A lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered, 1.19.14

Ezekiel 1:4-6, 26-2:2

4As I looked, a stormy wind came out of the north: a great cloud with brightness around it and fire flashing forth continually, and in the middle of the fire, something like gleaming amber. 5In the middle of it was something like four living creatures. This was their appearance: they were of human form. 6Each had four faces, and each of them had four wings. 7Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf’s foot; and they sparkled like burnished bronze…

26And above the dome over their heads there was something like a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was something that seemed like a human form. 27Upward from what appeared like the loins I saw something like gleaming amber, something that looked like fire enclosed all around; and downward from what looked like the loins I saw something that looked like fire, and there was a splendor all around. 28Like the bow in a cloud on a rainy day, such was the appearance of the splendor all round.

This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of someone. He said to me: O mortal, stand up on your feet, and I will speak with you. 2And when he spoke to me, a spirit entered into me and set me on my feet; and I heard him speaking to me.
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We’re digging into a pretty crazy book today. The Book of Revelation, also know as the Revelation of John or the Apocalypse of John is a powerful and bizarre read. It catches our attention with strange and dramatic imagery.

The more I’ve studied the book, the more I like it. It is violent, which I don’t love, but in scripture as in everything else, context is critical. When John was ministering, the church was under threat. There wasn’t the organized persecution the Roman Empire would unleash later, but Christians often faced discrimination, ridicule, official and unofficial harassment, and some scattered persecution. The late first century was a difficult time to be a Christian.

John’s ministry was in what he called Asia and we know today as Turkey. The provinces of Asia were an important part of the Roman Empire. One of the ways the Roman Empire connected with and controlled outlying parts of the Empire was through religion. People in areas that had conquered by Rome were allowed to worship their traditional Gods, but they were also strongly encouraged to worship the Roman gods as well.

That wasn’t really a problem for many people. Most religions at the time welcomed the worship of many gods, and since the Roman gods had been victorious, they seemed like good gods to worship. This arrangement worked well for Rome. Different parts of the empire kept their own religions and traditions, which let them feel true to their history and in some ways independent. The shared religion of the empire helped provide a sense of unity to a very diverse group of people.

The Roman Empire also used religious language for the Emperor himself. This was a slow development, but it was most active in the eastern part of the Roman Empire, especially in John’s part of the world. There were temples and shrines to the emperor and people called him King of Kings or Savior. The message throughout the Empire was that people had lots of freedom, but Rome was still in charge.

In that setting, worshiping God alone as God was a challenge to the Empire. Those who participated actively in emperor worship had an easier time advancing socially and economically. Those who didn’t participate made things harder on themselves. And those, like John, who actively spoke up about God being the only God and Jesus ruling the universe risked persecution, exclusion and death.

When Revelation begins John says he is writing a letter to the churches in Asia. The letter begins with John on the Island of Patmos, a small island off the west coast of Asia Minor. It seems John had been exiled there for his faith. In his vision he sees Jesus, and Jesus tells him to write down what he sees to send to the churches. After that Jesus gives specific messages to each of seven churches in the area. The messages offer encouragement to stay strong in hard times; they also offer challenge to do even better. After the seventh message, the revelation continues with the vision we’re about to see.

We’ll talk through the vision as we go, since there’s a lot to unpack. I’d encourage you to open your Bibles so we can read and discuss together.

Revelation 4:1-4, 6b, 8b- 5:10

After this I looked, and there in heaven a door stood open! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2At once I was in the spirit, and there in heaven stood a throne, with one seated on the throne! 3And the one seated there looks like jasper and carnelian, and around the throne is a rainbow that looks like an emerald. 4Around the throne are twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones are twenty-four elders, dressed in white robes, with golden crowns on their heads.

Around the throne, and on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind…Day and night without ceasing they sing, “Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty, who was and is and is to come.”

9And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to the one who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10the twenty-four elders fall before the one who is seated on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever; they cast their crowns before the throne, singing, 11“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

Revelation 5
Then I saw in the right hand of the one seated on the throne a scroll written on the inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals; 2and I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it. 4And I began to weep bitterly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.

5Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” 6Then I saw between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders a Lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7He went and took the scroll from the right hand of the one who was seated on the throne.

