Month: May 2025

Preached May 18, 2025, at First Presbyterian Church of Rolla. Based on Revelation 21:1-8.

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I don’t usually preach from Revelation. In fact, I don’t know if I’ve ever preached from Revelation. I’m no fire-and-brimstone preacher. But I take what the lectionary gives me. I could have preached about love from the Gospel of John. I could have preached about inclusion from the Acts of the Apostles. But you’ve heard all that from me before, right? So today, you’re getting some apocalyptic preaching. 

Before I get into the reading, let’s try to get the perspective of the original readers of Revelation. John of Patmos was probably not the same John who was an apostle, nor the John who wrote the Gospel that bears that name, nor the John who wrote the epistles that bear that name… Anyway, John the Revelator was exiled to the island of Patmos sometime late in the first century CE, probably around the year 95. This is about 25 years after the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. In the 60s, there was a lot of turmoil in Jerusalem, culminating in a revolution that was absolutely squashed by the Romans. In 70 CE, the Temple was destroyed and Jews were all banished from Jerusalem. Without the Temple, all those who followed our God had to figure out what God had in mind for them. 

One group, the Pharisees, determined that the Temple sacrificial system could be replaced by the many traditions that had grown up in the synagogues. Out of that group grew rabbinic Judaism, the Jewish faith that continues today. 

Another group saw an altogether different vision of the future. Of course the Temple had been destroyed—God no longer needed a dwelling place on earth. Jesus Christ had come to show us God’s essential nature, and then through his death and resurrection, he established a new Way to follow God. In fact, they called themselves followers of the Way. They envisioned a God who transcended any particular place, and indeed one who transcended any tribe or nation. Out of this group grew Christianity in all its varied forms. 

But remember, many Christians saw themselves as still Jews who had grown in their understanding of God. John of Patmos was thoroughly Jewish. Throughout the book of Revelation and especially in today’s passage, there are references to Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, and other books in our canon, plus many extra-biblical books like 1 Enoch. John was immersed in apocalyptic messianic Judaism and wove its themes all through his writing. 

What was John’s ultimate goal in writing? Well, the core message of Revelation is this: In the end, GOD WINS. Things may look dire—God’s people may be subjected to persecution and the Temple may have been destroyed, but God is at work battling evil and transforming the world. There is always reason for hope. 

In today’s passage, we read that a new heaven and a new earth is descending because the old things had passed away. God is transforming the world into God’s eternal kingdom, which as I have so often said is an existence of universal human flourishing. Most days, it’s hard to see a path from where we are to such an existence. There are so many terrible things happening in the world—how could we ever reach universal flourishing? Well, those old things need to pass away. There are lots of good things in the world, too—but the good is bound up with the bad, often inextricably so. We need to be willing to let go of everything, good and bad, for the sake of God’s kingdom. Only then can we achieve the transformative restoration of all things that is needed to achieve God’s original vision for humanity. 

As the new heaven and new earth are descending, so too is a new Jerusalem, a new holy city. In these last chapters of the Bible, we hear echoes of the first chapters of the Bible. Jesus Christ is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Christ was there at the beginning, when God spoke all things into being and declared them very good. Christ will be there at the end, too, when all things will be restored to that state of perfection, of wholeness and holiness. 

In the beginning, God placed humanity in a garden. Back then, all we needed was the bare minimum to survive. At first, there was only one human, but God recognized that Adam was incomplete in himself. Being made in the image of God, we are made for relationship. Adam needed a mate, a helper, a companion. Only a loving relationship can really make us complete. 

But no single person can satisfy all of our needs. Many marriages have failed because one person relied too completely on the other and became emotionally unsatisfied. This is no criticism of the other partner—nobody is perfect and therefore nobody can satisfy all of another person’s needs. Similarly, no relationship is pure and untarnished. When you are close to someone, you two can hurt each other because humans are finite, imperfect beings. 

And so a garden is not sufficient for a person to thrive, and a single partner is not sufficient for the pair to thrive. We need a community. We need to be embedded in a complex web of relationships that are individually good, and together provide everything we need to flourish. Metaphorically, we need a city, a Holy City, a place where God dwells and unites us all and ensures the health of every relationship. 

We need a Holy City where everyone we love is there with us. Death will be no more, and neither will there be mourning or crying. This is only possible if absolutely everyone is there with us. If I get to heaven and my Grandma or my Uncle Dick aren’t there, it won’t feel very heavenly. 

