Being the church, not a club
Campbell Dye
May 11, 2018
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Revelation 1: 9-18
9 I, John, your brother who share with you in Jesus the persecution and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11 saying, ‘Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.’
12 Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash across his chest. 14 His head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining with full force.
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he placed his right hand on me, saying, ‘Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive for ever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades.
What are we actually doing as a church? Are we a youth group? Are we a third sector social work organisation? Are we a club? Are we an escape from the troubles of the world? What are we about?
I am not even going to attempt to delve deeply into Revelation. It’s a difficult book of the Bible to understand - both the language and concepts are tricky. But here, right at the beginning, we get John’s description of the vision he has of the risen Jesus. The passage is rich with metaphor and imagery, the vision is mystical and powerful. It is very otherworldly and the Jesus seen by John in the vision must have been very different to the Jesus alongside whom the author had walked.
As churches we do many different things, many of which overlap with activities by secular organisations but, at our core, we are different because we are the body of Christ. Running right through us, like the word “Blackpool” through a stick of seaside rock, is the knowledge that God’s son was born on earth and died on a cross to save us from our sins, before rising from the dead.
It’s very easy to focus on practical everyday concerns when our church lives are busy with planning and running events. So John’s vision is a good focus for the mystery of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Something unique and universal happened on that cross which changed the history of the universe and has the capacity to change the future for each individual human being.
We often emphasise what a fantastic person Jesus was - his compassion, his grace, his sensitivity. But we mustn’t forget, too, that he is God. We can only understand and relate fully to him with a sense of wonder at his perfect life on earth and a sense of awe at his power and majesty.
Lord Jesus, we pray for peace in our lives to focus on you as our saviour. We pray you will enable us to see more clearly and deeply what you have done for us so that we might respond with awe and gratitude and become ever more like you. Amen.
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