Making the Vision a Reality

Dear God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and feet and work through them; take our lips and speak through them, take our hearts and set them on fire for you. Amen

We live in a world filled with visions. Businesses will develop their vision for the company. Interviewers will ask prospective hires about their vision, where do they see themselves in 5 or 10 years? Politicians talk about having a vision for the country, state, or city. They will talk about where they see the country in 4 years and they try to dismiss their opponent’s vision. Often the two competing political parties have two very different visions and usually neither of them are really that good. Having a vision for the future has become so popular that churches have begun to develop visions; our DS asked all the churches in the district to develop vision statements. Visions are good things, they allow you to visualize a goal and work toward that goal. Visions are also easily communicable. When you visualize your plan then you can help other visualize it in the same way. This allows others to join you in your quest to make your vision a reality.

John the Revelator was also a man of vision. His vision was unique however because it was not about a business or a church growth plan, but it was about the end times, what will the end of this world be like and it even touched on the question of what will things be like after I die? John writes down his vision and it becomes the Book of Revelation. Tradition holds that John was exiled on the small island of Patmos, which is part of the Greek Isles on the Aegean Sea. He was exiled there because the early Christian Church was persecuted by the Roman Empire. While he was there God gave him a vision, a vision of what the end times will be like and also God gave messages to 7 Asian churches. God charges John with the writing and the keeping of these visions. So John is able to share his vision will not only those 7 churches but with the entire world for all times.

This vision is mysterious to say the least. It is filled with symbolism and metaphors that can confuse even the most seasoned theologian. However, it also gives us hope just as it did for the early Christian Church. We may not be persecuted like they were, but we still live in a broken, violent world. We only need to turn on CNN to find that out. So it gives us hope that in the end that God, filled with love, peace, and joy will reign forever and ever. We hold to that hope this morning. We hold to that hope in the midst of tragedy, in the midst of heartache, and yes even in the midst of the Valley of the Shadow of Death. We hold to the hope.

Our scripture lesson this morning is part of that hope we find in the Book of Revelation. In this part of his vision John sees a great multitude of people. The number of people is uncountable; the vast crowd stretches as far as the eye can see. The crowd is dress in white robes, robes that have been cleansed whiter the snow by the blood of the Lamb, the blood of Christ. The crowd might be dressed the same but their faces are different. The faces in the crowd show the diversity of the moment. People are there from all nations, all races, all colors, speaking all languages, not just English, but Spanish, Italian, French, German, Hebrew, Arabic, and on and on. There are people from America, Iraq, Iran, North Korea, England, and Israel and nation does not rise up against nation, there is no war and there is no fighting. All are united under God.

Scripture goes on to say that these people have come out of the Great Ordeal or the Great Tribulation. To some scholars and theologians the Great Tribulation will happen after what they call the Rapture where all true believers are taken up by God and those left behind have to face these troubles. Others would say that we are now living in the Great Ordeal, a time of natural disaster, violence, and persecution. I am not arguing one idea over the other but I do know that the world we live in now is broken. It is hurting and we are in need of this kind of vision. The world in which we live is so divided with new divisions coming everyday. We divide ourselves by race, by country, by language, by color, by political party affiliation, and by our location on the map. We will continue to divide ourselves to the point where we will be all alone complete separated from all other people.

This is not the case in the vision from John. All people are united together, as one unit, dwelling and interacting together. What force can bring all these different people together? What can bring former enemies to the table of peace where they live in harmony together? The answer from Scripture comes from verse 15 “For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple.” They are united together because their focus is not on themselves but solely and completely on God. They are in the very midst of God and they live and dwell with God. They are no longer worried about money, or power, or homeland security, or preemptive strikes, but their goal, their life; their focus is on worshipping the one true God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

God shelters them. There is no hunger; all mouths are fed by the true Bread of Heaven. There is no thirst; all drink freely from the River of Life, the Living Water. There is no sadness; all live in the very presence of pure joy. There is no anger or violence; all live in the presence of true love. There is no death; because it has been defeated by Christ on the third day. There is no stress, no pain, nothing but the joy and the love of God. All are united under the presence of God.

This is a beautiful vision isn’t it? This is the vision that gives us hope when this broken world creeps up and brings us pain. We hold to this vision in the hospital waiting rooms and in the funeral home chapels. There is a problem with having such a beautiful vision. The problem is that when we become so enraptured on the vision that we forget that there is work for us to do in this world. That we have a role to play in this world as blood bought children of God. We have a responsibility to this world. Some say that God will miraculously renew and redeem this world; he will wipe the slate clean so to speak. What if, however, what if we as God’s children, as the Body of Christ have a role to play in the redemption of the world? And if this is the case then the question that we must ask ourselves this morning is what can we do to make the vision of John, this beautiful vision we see in this Scripture, a reality? What part can we play in making the vision a reality?

This seems like an almost impossible dream and it is impossible without God, but with God all things are possible. All people working and living together, how does this happen? The answer is in the Scripture, the answer is in the focus of the people, and their focus was on God not on themselves. The Great Multitude realizes the wonderful, pure truth of the Bible, of the universe, that it’s not about you or me, but its all about God. That is where our focus should be, not on our selfish desires but on God. It is God who gave us life and sustains our life and it is God who should be our focus. The key to making this vision a reality is moving away from ourselves and moving toward God. We must let go of ourselves and trust more in God. When we do this our selfishness diminishes, the barriers, the divisions we place between ourselves and our neighbors melt away. When we focus on God we move toward making the vision a reality.

John Wesley talked about this. He called it sanctification or moving toward Christian perfection. Wesley called Christian perfection the perfect love of God and neighbor. In other words it is loving God and neighbor above and beyond ourselves. Jesus taught to deny ourselves and take up the cross and follow him. Jesus taught that we should be the light of the world, a beckon of love and hope in a broken world. Jesus taught to seek FIRST the kingdom of God and all good things will be added to us. Because when we put God first in our lives, God takes care of us, when we release the stresses and worries of life and focus on God, God adds all good things to us.

We are called to do this as Christians. We are called to let go of ourselves and move closer to God. It doesn’t happen overnight, it takes time, sometimes it takes a lifetime, but as we move closer the division melt away, our hate, our anger, and our stress melt away. God is going to make the vision of John a reality. We will be a part of this great multitude, the great heavenly choir, the great heavenly banquet. We will be set free from sadness. We will be set free from pain. We will be set free from violence. We will be set free from hate. It is a beautiful vision, and don’t we want to make this vision a reality.

Let us pray…

Grant, O Lord,

that what has been said with our lips we may believe in our hearts,

and that what we believe in our hearts we may practice in our lives;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.