The Mountain Top
Sermon
Living In Hope
Cycle C Sermons for Lent and Easter Based on the Second Lessons
I love to hike and there is nothing more amazing to me than to climb to the top of a mountain trail and look out over the vista before me; the glory of God’s creation. There is a special feeling of awe that comes over me as I finish a climb and the world, it seems the whole world, lies before me.
Mountaintop experiences are prevalent in scripture as well. Moses encountering the burning bush and being called to his ministry, Moses receiving the commandments written on stone by God’s own hand. Later Moses viewed the promised land he would not inhabit from the mountain top. Elijah encountered God as the still small voice on the mountaintop. The disciples encountered Jesus with Elijah and Moses on a mountain top. Mountain top experiences are profound; they change us. But in most cases, mountain top experiences are temporary. We must come down off the mountain into our regular existence.
This is not the case in these last portions of John’s vision. The seer is carried away by the spirit to a high mountain. There he sees the complete vision of the new Jerusalem. In this reading we do not get the entire vision description, but the keys are there. In this city there is no temple. There is no need for a temple, for God is dwelling with the people, the very presence of God is with them in every grain of sand, every blade of grass, every drop of water. There is no need to go to a special place to worship God. God is everywhere.
During the last year as we experienced the COVID 19 pandemic and we were isolated from gathering in our sanctuaries as communities of faith, we learned some important things. We were reminded that while we love our church buildings and our sanctuaries, they were not required for worship. God was present with us wherever we were, wherever we gathered ― in our homes, in outdoor worship spaces, in a virtual space. God was present. This learning is important to us, and it was to the people of John’s day as well.
They needed to know that God was with them, everywhere, anywhere. This vision of the New Jerusalem includes us all ― Jews and Gentiles, all the nations gathered in the new city of God. How wonderful to be together in the place God created for them and for us. The light of God’s love and presence fills the space. Candles are not needed for certain, as the sun and the stars and the moon are not needed either. The love and light of the divine fills the space; it lights the way. The radiant love of God envelops all existence. God alone is the light. The new Jerusalem knows no night for the love and light of God permeates every space and time, every hour, and every moment.
As I have participated in worship most of my life, the light, the candlelight has meant slightly different things and been shared in different ways. We light the candles on the altar as a recognition to the light of God and Jesus. Sometimes the light leads the processional into worship. We follow the light of Christ into the worship space, onto the chancel of our churches. In some worship traditions, we light Advent candles to mark the weeks of expectation for the coming of Emmanuel, God-with-us. Each week there is more light, more candlelight, as we move closer to the light coming into the world. On Christmas we light the Christ candle, for Jesus has been born into the world. It is a candle which remains lit all during the Christmas and Epiphany seasons. Then there is the practice of taking a light from the Christ candle and walking behind it in the recessional. This signifies that we take the light of Christ into the world after worship equips us to do so.
None of that is necessary in the new Jerusalem. God’s light is everywhere, infusing everything. There is no need for any other light. God and Jesus are the light in and of the world. That is a powerful image. The city knows no night. There is radiant light suffusing all that is.
We are needing to be more careful in our day and age of the images of light and dark. The ancient symbol of light or white as pure and dark or black as impure has permeated our society in a new way. As racial tensions have grown, as the awareness of institutional racism has increased, it is important to be clear about our symbology. Yes, the 144,000 from last week’s reading have been made pure and are robed in white, but that is not a reflection of their skin but of their robes. Black or dark-skinned people are no more impure than those of us who identify as white. We need to be cautious of our imagery and its translation into action. God lights up the world, the whole world, all the nations, as the sun, the star, and the moon have previously done. It is not a judgment on people’s skin but on the source of light in the world. The radiance of God shines for us all.
The extension of the radiance of God to all the nations speaks to the open door of the heavenly realm and the new Jerusalem coming from God. The doors and gates to the city are open and will never again be shut. I often speak with churches about their openness. “We welcome everyone,” they say. Yet, their actions can decry that sentiment. What they often mean is: we welcome everyone who thinks like, looks like, and acts like us. The “others” are not included or if they are, it is because they want to mold them to be just like them.