8When he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.9They sing a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slaughtered and by your blood you ransomed for God saints from every tribe and language and people and nation; 10you have made them to be a kingdom and priests serving our God, and they will reign on earth.”
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The Book of Revelation was written to comfort, encourage and challenge the church. In hard times, we need the good news of Revelation most. The main idea keeps being repeated because it is important: God is in charge. Our passages for today shows us that by giving us an image of God’s throne room in heaven. God’s throne is surrounded by strange creatures and elders on thrones of their own. This heavenly congress sings praise all the time to God because God created the world and rules it for ever.



The second point is connected to the first: Jesus is Lord. We read last week from John’s Gospel in which Jesus says God has entrusted all judgment to him. This passage shows us that same good news in a visual way. God holds a scroll that only Jesus can open. When Jesus starts opening the scroll the judgment of earth starts to unfold. As each seal on the scroll is broken different disasters shake the earth to its core and bring down the rulers of earth.


We’ll get deeper into that judgment in the weeks to come, but the purpose of judgment is building God’s righteous, loving and peaceful kingdom on earth.


The reason John’s churches needed this passage so much, the reason God gave this vision to John to share with them, was that they needed encouragement that God really was in charge. They needed to know that Jesus really was Lord. The needed to know because the facts around them every day said something different.


Roman soldiers were everywhere, announcing with their armor and banners and weapons that Caesar was in lord. Roman temples and priests and shrines shouted the same message with religious symbols. Rome’s power was always on display, and the message was clear: Rome is strong, Caesar rules and resistance is futile. For the Roman Empire power came first: Rome conquered territory and then, when the local leaders were subdued, the blessings of Roman culture and rule were given to the people, but power and victory came first.


With the constant reminders of Roman rule around them, John’s churches faced powerful temptation to fit in. A little emperor worship here: a small statue in the office or a touch of incense might go a long way in helping someone’s career by showing others they were part of the club.


In our time the symbols of empire are different but still constant and still powerful. People talk half-joking about the almighty dollar and the bottom line. Our stars and celebrities are fantastically wealthy and lottery advertising promises that we could be next. TV ads show the blessings of the empire of cash: success means beauty and wealth; it means dressing right, driving the fanciest car and buying the newest gadget.


We certainly see military power on display as well. We’ll be treated to a fighter plane fly over at the Super Bowl to remind us how important military strength is. We see frequent articles about the dangers of terrorism and how we have to put everything else aside to stay safe. Never mind that drone attacks kill civilians, including children; we’re told that is the sad but necessary cost of freedom. Military power and financial power, we’re promised, will mean we get a piece of the pie.


That’s not the message of God. There’s only one person who can open the scroll of the future. There’s only one who can reveal the secrets of the end of history. The powerful Lion of Judah is the only one worthy to judge and redeem the world. How has this roaring and mighty lion earned the right to judge the world? Through power and the strength to conquer?


No, the Lion of Judah is a slaughtered lamb. Jesus conquers the world’s powers by weakness; he overcomes the mighty with love that is willing to die for the world. Jesus rules because he was killed by the empire, but his death was not the end. Still showing the marks of his execution, the lamb of God is standing at the throne. Death doesn’t have the last word, and the power to kill isn’t the ultimate power. Instead, love, sacrifice and witness win the day. No matter what Rome or the United States or Babylon or the stock market say, Jesus is Lord and judgment is in his hands.


That means your paycheck can’t judge you. Your bills and your credit score can’t define your value. Your popularity and your looks are not the true story. Jesus is Lord, no one else. Jesus is our judge and our redeemer. Jesus is the one who holds the future his hands. Jesus rules the universe.


Jesus knows what it means to be pushed down by the people who think they’re in charge. He knows that the hypocrites will make a show and the haters will hate. He knows the kings of the world will strut around feeling on top of the world, and they will crush whoever stands in their way.


But at the end it’s God on the throne and the Lamb at God’s side. At the end love and sacrifice and weakness are strong. Power and violence are ultimately fragile and they will collapse under their own weight in the face of love. In the end it’s worship and love and justice that are victorious.


It’s fitting to remember the way of the lamb this weekend as we celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. In city after city the forces of fear and segregation unleashed the power of the law, the dog, the fire hose against crowds of non-violent marchers, non-violent followers of Jesus. The bodies fell, some broken, but the spirit of justice rose up in righteous victory.


King’s legacy isn’t just about segregation; King stuck his neck out for poor people of every color. He risked his popularity to oppose a war he knew was wrong. His last campaign was a strike for fair pay and working conditions for sanitation workers. King bore witness to the way of the lamb, slaughtered and yet victorious.


