalem. Because one day we too will see this new Jerusalem. One day we will see this new heaven and the new earth. One day we will see the one seated on the throne, making all things new. We shall see him, and we will be at home, at last.

When will this take place? In a little while. It may seem like a long time to us, but in the big picture of things, it will only be a little while. “A little while, and you will see me,” our Saviour says to his disciples. So hold tight, hold close to Christ. “Lift up your head, for your redemption draws near.” “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”

Yes, dear friends, a whole new world is on the way. A new heaven and a new earth. The holy city, new Jerusalem. A holy people, a new you, and a new us, God with us forever.

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Amen

The love and peace of our Great triune God the is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen

Easter 4 – 8 May 2022 – Year C

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Amen

 

The text for this meditation is written in the 7^th Chapter of the Book of Revelation: Verses 9 – 17

After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ They cried out in a loud voice, saying,

“Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

¹¹ And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹² singing,

“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom
and thanksgiving and honour
and power and might
be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

¹³ Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?” ¹⁴ I said to him, “Sir, you are the one that knows.” Then he said to me, “These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

¹⁵ For this reason they are before the throne of God,
    and worship him day and night within his temple,
    and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them.
¹⁶ They will hunger no more, and thirst no more;
    the sun will not strike them,
    nor any scorching heat;
¹⁷ for the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd,
    and he will guide them to springs of the water of life,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

 

 

 

Play Verse 1 – ‘Christus Paradox’

What you have just heard and seen is the first verse of one of my favourite hymns – “Christus Paradox”. When you first hear it, it doesn’t make much sense. How can someone be both a prince and slave, a peacemaker and sword-bringer, crucified criminal, and God of glory at the same time? What on earth is an “everlasting instant”? While that hymn may appear to be pure nonsense, it actually is a beautiful description of the many of the paradoxes of the Christian faith – with special focus on the greatest paradox of all: Jesus himself. Today we focus on one of the most comforting and familiar paradoxes in Scripture – that Jesus, the Lamb of God, is our Good Shepherd. 

On its face it doesn’t make any sense – a helpless lamb would normally make for a pretty pathetic shepherd – and yet, our salvation hangs on this paradox. And when God leads us to believe this paradox, then we will better understand some of the more troubling paradoxes in our own lives as well. 

The author of Revelation, the apostle John, knew firsthand how puzzling and paradoxical life could be for a Christian. He had personally recorded Jesus’ promise: ^{(John 10:27)} “my sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand”. And yet, as he wrote the words of Revelation, roughly 60 years after Jesus had been crucified and raised to life, you couldn’t blame him if he had some doubts. John had lived through the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD. He had seen his fellow Christians persecuted and forced to flee their homes and country. He had outlived every one of his fellow apostles – because they had been for preaching the Gospel. He was writing these words from exile on the island of Patmos, alone and far from his fellow believers. I can’t really imagine John humming “I am Jesus’ Little Lamb” as he’s sitting in isolation on a deserted island while the Roman Empire is systematically persecuting the Church.

 And John isn’t alone, is he? When I look out there, I don’t see sleek, strong, self-sufficient sheep – I see little lambs who are harassed and weary. I see how the harsh realities of life have taken their toll. I see Christians who sometimes struggle to see Jesus as their Good Shepherd. And the devil is very good at coercing struggle into full-blown doubt. “If I’m really Jesus’ little lamb, why can’t I get ahead financially, why does it seem like every time I take one step forward something happens to put me two steps back? If I’m Jesus’ little lamb, why does he let me hurt so bad, why doesn’t he do something about it? If Jesus is a Good Shepherd, why does he let so many of his sheep wander out of the fold and fall prey to the wolves of the world? I’ve followed Jesus’ voice my whole life, why do I struggle while my unbelieving neighbour thrives?” Maybe we finally get to the point that we pray “Lord, why don’t you just take me home?” 

 While I cannot answer those questions, I can tell you this: the book of Revelation was written for us. The Lord gave John this series of visions specifically to sustain and strengthen his faith in the face of suffering and doubt and hardship. It is an in depth view of what’s really going on in the world; it reveals the epic behind the scenes battle for souls between Christ and the devil. While much of Revelation uses vivid picture language to describe the horrors of the End Times battlefield, the words before us are an interlude in which the Lord gives John a brief but glorious view of the Church triumphant, the Church in heaven. 