Years ago, as I taught a class on organizational inclusion, I utilized a book titled A Peacock in the Land of Penguins by B. J. Gallagher Hateley. In the book, the penguins were excited about welcoming a peacock into their midst. He was colorful and made a different noise than they did and was seen as creative and talented. The penguins were excited to welcome Perry the Peacock into their midst. Perry started by trying to fit in, listening and watching how the penguins did things. Soon, though, Perry the Peacock began to be more like himself, living into his peacock potential. As Perry became more himself, when he did things very differently from the penguins and the penguins interacted with them, some became annoyed. They began to ask why Perry must show off those colorful feathers. They began to ask why Perry did not waddle and why he made that awful honking noise. Eventually, despite their original desire to have Perry the Peacock join them, Perry left. Of course, the penguins did not understand why.
It is this kind of welcome we people sometimes offer into our faith communities? Come in, share your gifts, be yourself ― but not too much, not too fast, and not too different from us.
This is not the new city of God as described in John’s vision. All are welcomed, just as they are, from wherever they come. God’s radiance is for everyone. The doors and gates are open, never to be closed again. It is a welcome we are called to emulate as we live our faith and work for transformation in our world. The limit to membership is not about the people but about their faithfulness and their presence in the lamb’s book of life. That is the only requirement. It is about living in righteousness as recognized by God, not by human beings. We might choose to try and figure out who is in the book of life, but that is not our purpose. Our purpose is to know good from evil, to live into the light and radiance God provides, and to be the open doors and open gates to welcome the stranger, the lost, and the least.
God chooses. God has broken down all the barriers. There is no separation between nations and peoples. There is no separation between races and ethnicities. A new humanity, and all-inclusive humanity is a major part in this vision. All are welcome ― truly all are welcome. That is the realm of God that is the New Jerusalem. That is who and what we become at the moment of the new heavens and the new earth.
In this reading from Revelation, we hear John’s proclamation of the coming of a new heaven and a new earth. God has come to dwell with God’s people. We are back to the promises of Genesis and Exodus ― I will be your God, and you will be my people. We are back to the relationship God dreamed for us in the garden at creation; a relationship of intimacy and presence, the relationship that was severed when Adam and Eve, as identified as the first human beings, followed the temptation of evil and chose to try to be like God.
Eugene Boring, a commentator I have been using in preparation for this message, said clearly that the promise of Revelation is “God does not make all new things, God makes all things new.” All things ― everything about our lives changes at the moment of the coming of the new heaven and the new earth. God will wipe the tears from our eyes. There will be no more death. There will be no more mourning, crying, or pain.
We are also reminded that God is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end ― God is all there was at the beginning, and God is all there will be for us at the end… but it is enough. For John and his churches, which were under the persecution and siege of the Roman Empire, these must have been wonderful words. They must have hoped for the end of time to come quickly so they could be saved from the pain of the world in which they lived. They did not get their wish, for we are still encountering the pain and suffering, the mourning and the death of human existence. We live in the world and the world does not seem to be a new heaven or a new earth. Across the centuries, things have not seemed to have changed.
What if this is the new earth and the new heaven is with us even as we live in this time and place? Let me ask this in another way: What if the new heaven and the new earth are supposed to be lived out by us right now in our time and place?
That is a tough question, for the world does not seem like a new world. Heaven does not seem so close we can touch it. God does not seem to be dwelling with us. But what if that is our perception only and the new heaven and the new earth are here, right now?
You see, God created us to have an intimate relationship with a loving and ever-present God. God does dwell with us. God’s presence is with us. Over time, we forgot that intimacy and the closeness of God so God sent Jesus, Emmanuel, God-with-us, to remind us that God is close enough to touch us, to heal us, to comfort us, to guide us, and to love us.
This morning we read about God coming to dwell with us, God making all things new, God being the beginning and the end. Well, is that how you see your relationship with God? Is God dwelling with you? If not, it is not because God has moved. It is because you need to invite God to dwell in you and your life. If you do not feel new, transformed through the Spirit and grace of God, why not? It is not because God is not offering to pour grace over you. Maybe it is because you are afraid of the change what will come if you ask God to take over your life, make it new, pour on the grace, and then lead your life. If you do not see God as the beginning and end of your day, as the one who hems you in, it is not because God does not want to hem you in, protect you, uphold you, for that is God’s promise. Maybe it is because you are afraid to surrender and let God bind your life together.
The Revelation of John reminds us that God chose us, delights in us, finds pleasure in our life and in our relationship with God. God is ready to make all things new, right here and right now. We don’t have to wait for some far off date to begin living in a new earth and feeling a new heaven and knowing that God dwells with us. We need only ask, and God will answer. We need only want to be transformed and God will provide the tools for transformation. I do not know about you, but I want God in my life, changing, pruning, renewing, rebuilding, and empowering me to be God’s beloved child, to be a new creation, right now today. Don’t you want that too? Amen.
