RESURRECTION REVELATION
FCC 7 April 2013
Rev. Barry W. Szymanski
Minister of Pastoral Care

John 20:24-25

In John’s Gospel in Chapter 20 starting at verse 19 we are told that after Jesus’ resurrection, he stood in the midst of them and showed them the marks in his hands and side, and they rejoiced. We start today’s reading at John 20:24-25. “Thomas, one of the twelve, was not with [the other Apostles] when Jesus came. So the other disciples told Thomas, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But Thomas said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in [Jesus] hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’”

Revelation 1:1-8

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place; he made it knownby sending his angel to his servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear / and who keep what is written in it; for the time is near. 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, 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 us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

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.

‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

SERMON

All of us have heard of the resurrection. We are, after all, Christians. But what does it mean to us? Is the resurrection believable? C.S. Lewis asks this question: “What are we going to make of Christ?” He answers by saying this: “There is no question of what we can make of him, it is entirely a question of what he intends to make of us. You must accept or reject the story.”

It is easy to reject the resurrection story. Even John’s Gospel tells us that “one of the apostles was not with the other Apostles when Jesus came.” That person was Thomas. When the other disciples excitedly told Thomas that they saw Jesus Thomas responded he didn’t believe what happened. Thomas announced he wanted proof. Thomas said he must see the nail holes in Jesus’ hands, and put his finger in Jesus’ side, before he would believe.

If I were Jesus I don’t know if I would go along with that. But Jesus did when he appeared to Thomas at a later time. After Jesus appeared to Thomas the doubter, Thomas said he believed.

But we live 2,000 years later. And many people throughout the world still doubt. Isn’t that the case with so many? We have heard of the resurrection. Intellectually we know about the resurrection. But do we believe it in our hearts? Have we accepted the mystery? Let me get back to the mystery of the resurrection.

First I want to look at today’s additional reading from the Book of Revelation. Revelation is one of the most interesting books of the New Testament because of its often strange and bizarre symbolism. The author, John, who may not be the same John who wrote the Gospel, probably wrote the book about 95 A.D. We believe that Jesus died in the year 33 A.D.

What I want to examine in Revelation is the view that John had of the risen Christ some 62 years later. Basically all of the letters of Paul, James, Peter, Jude, John, and the Books of Hebrews and Revelation are the reactions and theologies of people who knew Jesus, or knew people who knew Jesus. None of those letters or books are the Gospel of Jesus. Only the four Gospels tell of Jesus’ life and teachings. The letters and books that follow the Gospels tell of the various authors’ reactions to Jesus, and the history of the church, of how those authors believe that we should follow Jesus, and explanations of how to solve the problems of some churches. The Book of Revelation is one of those books.

In one of today’s readings we learn about Thomas’ doubts. Now, some 62 years after Jesus died, we have John’s view of the Christ. In another sermon we could examine Paul’s, Peter’s, Jude’s, and Hebrew’s views. But let’s stay with the Book of Revelation today.

To get another way of looking at the time frame, let’s say that Jesus died this year, in 2013. That means that Revelation will be written in 2075. Let’s look at it another way. If Jesus died in 1951, then John would write Revelation this year, 2013.

Recently I recorded the 1950’s four-star movie, The Forbidden Planet. When we started to watch it we immediately realized the changes that 50+ years can make. The special effects of that sci-fi movie were rudimentary by today’s standards. By the way, we never finished the movie – that is the beauty of recording!

Back to Revelation. Why is this span of 62 years from the time of Jesus’ death to John’s writing important? Because it shows that John, and his community, had six decades to reflect on the mystery of Christ’s resurrection. What happened in those 62 years? First of all, Christianity started to spread. Just read the Acts of the Apostles. Second, the Romans totally destroyed the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Third, the author of Revelation, John, heard the false teaching, saw the persecution, and the return to idol worship, the increase of immorality, and the complacency in the spirit in the churches he knew: the seven churches of Asia.

So, while the Book of Revelation was initially addressed to them, it was chosen to be included in the New Testament as a testimonial of Christian belief. Additionally, the Book was included because it is a caution to all of us who are in the same situation as those members of those churches:

Christians are often persecuted for their beliefs; it is very easy for us Christians to become complacent; and for our spirituality to dry up; immorality may flourish; false teachings can creep into churches; and we, even though followers of Christ, can worship the false idols of our culture.

Therefore, Revelation asks us to remember Christ – Christ’s suffering, but most of all, Christ now in glory – forever! One thing to remember about the author, John, perhaps in spite of his fantastic visions, which are worthy of magical special effects movie scenes, is that he is writing to congregations who are in great pain. He is trying to bolster them, endeavoring to give them hope, and striving to strengthen them.

Where are we? We pay bills, utilities, mortgages, rent, car payments, wonder how much the next trip to the food market will cost us? We may have an intolerable boss while working in an unbearable atmosphere, yet cannot quit our jobs. We may not get along with our relatives, yet cannot divorce ourselves from them.

The Easter season begins with Jesus’ suffering, but ends on the highest of high notes. Yet here we are, one week after Easter, and our daily lives remain the same. There doesn’t seem to be any new revelations.

As Frederica Mathewes-Green points out, at Easter the stores do not play hymns such as ‘O Sacred Head Surrounded’ like they play ‘Silent Night’ at Christmas. There are no placards with “. . . gaily colored cutouts of the Flogging at the Pillar . . “, like there are placards of the manger scene at Christmas. “No car dealers are promoting Great Empty-Tomb Size discounts‘ on Toyotas.” Not one of these happens. Life just goes on.