 And what does it look like? Well, against all odds, it looks a lot like God said it would, doesn’t it? Remember how unlikely it was when God promised Abraham – who had no children – that his descendants would be ^{(Genesis 22:17)} “as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore”. 

And here in our text, John sees “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language”. It looks like a victory celebration: the Church that seemed so small and so helpless is clothed in white robes and waving palm branches – and instead of mourning, they are singing: “salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb”. It looks like a family reunion: all believers of all time are there along with the angels and “four living creatures” (probably cherubim). 

 Why does Jesus give John this vision of heaven? Just to tease him and rub his misery in his face? No. Jesus is teaching an important lesson about suffering. “Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes – who are they and where did they come from?” I answered, “Sir, you know.” John wisely appealed to a high authority: “You’ll have to answer that for me.” And he said, “These are they who have come out (Bad translation. Literally “are coming out”) of the great tribulation.”

Sadly, the picture here is misinterpreted by so many Christians – they speak of a cryptic seven-year tribulation and secret rapture of believers. 

The true picture is simply that of believers dying, one after another, and being delivered out of this fallen world to the glory of heaven. 

 In contrast to the widely held but nonetheless false belief that true Christians shouldn’t suffer in this life, the elder is helping us to see that all true Christians suffer in this life. Not a single saint in heaven avoided it. Suffering is not only a universal result of sin’s curse as written in (Genesis 3:13-24), but a specific result of following Christ. Jesus promised his disciples: ^{(John 16:33)} “in this world you will have trouble”. Paul and Peter warned in (Acts 14:22) and (1 Peter 3:14) that we must go through many hardships and suffering before inheriting eternal life. The path Jesus blazed is the one all Christians must follow: first the cross, then the crown.

 The good news is not that being Jesus’ little lamb will mean a peaceful and trouble-free life now, it is that one day Jesus will remove us from this troubled life forever. 

 Do we believe that? Is that the lens through which we see life? Do we ^{(Romans 8:18)} ‘patiently endure tribulation now trusting that it can’t compare to the glory that will be revealed’? By God’s grace, as worshipping Christians, I don’t think we have a knowledge problem, I don’t think we expect this life to be trouble-free, because we know better. But it’s one thing to talk about suffering, it’s another to handle it in a God-pleasing way. 

The Greek word for tribulation is “thlipsis”. The picture is of being pressed or crushed from all sides – from within and without. Our generation is infamous for its inability to handle pressure and stress – for going to extremes to avoid or minimize pain and discomfort of any kind. 

What about us? An opioid epidemic is sweeping our nation – people seeking relief through the misuse and abuse of prescription painkillers; …… has its toxic tide rolled into any of our lives? 

Marriage – the lifelong union of two sinners – can be a daily struggle. The world says “it’s not worth the struggle, find relief through divorce” – has that thought ever crossed our minds? 

Raising – and especially disciplining – children is hard – to the extent that the world says that killing them before they are born is a viable option – and even if we would never go to that extreme, aren’t we tempted to turn our parenting responsibilities over to someone else? There’s great pressure on each of us and the Church at large to conform to the ethics and morals of the godless world – what will we do? Go along with the crowd or stand firm on the Word? 

When Jesus said ^{(Mark 8:34)} “if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” he wasn’t speaking hypothetically – he says that the cross is a necessary part of life as a Christian. 

 How can we possibly withstand the pressure? How can we survive the tribulation? How can we ever hope to escape this world and stand with that multitude in heaven? Well, remember what the elder said – how did those saints get there? Just one thing unites them all: “They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb”…… Starting with the very first Passover, God required his OT people to sacrifice thousands and thousands of animals. These bloody and violent ceremonies made two things very clear: first, ^{(Romans 6:23)} “the wages of sin is death”; second, that animal bled and died in their place, as their substitute.

 This is why the focus of the glorified Church’s joy is not themselves, their faithfulness, their suffering – but the Lamb. Because it was the life and death of the Lamb that took away their sins. Nothing but the blood he shed on the cross could cleanse their filthy robes. All of that pain, that suffering that we have sometimes sinned to avoid – Jesus took it on his shoulders and paid for it with his life. It’s really no mystery at all why we suffer – we are sinners living in a sinful world. 