Mountaintop experiences are prevalent in scripture as well. Moses encountering the burning bush and being called to his ministry, Moses receiving the commandments written on stone by God’s own hand. Later Moses viewed the promised land he would not inhabit from the mountain top. Elijah encountered God as the still small voice on the mountaintop. The disciples encountered Jesus with Elijah and Moses on a mountain top. Mountain top experiences are profound; they change us. But in most cases, mountain top experiences are temporary. We must come down off the mountain into our regular existence.
This is not the case in these last portions of John’s vision. The seer is carried away by the spirit to a high mountain. There he sees the complete vision of the new Jerusalem. In this reading we do not get the entire vision description, but the keys are there. In this city there is no temple. There is no need for a temple, for God is dwelling with the people, the very presence of God is with them in every grain of sand, every blade of grass, every drop of water. There is no need to go to a special place to worship God. God is everywhere.
During the last year as we experienced the COVID 19 pandemic and we were isolated from gathering in our sanctuaries as communities of faith, we learned some important things. We were reminded that while we love our church buildings and our sanctuaries, they were not required for worship. God was present with us wherever we were, wherever we gathered ― in our homes, in outdoor worship spaces, in a virtual space. God was present. This learning is important to us, and it was to the people of John’s day as well.
They needed to know that God was with them, everywhere, anywhere. This vision of the New Jerusalem includes us all ― Jews and Gentiles, all the nations gathered in the new city of God. How wonderful to be together in the place God created for them and for us. The light of God’s love and presence fills the space. Candles are not needed for certain, as the sun and the stars and the moon are not needed either. The love and light of the divine fills the space; it lights the way. The radiant love of God envelops all existence. God alone is the light. The new Jerusalem knows no night for the love and light of God permeates every space and time, every hour, and every moment.
As I have participated in worship most of my life, the light, the candlelight has meant slightly different things and been shared in different ways. We light the candles on the altar as a recognition to the light of God and Jesus. Sometimes the light leads the processional into worship. We follow the light of Christ into the worship space, onto the chancel of our churches. In some worship traditions, we light Advent candles to mark the weeks of expectation for the coming of Emmanuel, God-with-us. Each week there is more light, more candlelight, as we move closer to the light coming into the world. On Christmas we light the Christ candle, for Jesus has been born into the world. It is a candle which remains lit all during the Christmas and Epiphany seasons. Then there is the practice of taking a light from the Christ candle and walking behind it in the recessional. This signifies that we take the light of Christ into the world after worship equips us to do so.
None of that is necessary in the new Jerusalem. God’s light is everywhere, infusing everything. There is no need for any other light. God and Jesus are the light in and of the world. That is a powerful image. The city knows no night. There is radiant light suffusing all that is.
We are needing to be more careful in our day and age of the images of light and dark. The ancient symbol of light or white as pure and dark or black as impure has permeated our society in a new way. As racial tensions have grown, as the awareness of institutional racism has increased, it is important to be clear about our symbology. Yes, the 144,000 from last week’s reading have been made pure and are robed in white, but that is not a reflection of their skin but of their robes. Black or dark-skinned people are no more impure than those of us who identify as white. We need to be cautious of our imagery and its translation into action. God lights up the world, the whole world, all the nations, as the sun, the star, and the moon have previously done. It is not a judgment on people’s skin but on the source of light in the world. The radiance of God shines for us all.
The extension of the radiance of God to all the nations speaks to the open door of the heavenly realm and the new Jerusalem coming from God. The doors and gates to the city are open and will never again be shut. I often speak with churches about their openness. “We welcome everyone,” they say. Yet, their actions can decry that sentiment. What they often mean is: we welcome everyone who thinks like, looks like, and acts like us. The “others” are not included or if they are, it is because they want to mold them to be just like them.
Years ago, as I taught a class on organizational inclusion, I utilized a book titled A Peacock in the Land of Penguins by B. J. Gallagher Hateley. In the book, the penguins were excited about welcoming a peacock into their midst. He was colorful and made a different noise than they did and was seen as creative and talented. The penguins were excited to welcome Perry the Peacock into their midst. Perry started by trying to fit in, listening and watching how the penguins did things. Soon, though, Perry the Peacock began to be more like himself, living into his peacock potential. As Perry became more himself, when he did things very differently from the penguins and the penguins interacted with them, some became annoyed. They began to ask why Perry must show off those colorful feathers. They began to ask why Perry did not waddle and why he made that awful honking noise. Eventually, despite their original desire to have Perry the Peacock join them, Perry left. Of course, the penguins did not understand why.
