The Fourth Sunday of Easter (Year C), April 29, 2007

BCP: Acts 13:15-16, 26-33 (34-39) or Num. 27:12-23; Psalm 100; Rev. 7:9-17 or Acts 13:15-16, 26-33, (34-39); John 10:22-30

RCL: Acts 9:36-43; Psalm 23: Rev. 7:9-17; John 10:22-30

The lection from Revelation makes sense if we read the book as a word of encouragement to believers harassed by hostile political, religious, and social forces that try to claim the place of God in their lives. They have only one duty: to hold on to their faith, never compromising their integrity even under threat of death. If they do hold on in the name of the suffering Lamb of God, that Lamb, now a victorious conqueror, will rescue them from their troubles and give them an eternal place of safety.

The picture before us, drawn from Chapter 7 of Revelation, is of the bliss of the saints in heaven before the throne of God. The imagery that John uses is striking. The saints have come from every nation, and speak every language. Here we see the perfection of our awkward attempts at communion with those who are different from us. The scene is reminiscent of the one we shall contemplate in just four weeks: that of Pentecost, in which the disciples speak with one voice to the people of many languages. John suggests to us that the perfection for which we yearn, the perfection of communion with God and with one another, overcomes all artificial barriers that divide nations from one another.

Hope, according to John, is the knowledge that the sufferings of this world are but a tragic moment in an otherwise glorious story. For Christian hope is nothing less than a glimpse of the eternal in which God retains ultimate power over life and death and that Christ is with us and all shall ultimately be well. The entire book of Revelation encourages us to hope, and to lean into such hope, regardless of circumstantial evidence that hope is unreasonable. The hope to which John calls us is larger than our own dreams, more spacious than our own desires. It is nothing less than hope in God’s future.

According to John, saving faith is not something we develop for ourselves. It has to be given to us by God. John pictures it in the gospel in terms of a shepherd with his flock. Only those who are Jesus’ sheep shall give heed to his voice and follow him. Those who are not Jesus’ sheep will not believe. Abba the Father has given the sheep to Jesus, and no force can contend with Abba’s sovereign power. Therefore, none of Jesus’ sheep shall perish; from him they receive eternal life. No one can follow Christ and go astray.

Look It Up

Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer both use images of lost sheep going astray, ultimately petitioning God to have mercy on those penitent who have erred from God’s ways (BCP, pp. 42 and 62).

Think About It

Note the connection between the words of Revelation 7:9-10 and the Feast of All Saints’ Day, the strong chain of God’s presence in humanity through all history.

Next Sunday

The Fifth Sunday of Easter (Year C), May 6, 2007

BCP: Acts 13:44-52 or Lev. 19:1-2, 9-18; Psalm 145 or 145:1-9; Rev. 19:1, 4-9 or Acts 13:44-52; John 13:31-35

RCL: Acts 11:1-18; Psalm 148; Rev. 21:1-6; John 13:31-35