Grace To All
My heart broke this week once again as I am sure many of yours did over the senseless loss of 20 children, 2 adults and numerous others injured whose lives are now changed forever. (I say 20 because I include the shooter.) I have struggled with my own emotions, once again, in the face of senseless violence. I struggled when I heard the word “evil” to describe this boy — this boy whose brain will not even fully form until he is around 25 - this boy who lived with his grandmother and whose mother was on drugs-this boy who was so full of rage and hurt that he took it out on others. We will never know “why," but hurt people hurt people. I do know that.
There are no easy answers and pain will continue in this hurting broken world. Our “Epistlatory” text today is from Revelation. It is not really an “Epistle”. The word Epistle refers to letters. In the New Testament there are four different kinds of books, the Gospels, a history of the church in the Book of Acts, the Epistles (the letters to the churches) and the Book of Revelation, which is a prophetic, dramatic work.
Last week Pierce Stone stopped on the way out of church and shared how the Revelation passage last week really hit him. I can’t remember his exact words but the passage struck him and he wanted to re-read it. I shared with him how Revelation was a vision of John on the island of Patmos and I realized I should probably preach on it sometime. Revelation is a book of the Bible that rarely do we teach on, it is one of the most often mentioned biblical books that people say they want to study when someone offers a Bible study and one of the few that we rarely teach on. It can makes us uncomfortable with all the flowery language, images, visions, of things that are hard to depict. All that imagery that is so open to interpretation, that has been interpreted by so many through the years — and while some of it we can interpret, other parts I think we must be honest and say, “We just don’t know”. It is open to interpretation. Some have been dogmatic in their interpretations which can be off-putting. In this week of hurt and continued confusion, the passage from Revelation seemed fitting to preach on, for it is the very last chapter in the Bible.
The Bible is a mini-library of 66 books, written mainly in Hebrew and Greek by about 40 authors across more than a thousand years. It is rooted in ancient cultural settings.
Revelation is a vision that John received from an angel while John was on the island of Patmos. He wrote it to strengthen the faith of the seven church that were in Asia Minor who were experiencing persecution at the hands of the Roman empire, assuring them that they would be delivered from evil powers. John appears confident that a great day of divine intervention would happen and would happen comparatively quickly. Revelation is known as apocalyptic literature referring to things that happen at the end of time, full of metaphors and images.
Revelation ultimately calls us to a faithful witness (“I am coming soon and my reward is to repay according to everyone’s work”). It was written to encourage the seven churches in Asian Minor in the midst of Roman empire persecution that the Lord was coming back soon and to remain faithful, in the midst of terrible persecution and suffering. And while we are not being persecuted, we are suffering, as a people and a nation. The world continues to suffer.
These last verses of the Bible, chapter 22 of Revelation appear to be short, sort of a clipped ending.
But these verses are filled with echoes of the whole story John has told and references that he has used before in his writing: Alpha & Omega, the washed robes, the tree of life, the gates of the city, the interpreting angel, the root of David and the morning star, the bride, the water of life.
The overwhelming promises of God’s salvation are reaffirmed here. And it doesn’t take too many words really.
If you were to ask me to give you one sentence telling you what the Bible was about, what would I say? What would you say? I think the last sentence of the Bible tell us and does exactly that. It is one sentence branding. “The grace of the Lord Jesus be all.” 22:21 The GRACE of the LORD be with you ALL”. That is what this story, His story is all really all about.
The New Revised Standard version of the text, (which is what we use), has it written as “The grace of the Lord be with all the saints”. Many versions have narrowed the appeal for grace to “God’s people” (New International Version), or “the saints” (American Standard Version and the New Revised Standard Version), I suspect that makes us more comfortable, but the Greek translated in a strictly literal way says, “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all”.
All.
In Psalm 97 for this week “the presence of the Lord of the whole earth" (97:5), (the whole earth!) “the world" (97:4), and "all the peoples see his glory" (97:6).
God's lavish favor, grace, without conditions or limits, for all people; that's our branding. Limitless abundant grace.
Our God is the sort of God who celebrates when the prodigal son returns home, and throws him a party, after he wasted his family fortune, (which would most likely not happen in my home to be clear). A God who refuses to condemn an adulteress woman, who welcomes a criminal into his kingdom as the man is dying, and who does not shun his disciples even after they deny knowing him.
And so the last page of the Bible, the last chapter of the Bible, invites everyone with these welcoming words: "Let him who hears say, 'Come!' Whoever is thirsty let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life" (Revelation 22:17). Whoever. Whoever.
This week I heard over and over a young boy described as evil. And I cringed. Because from my reading of Scripture, evil is used to describe deeds and not people.
Psalm 34:14 “Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.”
Romans 12: 21, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Evil is something out of ourselves, that we seem to have some agency over.
Mark 7: 20-23, And this may be the most helpful,
And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” Evil thoughts, evil things come from within and they defile a person, but they are not the person. The actions are separate. I saw a hurting, broken boy who did some evil things. Some horrible, heart wrenching things. Not the first.
