6/18/2023

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING:

“And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.” (Revelation 14.2-3)

“Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, bless His name. Proclaim His salvation day after day. Declare His glory among the nations. Declare His wonderful deeds among all peoples. For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised. He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but it is the LORD who made the heavens.” (Psalm 96.1-5)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Remembering we have the benefit of the entire Revelation to John book, we know how this “story” ends. But, for those in the Seven Churches, especially those in Ephesus who would have been the first to hear it, its words at this point must have been overwhelming. The end of the First Century was fast approaching. The horrors of life in those days were multiplying especially for the “body of Christ and all its members.” The rampage for lawlessness and the hatred toward Christ followers was cresting like a tsunami wave. Before the way of total devastation hits the shoreline, all the water leaves the shore. Dry land is exposed as if a giant inhale or sucking in of the water removed it. What is left in the moment are the things that had not been visible before. Then in one great rush of water released with such power and force, all that is seen is quite literally washed away. In our lifetime we have seen three such powerful demonstrations: Thailand in 2004, Japan in 2011 and Indonesia in 2018. (Uh, hello, does anyone else see the testimony of “sevens” here? And in one of those “waiting for the other shoe to drop,” dare we cast a wondering eye to 2025? Just saying….) Sadly, in today’s culture and climate, we can more easily imagine what it must have been like nearly 2000 years ago for those who were “of the Church.” What was needed was a voice of hope, a voice of justice and a voice of peace. For those in Ephesus and “the Seven Churches” Consortium, this word from their beloved John the Presbyter, the Elder, the Beloved Disciple, the Witness from Patmos whom God had delivered from the fires of hell and restored in ministry so close and yet so far from them must have seemed mysterious and tantalizing. Here we are nineteen centuries later, informed by various degrees of scholarship, still unsure of “what and when is then that has been presented to us as the Word of God.” But, to hear it for the first time must have been like a tsunami: stealing their breath away in vibrant imagery and then flooding over them with overwhelming reality. The question for us in this day and age is: “What are we to make of all of this in our own lives?” What message are we intended to pass on to those around us and those who will be after us for as long as the “day of the Lord” remains “at a distance.”

Of course, that distance is actually not as great as we might think. In the grand scheme of things, time is relevant in the vast expanse of space and matter. For this reflection, I offer that “space” is what is out there and “matter” is what is in here. The two passages of scripture presented for today’s reflection (and yes, I know it is Father’s Day, but….) give us a word about two songs which collapse in this time the space and matter in which we live. From the psalmist we hear the “song of space.” In the early 20th century, British composer- Gustav Holtz wrote a musical collection entitled “The Planets.” If you have never listened to it, I would invite you to do so. It is powerful, moving and creates vivid images of “out there.” The invitation extended by the psalmist David was to come to Jerusalem and celebrate the placement of the “Ark of the Covenant” there from its place of sojourn in the “wilderness.” David was creating that sense of time and space joined together with the call to “sing a new song unto the Lord before all the earth.” It was a song which would unite all of God’s people into one. David was the “king of reconciliation” uniting the two disperate kingdoms (North and South) into one nation before God. [Let the reader discern a word here for this “one nation under God” which had been fractured into North and South and now its pieces are as many as potshards at the bottom of the wall where the pot had been dashed against in “modern wisdom.”]

The second passage, which is actually presented as the first because this is a reflection on the Book of Revelation, is a “song of matter.” It has been said by many that “Age is a question of mind over matter; if you don’t mind then it doesn’t matter.” No one knows for sure who originated the saying but many have been associated with it in its application to their own lives. We can do so here as well. We are speaking in Revelation, the close “of an age.” The age I refer to is “the Age of the Church.” When the resurrected Jesus commissioned His disciples at Mount Tabor, He promised to them (according to the recollection of Matthew’s gospel) “…and I promise, I will be with you always to the close of the Age.” It was a commissioning of His Holy Spirit presence in and on their lives for the duration of the ministry of discipleship. They had been called to “making disciples of all nations.” It was not simply an empowerment of “them” as disciples. Such thinking helped to foster their elevation in the scope of Church history to be apostles, or teachers of the Word. Jesus had already warned them about “not lording it over others as the Gentiles do.” The question of authority was always bound in the framework of “service.” Even Jesus declared of Himself, “I have come to serve and not be served.” The impetus of their ministry of discipleship which seemingly has had great impact on the history of the world is founded on that truth alone. In that regard, “in this Age, if you don’t mind then it doesn’t matter.” But, we know in this Age of the Church we are intended to “have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2.16) so what we say and do matters. Such intentionality collapses time and space into that new song which David declared was a national event. It was an event which refocused the people of God on being God’s people bound by His presence in the midst of them. But, more so, we are compelled by Revelation’s “new song” which is known only to the 144,000 and the angels who taught it to them accompanied by harpists before the Throne and the Elders. We still do not know what that song sounds like or communicates. It is a new song unlike any others which becomes the privilege of and ministry of those who will be of the 144,000. Remember, that number is not yet completed. Future 144,000ers are still in the making. We have a descriptor which certainly eliminates almost all of us, apparently. I say that because they are said to be fully committed to serving the Lord, seemingly under great trial and tribulation, and are virgins in this world as they will be in the next. I guess I will not be hearing that chorus sung until “they” sing it in the New Jerusalem. How about you?

Regardless, it tells us of a new song which matters. Its call fills us with a sense of legacy and opportunity for the day when the Groom returns for His Bride. The Groom is Jesus the Christ. The Bride is the Church. Could it be that they will be the Heavenly Chorus whose song shall lead the Bride up the aisle and the Groom down to meet her? Is it the Heavenly response to “that day which is yet to come”? It is not that terrible “day of the Lord,” but the glorious “day of a new time, new space and a new matter. What it is remains a mystery. What is not a mystery is that such a chorus will exist because there will be those who are qualified to sing it in Heaven. They are qualified because of their fidelity to serve the Lord not only with gladness but glad to only serve the Lord “with all their heart, soul, strength and mind.” Are we raising such a generation in the midst of us? Are we promoting such a lifestyle and servant opportunity? “Many are called but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22.14) That does not mean we are disqualified from rejoicing at the wedding of the Lamb and the Church! Far from it! Remember, we are called to be The Church. They will be singing at “our” wedding feast and celebration in that new time, new space and new matter. To refresh the aforementioned anonymous quote, “Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you mind, it most certainly matters…when we know it is the Age of the Church.”

A PRAYER FOR TODAY:

You are our God and we shall be Your people in spirit and in truth. Continue to dwell among us. Let the revelation by Your Holy Spirit inspire us to greater service in a more refined identity. We do not live as ourselves for ourselves. Rather, we live in Christ as He lives in us. We declare it with all the elders and angels in Heaven, saying “Holy, holy, holy is He who was and is and is to come.” In Jesus’ name we live, serve and pray. AMEN.