No, the greatest mystery is why the sinless Lamb of God should suffer the death we deserved. That’s the mystery of grace. That’s why the multitude sings: “salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb”. 

 If only those who have perfectly white robes will stand in glory in heaven, then the most important question for us is: How do we wash our robes in the Lamb’s blood? 

Many churches have a stained glass window or paraments that show the Lamb with a deep wound in his side standing on a book with seven seals. The Lamb’s blood flows into a chalice.

 The picture is clear enough, isn’t it? Only by drinking from that chalice we are washed and cleansed in Jesus’ blood. When we confess our sins and when we approach the altar for communion – we are bringing our filthy robes to the cleaners, to have the blood of Jesus wash our sins away forever. 

More than that, when we confess our sins, we are not merely confessing our violations of God’s Law – confession also includes the weight of sin in a world that presses us from every side. We should look forward to confession, not only to be relieved of our burden of sin but also our burden of stress and distress – that’s what Peter meant when he wrote: ^{(1 Peter 5:7)} “cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you”.

 On this Mother’s Day, a visual analogy is to picture it like a hurt or scared child running and jumping into his mother’s arms – trusting her to calm every fear and fix every problem. Although, if you are a mother, maybe that’s not so comforting. Not when you have a family expecting you to solve every problem every day. Does anyone in the world have more ‘thlipsis’, more daily pressure than mothers? You’re expected to heal every wound, find every lost toy, know every answer, dry every tear, get everyone where they need to be, make every meal delicious, put up with us husbands who don’t understand even on the rare occasion they are actually listening – yours is a 24/7 tribulation, how can you handle it all? Jesus is your Good Shepherd too! He invites you to run and jump into his arms and throw your stress on him. When we cast all our cares on you, cast your cares on Jesus. Take some time every day to be alone with your Shepherd in his Word. Then, even as you lead your little lambs by the hand, you will know that your Good Shepherd is leading you, too!

 He’s leading you, mothers, and all of us, both now and forever. With John, in the midst of great tribulation, surrounded by persecution and stress and suffering, Jesus gives us this vision to help us see beyond the boundaries of this world to the green pastures of heaven. Today he has led us again to the quiet waters of his Word to find peace and comfort for our souls even as we still wander under the shadow of death. 

Whatever trials you are undergoing, whatever pressures you are feeling, whatever tribulations you are suffering, realise that this is not evidence that your Lord has abandoned you but is rather proof that your Shepherd is leading you in his path, the path of the cross. And never forget where the way of Christ, the way of the cross leads: 

 Therefore “they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

May this vision of the heavenly glory that awaits us grant us the rarest and most precious paradox of all: peace and joy in the midst of tribulation. Amen.   

The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen 

Easter 3 – 1 May 2022 – Year C

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

The text for this mediation is written in the 21^st Chapter of the Gospel according to St John: Verses 1-19:

After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. ² Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. ³ Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

⁴ Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. ⁵ Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” ⁶ He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. ⁷ That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. ⁸ The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.

⁹ When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. ¹⁰ Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.”¹¹ So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. ¹² Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. ¹³ Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. ¹⁴ This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

¹⁵ When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” ¹⁶ He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” ¹⁷ He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. ¹⁸ Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” ¹⁹ (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”

 

Every time I read this passage of scripture from John 21: 1 - 19, the phrase “déjà vu” comes into my mind.”  As most of you would know, Déjà vu is that feeling that, even though you are experiencing something for the first time, you feel as though you have experienced it before.

I wonder if the disciples experienced a little ‘déjà vu’ during the events described in today’s Gospel.  After all, the events in today’s Gospel are very much like the great catch of fish when Jesus first called the disciples to follow Him.

Luke the Evangelist recorded this earlier catch.  Jesus was becoming very popular, and He was teaching near the shore of the Sea of Galilee.  In order for the crowd to hear Him better, He got into Simon Peter’s fishing boat and had Simon take Him out onto the water a little bit.  ^{(Luke 5:4–6)} “When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” ⁵And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” ⁶And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish”.

There you go!  This first catch of fish is very similar to the catch that we heard about in today’s Gospel.  In fact, this earlier catch is usually part of one of the Epiphany Gospels for year C.  You have most likely heard it on the fourth or fifth Sunday of the Epiphany in the Year C cycle over the past years.

