I always try to pay careful attention to the Bible readings that occur during the liturgy on Sunday morning. These are the texts of Holy Scripture given to Christ’s Church this week, and I don’t want to miss them. It’s also such a delight to have someone read aloud to you. I hate to admit this, but most of the time they seem unremarkable. After all, I have been around the Bible my entire life. And then, occasionally, the words seem to take on special significance and I find myself hooked. Suddenly a lay reader is speaking God’s Word directly to me. I sense a slight dislocation in the Interface around me that separates the visible and invisible realms of reality.
This happened, for example, on the Sunday after Ascension Day. The New Testament reading was Revelation 22, and here are the sections that resonated so deeply in my soul:
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Nothing accursed will be found there…
“See, I am coming soon!”…
And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.’
“See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone’s work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
“It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star…”
The one who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.”
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! [22:1-3, 7, 10-16, 20]
When the Lord Christ returns to consummate his Kingdom, even the nations will find healing. It is needed. St. John acknowledges that the Devil has deceived the nations (20:3) in the past, but that would now be stopped. The kingdoms of this world will no longer challenge the Kingdom of God, nor think they might become it. Healed nations and their kings will bring the “glory and honor of the nations” into the Holy City (21:24, 26) as tribute and worship. It’s a turn-around so complete as to reveal perfection.
And with wars, violence, corruption, greed, desire for empire, lies, and the mad quest for authoritarianism, the need for healing is not imaginary. Imagine healthy nations, each with their own heritage of art, music, dance, myths, folklore, and accomplishments submitted as true worship. I can’t imagine that right now, but I long to see it, experience it, be part of it. And the Lord reminds us repeatedly; he is coming soon.
But here will also be righteous and good division, a judgment that separates the holy from the unholy. Outside we are told, are those who do evil, not as occasional lapses of judgment but because they prefer and choose it. All of us probably have areas of wickedness that hold a special pleasure or bring some reward we like. As the Foolish woman of Proverbs says, “Stolen water is sweet.” (9:17) Those outside are those guilty of spiritual and physical wickedness, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. It turns out that lying is not a minor issue, especially for those who lie as a matter of course, as a habit, as a way of life. Such people exist, unfortunately, and unless they repent, after a lifetime of deceit, they are forever outside.
It was when the reader came to verse 11, that I found myself amazed. Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy. At first, I thought I had misheard. But no—this statement, too, comes from the King. As these words sunk into my consciousness, my perspective shifted. This is not a comment of passivity or loss of hope. It is a promise of God that he is aware of the fallenness and that it does not escape his purposes in history. To me things seems chaotic and out-of-control. But this assures us that this is not so, at least in a cosmic sense. God sees the brokenness, and he sees the holiness and he is still bringing all things to their rightful end in Christ.
Because this is true, we can relax. Look at the chaos and relax. Realize we can not fix it and relax. Our calling is to be faithful and true, and that is enough. God will take care of history and the world. Taking on stress about things that are not my calling and beyond my abilities is foolish and demonstrate a lack of trust.
So. Relax, and again I say, relax. God has not slipped, or forgotten, or retreated, and our calling is determined by what fits us. Seek righteousness not an attempt to be the messiah.
Photo credit: Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash.