So, we, like John’s congregations, keep striving to live a life of faith. Yet the world around us often seems to want to crush us. We may often be discouraged. John’s churches were discouraged. They were persecuted. Might some of the people here today feel the same?

What does John tell us? First, that God has care of the world, perhaps not in the way we would take care of our world if we were God. But we are not God – nor do we have the wisdom of God. John also reminds us that in the end God will prevail. God is the Omega – and no one else: no Emperor, no Caesar, no other-world-personage, no one. God is Alpha.

What makes Easter is that Jesus’ resurrection proves that God is supreme. Dominion belongs solely to the Divine. In the Gospels Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of God is near. He doesn’t say it has arrived. Jesus told us that when we pray the Lord’s Prayer we ask God that “His Kingdom may come”. His Kingdom may come as we share in His work in this world. And His work is not finished. It will not be completed until the Omega of time.

John’s message in Revelation is that while all of us are waiting for the Omega time, we are to live in Christ. We are to make our daily decisions in light of Christ. What we pray and do and say affects all those around us - at our homes, - at our workplaces, - at our schools, - while we are at sports and hobbies.

John urged his seven churches to be signs of God’s power – the power of Christ’s resurrection. Our task at this Congregational Church is also to be signs of God’s power – the power of Christ’s resurrection. John asks his seven churches to be courageous in spite of their troubles. That is also our task at First Congregational Church of Wauwatosa: to show courage in our culture, in our society, in our lives, and in this congregation.

Where does this courage come from? From our firm belief n the resurrection of Jesus. And our conviction that the resurrected Christ is the Head of this Church.

How, then, does the mystery of the resurrection affect you and me? The mystery is both known and unknown. It is known in that we follow Christ, and are members of His Church. It is unknown in that we cannot readily wrap our heads around it.

What does it really, really mean that Jesus was resurrected? And that he ascended into heaven? -- into space? Our senses cannot easily identify with the resurrection! We know of the incarnation, and so we can imagine it – we can sense it. We see a mother and can picture a Mary. We see a baby and can describe a baby like Jesus.

The infant Jesus was touched, and heard, and seen. Someone changed the baby’s diaper. The baby Jesus was present in our world. We have strong and thick rope to hold onto in order to grasp the mystery of the incarnation. It may be a slippery rope for some, but there is still a rope. Simply stated, we have a lot of proof that Jesus lived.

But the resurrection is different. There is almost nothing, if even a thread. Where is this Jesus? Thomas doubted, then Jesus appeared to him, and showed him his hands and side. We may doubt, but Jesus is not appearing to us.

What are we left with? This: the witness of all of the people at that time, and since in history, who have been touched by Jesus. We are left with the highest of Christian Mysteries: The Resurrection! What does John tell us: that God is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End of All! Once we accept the Mystery of the Resurrection, then life becomes different for us.

We have a new awareness of who we are, we have a new appreciation of people around us, we have a new consciousness of God Himself! - and of salvation history. And even a new gratitude for this created planet earth. When we make the statement in our mind and in our heart that Jesus IS RISEN, then we accept that God is God, and we are not a god.

Our perspective of life changes. I believe that this is what Jesus meant when he said we must be born again. I believe that Jesus wants us to have a new vista when we look at ourselves and the people and the world around us. This is a new birth.

When John the Baptist used baptism he immersed individuals. When we accept the mystery of the resurrection deep in our intellect and heart, we jump into the deep end of a swimming pool. We are surrounded by water and we leave soaking wet. Nothing is the same. Maybe another way of trying to realize this is to place a tea bag into a cup of hot water. The water is never the same again.

What we realize is that Christ’s resurrection gives new life. It may be that without the resurrection our own life becomes barren, desolate, hollow. When life is futile, empty, and a vacuum, people may look to immoral activities, or abuse alcohol or misuse drugs, to fill their void.

Christ’s resurrection enhances who we are. Our ‘self’ has meaning in this cosmic world. God walks with us.God is nearer than before. All of us people on this earth, whether we believe in the mystery of the resurrection or not, and to whatever degree we believe, have insight into God and His world.

During life we are led to God by loving parents, spouses, relatives, and friends, by sunsets, music, art, devoted cats and dogs, in fact, by all of God’s created world. The mystery of the resurrection takes us to a divine level in our human attempt to union with God.

That is God’s plan – for God wants union with us. Some may see religion as a crutch – that is their right. I see religion, based upon Jesus’ teaching and his resurrection, as liberating. Some may see religion as giving false hope – that is their view. I see the mystery of the resurrection as true hope.

Blaise Pascal,who had great experiences of God, wrote that: “It is the heart which experiences God . . . .This then is faith, God felt by the heart, not by reason . . . . Faith is a gift of God; do not believe that we said it was a gift of reasoning. . . .” [And Pascal added this:] “The knowledge of God is very far from the love of Him.”

When I look at John’s Book of Revelation I read an author who had visions, often exotic, but an author who also had beautiful statements about our God: This is what he wrote in the Book of Revelation at Chapter 15:3+: “Great and amazing are your deeds, Lord God the Almighty! Lord, who will not. . . . glorify your name? For you alone are holy.” AMEN.