The Fourth Sunday of Easter 21 April 2013

Today's Readings: Acts 9:36-43

                               Revelation 7:9-17

                               John 10:22-30

...for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

• The Book of Revelation, the final book of the New Testament, is one of the most difficult books of the Bible to understand. It includes letters, poetry, hymns, descriptions of immense battles and weird monsters, strange symbols and figures, and a lot of code for those “in the know” to interpret what is being said.
• The book is attributed to John, possibly John the Evangelist, although some dispute this and there is some evidence of this viewpoint. It was written at a time of great persecution of the Christian Church, a time so troubling that many believed it was the end of the world. John was inspired to write a very strange book to calm their fears and show them that despite the terror and suffering the church was undergoing, God remained in charge and would see the Church through.
• In the portion we read today, those who have come through the great persecution worship before the throne of God: there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!"
• Our writer is confused, seeing this crowd and one of the Elders present explains: "These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” He continues to explain how the white-robed crowd suffers no more, not because of death, a medicine, or some escape, but because of the “the blood of the Lamb.”
• Beyond that, in a very unusual turnabout, the figure – the Lamb – will become the shepherd. The title, “Lamb of God”, is first used by John the Baptizer when he sees Jesus while he is baptizing in the Jordan river very early in the Gospel of John. Throughout John's Gospel, Jesus remains the Lamb of God.
• If we jump the Book of Revelation, the Lamb is everywhere throughout the book, although the Lamb is also a lion, who is 'slain but standing'. Only the Lamb is worthy to open the seals which hold back the fullness of God's plan. The Lamb becomes the shepherd and will guide all the faithful ones to peace and life. This is outlined in a very tangible way: no hunger, no thirst, no sunstroke or sunburn, and lastly, no sorrow and tears. This is what the Shepherd-Lamb will do. Those who stand before the throne, robed in white are a redeemed community who have come through the “great ordeal” and the trials of the dreaded persecution.
• As we hear these readings today and gather to celebrate our redemption with Word and Sacrament, we know Jesus to be our Good Shepherd – this is called “Good Shepherd Sunday”, after all. The Revelation of John reminds us that Jesus is both Shepherd and Lamb for us as much as he has been for generations past and for the Christian Church under persecution that John was writing to.
• So do we await the further tribulation and the end of all things? Truth to tell, some of us here have been through what surely appeared to be the end of the world. All of us here have experienced suffering to some extent, either through sickness, loss, personal pain, or fear. All we need to do is look at the newspaper or watch the TV news. There we can see the suffering in places like Boston, or Waco, TX where the fertilizer plant exploded, or Toronto, or even London, so close by. It is also true that we wait for a time and place where all our tears will be wiped away and we will be sheltered.
• Beyond all this, we here today stand with the white-robed multitude spoken of in Revelation, for we too have been redeemed and set free through what the Lamb has done for us. We too are part of the singing multitude robed in white, declaring that salvation is from God and from the Lamb.
• Jesus remains our Shepherd-Lamb, who promised to see us through our trials and troubles to the place where we would find springs of the water of life and where God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
• In this, we can be confident, since we don't trust in our own abilities, resources, or holiness. Our trust is in our Shepherd-Lamb and it is his grace, the favour of God, that leads and saves us.
• Add to this the word of Jesus we heard in the Gospel of John today: My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.
• Jesus' sheep hear his voice and from him, they receive life eternal and will not have that taken from them.
• So we live now, still striving to take up the ministry Jesus has given us. In confidence and humility, knowing whose ministry we take up and by whose grace we carry on. In this, we invite those around us to share what we have found, in grace and peace.
• ...for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.