The problem is, if everyone I love is there, everyone I hate will be there too. There are people who have hurt me over the years, old pains that sometimes flare up, things that cannot be resolved in the present age. There are surely people that I have hurt. Someday, all of the physical, emotional, and spiritual pain we have inflicted on one another will be healed so that we can be reconciled to one another. Only through that reconciliation will we be able to truly enjoy God’s presence. Only through that reconciliation will the world be truly transformed into God’s kingdom. 

But there are at least two main parts to reconciliation. First, the transgressor needs to be reformed. Here’s where the fire and brimstone come in. In Revelation 21:8, we read, “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, the murderers, the sexually immoral, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” That sounds pretty bad, right? I mean, I’m not a murderer, but who among us has never lied? Who among us has never acted cowardly? This seems to doom everyone, or almost everyone, to eternal conscious torment in a lake of fire. Or the slightly more positive interpretation is annihilation: those who don’t make the cut to enter the Holy City are annihilated and cease to exist. 

But again, if I get to heaven and the people I love aren’t there, what kind of heaven would that be? The third way to interpret this passage harkens back to Malachi 3:2-3: “But who can endure the day of [the Lord’s] coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver.” The fire and brimstone are not to destroy or torment us, but to purify us. This vivid metaphor helps us to understand the pain that comes from confronting the many ways we have fallen short of God’s glory and failed to show our love of God or our love of our neighbor. This reckoning will be painful, but is necessary to purify us and to remove from us all of our hatred and all of the ways we hurt one another. Then we can truly repent and, having repented, we can truly reconcile with those whom we have hurt, or those who have hurt us. 

And then, all will be well. Fernando Sabino, a Brazilian writer, once wrote, “In the end, everything will be all right. If it’s not all right, it’s not the end.” Until we have all been purified and reconciled with one another, it is still not the end. God will keep working on us, individually and collectively, until everyone is flourishing. God will keep transforming the world until it truly reflects God’s vision for humanity. 

We might wish that we wouldn’t need to go through all of this. The pain and loss of the present age lead to mourning and tears, but Christ promises that in the end, mourning and crying shall be no more. Julian of Norwich, a famous 14^th-century visionary, wrote this about her 13^th Showing: 

In my folly, before this time I often wondered why, by the great foreseeing wisdom of God, the onset of sin was not prevented: for then, I thought, all should have been well. This impulse [of thought] was much to be avoided, but nevertheless I mourned and sorrowed because of it, without reason and discretion. 

But Jesus, who in this vision informed me of all that is needed by me, answered with these words and said: ‘It was necessary that there should be sin; but all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.’ 

These words were said most tenderly, showing no manner of blame to me nor to any who shall be saved.

Jesus doesn’t blame us for our sinfulness and imperfections. He was one of us and so he knows how hard this life is.  We accumulate pain and sorrow throughout the length of our days, but we know that in the end, all shall be well. 

OK, great—someday, we’ll all be in heaven and all shall be well. You should know me well enough, though, to know that I’m not here to promise you pie in the sky when you die in the sweet by and by.  

The core message of the Gospel is that the kingdom of God is at hand! Yes, in the end, all shall be well, but we can have glimpses of what that will be like as the world is slowly transformed. Because the new heaven and the new earth and the new Jerusalem are coming to us. They come to us each day as we strive to create a world that is more aligned with God’s original intention for universal human flourishing. We are living in the Holy City right now. It’s here. It’s within us and among us. 

Sure, we still hurt one another, and we are still finite and imperfect beings. But we have been made in God’s image, and that means we have the capacity within ourselves to express God’s love. We have the ability to forgive, and to repent, and to reconcile with one another. It doesn’t happen very often, but once in a while, I get a sense that I am living in God’s kingdom, if only for a moment or perhaps an afternoon. Once in a while, I have a feeling that God loves me, and that God has connected me with the people around me. I get a feeling that everyone has what they need to flourish, to live out their true identity as a beloved child of God. That feeling passes quickly, but it’s real, and it assures me that indeed, all shall be well. 

The task God sets before each one of us is to find ways to transform the world into God’s kingdom. God works with us and through us as we strive to purge ourselves of evil and hatred. God works with us and through us as we strive to share God’s love with our community, to love as we are loved. God works with us and through us as we seek to feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, and bind up the broken-hearted. 

Someday, all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well. Today, let us strive to make Rolla just a little bit more like God’s vision for humanity. Let us seek ways to help everyone flourish and thrive. In that way, we will live in God’s kingdom today and walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have been called. Amen.  

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Preached on May 11, 2025, at First Presbyterian Church of Rolla. Based on John 10:22-30.

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This passage opens by putting us in a certain place at a certain time. Jesus is in the Temple, in the portico of Solomon, during the Festival of Dedication. We normally call this holiday something else: Hanukkah. It is also sometimes called the Festival of Lights. It is the major Jewish holiday that was created most recently.

