Face to Face

First Lesson: Acts 9: 36-43
Responsive Reading: Psalm 23
Second Lesson: Revelation 7: 9-17
​Gospel Lesson: John 10: 22-30

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Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,

Let me begin with a spin on a story told by Vince Gerhardy[1].  Ole and Lena die in a car crash after having been married sixty-five years.  Ole and Lena before this had been in excellent health because Lena was a health freak when it came to both Ole and her diets.  The thing worth noting about Ole in the story is that Ole was tight with money even for a Swede.  Ole’s first question was always “How much is that gonna cost?”  So Ole and Lena reach the pearly gates.  Saint Peter takes them to their mansion which had everything their hearts desire: a beautiful kitchen, a sauna, a hot tub, and gold-tiled floors.  Ole not being able to leave his tightness behind asks Saint Peter “How much is this going to cost?”  Saint Peter looks at Ole with a puzzled look then says “It’s free, this is heaven.”

Next, Saint Peter takes Ole and Lena to see the championship golf course in the backyard[2].  This course had the best features of Saint Andrews, Pebble Beach, and Augusta National all rolled up in eighteen holes.  Saint Peter tells Ole and Lena that they will be able to play this course anytime they want.  Ole wants to know what the green fees are?”  Peter replies “This is heaven.  You play for free.”

Next, Ole and Lena go to the clubhouse where they see a lavish buffet[3].  This buffet had everything: Prime Rib, Turkey, Swedish Meatballs, rich desserts, and every kind of fatty and rich food imaginable.

Ole again asks “How much does this cost?”

To which Peter getting annoyed says “Don’t you understand Ole? You’re in heaven; it is free.”  Ole then asks Peter “Where are the low fat and low cholesterol tables?  Peter says “That’s the best part about heaven.  You can eat whatever you want and never gain a pound or get sick.”

Ole at this points get’s mad, Ole takes off his hat and throws it on the ground, and stomps on it.  Peter is confused by Ole’s outburst.  Peter asks Ole “What’s wrong?”  Ole then looks at Lena saying “This is all your fault.  If it wasn’t for your healthy eating.  I could have been here ten years ago[4]!”

Today, we celebrate the fourth Sunday of our Easter season.  Easter is the season where we celebrate Resurrection and its meaning.  Today we come face to face with the future of Resurrection as we hear of a vision given by John in Revelation 7.  A little bit about John’s life before our vision for today.  John wrote Revelation while in prison on the Greek Isle of Patmos.  John’s crime was being a Christian in the presence of the Roman Government.  John was writing to fellow early Christians who had also been touched by pain and sorrow.  John had been praying every night to see the signs of hope on the horizon.  What John encounters in this vision from Revelation 7 was a picture to give Christian people hope in the here and now.  Let me begin this morning by explaining why such a vision was so important. 

In 1990, James “Buster” Douglas was preparing for a boxing match against Heavyweight Champion Mike Tyson[5].  Tyson was undefeated heading into this fight.  Douglas was considered to be such an underdog against Tyson that most casinos wouldn’t even take bets on the fight thinking it to be a foregone conclusion that Mike Tyson was going to knock Buster Douglas out.  Twenty-three days before the fight Douglas’ mother dies[6].  Douglas promises to his mom before he dies “That he is going to beat Mike Tyson and become the heavyweight champion of the world.”  Douglas’ words would have seemed to be the definition of a foolish promise, but Douglas went to Tokyo for the fight against Mike Tyson believing it.  Douglas comes out and shocks the crowd by boxing unafraid.  Douglas takes control of the fight; then it happens Mike Tyson launches the big punch knocking Buster Douglas to the canvas.  No one had ever gotten up from a knockdown by Mike Tyson ever before, everyone watching the fight thought it was over, yet Buster Douglas would not be deterred because of his vision.  Douglas gets on his feet on the “9-count” right before the ref was able to stop the fight.  In the 10th Round, Douglas throws a punch that knocks Mike Tyson out.  After the fight, Douglas is asked: “How he could win against insurmountable odds?”  Douglas replies because of the vision he had given his mother.  Vision is the maybe the most powerful tool that we have in life to combat adversity.  Vision can keep people like Buster Douglas going when every instinct around them is telling them to give up.

John writes Revelation to several churches in Asia Minor because they need a vision.  The people whom John was writing to had lost everything they had lost their loved ones and their property.  John’s vision of the future is powerful.  Appearing before John in the vision are all the Jews and Christians who had gone before him from every corner of the earth.  A vision of more people than the eyes could even begin to count.  A vision of serenade with the most beautiful music brought forth by a heavenly choir[7]. 

The vision ends with a powerful word of promise.  “For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”-Revelation 7:17. 

As we ponder the meaning of John’s vision.  Let’s begin by pondering the meaning of a tear.  We shed tears as infants when we’re lying in a crib unable to feed ourselves, clean ourselves, or control our surroundings in any way.  We shed tears as children when we fall and hurt ourselves as our pride often hurts more than our body.  We shed tears as young adults when our hearts are broken for the first time as we have to come to terms with the realness of separation.  We shed tears as adults as we begin to lose loved ones as we realize that our life will not look the same from that day forward.  We shed tears in old age as the prime of life has passed us by and we see ourselves begin to die a slow death from everything we’ve ever known.  We shed tears at events that we can’t control.  Tears more than anything our expressions of powerlessness in a given moment. 

