Scripture Text (NRSV)
Revelation 5:11-14
5:11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels
surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders; they
numbered myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands,
5:12 singing with full voice, "Worthy is the Lamb that was
slaughtered to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor
and glory and blessing!"
5:13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under
the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, singing, "To the
one seated on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and
glory and might forever and ever!"
5:14 And the four living creatures said, "Amen!" And the elders
fell down and worshiped.
Comments:
Like the readings from John and Acts for today, this text is about
recognizing and following Jesus. In the author's vision, thousands and
thousands of angels proclaim the extraordinary revelation of God
through the weak, slain person of Jesus. It is not easy for a violent,
power-hungry world to recognize Jesus. How does the weakness of
Christ, revealed to be the strength of God, show us what it means to
feed or tend his sheep, to protect the weak?
The vision of John recorded in Revelation offers a glimpse of cosmic
worship on the Lord's Day. At its center is "the Lamb who was slain."
That's an interesting comment about "cosmic worship". I agree, but
also believe that we are a part of this magnificance now and do not
relize it or maybe appreciate to it's fullest!
In 5:12 it lists all the things that man wants to steal from the Lamb,
that can never quite be obtained and often leads to frustration
because these characteristics were meant for Jesus and his knogdom,
not man's.
It's also interesting to note in 5:13 that every creature (including
the ones who made poor choices and do not live in Heaven), proclaim
this truth and invoke blessings.
Maybe I'm still emotional from the first Sunday in Easter, but trying
to envision this time listed above gives me a lump in my throat and a
warmth from the Spirit!
RZS in Pa
This cosmic worship, the kind of worship of the Church Triumphant
listed here, needs to be the model for worship by the Church Militant
also. So much going on in worship today does not do that.
I am actually going to preach on this text, but from maybe a different
perspective. I think Christians have an easy time imagining the risen
Christ as the victorious Lamb, reigning in Heaven. I am going to
briefly refer to Mary in the Garden, the two on the road to Emmaus,
and the disciples fishing (in John 21). In each case, people who knew
Jesus didn't recognize Him after the resurrection. I think many
Christians today have the same trouble. We can imagine our Savior as
victorious in Heaven, but why do we have trouble seeing Him every day?
I think before we can join that chorus in Rev. 5:11-14, we need to be
able to see Jesus in our day to day existence. Think about Luke
16:19-31; we have the Bible in our hands, just as that rich man had
Moses and prophets. We don't need to wait until we go home to glory.
God is speaking to us right now. Think about Matthew 25, the Sheep and
the Goats. Everytime we see on of "the least of these" and love that
one, we see Jesus. So, I am going to try to set some perimeters for
our people to see Jesus in daily life; in doing this, I think we can
better imagine that victorious day when we see the risen Lamb face to
face.
I was planning to preach from Acts but I think I'll Preach this text.
Worship goes on in heaven even more so than here. Think I'll base it
on the songs they sing. Songs like Worthy is the Lamb that was
Slain,To Him who sits on the throne, Face to face with Christ my
Savior, and We shall behold Him. Worship isn't so dignified in heaven
shouting and singing, the Elders falling down in adoration; what a
beautiful scene In the midst of all of this is Jesus. To the second
writer perhaps the reason many miss Jesus or don't recoganize Hin is
like many they were looking for His hands and not his face. Harold In
Alabama
I, too, tend to neglect the "going to heaven" message, and I tell
myself it's because that's just about all that's been preached and
just about all my people think of when they think of being a
Christian. In this rural area that's been isolated for a long time,
the primary message is "get saved so you can go to Heaven in case you
die." Little has been said about what to do in between. HOWEVER, I
have to admit that my passion lies more in the serving God NOW than in
a passion for souls to be saved. I'm very good at missions and
outreach and a rather poor evangelist (unless you count my ability to
talk Christianity to "post-Christians" and atheists - a slow process
by any standards). Perhaps I, too, am ignoring an important biblical
message and not doing my parishioners any favors by not being "strong
against sin and straong FOR Heaven." But how does one preach
passionately about something that is NOT their particular passion?
Sign me "Fish out of Water"
Dear Fish out of Water, I think it was either something John Wesley
said or was said to him. Preach faith until you get faith. Preach on
heaven and just maybe God will lead you and your congregation in a
worship experience that is nearly there or as Fanny Crosby wrote, "A
foretaste of Glory Divine." TN Mack
Interesting background information: "Dignus!" ('Worthy!') was the
acclamation Romans were supposed to shout at the entry of the emperor.
Further, Domitian (emperor at the time this was written?) also
expected folks to add "My Lord and my God!" Therefore, the image of
the Lamb being hailed as "Dignus!" should resonate in contrast with
the contemporaneous political power, which was based on violence and
fear of death. For John to acclaim the Lamb in this way would probably
be a political act of treason, outside of a vision. But that's
apocalyptic. The way the world is, is not the way God will have it.
I used this three years ago as a jumping off spot for asking the
question: Who is really in charge of the world? Is it the powers of
violence and destruction, or the power of sacrificial love? (Used
examples from the news.) Where do we put our trust, and our actions?
Sara, in GR, MI
