Throwing Crowns

Revelation 4:1-11

“Throwing Crowns”

30 July 2017 St. Andrew’s Military Chapel

With all of the baggage surrounding Revelation, it has to be a crazy pastor that decides to embark on a four-week journey into this book. That, or one that wants to break through a few stereotypes and look at this type of Scripture in a different light. Many people have heard more about this book than have read and studied this book.

Many of us here have read the Left Behind Series that came out in the 1990’s. These novels, which are wholly fiction by the way, tapped into a reading where Revelation is seen as a book that predicts the future, specifically the end of the world. A book that connects with the prophecies of Nostradamus. A place to go where we can predict events in the world and develop a timeline of how the world will end, the holy and righteous will be saved from a time of tribulation. But the saved are only those who subscribe to the correct theology, which always happens to be the theology of the individual providing the interpretation of the visions John describes in Revelation.

When read this way, Revelation sounds like a book based on destruction and exclusion. And for the life of me, I cannot come to an interpretation of any book of the Bible that is focused on destruction and exclusion. God’s Word is full of hope and inclusion, so why would everything suddenly change on a dime? Why would God, who has been seen throughout Scripture constantly and lovingly calling people to him suddenly become one of pushing people away?

Revelation falls into the genre of literature called apocalyptic. When we hear the term apocalyptic our mind may flash to scenes of The Hunger Games or The Maze Runner where there has been a horrific war and those unfortunate enough to survive are left to fend for themselves and endure the daily struggle to survive. Or, we imagine a world such as we see in The Walking Dead where the zombies have taken over, society has crumbled, and people begin to lose their humanity in the effort to survive.

Apocalyptic writing was a common genre back in the first century, and this letter was written near the end of the first century. Apocalyptic literature, as a type of writing, “designates the mysteries of the transcendent world, either cosmic information about how the universe works or information about the future destiny of the world.”[1] In that time, it would have read more like science fiction where there is symbolic language, reality is presented in dualistic terms where one doesn’t want to succumb to the dark side of the force, and an expectation where good, in this case the Kingdom of God, will ultimately triumph.

When we understand the apocalyptic genre, we begin to see Revelation as less predicting the destruction of the world and more as a letter from a pastor to his church to encourage and uplift them with hope.

John was living on the island of Patmos (show photo) which is a Greek island of about 13 square miles, or 34 square kilometers located 150 nautical miles from Athens. It currently has around 3,000 residents and because of Revelation is a pilgrimage site for many Christians. (show photo)

While in a cave on Patmos, John had a vision from Christ which he recorded and relates to the churches in Asia through this letter because he was unable to travel, the reason for which is unclear in the letter.  Christ has come to John and he feels compelled to let his brothers and sisters in Christ know what he has seen to they too can draw hope and inspiration in their present situation.

At the beginning, Christ addresses the seven churches in Asia those in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Each church is given encouragement as well as some areas of improvement to better spread the Gospel in their particular context. After receiving information for each of these churches John’s vision takes him to heaven.

What he sees in heaven isn’t destruction, rather a scene of praise to God from all of creation. Just as last week we discussed how everything that has breath is to praise God. Here we see it happening.

There are some really interesting things happening here in this scene. First, it is noteworthy that the 24 elders surrounding the throne aren’t the ones leading worship. The living creatures begin to praise God and the elders follow. The four living creatures represent all types of living creatures on earth. There is a wild animal, the lion, a domesticated animal, the ox, a flying animal, the eagle, and a human being. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

 At first this may not look like worship and praise. Back in the days of the Roman Empire, people would come to the emperor and throw down their crowns before him to show allegiance to the empire all while singing hymns and saying other liturgies of praise to the emperor and Rome. By using this imagery, John is being subversive and making a bold claim. God is the one to whom we owe allegiance and fealty.

Just as Christ came to earth and questioned the authority of earthly leaders, religious and civic here to we see John passing down a heavenly vision of Jesus’ actions on a cosmic scale. While leaders on earth have their place and purpose, the ultimate ruler has ultimate authority and is the only one deserving of worship and praise.

We throw our crowns down at the foot of God’s throne. Everything that has breath swears allegiance and praises God. Creation is close to God with the elders surrounding creation and following creation’s lead in worship of God. Everything that the Roman Empire stands for is called into question in this cosmic drama, just as Christ questioned the power of Rome through his words and actions.

