I was thrilled to share this message with the people of Peace Covenant Church of the Brethren. Their kindness, openness, welcome, and delightfulness make every visit there a joy, and being invited to preach for them today just made all those good things better. You can hear a voice recording of the sermon here.
The lectionary texts for today are:
Acts 16:16-34
Psalm 97
Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21 (although I read all the verses, so 22:12-21)
John 17:20-26
You call us to you, Lord. You embrace us in spite of ourselves. Open our ears to your summons and our hearts to your will. Amen
Thank you for hosting me and for giving me this opportunity to speak with you. I am so happy to be here! Y’know, back when Pastor Dana invited me to preach here on this day, I did not know that I would be bringing home a series she has been preaching on Revelation. But here we are, at the very end of the book that is the very end of the Bible and talks about the very end as it goes on forever (also known as eternity).
And the first thing I noticed is that this passage – the end of the end – is missing some verses in the Revised Common Lectionary version, in particular verses 15, 18, and 19.
You may have noticed them as I read them a few minutes ago, because they seem… harsher… than the other verses.
Verse 15:
15 Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
And
Verses 18-19:
18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book:
if anyone adds to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book;
19 if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy,
God will take away that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city,
which are described in this book.
That one – verses 18 and 19 – particularly amuses me. Because leaving out the verse that says “do not take away from the words…” seems just, well, nervy to say the least!
Is it because they are too harsh?
Because they seem like an invitation to get mean and judgey?
I don’t know. I really do not know why these verses got left out, but unlike Christians all over the world… you are not being deprived of those daunting verses. We are going to be fearless together. We are going to trust that there is more to be had than some judginess.
So, let’s dive right into those problematic verses and see if there is more than there seems to be on the surface.
First… verse 15… “outside are dogs and sorcerers…”
Dogs? Like my beloved pup Lindy? Like Pastor Dana’s Franny? What did they do wrong to be left out? Clearly this is talking about a metaphorical dog, and we don’t want to spend our time on it.
Instead, let’s look at the last part of the verse: “everyone who loves and practices falsehood.”
Do you suppose that is some kind of “Thou shalt not lie” test for redemption?
Or a list to go with the promise from God in verse 12 that people will be repaid according to everyone’s work?
Y’all know that I am a Lutheran and when Lutherans hear “repayment according to works” we get itchy. Really itchy. Think HIVES.
So even if it is everyone’s work – some kind of corporate community thing – I really do not care for linking living in God’s presence for eternity with works. Of any kind. By anybody.
BUT if we start at the end… with Jesus coming again… when I see that part about robes being washed that sounds an awful lot like baptism…
I remember that this Jesus who is coming back is the same one who was not held down by death.
The one who said “I have come not to abolish but fulfill” the Law.
And all of a sudden it cannot be a reference to a “Thou shalt not lie” test for redemption. Because that work is done. God is no longer particularly interested in whether I lie or not, because all those requirements have been met by Jesus. In Jesus, we have all aced that test.
Instead, I expect it to be more about how loving and practicing falsehood is the opposite of loving and following Jesus. And through that lens, we see that
Dogs are not human – the do not live as human beings were created to live
Sorcerers call on spirits other than God and outside of natural reality
Fornicators disrespect faithfulness in our most intimate relationships
Murderers deign to control another’s right to life
Idolaters put something else into the role reserved for God
In all those cases, they behaviors refer to falsehood – putting human power and authority where God’s power and authority (that is, God’s love) should reign.
Being outside, then, isn’t a matter of actions and checklists, it’s a matter of not receiving the love Jesus wants to slather all over all of everyone. It’s not about what we DO… it’s about how we reflect and share and honor the love that God makes so lavishly available.
Which brings us to the other verses – the kind of funny ones to leave out.
Here they are again: 18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book:
if anyone adds to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book;
19 if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy,
God will take away that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city,
which are described in this book.
They seem pretty harsh, too! But it turns out the words are not some special Revelatory warning from John, they are a trope – a common way of ending really, really important letters and messages. It appears twice in Deuteronomy and would have been well known to the apostles. It is a bit of hyperbole intended to make it VERY CLEAR that this is SERIOUS BUSINESS to be pondered carefully.
And after a whole book, made of 66 (give or take) individual books, where over and over and over and over we read of God’s over-the-top love for God’s people, the ways that great falls are followed by tremendous, every-greater-and-newer blessings…
It seems unlikely that all the law-giving and fulfilling will be replaced by two verses in a book written, not as a general message (like the other great apocalyptic book of Daniel) but as a message to people in a particular time and place.
If, instead of starting at the harsh and punitive, we start at GOD IS LOVE, then the well-known trope that is used to emphasize that the accompanying message is serious business, perhaps we should consider what that message is:
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.”
And let everyone who hears say, “Come.”
And let everyone who is thirsty come.
Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.
What if those loving, open, generous words are the ones that should be following without editing? Not some words about works and the Law (which Jesus has fulfilled) or some words about punishment (which is in contrast to pretty much the whole rest of the Bible), but the words that tell us:
EVERYONE, not just some who fit a certain physical profile.
EVERYONE who is thirsty, not just the ones who can afford water.
EVERYONE who hears, regardless of their language or phrasing.
The water of life is a gift.
Not a quid pro quo in which we are called to do a thing – anything – in order to get the water of life.
Nope.
It’s free.
Starting with a loving God who bends over backwards, forgives, redeems, gives another chance over and over and over, and sent us Jesus – the Son – one of the Trinity – to show us how to live, to die, and to break the shackles of death once, forever, and for all…
It’s hard to see this as anything but a wide open invitation.
It’s also hard to see how we can ignore the call on our lives to live free of the petty checklists of legalism
Free to do our best, and fail and start over in the pursuit of sharing the abundant, amazing, astounding, surprising joy that comes to us in Jesus.
Do we HAVE to do certain things,
Behave a certain way
Have a certain gender or race or ethnicity or… I DON’T KNOW… food fave?
to be graced with living in God’s love forever?
NO.
In that way, God’s love is universal.
Does that mean we can lead lives of selfishness and cruelty, thoughtlessness and faithlessness, lies and expedient half-truths and selfishness?
Well, judging by Jesus’ response to the criminal on the cross, potentially…
but it isn’t about DOING.
Remember there were two criminals and only one was invited to Paradise – the one who acknowledged his need to Jesus.
Because Jesus doesn’t look at our “permanent record.” Jesus loves us. Jesus says COME.
Our response – our actions – our good works – are just that. A response to the gift of Christ, not a reason for that response.
And it is for YOU. The God who keeps loving and blessing and responding in radically not-human ways is saying this to you (not your parents, or your spouse, or your friend, or some random person that you are thinking of but you… well, ok, to them also… but particularly for YOU)
Come!
Take the water of life!
It’s free.
For you.
Amen.
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