The other night there was a story about Zsa Zsa Gabor the actress on TV. Until recent years she was in the public spotlight. One of the several things that
she was known for, were her many marriages. One of her most famous lines was, “Darling, at the moment, I am between
husbands.” She must have liked being “between husbands” for
she has had nine husbands.
Much of life occurs between
major events as we are waiting for the next chapter of our lives to begin—waiting for the diagnosis or treatment of a serious illness—waiting to be accepted into the college
of your choice—waiting for a new job to begin—waiting for a new baby to be born. These
“in-between times” can be filled with anxiety.
John, the writer of the Epistle
of Revelation, was living in an in-between time. He had been exiled on the barren
volcanic ash island of Patmos, only ten miles long and six miles wide. He had been exiled there by the Roman Emperor Domitian in 95 AD. While waiting to be released or executed, he served there under hard labor for 18 months. Finally, he would
be released by the next Roman Emperor Nerva.
While a prisoner on Patmos, I am sure that John in no way considered
Patmos to be at the center
of world power. It was considered just the opposite. Patmos and islands like it were the places where
people were sent to remove them from being in places of power and political influence. And
yet, even in his exile, he was a witness to Jesus Christ. His witness became
one of the most recognized testimonies to Christ in all of Christian history.
In writing his testimony
to Jesus Christ—the letter of Revelation—in the first seven verses John used the word “witness” three
times. The word “witness’ is the Greek word “martyr.”
Although the most violent reign of terror under Emperor Domitian was yet to come—at
the time of the writing of Revelation, Christians were misunderstood, suspected, and locally persecuted for their faith. Some even died violent and painful deaths because they spoke the truth about Jesus
Christ. Due to the suffering of Christians for their faith, the word “martyr”
was infused with new meaning.
These seven churches in modern
day Turkey to which John was writing did not have any buildings and programs.
They did not have any preachers or choir, and they did not even have the Bible as we know it today. They were small groups of Christians sneaking out of their homes under the cover of darkness to their neighbor’s
house. There they would hear the passages from the Old Testament being read –
letters from the Apostle Paul, as well as others such as Revelation. They would
share among themselves stories about Jesus, sing hymns and psalms, celebrate the Lord’s Supper, and pray together. Then before the sun rose they would be back in their homes, lest the Roman authorities
knew of their worship.
John wrote these churches
using strange images and analogies that are unfamiliar to us today. But in that
day, he was writing them using secret “code-words” that they understood. In
his letter of Revelation, he was writing them about God’s present rule in heaven, and God’s future plans for God’s
earthly creation.
We likewise have common images
conveyed within our contemporary society. Often these images are conveyed across movie screens. The recently released movie “2012” is the latest example. The movie “2012” is based
on a projected alignment of planets. The ancient Mayans in some of their records predicted that this projected alignment of
planets would cause world catastrophe on December
21, 2012.
And typical of Hollywood, the screen writers and movie
producers have created frightening images as to how that catastrophe event might manifest itself. There are enormous fireballs blowing out of the ground like giant geysers —tsunamis welling from
the ocean floor all about the globe—earthquakes causing massive buildings to collapse as the geographic plates within
the earth shift back and forth—oceans swelling; valleys rising; mountains submerging,
and cities being destroyed.
All the while the government
secretly has developed a plan to save the best and the brightest of humanity, as well as, of course, prominent politicians.
They all are to be whisked away to safety within a flotilla of arks. Well, at least I have read that the special effects are
good! Through that movie, the writers and producers are seeking to shape our
understanding of what life would be like in the face of such a natural catastrophe. And
perhaps some person who will have seen the movie in this “in-between time” will be anxious about the possibility
that the world might end according to the script of the movie.
John, in Revelation, also
writes from his own “in-between time.” However, for John, instead
of a world catastrophe causing the potential demise of humanity—John in his vision saw God transforming his creation
to being a holy community of relationships. And for those Christians living in the last decade of the first century, they
received John’s vision as good news. They looked forward to this future, for Revelation spoke of a hopeful future for
the Church.