Although many of the details of these two events are the same, there are a few differences.  In the first great catch, the nets began to break.  In this second catch, the nets held.  In the first catch, the fishermen signalled their partners to bring out a second boat for help.  In the second catch, the boat was close enough to shore that they decided to drag the net to shore and then pull it in.

The really important difference, though, was the reaction of Peter.  The first time, he reacted in terror.  He fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ^{(Luke 5:8)} “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”  The second time, he responded by getting to Jesus as quickly as possible.  ^{(John 21:7)} “When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea”. Simon wasn’t about to wait for the boat pulling that net.  He decided to swim to the shore.

What makes the difference?  Why does that early encounter with Jesus produce such terror?  Why does the encounter in today’s Gospel produce such enthusiasm?

Well, a lot has happened since that first encounter.  During the first encounter, Peter didn’t know Jesus very well.  Jesus was this popular rabbi.  John the Baptist had pointed Him out as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  Jesus was sort of a celebrity.  Peter knew of Jesus, but He didn’t know Him personally.

By the time we get to the events in today’s Gospel, Peter had three years of seminary training with Jesus.  He had experienced the teaching, the healings, the casting out of demons … He had even seen Jesus raise a few people from the dead.  More recently, he knew that Jesus died on a cross and was a dead body lying in a tomb, and now, of course, he saw Him risen from the dead.  Peter had come to know Jesus as a beloved mentor and saviour.  There was still much for Peter to learn, but he was no longer afraid of Jesus.

There are a lot of people in the world who are afraid of Jesus.  There always have been.  This fear actually began long ago in Eden.  Adam and Eve ^{(Genesis 3:8)} “heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden”.

Ever since the Fall in Eden, the holiness of a just God has been terrifying to humans who understand that they are sinful beings.  We humans naturally believe that if we have broken something, then it is up to us to fix it.  We know that our sin has broken creation, and we know that we cannot fix it.  Our only alternatives are denial or despair.  God’s holy presence only highlights our failure and so we are terrified.

We are victims of something that I call the ‘pincer effect’. Military commanders use ‘pincer tactics’ when they attack a position from two opposing sides.  You see, the devil, the world, and our own sinful nature tempt us with all kinds of lies.  “No one will find out about it.”  “Everybody’s doing it.”  You won’t get caught.”  “It’ll be fun.”  “This will make you … more attractive, richer, more powerful, more popular …”, and on and on and on.  While there is only one truth, there are unlimited ways to lie, and the ways to rationalise sin are without number.

Then, after you sin, the devil stops being the tempter and starts being the accuser.  “Ohhh … look what you have done!!  “You’re in big trouble !!! …”  “God will get you for that!”  “There is no forgiveness for what you have done.”  The devil has the equivalent of a “tenth dan black belt” in guilt, and the devil, the world, and our own sinful nature want us to believe that the only thing God has for us is punishment.

Take some time to examine the false philosophical religions that flow from the human imagination.  Every one of them assumes that you feel guilty and want to do whatever it takes to make things right.  Over the centuries, human beings have sacrificed their time, their work, their wealth, animals, other human beings, and even their own children in order to please whatever god it was that they worshipped.

Even today, some in our culture sacrifice their children before they are even born.  Those who worship the god of wealth convince mothers to sacrifice their own babies and call it reproductive health.  We think we are so advanced and yet we kill our own babies.  Is it any wonder that both mental and emotional counsellors of all kinds report that guilt is at or near the top of the list of their patient’s problems?

So it is not surprising that the first reaction to God is fear.  When God reveals Himself to us, our first impulse is to revert to the law and the law takes to despair.  After all, here is the Almighty God who is holy and just.  His justice shines the full light of His law on us and reveals the utter depravity of our sin.  Isaiah expressed this very well when he said: ^{(Isaiah 6:5)} “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

We would be lost forever in this fear if God did not do something that the natural human would never expect.  God the Holy Spirit must enlighten with the Gospel.

The natural human being does not even have capacity to perceive the Gospel.  The Apostle Paul wrote ^{(1 Corinthians 2:14)} “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” This is the reason that it is God who must bring the Gospel to us.

The Gospel teaches us that ^{(John 3:17)} “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him”. Jesus Himself said^{, (Mark 10:45)} “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” The Gospel teaches that God does not come to punish, but to save.