Let me take you back to the time of the Maccabees. In 167 BCE, Judea was under the control of the Seleucid Empire. The emperor Antiochus IV Epiphanes ordered the desecration of the Temple. He had an altar to Zeus erected and ordered pigs—the most unclean of animals—to be sacrificed on the existing altar. This action provoked a revolt that succeeded in 164 BCE.

So, the Jews had re-captured the Temple, but it was still desecrated. The altar had to be re-built, and then they had to light the menorah. Unfortunately, all of the oil available had been defiled, and it would take eight days to make and purify new oil. Miraculously, one day’s worth of oil lasted all eight days. Maimonides, also called the Rambam, one of the greatest rabbis of the Middle Ages, wrote:

When, on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, the Jews had emerged victorious over their foes and destroyed them, they re-entered the Temple where they found only one jar of pure oil, enough to be lit for only a single day; yet they used it for lighting the required set of lamps for eight days, until they managed to press olives and produce pure oil. Because of this, the sages of that generation ruled that the eight days beginning with the twenty-fifth of Kislev should be observed as days of rejoicing and praising the Lord. Lamps are lit in the evening over the doors of the homes, on each of the eight nights, so as to display the miracle. These days are called Hanukkah, when it is forbidden to lament or to fast, just as it is on the days of Purim. Lighting the lamps during the eight days of Hanukkah is a religious duty imposed by the sages.

So, Jesus is in the Temple that had been consecrated miraculously by a light that did not fail. But we know that Jesus Christ is the Light of the World, the Light that will never fail. He came to his own people at this auspicious time to remind them that the Light comes from God the Father, and that he is of one essence with the Father.

This event occurs pretty close to the end of Jesus’s ministry. Throughout the Gospel of John, there is a succession of “signs,” miracles that indicate Jesus’s divine nature. At this late juncture, his opponents are still trying to figure out just who he is and what he’s going to do. So they ask him to state plainly whether or not he is the Messiah. I think the context of the question, being asked in the Temple during Hanukkah, helps us to understand just what they were asking.

The Jews were an oppressed nation. In 63 BCE, they became a client state of the Romans, and then lost all independence in 37 BCE. They looked back to their freedom that preceded the Romans and yearned for a savior who would return them to those glory days. Remember that in 586 BCE, Judah was conquered by the Babylonians and remained a conquered nation for centuries. As I said a few minutes ago, by 167 BCE, they were ruled by the Seleucid Empire. King Antiochus IV Epiphanes began persecuting Jewish practices and ultimately desecrated the Temple. Mattathias, a priest, was commanded by some soldiers to perform a sacrifice to the Greek gods in his home village, but instead he resisted and killed one of the Seleucid officials. This began a rebellion, led by Mattathias and his sons. When Mattathias was killed in 166 BCE, his third son Judah took command. He was nicknamed HaMakabi  or “The Hammer.” Judah Maccabee went on to defeat the Seleucid army and took Jerusalem on the 25^th of Kislev, December 14, 164 BCE.

So the Jews were gathered in the Temple to celebrate a great military victory, led by someone apparently designated by God to liberate God’s people from a foreign occupying army. Just as Judah Maccabee freed Judea from Seleucid rule and re-consecrated the Temple, the Jews were seeking a Messiah who would lead them to victory over the Romans, free them from oppression, and purify the Temple. This is the context for the question: Are you the Messiah?

Jesus says, in effect, Yes, I am, but not the kind of Messiah you are expecting! Jesus’s actions, the six great signs reported in the Gospel of John up to this point as well as many others that weren’t recorded, demonstrated his divine nature and his earthly mission. He came not to destroy, but to build up. He came to feed the poor, heal the sick, and free the prisoner. He came to bring forth God’s kingdom, not through force but through love.

Today is sometimes called Good Shepherd Sunday. When Jeff changed the anthem, I said, “Yeah, I was just thinking that the liturgy and music was a little light on allusions to sheep and shepherds.” Sheep and shepherds are common motifs throughout the Bible. God has been likened to a shepherd since at least the time of David, who wrote that “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Modern Americans don’t have a lot of experience with sheep, so I looked up the kinds of things a shepherd does to care for their sheep:

• Planning for where to graze the sheep, to ensure access to good food and water—still water because sheep are afraid of moving water.
• Finding supplemental hay etc. during times of scarcity.
• Protecting the flock from predators.
• Herding the flock together so they can be protected from harm.
• Separating out sheep who are causing problems, or who need special attention due to illness or injury.

