The Seals and the Multitudes

The Seals and the Multitudes

Grace, mercy and peace be unto you from God who is Creator, Christ and Comforter.  Amen

Week three of Revelation – the end is coming!  Last week, in the throne room of God, we left with Jesus, the Lamb who was slain, holding the sealed scroll.  It had 7 seals on it – the Hebrew number for completion or perfection – like the 7 “days” of creation, or the 7 churches to whom the Book of Revelation is addressed.  As Jesus cracks each seal, something happens on earth.  The first four seals unleash the now infamous, Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (I wish I had that echoing microphone feedback for good effect)!  With each call of “Come” a horse and rider are unleashed upon the earth…

The white horse – white is a symbol for righteousness – the rider wearing a crown and had a bow conquering those countries that were not following God’s way.

The bright red horse – red is a symbol of bloodshed – taking peace from the earth will do that!

The black horse – black is a symbol for famine – so you can see the results there – a quart of wheat for a day’s pay. 

And finally, the pale green horse – pale green is the symbol for death – and this horse and rider are permitted to kill ¼ of the living things on earth. 

Horses.  My middle granddaughter loves them!  She is learning to master them even as young and comparatively small as she is.  They are fabulous animals of all shapes and sizes and we use them today as pets – unless of course, you are Amish – then they are your life’s blood. 

But in John’s day as he is penning these words?  Horses were the symbol of power and conquest. And who had the power?  Rome!  Rome did with their horses and chariots of iron.  The seven churches understood the symbolism of Rome and its ability to control their world – even the forces of nature to some degree as they built their roads and aqueducts – making access easier and water readily available to everyone. 

And, of course, togas were white – that’s the official garment of the Senate – that ruled all of the known world.  They were known for their own brand of righteousness as they ruled in Rome. 

The Roman army was dressed in red to help to mask the blood of those they killed.  Blackened fields would have been a common sight after the armies marched through as they burned crops and communities, bringing famine to the land.  And, of course, death – a constant fear and club used to keep the conquered in their place. 

It’s a mess on earth – I can’t help but think of what’s happening in Texas and Louisiana, where our son lives in Corpus Christi – or in Yemen, or The Sudan, or in Palestine, or wherever the next group of white supremacists will gather in our country.  It’s a mess – a bloody mess.   We cannot live with our blinders on, and yet looking around it makes us feel so helpless! 

So John gives us another look on the heavenly side of things and we see this glorious view of multitudes of people – from every nation and tribe, all languages, ALL people speaking and singing God’s glory and thanksgiving to Jesus!  And there is the promise of no more hunger, no more sunburn or heat stroke, no more tears, and water from the well of life! 

I can hardly grasp this vision – but I love what the artist whose picture is on the front of our bulletin depicts it.  It gives me hope when I feel pretty hopeless; it brings me strength when I feel weak and helpless; it makes me realize that I’m stuck in a here and now life and it’s pretty hard to take a long view. 

Imagine the hope these heavenly throne room scenes bring to the original readers of Revelation.  Life is hard for them – they have to make compromises every day to live.  The reality of their situation is as real as the nose on their face – Rome has won the day and they are a conquered people.  The 7 hills of Rome rule those 7 congregations even from hundreds of miles away.  They are losing ground and losing hope.  They live in constant fear and despair.  Why bother?  Why try?  It won’t make a difference anyhow! 

These throne room scenes remind them that God is in control!  Even though it feels like there is no hope – and that their fears are real – Jesus, the Lamb who was slain is the one who is actually pulling the ropes making Rome dance like marionettes on the string.  Yes, things are bad.  Yes, it’s awful to look around and see the strong evidence of conquest all around.

But…they don’t win!  We do!  We, who are sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever – we win!  Rome does not have the final word – death does not have the final word – Jesus does! 

And Jesus’ final word is…love!  Love for this planet, love for all of God’s creation, love for you and me. 

Can you think of a better message for our world today?  No matter how crazy things are, how hopeless and helpless we feel, there is this man whose compelling message of love still rings true for us?  Jesus’ way of love and acceptance, of pointing to a God who doesn’t know the silly parameters we humans put on people – race, sexual orientation, class, party affiliation, nationality, primary language – none of those things really matter!  We are all made of the same God-breathed “stuff” of creation – DNA, flesh, blood, bone.  We all have the same God-breathed breath moving within us.  We all hunger and thirst and long for meaning.

There's a cathedral in England that features the south wall that is made of glass.  Etched into the glass are huge figures -- four feet wide and ten feet tall -- of saints and angels who are having a party -- blowing trumpets and drinking and swinging from the chandeliers and dancing across that massive wall of glass. There's something taunting and irrelevant and downright immoral about such fun going on in the heights of heaven while there is so much suffering here on earth!  AIDS and starvation, the stalking hatred of militia groups, the neglect and murder and rape of children, the meanness  of our rhetoric, and the growing gap between those who have and those who don't. You might look at that glass wall and wonder what sort of God would have the nerve to throw a party like that in times like these, and what sort of church would have the nerve to display it!
The cathedral is in Coventry, which makes all the difference in the world. In November of 1940, Coventry suffered the longest air raid endured in any one night by any city in England during World War II. This air raid which killed and destroyed and reduced the whole city to ruins, including its cathedral.
When they built the new cathedral, they chose, as the purpose of its ministry, the theme of "resurrection through sacrifice."
As you look through that glass wall, beyond all the saints dancing in heaven, you see the painful ruins of the old bombed-out church. The rubble of those ruins cannot be seen through that glass wall except in light of the promise that God gathers up all of our flawed history…gathers it up into God's holy and redemptive purposes to give meaning that is not otherwise there.
There is no resurrection without sacrifice; in the midst of being the church and being faithful and bearing the cross and tasting the food and speaking the language of love to a world so broken -- there is resurrection and hope and love, undying love.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen