Don Friesen
Dorothy and I often read the same mystery novels, and if I read one before she does, I wait patiently while she works her way through the plot. Every few pages I ask her what's happening, but I try to keep a poker face and not give away any plot twists that I know are just around the corner. I know how it will turn out; she does not. It's annoying when someone gives away a crucial plot twist of a movie or book, or tells you how a story ends. When our daughter, Rachael, was young, and someone would start describing a show she still intended to watch, she would quickly clasp her hands over her ears and say, "Don't tell me! Don't tell me!"
We don't want to be told how some things end, but we wonder how other things will turn out. For example, how will the Senators fare this year? Will they really win the Stanley Cup? The outcome of the play-offs is not particularly serious for us I hope but we wonder how more serious, anxiety-ridden matters will turn out: Will my children turn out okay? Will my surgery be successful? Will there be complications? Will my marriage survive? Will I find employment again? We like stories with happy endings, but most of us know that those only happen in romantic comedies.
What Will Become of the Emperor, and us?
A few thousand years ago a Christian community was also wondering how things would turn out. The New Testament book of Revelation was written during a time of great persecution and excessive cruelty, thanks to the emperor, Nero, who had banished the author of the book of Revelation to the island of Patmos. While there, and during the rule of Domitian, a Nero-clone, John wrote Revelation. The attitude toward Rome changes drastically between the book of Acts and the book of Revelation. In Acts Roman magistrates are often a safe refuge for Christians. Paul was proud that he was a Roman citizen and was not bashful in claiming the rights to which Roman citizens were entitled. In the book of Revelation, however, Rome is considered a Babylon, the mother of harlots, drunk with the blood of saints and martyrs! (Revelation 17:5-6, KJV)
Emperor worship had a lot to do with this change in attitude toward Rome. By the time John wrote Revelation, worship of Caesar was the one religion which covered the whole Roman Empire. Christians refused to conform to its demands. They refused to say, "Caesar is Lord," and so an enormous wave of persecution began. No doubt Rome used its civil religion, not just to satisfy the ego of the emperor, but to bring some control to a vast empire that contained many tongues, many races, many cultures and traditions. Participation in the feasts held in honour of the emperor became the litmus test for Christians, and those who did not bow down were killed. Many Christians perished. One of the worst tyrants was the emperor, Domitian (52-96 A.D.) full name: Titus Flavius Domitianus a bloodthirsty despot whose wife was his aider and abettor, until she had him killed!
The Book of Revelation was written in this context. Many Christians had already perished and many more were to follow. The remaining Christians were wondering, with no little anxiety, how things would turn out. Would Rome succeed in stamping out the faith? Would the emperor succeed in supplanting Jesus? And so John wrote the book of Revelation to encourage the faithful, telling them not to worry about how it will end. Babylon will fall!
How Will it all Turn out? Will Christians Win?
Today's reading from the book of Revelation is in the epilogue (Revelation 22:6-21) to John's book. John sums up the character of his book by having his main characters the angel, Jesus, the Spirit, the bride, and himself come out and take their final bow and say their final words (22:6, 7, 8, 17). There are warnings not to change or disregard the book, there is an assurance to the reader of Christ's return, and then the book and the Bible ends on a wonderfully uplifting note, saying, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen." (22:21, KJV)
This is a wonderful note on which to end the Bible, and it would be a wonderful note on which to end my sermon, were it not that this is a controversial verse! Several versions say, "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints" (RSV; NRSV), suggesting that the grace of our Lord Jesus is qualified. Some versions are more pointed, saying, "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people (NIV), or the similar "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all his people. (PHL)
In other words, some see this final biblical blessing as a universal blessing, an encompassing blessing befitting the majestic monarch portrayed in this book, while others see this blessing addressed only to those who have remained faithful. It is not for those who have compromised or disregarded the faith.