So Revelation. The last book of the Bible, in which John is calling us to a faithful witness, a faithful witness to the bright and morning star. “Blessed are those who wash their robes…”
How clean are our robes? How clear is our witness? Do our lives reflect that which we say we believe?
Let everyone who is thirsty come.
Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.
The grace of the Lord be with all. Amen.
There are no easy answers and pain will continue in this hurting broken world. Our “Epistlatory” text today is from Revelation. It is not really an “Epistle”. The word Epistle refers to letters. In the New Testament there are four different kinds of books, the Gospels, a history of the church in the Book of Acts, the Epistles (the letters to the churches) and the Book of Revelation, which is a prophetic, dramatic work.
Last week Pierce Stone stopped on the way out of church and shared how the Revelation passage last week really hit him. I can’t remember his exact words but the passage struck him and he wanted to re-read it. I shared with him how Revelation was a vision of John on the island of Patmos and I realized I should probably preach on it sometime. Revelation is a book of the Bible that rarely do we teach on, it is one of the most often mentioned biblical books that people say they want to study when someone offers a Bible study and one of the few that we rarely teach on. It can makes us uncomfortable with all the flowery language, images, visions, of things that are hard to depict. All that imagery that is so open to interpretation, that has been interpreted by so many through the years — and while some of it we can interpret, other parts I think we must be honest and say, “We just don’t know”. It is open to interpretation. Some have been dogmatic in their interpretations which can be off-putting. In this week of hurt and continued confusion, the passage from Revelation seemed fitting to preach on, for it is the very last chapter in the Bible.
The Bible is a mini-library of 66 books, written mainly in Hebrew and Greek by about 40 authors across more than a thousand years. It is rooted in ancient cultural settings.
Revelation is a vision that John received from an angel while John was on the island of Patmos. He wrote it to strengthen the faith of the seven church that were in Asia Minor who were experiencing persecution at the hands of the Roman empire, assuring them that they would be delivered from evil powers. John appears confident that a great day of divine intervention would happen and would happen comparatively quickly. Revelation is known as apocalyptic literature referring to things that happen at the end of time, full of metaphors and images.
Revelation ultimately calls us to a faithful witness (“I am coming soon and my reward is to repay according to everyone’s work”). It was written to encourage the seven churches in Asian Minor in the midst of Roman empire persecution that the Lord was coming back soon and to remain faithful, in the midst of terrible persecution and suffering. And while we are not being persecuted, we are suffering, as a people and a nation. The world continues to suffer.
These last verses of the Bible, chapter 22 of Revelation appear to be short, sort of a clipped ending.
But these verses are filled with echoes of the whole story John has told and references that he has used before in his writing: Alpha & Omega, the washed robes, the tree of life, the gates of the city, the interpreting angel, the root of David and the morning star, the bride, the water of life.
The overwhelming promises of God’s salvation are reaffirmed here. And it doesn’t take too many words really.
If you were to ask me to give you one sentence telling you what the Bible was about, what would I say? What would you say? I think the last sentence of the Bible tell us and does exactly that. It is one sentence branding. “The grace of the Lord Jesus be all.” 22:21 The GRACE of the LORD be with you ALL”. That is what this story, His story is all really all about.
The New Revised Standard version of the text, (which is what we use), has it written as “The grace of the Lord be with all the saints”. Many versions have narrowed the appeal for grace to “God’s people” (New International Version), or “the saints” (American Standard Version and the New Revised Standard Version), I suspect that makes us more comfortable, but the Greek translated in a strictly literal way says, “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all”.
All.
In Psalm 97 for this week “the presence of the Lord of the whole earth" (97:5), (the whole earth!) “the world" (97:4), and "all the peoples see his glory" (97:6).
God's lavish favor, grace, without conditions or limits, for all people; that's our branding. Limitless abundant grace.
Our God is the sort of God who celebrates when the prodigal son returns home, and throws him a party, after he wasted his family fortune, (which would most likely not happen in my home to be clear). A God who refuses to condemn an adulteress woman, who welcomes a criminal into his kingdom as the man is dying, and who does not shun his disciples even after they deny knowing him.
And so the last page of the Bible, the last chapter of the Bible, invites everyone with these welcoming words: "Let him who hears say, 'Come!' Whoever is thirsty let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life" (Revelation 22:17). Whoever. Whoever.
This week I heard over and over a young boy described as evil. And I cringed. Because from my reading of Scripture, evil is used to describe deeds and not people.
Psalm 34:14 “Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.”
Romans 12: 21, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Evil is something out of ourselves, that we seem to have some agency over.
Mark 7: 20-23, And this may be the most helpful,
And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” Evil thoughts, evil things come from within and they defile a person, but they are not the person. The actions are separate. I saw a hurting, broken boy who did some evil things. Some horrible, heart wrenching things. Not the first.
So Revelation. The last book of the Bible, in which John is calling us to a faithful witness, a faithful witness to the bright and morning star. “Blessed are those who wash their robes…”
How clean are our robes? How clear is our witness? Do our lives reflect that which we say we believe?
Let everyone who is thirsty come.
Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.
The grace of the Lord be with all. Amen.