John wrote in his letter,
“Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come.” Through these words, John was declaring
that God has no beginning and no ending. God has been the sustaining reality
in the past— God continues to be the sustaining reality in the present—and God will continue to be the sustaining
reality in all futures. John’s words here are drawn from the Book of Exodus, when Moses asked God his name. That name
was written in Hebrew. The Hebrew language has no present tense, and our English
translations usually translate God’s name as “I Am who I am.” However, it equally can be translated as “I
was who I was,” and “I will be who I will be.” Therefore, God’s very name cannot be confined by time,
nor can God be confined by time. God is the God of the past, present, and future.
And then John conveyed several
titles upon Christ. These titles have been drawn from the Old Testament scriptures, and they will be important in an understanding
of the rest of John’s epistle. John wrote that Christ is “the faithful
witness.” As the witness,
Christ offers a model for subsequent acts of Christian witness/martyrdom.
John wrote that Christ is
“the first-born of the dead.” Christ “the faithful witness” has been raised from the dead. And likewise,
John declared that God will raise from the dead all those Christians that have been martyred for the faith. There are stories of crucifixions, where the Christians were mocking their tormentors. They were declaring
that the Roman soldiers could take their lives, but they would live again in God’s new Kingdom.
John wrote that Christ is
“the ruler of kings on earth.” In Roman society, that title was only
attributed to Caesar, the Emperor in Rome. But, John of Patmos declared that God’s Kingdom
had replaced Caesar’s kingdom. In fact, Caesar was only a pretender to the throne.
Those words definitely were subversive words against Roman Imperial power. John
of Patmos continued, “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, to him
be glory and dominion for ever and ever.”
Suddenly, John became so
inspired in his writing that he broke out in song. He sang one of the early hymns
of the church. “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.” The imagery that John used was from the
Old Testament book of Daniel. Through that imagery, John declared that unlike
Christ’s first coming as a babe in Bethlehem, Christ’s second coming would be recognized by the entire world. Even those who crucified him
will fall down in repentance before him. He would be recognized as the ruler
of all creation.
In the gospel lesson today,
Jesus was standing before Pilate. But, in reality, Pilate was standing before
Jesus. Pilate was a tragic figure who did not know how to administer the province
to which he had been assigned. He shouted loudly and sought to intimidate those
with less power. But he acted out of confusion and fear. He thought he could lead through controlling and manipulating others. And
in the end, his incompetence would so disgust the Roman Emperor, that he will be relieved of his duties.
But on that day in our gospel account, Pilate was the representative of the Emperor in Rome. He stood with all of his ceremonial
power about him, his standard prominently displayed, his troops nearby. He was the public face of absolute Roman Imperial
power—the power that had conquered the known world. There, on that day, Pilate faced Jesus. Yet, on that day, Jesus
stood there as the King of kings, and Pilate as a tragic figure. Pilate thought that he was judging Jesus. But in fact, it
was Jesus that was judging Pilate.
Today in the Christian calendar
is “Christ the King Sunday.” It is the last Sunday prior to
the beginning of the celebration of “Advent.” Today we stand within
that “in-between time.” We await the celebration of Christmas, the
incarnation event, which the gospel writers declared was the beginning of the process of creation’s transformation.
And that transformation of which John of Patmos wrote would be completed when Christ would be victorious over all the powers
that degrade human life. Therefore, we can live our lives in faith, seeking to prepare ourselves for that time of the creation’s
redemption.
As a congregation we also
stand in an “in-between time”—an interim time—a time between God calling the former pastor to a church
in NY, and God calling a new pastor to lead this congregation. Therefore, we
journey as a congregation in this “in-between time. This “in-between time” is God’s time for us to
prepare ourselves as a congregation for new permanent pastoral leadership.
This coming Thursday we will
celebrate Thanksgiving. Let us then give thanks to God, that in the “in-between times” of life we can celebrate
God’s good purposes for all of us.