Through it all, shepherds develop a close, personal bond with their sheep. It is true that sheep know their shepherd’s voice and follow it. Jesus calls us to follow him in what he does. We have been chosen to be a part of his flock, and in turn he protects us and cares for us. Jesus’s contemporaries were looking for a strong leader to lead a pack of wolves against the Romans, but God chose instead a Good Shepherd to guide a flock of sheep. In this passage and others, Jesus promises to always be with us, to care for us and protect us and guide us, to restore our souls, to leads us in paths of righteousness. Jesus promises that we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Out of gratitude for this love and care and protection and guidance, we are called to live out our lives as Jesus’s sheep. What does that mean? Well, let’s turn to another famous passage in Matthew 25. When the King comes in his glory, he will separate people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. To the sheep he says, “Come, inherit the kingdom, for 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, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” When did the righteous do this? Just as they did to one of the least of his brothers and sisters, they did it to Jesus.

This is what it means to be a sheep of Jesus’s fold. We are called to pursue Jesus’s righteousness and do as he did, feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger. As I have said so often, the core of the Gospel is that the kingdom of God is at hand! Our King comes not only at the end of the age, but each day in the oppressed and forgotten and marginalized people of this age. God’s kingdom is an existence of universal human flourishing. It is shalom, a peace that transcends an absence of conflict and encompasses wholeness, completeness, perfection. As the body of Christ, we are called to exhibit the kingdom of God here and now.

The Matthew 25 initiative from PC(USA) is built on three pillars: building congregational vitality, dismantling structural racism, and eradicating systemic poverty. Each congregation that signs on to become a Matthew 25 congregation needs to live out one or more of these pillars in its local context. Given what I know from having been in this church for 17 years and having spoken with about ¼ of the members, I believe we are well-positioned to address poverty. This pillar is described on the PC(USA) site like this:

Eradicating systemic poverty involves addressing the root causes of economic inequality and providing support to those in need. Through advocacy, service, and partnership, we work to create just systems and opportunities for all people to thrive.

I would say that we do an excellent job of meeting today’s needs. We support the Mission, GRACE, and Russell House with our time, talent, and treasure. Through them, we help individuals escape poverty and abusive circumstances. I think we should keep doing what we’re doing in this area, and expand as we are able.

But where we fall short is in addressing the root causes of poverty. The Mission recently posted a few reasons why people are homeless. Top reasons include: a lack of affordable housing—even in Rolla!; lack of a living wage; escaping domestic violence; medical debt; and mental illness, often related to PTSD or childhood trauma. I don’t know what I can do about any of these on my own, so I cook lunch once a week and hope that helps a little bit. As a congregation, though, we have a lot of resources. I’m not talking about money or space. I’m talking about people, smart and caring people, people who have time and social capital that can impact society.

Recently, a group started up in Rolla called Voters for Informed Action, which among other things has engaged in a letter-writing campaign and hosted a town hall. There is a separate but related group called Abide in Love that is supporting ICE detainees in the Phelps County Jail. These are things that any of us can do. The point is to pick something that enough people care about, then get together and DO SOMETHING.

And it doesn’t have to be big and earth-shaking. Here’s a story from PC(USA) about one congregation’s Matthew 25 efforts, published about a year ago:

The Mission Team at Calvary Presbyterian Church recently decided to donate funds for a new commercial stove and convection oven for the Chevy Chase Center. Their current, residential-style, donated stoves were no longer holding temperature and were becoming dangerous. It was hard for us on the Mission Team to see this organization that has given so much to our community just limping along.

Recently, the stove and oven were delivered and installed, and a few of our team members, along with some of the Chevy Chase Board members, gathered to celebrate!

This is a case where a church invested in some capital that will enable an organization to serve the poor for many years to come. Another story I read described a project that investigated the needs of various poor families in their rural area and bought them things like refrigerators and stoves. What good is fresh food if you do not have a reliable refrigerator? What good are ingredients if you have no way to cook them? Without a stove and refrigerator, many families would need to buy ready-to-eat food, which is usually less nutritious and more expensive.

See, solving the problem of poverty is too big a problem for us to solve on our own, but God amplifies whatever we do, combines it with the efforts of like-minded individuals and congregations and organizations, and little by little, establishes the kingdom of God.

So, what can we do? Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.” Do you hear his voice? Do you hear him calling from the margins? What is he calling you to do, and what is he calling us all to do together? Jesus was not a military leader like Judah Maccabee, Judah the Hammer. He was the Prince of Peace and the Light of the world who came so that all might have abundant life. Let us seek together a way to foster God’s kingdom, to foster universal human flourishing, or at least a little more flourishing here in Rolla among the poor, neglected, and abused. Amen.

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