There are reasons for both interpretations. Those who argue that this blessing is focussed on the faithful point out that the text reads, "Let everyone who hears say, Come.' And let everyone who is thirsty come." (22:17) A particular attentiveness and desire is required of those to whom the invitation is extended. It's a hint that the gospel is for those who seek out Jesus, rather than for all of humanity.
An even stronger argument for this interpretation has to do with the verse that was left out of our reading. Those who set up the lectionary readings wanted to protect us, I guess, so they left out verse 15, which reads: "Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood." (Revelation 21:15) Doesn't sound much like a blessing! A clear distinction is made between insiders and outsiders.
A clear distinction between insiders and outsiders grates on the contemporary ear, but it's there, and some say that it's an important distinction. After all, the stakes were high for the community of faith to whom John was writing. They needed to know that in the end evil will be defeated! They expected that those cruelties perpetrated upon the faithful will cease when the King of kings takes the throne! Similarly, we don't want victims to be victimized for eternity! That would sell short the dream of a new heaven and a new earth. What's so great about this new earth if it's the same as the one we have now?
How Will it all Turn out? With Grace to All?
That's one interpretation, and those who share it ask, when they wonder how it all will turn out, "Will we win? Will Christians win?" Others, however, ask "Will it all turn out with grace for all?" They believe it will, and they too have reason to think so. For one thing, the Greek words used in the last sentence of the Bible are not only not very specific, they are quite encompassing! The phraseology is similar to that in our call to worship from Psalm 97, which, though an ancient liturgical text written for "the villages of Judah" (97:8, NIV), appeals broadly to "all the earth" (97:1, 5, 9, NIV), "the world" (97:4, NIV), and "all the peoples" (97:6, NIV).
This broad interpretation of the Bible's final blessing, underlining the expansive nature of God's grace, finds support in Jesus' own ministry. The God whom Jesus revealed is the sort of God who throws a party for a kid who wasted the family fortune (Luke 15); who refuses to condemn a woman caught in the act of adultery (John 8); who breaks taboos of ethnicity and gender to encourage a woman who had been married five times (John 4); who welcomes a criminal into his kingdom as the man gasps his final breath (Luke 23); and who embraces his closest disciples even though they abandoned him and denied ever knowing him!
This interpretation emphasizes God's lavish favour a love without conditions or limits, a love intended for all people. This is a love, "the breadth and length and height and depth" of which we can scarcely comprehend! (Ephesians 3:18-19) This is a love from which nothing "in all creation (is) able to separate us...." (Romans 8:38-39) The Apostle Paul caught this encompassing vision that pushes the parameters of divine grace, not only beyond "the saints," but beyond humanity! The scope of Paul's vision is breathtaking, asserting that God in Christ will reconcile the whole creation and the entire cosmos to Himself. (Romans 8:18-23; Colossians 1:20) It was Paul's conviction that in the Risen Christ we have nothing less than the creative purpose that shaped the universe and the meaning of its existence.
Paul's broad vision comes to full flower in the "Cosmic Christ of Colossians". Colossians, chapter 1, is an exceptional hymn of praise to Jesus in which Paul refers to Jesus as "the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation!" (Colossians 1:16) In Jesus, says Paul, "all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers all things have been created through him and for him." (1:16) In language similar to the alpha-and-omega language of our text in Revelation Paul says that "(Jesus) is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead...." He has "first place in everything." (1:18) Through him "God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven...." (1:20)
There are in Colossians, chapter 1, shades of Genesis 1 and John's Gospel, chapter 1 both pithy and foundational statements but the Colossian hymn far surpasses those passages in the sheer breathtaking sweep of Paul's tribute to the cosmic lordship of Christ. Paul claims for Christ supreme power over the universe! This is indeed the King of kings and the Lord of lords! It's enough to give us pause when we flippantly cite John 3:16, the familiar "God so loved the world" passage, for very narrow and limited purposes, for in the sweep of the New Testament vision God's love extends to the cosmos!