The first time Jesus blessed Peter with a miraculous catch of fish, Peter did not yet understand that Jesus is God in the flesh who has come to save from sin.  All Peter realised was that he was a sinner in the presence of the divine.  All Peter could think was that he deserved punishment for his sins.

In the Gospel we just heard, Peter understood that Jesus has actually died for him and risen from the dead.  The Holy Spirit enlightened him with the Gospel.  The Holy Spirit gave him the faith that believes in Jesus as saviour from sin.  Through that faith, Peter wanted to be with Jesus.

The Gospel is not just for Peter.  It is also for you.  Jesus lived a perfect life in your place.  He died on the cross and took the punishment for your sin.  He rose from the dead for you.  In Jesus Christ, the way to everlasting life is open for you.

Our sinful nature wants us to be like Peter the first time Jesus stepped into his boat.  Our sinful nature only wants us to see God as the judge who condemns our sins.  Our sinful nature wants us to be afraid.

The Holy Spirit enlighten us with the Gospel and gives faith to us … the same faith that Peter had … the faith that receives the gifts that Jesus earned … the faith that looks to Jesus for forgiveness instead of judgment.  We have no need to be afraid.  Instead, Jesus comes to us with His gifts, and we want to be with Him.  Amen

The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen

  

Easter 2 – 24 April 2022 – Year C

Grace to you and peace from God our father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

The text for this meditation is written in the 1^st Chapter of the Book of Revelation: Verses 4 -18:

 

⁴ John to the seven churches that are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and freed^[a] us from our sins by his blood, ⁶ and made^[b] us to be a kingdom, priests serving^[c his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

⁷ Look! He is coming with the clouds;
    every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
    and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail.

So it is to be. Amen.

⁸ “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.⁹ I, John, your brother who share with you in Jesus the persecution and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.^[d] 10 I was in the spirit^[e] on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet ¹¹ saying, “Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”

¹² Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, ¹³ and in the midst of the lampstands I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash across his chest. ¹⁴ His head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, ¹⁵ his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters. ¹⁶ In his right hand he held seven stars, and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining with full force.

¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he placed his right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, ¹⁸ and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades.

 

It never ceases to amaze me how the secular journalist and commentators, especially around the Easter period, bring out alternative theories to explain—really, to explain away—the resurrection of Jesus from the dead? The disciples were fooled by their overactive imaginations. The apostles hatched a plot to pull a fast one to get some gullible people to believe Jesus rose. Or if you care for the Muslim version, Jesus is a prophet of Allah, but was not the Son of God, and did not die on the cross. Someone else was crucified in his place and Jesus was directly raised up to Allah without dying.

 

Yet what we heard in our First Reading for the Book of Acts this morning is the apostolic witness from the very beginning: even when faced with prison or death, they could not stop telling what God had done. Peter and the apostles answered the authorities, ^{(Acts 5:29–32)} “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Saviour, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him”.

 

Some sixty years later, John alone remained of the twelve apostles. Nearly one hundred years of age, he was exiled to the island of Patmos because of his testimony of Jesus. Here, God gave him the visions that begin in our second lesson today. This is clearly outlined in our text text: Revelation 1:9–16.

 

Why is it that the world often cannot accept the testimony of the resurrection but has to put forward other alternatives? I suspect that to accept the resurrection is to accept the focal truth of the Christian Faith. Acceptance means commitment which in turn leads people instinctively to Jesus call to repentance. If God went to such lengths that God himself would come into our flesh, die in our place, and bodily rise again, then He recognised that we must have desperately needed him to do it. Though they may not want to admit it, most people when they hear it, recognise that, if Jesus actually did rise from the dead, then we somehow have to come to terms with that. But if a person doesn’t want to repent, or if we don’t think we really need to repent, that we’re okay on our own, then we’ll try to hold Jesus at arm’s length.

 

Why do people adopt an attitude of agnosticism? Many question why a good God would allow children to suffer. There is a constant insinuation that if God really cared, there would not be the suffering and violence and agony we must bear. Well God does really care. He cares do much that he created a world without all the agony of sin and suffering. A perfect world that was degenerated into a world of sin and suffering, simply because we of the human race could not respect Gods one command. Mankind of the nature of wanting to control our own destiny, introduced the very sin into the world, the sin that brings the death and suffering and troubles. The very troubles that agnostics use to justify the absence of a loving God.   They have concluded, as a result, that there is no Saviour, or if there is, they don’t need or want one. So, they go on without God.