It is this kind of welcome we people sometimes offer into our faith communities? Come in, share your gifts, be yourself ― but not too much, not too fast, and not too different from us.
This is not the new city of God as described in John’s vision. All are welcomed, just as they are, from wherever they come. God’s radiance is for everyone. The doors and gates are open, never to be closed again. It is a welcome we are called to emulate as we live our faith and work for transformation in our world. The limit to membership is not about the people but about their faithfulness and their presence in the lamb’s book of life. That is the only requirement. It is about living in righteousness as recognized by God, not by human beings. We might choose to try and figure out who is in the book of life, but that is not our purpose. Our purpose is to know good from evil, to live into the light and radiance God provides, and to be the open doors and open gates to welcome the stranger, the lost, and the least.
God chooses. God has broken down all the barriers. There is no separation between nations and peoples. There is no separation between races and ethnicities. A new humanity, and all-inclusive humanity is a major part in this vision. All are welcome ― truly all are welcome. That is the realm of God that is the New Jerusalem. That is who and what we become at the moment of the new heavens and the new earth.
In this reading from Revelation, we hear John’s proclamation of the coming of a new heaven and a new earth. God has come to dwell with God’s people. We are back to the promises of Genesis and Exodus ― I will be your God, and you will be my people. We are back to the relationship God dreamed for us in the garden at creation; a relationship of intimacy and presence, the relationship that was severed when Adam and Eve, as identified as the first human beings, followed the temptation of evil and chose to try to be like God.
Eugene Boring, a commentator I have been using in preparation for this message, said clearly that the promise of Revelation is “God does not make all new things, God makes all things new.” All things ― everything about our lives changes at the moment of the coming of the new heaven and the new earth. God will wipe the tears from our eyes. There will be no more death. There will be no more mourning, crying, or pain.
We are also reminded that God is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end ― God is all there was at the beginning, and God is all there will be for us at the end… but it is enough. For John and his churches, which were under the persecution and siege of the Roman Empire, these must have been wonderful words. They must have hoped for the end of time to come quickly so they could be saved from the pain of the world in which they lived. They did not get their wish, for we are still encountering the pain and suffering, the mourning and the death of human existence. We live in the world and the world does not seem to be a new heaven or a new earth. Across the centuries, things have not seemed to have changed.
What if this is the new earth and the new heaven is with us even as we live in this time and place? Let me ask this in another way: What if the new heaven and the new earth are supposed to be lived out by us right now in our time and place?
That is a tough question, for the world does not seem like a new world. Heaven does not seem so close we can touch it. God does not seem to be dwelling with us. But what if that is our perception only and the new heaven and the new earth are here, right now?
You see, God created us to have an intimate relationship with a loving and ever-present God. God does dwell with us. God’s presence is with us. Over time, we forgot that intimacy and the closeness of God so God sent Jesus, Emmanuel, God-with-us, to remind us that God is close enough to touch us, to heal us, to comfort us, to guide us, and to love us.
This morning we read about God coming to dwell with us, God making all things new, God being the beginning and the end. Well, is that how you see your relationship with God? Is God dwelling with you? If not, it is not because God has moved. It is because you need to invite God to dwell in you and your life. If you do not feel new, transformed through the Spirit and grace of God, why not? It is not because God is not offering to pour grace over you. Maybe it is because you are afraid of the change what will come if you ask God to take over your life, make it new, pour on the grace, and then lead your life. If you do not see God as the beginning and end of your day, as the one who hems you in, it is not because God does not want to hem you in, protect you, uphold you, for that is God’s promise. Maybe it is because you are afraid to surrender and let God bind your life together.
The Revelation of John reminds us that God chose us, delights in us, finds pleasure in our life and in our relationship with God. God is ready to make all things new, right here and right now. We don’t have to wait for some far off date to begin living in a new earth and feeling a new heaven and knowing that God dwells with us. We need only ask, and God will answer. We need only want to be transformed and God will provide the tools for transformation. I do not know about you, but I want God in my life, changing, pruning, renewing, rebuilding, and empowering me to be God’s beloved child, to be a new creation, right now today. Don’t you want that too? Amen.