That’s the way God calls us to follow too. God calls us to love, no matter what the cost. God calls us to serve, to speak out, to care. John shows us this vision to remind us of the truth no matter what it looks like on TV. God is on the throne, the slaughtered, conquering lamb is there too, and all creation sings praises. Worthy is the lamb who was slain; let us follow in his way.


Thanks be to God

"Conquering weakness," 10.14.12

Isaiah 55:1-13

Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. ²Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. ³Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. ⁴See, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. ⁵See, you shall call nations that you do not know, and nations that do not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.

⁶Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; ⁷let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. ⁸For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. ⁹For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

¹⁰For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, ¹¹so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it. ¹²For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. ¹³Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

Revelation 21:1-11

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ²And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; ⁴he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.” ⁵And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.”

Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” ⁶Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. ⁷Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

Revelation 22:1-5, 20-21

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ²through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. ³Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; ⁴they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever….

²⁰The one who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! ²¹The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.

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            Who can tell me about the picture on the cover of the bulletin? Great. Now what’s the smaller picture below it? Good guess. I’m not going to make you guess what the Space Shuttle Endeavor has to do with the Book of Revelation, though I’m sure that could be an interesting sermon all its own. My point is much simpler: it’s hard to understand a piece of a picture or story if we don’t know what the big picture looks like.

I think for many regular church members and even more people outside the church the Bible is an intimidating book. It’s intimidating because we feel like we should know it, but there’s a lot we don’t know about it. A big part of that feeling is that we don’t know the basic outline of the story; we don’t know the big picture so it’s hard to understand the individual pieces we read. This summer I’ve tried to address that feeling by leading us in a tour of the Bible. We started in June with the creation story and today we’re wrapping up this marathon sermon series with the end of Revelation, the last book of the Bible.

When we look at the Bible as a we notice a ton of variety: different subjects, different authors, different kinds of writing, different perspectives and different times. With all that diversity, the Bible is also one story, though there are detours and intermissions from time to time. The whole story of the Bible through all its diversity is about God’s relationship with people.

Your urban ministry fact of the day is that the Bible starts in a garden but ends in a city. More important than that, many of the themes that began in Genesis find completion in Revelation. God created the heavens and the earth in Genesis and promises a new creation in Revelation. When Adam and Eve turn away from God by eating the forbidden fruit, God curses the ground so it will only produce crops with great effort. In Revelation’s new earth there is no longer any curse and trees of life grow spontaneously in the street.

When we look at the story from the end, which is the view John’s vision in Revelation gives us, we see that many of these themes have been echoed many times over in the Bible story. The pain and sorrow that came from that first sin, and from the human pride and lust for power so often on display throughout scripture, is healed in God’s new creation. We know from Genesis that God is the beginning of creation, the Alpha or first letter of the alphabet. We hear echoes of Genesis in John’s Gospel which starts with: “In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the Word was God.” Revelation tells us that God is also the end, the completion, the Omega, or last letter of the alphabet. There is nothing before God and there will be nothing after God. As Paul preaches in Acts: “In God we live and move and have our being.”

There are more echoes too, because this vision from John isn’t the first vision the Bible gives us of God’s healing for a troubled world. The passage Karen read us from Isaiah is a familiar vision, as are other prophetic visions from Jeremiah, Ezekiel and others. Though there have been moments of doubt, God showed the prophets all along that the story has a happy ending.

That was an important thing for John and the churches he served to know 1900 years ago. John had been exiled for his faith and many other Christians faced ridicule, isolation from relatives who didn’t understand their new religion and even persecution from religious and political leaders. It was important for them to hear that they weren’t crazy, that even though their everyday experience said the opposite, God was in control and would bring the story to a happy ending.

John’s Revelation is that God is still on the throne, that Jesus in his scandalous death on the cross is stronger than Rome or Satan or evil, that one day healing would overcome suffering and joy would put an end to pain. That was good news to John’s churches facing trouble and persecution. It’s good news for churches and Christians facing persecution today in Burma or parts of India and Afghanistan. It’s good news for girls struggling to get an education in Pakistan or longing to escape sexual exploitation in Philadelphia. It’s good news for kids trapped in poverty and violence here in Rochester and Christians cut off from their family lands in Palestine. It’s good news for the church of every age longing for an end to evil systems that keep some in power while others starve and suffer. It’s good news for a church around the world longing for peace, praying for God’s new heaven and new earth, for the holy city coming down from heaven.