 

You see, people generally do acknowledge that Jesus lived two thousand years ago, but they often want to find a way to set him aside, or to fit him into some kind of box, or to reduce him to a category we can understand and explain. But the Jesus of Scripture will not allow himself to be put into our boxes or to be limited by us. He is the Almighty, the first and the last, ruling over all things.

 

Just as Scripture tells of the real death of Jesus on our behalf, so the apostolic witness is clear: Jesus bodily rose from the dead. That fact supersedes everything. When John saw him, he said, ^{(Rev17–18).} “I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, ‘Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades’ ”

 

Then, in a series of seven visions of increasing intensity, each one covering the whole time between Pentecost and the end, Revelation overwhelms us with the assurance of Christ’s victory, that Jesus is alive forevermore, so in him we will live also.

 

John is on Patmos, exiled for his testimony of Jesus, but in these visions, God allows him to peek behind the curtain, so to speak, to see and hear the Lord Jesus in all his glory, and to see that he has the keys of death and hell.

 

How many times have you been bothered by the devil’s temptations? Jesus has the key to lock him up where he belongs. The key is his Word, the sharp, two-edged sword of Law and Gospel. He is alive to give us what we need more than anything, to cleanse us from our sins by the washing of water with his Word. He is alive now to make us a kingdom of priests to his God and Father so that, forgiven and restored, we serve him with our sacrifices of praise. Every day becomes an offering of service to him. Every time we tell someone of his love for them, we are serving him as his royal priests.

 

How many times at a funeral have you gazed at the casket and noticed how tightly sealed down the lid is? Jesus has the key that will open every casket. It will be his voice; as with Lazarus, he will call you by name and say, “Come out of there!” And we shall rise, just as he said.

 

Yes, we die a real death. Jesus also truly died—no one took his place; he was there for us. And just as he rose from the dead and is truly alive forevermore, so he will raise us and give us the life that never ends.

One of the more potent demonstrations of the resurrection of Jesus is the continued existence for two thousand years of the Christian Church. From the very beginning, enemies tried putting the apostles in prison. They exiled John to Patmos. Eventually all the other apostles were martyred. All the way down to today, the enemies of Christ think they can silence the Church by killing believers. But the Word of God will not be silenced, for the one speaking the Word is the same living Jesus who appeared to John. He is the Almighty himself, with a long white robe and a golden sash signifying authority, with eyes of fire and feet like burnished bronze, with a face shining as the sun in full strength, and a voice like the roar of many waters.

 

When John saw him, he fell at his feet as though dead, but Jesus laid his hand on him and said, ^{(Rev 1:17–18)}“Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore”. So also we, when faced with our own sin and death, if we turn and repent of our sin, if we own up to our need, and put away all our excuses. If we recognise that we are dying, and in all good conscience cannot stand in his presence: So just as Jesus laid his hand on John to say, “Fear not!” so also Jesus lays his Word on us: “Fear not!” ^{(Jn 10:14)} “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me”. “Fear not, your sins are forgiven you, go and sin no more.” ^{(Jn 6:38–39)} “Fear not . . . I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day”. And even as he speaks his Word, so Jesus also cleanses us by his blood in the water of Baptism and touches our lips with his body and blood for forgiveness and life everlasting.

 

One more proof of the resurrection is found in what we’re doing right now. We have gathered for worship on Sunday. Think of it. For centuries, Jewish believers gathered on the Sabbath, on Saturday. Suddenly, and without turning back, Jewish believers in Jesus began to worship on Sunday—the Lord’s Day, John called it. What changed that deeply held practice? Only something as fundamental as a real Sunday-morning resurrection from the dead. So now think also of this: for two thousand years, somewhere, somehow, God’s people have been acting on our Lord’s command, “Do this, in remembrance of me.” You and I today join in that long line of believers who receive the gifts, who trust that behind forms of bread and wine there will stand, by the power of his Word, the living Lord Jesus Christ, giving us his body and blood. He says, “I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and hell.”. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest”. Amen

 

The grace and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen