THE FAITHFUL MULTITUDE

4th Sunday of Easter

            For many, the book of Revelation is a scary book.  You may have heard me admit that I kept my distance from this book until many years after I graduated from seminary.  If a poll of seminary students had been taken back in those days, I might have voted Revelation out of the Bible.  All of the sermons I could remember that had made reference to that book were scary and menacing.  It was hard for me to understand how the gracious God we meet in the gospels could be represented at all in the book of Revelation.  But God’s grace is found in that book.  God’s grace can be found in our text for today from the book of Revelation.

            Look.  Remember.  The book of Revelation was penned by a certain a man who calls himself “John.”  John’s own testimony is that he “was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.”  What that means is that probably someone had accused John of being a Christian.  Most likely, someone decided to report John to the authorities.  John’s punishment, it seems from his own testimony, was his banishment to the island of Patmos.  John’s book, though scary sounding, is actually a word of encouragement to Christians under fire.  The book of Revelation was probably penned no later than the year 96.  Biblical scholar Bruce Metzger believes the book “reflects the conditions prevailing during the . . . years of the Emperor Domitian,” a time when Christians were being persecuted for their faith.  Domitian tried to compel Christians to engage in Caesar worship, demanding them to address him as “our lord and god.”  Those who refused were persecuted.  To get an idea of the nature of persecution in that era, look at the time of Nero’s reign, around the year 64.  In those days, Christians were being rounded up and killed.  Historian Tacitus reported in his Annals Nero’s hideous treatment of the Christians in Rome.  “They were put to death with refined cruelty, and Nero added scorn and derision to their sufferings.  Some were clad in the skins of wild beasts and thrown to the dogs to be devoured; others were nailed to the cross, others burned alive, and still others covered with inflammable material which was then set on fire to serve as torches after sunset.”  John, under compulsion from a vision from God, wrote his book.  When taken as a whole, the book of Revelation is a strong word of encouragement for people to keep faith, even when threatened with death.

            Of course, you know what?  Christians are still being persecuted.  In other parts of the world, Christians are threatened with death on account of their faith.  Reports from around the world tell of Christians being beaten and killed.  Peter Xu Yongze told BBC News of his own persecution by the Communist authorities in China because of his Christian faith.  “They hung me up across an iron gate,” he said, “then they yanked open the gate and my whole body lifted until my chest nearly split in two.  I hung like that for four hours.”  According to a story by Qaiser Felix published by AsiaNews, a Catholic man, on the eve of his wedding day, was tortured twice, once by a mob and a second time by police in Pakistan.  The tortured man had been accused of blasphemy against Muhammad, a charge which he denied.  The tortured Christian had not received a full hearing or any kind of trial, according to the published report.  According to another report, this time from Mission Network News, Christians in the East African nation of Eritrea have suffered torture, beatings, arrests, and imprisonment at the hands of the Communist government there.  The targeted Christians were said to be Evangelical and Pentecostal.  Or again, another published report on the Internet, citing Christian sources, said that Iraqi Christians had to flee from their homes earlier this month because armed Sunni extremists threatened to kill them if they did not convert to Islam within twenty-four hours.  As you can see, persecution of Christians is not a thing of the past.

            So, what might it mean for us to be faithful to Jesus Christ these days?  We probably won’t have to face death.  What is more likely in our time is that we might suffer from some form of retribution.  The forces of the status quo want the world to remain the way it is.  When Christians—or anyone acting like them—take a stand in conformity to God’s will, they can expect these days to suffer from some form of retribution.  Linda Haddock runs a spa in Farmers Branch.  You may have read about her in the May issue of D Magazine.  This past November, one evening, Linda Haddock stood up to address the City Council.  She simply wanted to tell that body that their anti-immigration measures were making the city of Farmers Branch look bad.  You may have noticed the TV news reports about neighbors shouting against neighbors in that city.  The controversy is being fueled by the anti-immigrant measures enacted by the Farmers Branch City Council.  Sad to say, those measures have brought out the worst in the people who live there.  Farmers Branch looks like an unfriendly town.  The city has a racist image.  All Linda Haddock wanted to tell the City Council was that the city of Farmers Branch looks bad as a result of their actions.  Linda is being made to pay for her comments.  Linda reports to D Magazine that business is off since her appearance that November night before the City Council.  Her former clients call her “un-American.”  When you take a stand for what you believe is right, when you put your life on the line for what you believe is God’s will for you and the community, you probably won’t suffer death.  But when Christians—or anyone acting like them—take a stand in conformity to God’s will, they can expect these days to suffer from some form of retribution.

            That’s why we need a vision.  We need a vision for how things turn out in the end.  We need to see that we are on the winning side.  Before we give up our lives, before we open ourselves to ridicule or retribution from fellow citizens in the community for taking a stand for love and justice, we need to see that we are on the side that wins in the end.  We need the outcome of our faithfulness to be pictured for us.  We need a powerful image of the faithfulness of Christians everywhere, an image we can follow.   We need a picture of those non-Christians who, over the centuries, have also been faithful to God.  We need their inspiration, too.  We need a vision that helps us trust, here and now, that we are on the winning side.

            Then look into our scripture lesson for today.  See the victory scene in heaven.  Get a good look at the faithful multitude enjoying being in the presence of God.  See the great multitude from every nation, tongue, and tribe before the throne of God and in the presence of the risen Lord.  You see what they’re wearing?  White robes.  And they are carrying palm branches.  These are two symbols of victory.  And they sing a victory song:  “Salvation [or victory] belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb.”  These are the ones who have resisted the seduction of the world.  These are the ones who have refused to conform to that seduction.  These are the ones who have accepted the grace of God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  These are the ones who have been redeemed by the saving death of Jesus Christ.  These are the ones who see that the truth about God’s nature and God’s will is revealed in the crucified and risen Christ.  You see what they’re doing?  They’re worshiping God—and enjoying it!  They’re enjoying the benefits of God’s protection from any further harm.  They’re the ones who are shepherded by the Lamb of God, who leads them toward the water of life.  Look at them.  Theirs is a life of eternal bliss in the presence of God.  They will shed no more tears.  They will endure no more persecutions.  These righteous, these faithful now spend eternity in the presence of God.  God’s side wins!  And the faithful multitude participates in the eternal victory celebration.

            And look!  There you are in that scene.  Just picture yourself worshiping God with the faithful multitude.  See yourself in that eternal victory celebration.  Picture yourself on the winning side, on God’s side as one of God’s faithful people.  All we need to do to get into that picture is to accept the grace of God.  Faithfulness is not something we can do on our own.  Salvation or victory belongs to God and to Jesus Christ, remember?  So, we are not able to achieve victory on our own.  We are not able to remain faithful by our own power.  We are faithful only because of the guiding and the sustaining power of God.  We obtain victory only because of the grace of God.  All we have to do to be faithful is to accept the grace of God.  Then we need to stick to the will of God.  We need to follow Jesus Christ as our Lord.  Don’t be moved by the pressures of the world to cheat or cause harm to someone or to bring about injustice or to live motivated by greed.  Instead, be trustworthy.  Work for wholeness in the world.  Strive for justice.  Do the right thing, whether it is profitable or not.  See yourself standing among that faithful multitude.