"Preparing for change," 12.2.12

Isaiah 42:5-12

⁵Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it: ⁶I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, ⁷to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.

⁸I am the Lord, that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols. ⁹See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them. ¹⁰Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the end of the earth! Let the sea roar and all that fills it, the coastlands and their inhabitants. ¹¹Let the desert and its towns lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar inhabits; let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy, let them shout from the tops of the mountains. ¹²Let them give glory to the Lord, and declare his praise in the coastlands.

Luke 21:5-36

⁵When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, ⁶“As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.” ⁷They asked him, “Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?” ⁸And he said, “Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is near!’ Do not go after them. ⁹“When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.”

¹⁰Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; ¹¹there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven. ¹²“But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. ¹³This will give you an opportunity to testify. ¹⁴So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; ¹⁵for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. ¹⁶You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. ¹⁷You will be hated by all because of my name. ¹⁸But not a hair of your head will perish. ¹⁹By your endurance you will gain your souls.

²⁰“When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. ²¹Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those inside the city must leave it, and those out in the country must not enter it; ²²for these are days of vengeance, as a fulfillment of all that is written. ²³Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress on the earth and wrath against this people; ²⁴they will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken away as captives among all nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. ²⁵“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. ²⁶People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory. ²⁸Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

²⁹Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; ³⁰as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. ³¹So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. ³²Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. ³³Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. ³⁴“Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, ³⁵like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

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            It’s hard for me to put together scene Jesus describes to his audience, but the overall picture is dramatic and destructive change. Jesus is talking about the end of the world as we know it. There are images of natural disasters and human conflict. There are also images of God’s judgment.

This year we hear a lot more about “end times” than usual. One long cycle of the Mayan calendar comes to an end on December 21^st of this year, which has led to speculation about the end of the world. I’m not an expert, but from the little bit I’ve read about this theory it seems pretty far off. The two references in Mayan texts to the date don’t say anything about the world ending. Also, while the Mayans were an advanced civilization, that doesn’t mean they could predict events 1400 years later.

Many people have tried to predict the end of the world, but so far no one has succeeded. Jesus tells his disciples that even he doesn’t know when the world would end, and it’s not for them to know, so it’s not surprising that we can’t figure it out. I’m not anxious about the world ending in three weeks, but all the talk about the end is a good reminder that nothing lasts forever except God.

            Jesus didn’t know when exactly the end was coming, but he thought it was coming soon. He tells the disciples that the current generation won’t pass away before all the things he’s talking about come true. The early church believed the same thing; they lived in eager expectation that Christ would return and God’s judgment would come very soon.

            Obviously, they weren’t exactly right about the timing. Nearly two thousand years have come and gone and we’re still here. So what are we supposed to do with an image like this? And why am I talking about it this week anyway?

            Thinking about the end of the world puts our life in a wider context that helps us remember what’s really important. Even if the world doesn’t end anytime soon, you and I will die some day, maybe tomorrow, maybe 40 years from now. When the world ends or you take your last breath it is not going to matter what you gave or got for Christmas and it’s not going to matter who was right in the latest argument. If we never think about death and we never think about the end of the world, it’s easy for our days and weeks to disappear under piles of things that ultimately have no meaning. Of course, we can also think too much about death and destruction and forget about God’s calling here and now.

"Wait for the Lord," 12.9.12

Psalm 46:1-11

¹God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. ²Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; ³though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult.

⁴There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. ⁵God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved; God will help it when the morning dawns.

⁶The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.

⁷The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. ⁸Come, behold the works of the Lord; see what desolations he has brought on the earth. ⁹He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.

¹⁰“Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.” ¹¹The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.

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            Last week we talked about how Advent looks in two different directions. We look back to Jesus’ birth in the manger and we look forward to the end of history when Christ will come again and the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our. In some ways, that is setting the cosmic scene for our Advent experience. Today I want to look at Advent more personally and practically.

            Waiting is a key idea of Advent. During Advent we prepare ourselves for Christmas, but we’re not preparing for something we have any control over. We’re waiting for Jesus kind of like we wait for a train or a bus. Nothing we can do can make Christmas come any faster (not that we’d want it to), and nothing we do can make God’s kingdom come any faster. We have to wait.

