Hidden
Gems-
11.
“Let Be What Will Be”
Revelation
22:6-15
First
Presbyterian Church
The
Reverend Donald E. Ray
September
4, 2011
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When Tom and I settled
on the theme, Hidden Gems for the
series this summer, I was determined to find one in the book of Revelation. It’s
an understatement to say that Revelation has not been a favorite of mine. I
realize that is a reaction to the doomsayers who try to relate the imagery of
the book to the evils they identify in today’s world, predicting a
catastrophic ending. They seem to
take sadistic pleasure in the fate they anticipate for those outside their
defined chosen.
Eugene Peterson’s
writing has stirred my intrigue with Revelation so lately I have been reading it
with a more open mind. As I read
Revelation again, looking for hidden gems, I saw a sparkle in Chapter 8. In
the midst of the drama of the Lamb, angelic beings, smoke, and maybe mirrors,
the author writes; there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Being
appreciative of silence, I saw the glint of a gem. But
it didn’t seem to go anywhere and as gracious, sometimes necessarily tolerant
as this congregation is, I didn’t think I could get away, even here, with
standing silent for thirty minutes. As
you may read my page in the September Epistle,
I have discovered that gem, a diamond, I think. But
I opted to use it in the Epistle and
proceed for this morning with this gem I discovered in chapter 22: “. . .Let
the evil doers still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous
still do right, and the holy still be holy.”
Here truly is a hidden
gem. For the most part, the gems
this summer have not necessarily been hidden in the writing but by our
culturally conditioned ways of looking at their message. This
one would appear to be hidden in the writing itself. In
the midst of Revelation’s polemic against evils with the threat of cosmic
Armageddon, there is this image of co-existence-- let be what will be.
This gem I identify as
a sapphire. Sapphires are found in
sediment where they are more resistant to erosion that grinds
the other stones to powder. The
gem’s color varies in different lighting. The
same stone may be blue in outdoor light—purple under incandescent lamps. The
star sapphire is marked by intersecting, needle- like inclusions, its beauty
actually in its imperfections. Sounds
very much like the spectrum of real life.
Religion, except
perhaps for what we identify as satanic cults, is associated with good. A
persistent vein running through the history of religion is its fight against the
antithesis evil. Elijah, the prophet
of Jehovah, did battle with the prophets of Baal. The
I could not watch
reports of the celebrations at the death of Osama bin Laden without a twinge of
apprehension. Not to minimize the
pain of those who lost loved ones, friends and colleagues in the 9/11 attacks,
we lose something of ourselves when we find retaliation in kind a cause for
celebration. There are situations
where opposing evil, restraining evildoers may be needed. But
fighting evil is infectious and can take on a life of its own.
Where there is
judgment in John’s Revelation vision, it is the prevue of God. In
the message to the churches, John writes, he heard
behind a loud voice like a trumpet. (Revelation 1:10) Presumably,
it is God delivering the message to the seven churches.
To the angel of the
church at
"I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance. I
know that you cannot tolerate evildoers; you have tested those who claim to be
apostles but are not, and have found them false. I
also know that you are enduring patiently and bearing up for the sake of my
name, and that you have not grown weary. But
I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first." (Revelation
2:2-4)
That is always the
risk of submerging in the battle against evil—we lose the love. As
a hospital chaplain, I had contact with folk from a variety of religious
persuasions. I could visit a
patient, observe the facial expression, and predict that the hospital bed would
become a soap box for a polemic against the evils of the world and our need to
battle Satan at every turn. It just
took seeing that fixed, dour countenance.
.
. .Let the evil doers still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the
righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.
In John’s Gospel, the writer
quotes Jesus, saying; “The Father judges
no one but has given all judgment to the Son, so that all may honor the Son just
as they honor the Father”, (John 5:22-23) The
image that follows is not of Jesus in a black robe, meting out sentences in
punishment of evildoers. Rather,
Jesus goes on to say: “Very truly, I
tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal
life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life”. (John
5:24) Let
. . .the righteous still do right and the holy still be holy.
Claire Murray, Karen
and I shared a week again this year with the boys and girls at Royal Family Kids
Camp. Life for many of these
children has been less than ideal. That
contributes to their ‘bad’ behavior, often aggressive and disruptive. The
counselors and staff could spend the week disciplining and doing damage control.
That would only result in more
disturbing behavior from the children and frustration and ill tempers for the
staff.
Camp begins Monday
with the children testing the boundaries, winding down on Thursday with them
acting out their distress that the week is soon over and they must return to the
turmoil of their day to day life. The
philosophy of the camp is to provide a time where the children can have fun, a
rarity in their lives. Through the
week, the consistent care, respect, positive experiences give the boys and girls
the opportunity to rise to a new appreciation of values in life.
Jesus told a parable
about weeds an enemy had sown in the wheat field. The
servants asked if they should root out the offensive weeds. But
the owner directed the servants to let them be until harvest, lest attacking the
weeds would root out the good wheat as well while the crop was still growing.
(Matthew 13:24-30)
I tried that logic
when I was a boy, but it never worked. I
still had to hoe the thistles out of the corn field, where they could be
attacked between the rows without disturbing the corn. But
we didn’t weed the barley or oat fields where the seed was sown. That
would have destroyed too much of the growing grain crop.
It took me too long,
but I have arrived at the philosophy for child rearing of, “pick your
battles.” That applies in other
arenas as well. There are, I think,
though I may be wrong, evils so destructive that they need be attacked. But
if everything is battled, credibility is lost for when it may really counts.
One can read the
Revelation to John drawing consolation in an image of evil in the world being
annihilated by cosmic forces; the beasts and demons defeated by the angels of
heaven. Or one may read of the
constant power of love and right and holy that shines through all the dark and
scary, to triumph in hope and joy in the power of God ever newly creating.
The Revelation to John
is not about Armageddon, but about the Christ. It
is not about life locked in battle against pervasive evil. That’s
a battle never to be won because it insidiously drags us down to its level. The
Revelation is of the Christ, and all the ways of Christ wherein abides our life
in God.
The directive,
finally, of the Revelation to John is; “let
the evil doers still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous
still do right, and the holy still be holy.” That
just might be the way to keep our perspective in life, to channel our energy in
positive and effective efforts.
In the sediment, the
sapphire having withstood erosion, is discovered as a beautiful gem; the star
sapphire sparkles as the gem glows around and beyond its imperfections. In
the midst of all the cosmic turmoil of good and evil, angels and demons, beasts
and lamb—let the evil doers still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and
the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.
And if enough of us,
the righteous still do right, and the holy
still be holy, we might just lead
this world into the hope and joy in the Gospel of the Christ.
Amen.
Copyright
© 2011 by First Presbyterian Church