Just how Breathtakingly Broad Is God's Grace?
If we pursue this interpretation of the Bible's final blessing, we might well ask, "Just how breathtakingly broad is God's grace? Delores Williams, while a professor of theology and culture at New York City's Union Theological Seminary, conducted research into the spiritual songs of African-American slaves, and she was quite surprised to come upon a song that included the line, "When you get to heaven, rub poor lil' Judas' head."
Christians aren't very fond of Judas. Generally we are quite content to consign him to hell. Jesus himself said, "Woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! (Mark 14:21) God's grace may be sufficiently broad to include the disciples who abandoned Jesus and denied ever knowing him, but is it really sufficiently broad to include the one who betrayed him? Peter's denial was merely an awkward and spontaneous act of cowardice, but Judas' treachery was deliberate.
I'm not surprised that Williams was puzzled by the line, "When you get to heaven, rub poor lil' Judas' head." What were they trying to say? She writes, "Some of my African-American slave ancestors tried to leave me and my people a message about compassion that defies what many of us want to hear. We do not want judgment to equal compassion and compassion to equal judgment in our relation to those who have so seriously sinned against us. Shouldn't there be a place for the cosmic scream of oppressed people?" (Delores S. Williams, Christian Century, October 24, 1990, page 963)
Of course, it's heaven the song is talking about, but isn't heaven a place where God not only reigns supremely, but with justice? The line about rubbing Judas's head suggests that in heaven we will relinquish grudges and hostilities we may have held for generations. It suggest that so much mercy abounds in heaven that even the most dastardly and cruel deeds are forgiven!
Two news events this week seem particularly germane to this discussion. After twenty-two years an arrest was finally made in the Winnnipeg murder of Candace Derksen. Her mother, Wilma, was in town a few weeks ago, and when asked how one moves on after such a cruel event, she said that she felt that now, after twenty-two years, there may finally be some moving on. This week's arrest may help, but no doubt it will also reawaken many other feelings. Wilma has helped many to appreciate the fierce spiritual struggle we undergo to forgive those who have inflicted deep, deep wounds on us. Rubbing poor lil' Judas' head suggests a compassion that is even beyond forgiveness!
It may be one thing to rub poor lil' Judas' head, for, after all, his sin against us is more abstract and it happened a long time ago. Which brings me to the other news event this week the death of Jerry Falwell. I imagine that Falwell loved Jesus, and tried to serve Jesus, but some of the things Falwell said are so anathema to the gospel message that they did great damage to it. Attacking another Christian (Jimmy Carter), Falwell said, "His message of peace and reconciliation ... is simply incompatible with Christian teachings as I interpret them. This turn the other cheek' business is all well and good but it's not what Jesus fought and died for. What we need to do is take the battle to the Muslim heathens and do unto them before they do unto us." (radio interview, March 4, 2002) What kind of a Bible was this rascal reading?!?
There are evidently Christians whose head Falwell would not want to rub should he be in heaven, and being there encounter them and there are no doubt Christians who are not looking forward to rubbing Falwell's head in heaven! So as we all prepare for heaven, let's be sure to pack all of our grudges and hostilities so that they're ready to go and we can continue our petty little lives up there!
We're not in Charge, but we Know Who Is
When John penned those final words in the Scriptures "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all." (Revelation 22:21, KJV), I don't know if he intended it in the broadest sense or if he intended it for only the faithful. Coming out of a tradition in which we know the cost of being a remnant community of faith, I am sympathetic with the thought that he was speaking only to the faithful. I also know, however, that though the Book of Revelation is filled with rough language and stern warnings aimed at the rich and powerful, it is also at its best, and transcends its own anger, when it waxes poetical about God, and God's power and majesty. How unforgettable his images of the Lord of lords and King of kings, and the Conquering Lamb! (Revelation 17:4; 19:16) Here we find the original "Hallelujah Chorus".