            We usually think of waiting as passive, as passing time until whatever we are waiting for arrives. There’s a lot more to it than that, though. For one thing, if we’re waiting for something we trust that it’s going to happen. We wouldn’t wait for a bus unless we were pretty sure it was going to arrive. Not only do we trust that the thing we’re waiting for is real, the thing we’re waiting for is also our main focus. We can do other things, but whatever we’re waiting for takes priority when it arrives. It’s helpful to think about waiting for God in the same way. We can trust that God is real and worth waiting for. We can also remember that God is the point of this season and of our life. All the other things in the season are important, but God is the purpose for our waiting, the reason for our hope and our existence.

Our readings for today shed some biblical light on waiting, in this case, waiting for the Lord. Psalm 46, which John just read, is a meditation on trusting God. It begins and ends with the affirmation that God is our refuge, our safe haven. It expands on that by reminding us that we can trust God to take care of us even when life is chaotic. Even if the world were to melt away, God would still be with us, leading us through.

Both the images of chaos and the picture of a river running through the City of Jerusalem suggest God’s judgment at the end of history. When the Prophet Ezekiel sees a vision for the restoration of Jerusalem there is a river of life flowing from the temple. The river in this Psalm takes me there, to a peaceful stream and God’s restoration in the future.

The chaotic images of mountains shaking and the earth changing remind me of Jesus’ words about the judgment last week. Even when everything falls apart God is there. Thinking about God’s judgment like we did last week can be unsettling. This passage reassures me that even then, God will take care of us. If God can hold us together when the mountains shake and judgment comes, it’s safe to say we can trust him to get us through Christmas shopping and baking too.

The King's Judgment, 11.20

Matthew 25:31-46

³¹“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. ³²All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, ³³and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. ³⁴Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; ³⁵for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ³⁶I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’

³⁷Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? ³⁸And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? ³⁹And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ ⁴⁰And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’

⁴¹Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; ⁴²for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ ⁴⁴Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ ⁴⁵Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ ⁴⁶And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

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We may not know Ezekiel as well as Jeremiah and Isaiah. His visions and actions are often strange, though this vision is easy enough to follow. Ezekiel preached in the years before and after Judah’s defeat and occupation by Babylon. His prophetic words combine criticism of injustice with hope for Israel’s future. Let’s see what Ezekiel has to say to us this morning.

Ezekiel 34:1-24 (pg. 803-804)

1 The word of the Lord came to me: ²Mortal, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel:

Let’s start out by getting our parts straight so we can understand this passage. Who do you think Ezekiel and God mean by the shepherds of Israel? Who are the sheep in this passage?

We’ll find out more about this in a minute, but why do you think God might want Ezekiel to prophesy against Israel’s leaders? Don’t worry if you don’t know the answer, the passage will get to it, I just want to get our brains warmed up by thinking about where we might be headed.

²Mortal, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel: prophesy, and say to them—to the shepherds: Thus says the Lord God: Ah, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? ³You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep. ⁴You have not strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bound up the injured, you have not brought back the strayed, you have not sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled them.

What’s a shepherd’s job? How is a king or business leader like a shepherd? What’s their responsibility to the people they lead? What does it seem like these leaders were doing instead?

Check this out: Ezekiel says that Israel’s shepherds, Israel’s leaders, are so bad that they aren’t really shepherds at all.

⁵So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and scattered, they became food for all the wild animals. ⁶My sheep were scattered, they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill; my sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with no one to search or seek for them.

What happens to sheep without a shepherd? What does being scattered mean in this case? How does God feel about this situation?

⁷Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ⁸As I live, says the Lord God, because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild animals, since there was no shepherd; and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep; ⁹therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ¹⁰Thus says the Lord God, I am against the shepherds; and I will demand my sheep at their hand, and put a stop to their feeding the sheep; no longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, so that they may not be food for them.

God warns the shepherds, the leaders of Israel, that they haven’t done their job. They haven’t taken care of the sheep, so God is going to kick the shepherds out and take care of the sheep himself. In other words, even though it seems like the powerful can take advantage of the weak forever, even though it seems like the leaders of society can ignore the needs of others and pile up riches for themselves, it won’t always be that way. God is going to step into the picture and take care of people in need. God is going to take his flock back from the selfish leaders and give them the care they aren’t getting from their shepherds.

¹¹For thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. ¹²As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.

God’s sheep, God’s people won’t always be scattered in the wilderness. Israel and Judah are exiled from their land now, but it won’t always be that way. One day God will bring back the exiles and make sure everyone has good land to feed on. God will make sure everyone has enough.