In 2007, Social Worker Brene Brown had a nervous breakdown.  Brown decides that this midlife unraveling event was going to the motivating factor to bring her back to church[8]. Brown’s hope in going back to church was simple.  Brown hoped that all personal pain be gone for her life.

One day Brown was listening to a song on the radio which forever changed her perspective on faith.  The song was Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”.  The lyrics that captivated Brown were “Love is not a victory march. It’s a cold, and it’s a broken Hallelujah.” 

Brown as she heard these words came to understand the great truth of the Christian faith that “God is Love.”  “Love is not ultimately just unicorns and rainbows.[9]”  Jesus is ultimately the son of God because of all the types of people that he poured out love upon Tax Collectors, Sinners, Outcasts, Lepers, people of every tribe and tongue, people previously thought to be unlovable.  Jesus reached out to the hurting above all else, who needed a vision of the Resurrection that is to come.  The difficulty of pouring out love into the lives of broken people is what is meant by the saying that “Love is not a victory march.  Love is a cold and broken Hallelujah.”

As we hear of John’s vision for the future today, this causes us to reflect on the meaning of love and forgiveness within our lives. 

As Brown says “The thing about forgiveness is that for it to take place something has to die.  This death could take the form of your expectations regarding how the world should work.  There needs to be blood on the floor for forgiveness to take place”[10]. 

Brown came to realize that the truly powerful thing about faith wasn’t the absence of pain[11].  Faith doesn’t remove the hurt or frustration of the now.  Faith does not eliminate the tension between the “now” and “not yet”.  Faith rather says that God embraces you in your pain and tilts your head in the direction of Resurrection. 

When we hear the powerful promise that “God will wipe away every tear from our eyes.” We understand that God looks out upon our broken world in grief.  Jesus wept at the death of his friend Lazarus.  Jesus wept upon seeing his sisters Mary and Martha in pain.  Jesus weeps at the loss of a child.  Jesus ultimately weeps at your suffering.  Jesus went forth to the cross so that one-day suffering may end and Resurrection may be brought forth.   

 “We are pressed on every side, yet not crushed; perplexed, yet not to despair; pursued, yet not forsaken; struck down, yet not destroyed; for our light affliction, which is for the moment, works for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory; while we don’t look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.  For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal[12].” (2 Cor 4:8, 9, 17,18)Death will always be in the news.  The only response that we have in the presence of death is Christ Jesus. 

I remember the funeral of the closest person to me that I’ve ever lost my great-grandpa Arvid back in 1995.  Arvid’s funeral was the first time that I ever spoke in front of the church.  I remember the scripture read during his funeral from 2 Timothy 4: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 

What these words reminded me that as I mourned Arvid’s loss at a young age is that one day Arvid would stand in victory on the day of Resurrection.  Do not give up on deliverance from the pain of this day.  Have faith that tears will be wiped from the eyes of all those who mourn forever.

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”-Psalm 23:4

What Jesus is promising today is that ultimately in the end that death will not have the last laugh.  We believe him when he said, “I am going to prepare a place for you[13].” The place that Christ prepares that John’s vision describes will look like nothing that even Ole could ever imagine.

The greatest struggle that we have as Christian people is struggling on the toughest of days with the belief that God might not come through in the end.  When I was young, Dad would often be my ride home from school or sporting events.  The thing to know about Dad is that he rarely is anywhere on time.  So I would wait around long after the other kids had often gone.  Was this frustrating? You betcha.  I knew Dad would eventually come through whether it was fifteen minutes or an hour.  I knew this because he had come through so many times before.  My Dad perhaps accidentally taught me a great patience regarding circumstances because of this.  What God is saying to John today is “I will come through for you.”  “I will wipe every tear one day from your eyes.”  It doesn’t matter if life has seen you fed to lions, stoned to death, or burned in fiery furnaces.  Where you are today is temporary.  Resurrection is coming soon!  Amen

[1] Gerhady, Vince. “A Glimpse of Heaven”. Lectionary.org. 2009. Web. Apr.12.2016.
[2] Gerhady, Vince. “A Glimpse of Heaven”.
[3] Gerhady, Vince. “A Glimpse of Heaven”.
[4] Gerhady, Vince. “A Glimpse of Heaven”.
[5] Mateusz. M. “Resilency.” You Tube. 2. Feb. 2016. Web. Apr.12.2016.
[6] “Mike Tyson vs. Buster Douglas.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Mar.2016. Web. Apr.13.2016. 
[7] Revelation 7:9-17. 
[8] Zahl, David. “Brene Brown Returns to Church (and Finds Jesus Weeping).”  26.July.2013. Web. Apr.12.2016.  via The Work of the People.com
[9] Zahl, David. “Brene Brown Returns to Church (and Finds Jesus Weeping).” 
[10] Zahl, David. “Brene Brown Returns to Church (and Finds Jesus Weeping).” 
[11] Zahl, David. “Brene Brown Returns to Church (and Finds Jesus Weeping).” 
[12] Gerhady, Vince. “A Great Crowd”. Lectionary.org. 2002. Web. Apr.12.2016. 
[13] John 14:3