John appealed to a grand theme the sovereignty of God to encourage the faithful. God is on the throne. Evil will not triumph. God is in charge. "Though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult ... God is in the midst of (us)." (Psalm 46:2-5) God is in charge and will work out His purpose.
Frederick Buechner wrote a book entitled, Whistling in the Dark (1993), in which he said that sometimes the darkness scares the living daylights out of us, but we can walk out into the unknown, into the darkness of life, whistling! Not because we are unusually brave, but because God is beside us. We can whistle in the dark, not because circumstances always turn out the way we want them to turn out, but because God is with us. We whistle, not because we are in control we know we're not in control but because we know the One who is. We whistle, not because, like Pollyanna, we wish for happy endings, but because God is powerful, and creative, so creative that even evil things can unwittingly become instruments of the good!
Several years ago a high school student in Hawaii was in line to win the state judo championship. He was good! He was expected to beat the reigning champion within a year. He was in a car accident before that happened, however, and his left arm was severed. It effectively put an end to the championship, and perhaps his future. He became discouraged and depressed, but while recovering in the hospital his judo teacher visited him. He told the young fellow, "I've been working out some things. I've spoken to your doctor and as soon as you get out of the hospital, we're going to begin the training regimen again. I really believe that all this can work to your favour to win the championship."
The young man was incredulous! "Are you crazy?" he said. "My judo years are over!" His teacher replied, "Well, they're over if you think they're over. Trust me," he said, "come back, enroll in the class again." The young man returned to the class, not hoping for much, but his teacher worked with him all summer long and then into the fall. Then in the spring of his senior year it was time to enter the state tournament. The young man was hesitant, but he entered, and he won the third match. And he kept winning. He got to the semi-finals, and won, and then he got to the finals, but how could he win without a left arm! His teacher reassured him, saying, "Do what I'm telling you and trust me and you can win the tournament." And he went to the finals, and he won! With trophy in hand, he said to his teacher, "How on earth did this happen?" The teacher replied, "You won for two reasons. First, the move I taught you is the most powerful move in judo and you mastered it. You worked hard, and that's one of the reasons you won. The other reason you won is because the only defence of the move I taught you is to grab your opponent's left arm." (story told by Thomas Tewell)
Now, granted, it's a bit of a tricky tale, a literary sleight-of-hand, if you'll pardon a macabre pun, but I imagine that while I was telling the story you didn't know how the story was going to turn out. We, as Christians, are in a similar situation. We don't know how it will turn out, but we know in the marrow of our bones and in the fibre of our being that God is with us and that God can use things in mysterious ways we could never imagine and cannot hope to understand. God has the power to turn even tragedy into something good. "I know not why God's wondrous grace to me He hath made known, ... but I know Whom I have believed...." (Hymnal: A Worship Book, #338) God is sovereign.
There is a touching scene in the Old Testament, at the end of the Penteteuch, which also ends with a blessing (Deuteronomy 33). Moses' final act is to pronounce a blessing upon the children of Israel. It's a nice ending, except for one thing. Moses had worked tirelessly to bring his people to the verge of the Promised Land, and wouldn't it have been a great conclusion to a great life if Moses had died after setting foot in the Promised Land. It was not to be. Moses was granted a glimpse of his life's goal, but he was not granted fulfilment of that goal.
Like many of our lives, Moses' life was a good deal more ragged and unfinished than we would like. Moses lived to 120, almost two of our lifetimes, and his life ended somewhat incompletely, but it doesn't seem to bother Moses all that much. He had walked with God for well over a century, and he knew that only God knows where it all leads, how it will turn out, and what it finally means. And so the touching image the Penteteuch leaves with us is of Moses and God, two old friends, conversing, without regret or recrimination. (Deuteronomy 34)
May our walk with God encourage our own trust in God, and may "the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen." (Revelation 22:21, KJV)
All quotations of Scripture, unless otherwise noted, are from the New Revised Standard Version.