This isn’t anarchy, it is allegiance to the true leader, the one true God of creation to whom we should praise with every breath we take. No other entity deserves our praise. Respect, yes. Praise and worship, no.

When you are under the boot of a repressive government, a message such as this is Gospel, good news. A vision of equality and allegiance to something greater than us all is a message of hope and inclusion. John is communicating hope not just to Christ’s followers, but to everyone. There may be bad times afoot, but in the end the Righteous One wins and is the one to whom we will all offer praise and thanks. Our purpose isn’t to serve mankind, but rather we have a higher purpose dedicated to the transcendent other. The one being that can rise above the muck and despair of humanity because God is the embodiment of goodness, mercy, love, and grace.

As Christians, we are called to learn this message and live into this life of grace and mercy. Not just that but to share the blessing of grace and mercy through our words and actions, conscious of the impact of what we say and do will have on those around us. We are called to throw down our crowns and give allegiance not to America, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, or the Queen, rather to the loving God of whom we learn through the Bible. Inviting others into a story of hope and inclusion so they too can receive and live lives of hope and grace.

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[1] New Interpreter’s Study Bible, 2212.

 You can listen to sermons from St. Andrew's Military Chapel here.

Breath of Praise

Psalm 150

“Breath of Praise”

23 July 2017 St. Andrew’s Military Chapel

Who even knows what a lute is? The Psalmist describes a wide range of instruments and ways to praise the Lord. Not just the lute, but the ram’s horn or shofar, the harp, tambourine, dancing, stringed instruments, the flute, pleasing cymbals as well as shouting cymbals.

There are a wide variety of gifts present here today just as there are a wide variety of instruments in the Psalm that are used to praise the Lord. When we look at the instruments listed by the Psalmist individually, there may be one or two in there that we don’t particularly care for, but together they can make beautiful music. So too, while the different gifts we bring to the world through God’s gift may not find their full potential alone, together as the Body of Christ, our gifts provide a symphony of service and love that makes the world take notice.

All of these different types of instruments provide a different form of praise to God. Each one pleasing to God, especially when given in the knowledge that life is a gift and praise and thanks is the natural response to such a priceless gift.

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. What a beautiful way to end the Psalms.

We began Psalm 1 with “Blessed are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked.” Here we end this book of emotional prayers with a Psalm of praise to God from every breathing thing. “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!”

And we should praise the Lord for the gift that is given us through life.

Breath is a powerful word in the Hebrew scripture and tradition. There are two words that deal with breath in their sound or meaning that I hope will open up the meaning of this Psalm.

It is noteworthy that the Psalmist ends this Psalm with a shortened version of the tetragrammaton, or the four letter way of naming God in Hebrew. It’s from the tetragrammaton that we derive the word Jehovah. When you attempt to speak those four letters together, you don’t get a word that is pronounceable. And in many traditions that name is so holy it is not to be pronounced.

If you do try to pronounce the tetragrammaton it sounds like a breath. In this manner, when we breathe we are speaking the name of God. We are literally proclaiming God with each breath we take. So that makes a few other things in our lives interesting. The first thing a baby does when it is born is take a breath, or can we say that life begins when we first utter the name of God. Similarly, death occurs when we take our last breath, or perhaps when we are no longer able to say the name of God.

Life is God breathed and we should treat not only our lives but those of the others we meet along the way as holy and worthy of respect and praise. Each of us has been given life through the breath of God and through our breathing every living thing is pronouncing the name of God continuously. Because of this we are all holy and we should treat every encounter with a living creature as an encounter with the divine. Just imagine the world if everyone treated every moment with another as an encounter with the divine.

Next is the phrase we find in verse 6, Kol Neshema which translates as everything that has breath. It comes from a root word Neshema that can translate as the blowing of God’s breath. This means that everything into which God as blown breath is to praise the Lord. Just think about that for a minute. Every living thing is called to praise the Lord. Everything.

Each of us here today has received the breath of God or we wouldn’t be alive and here this morning. A gift received for which we did nothing. We didn’t ask for it, we didn’t realize it was a gift at first. As we grow in faith and the knowledge of our surroundings and the world around us, we are able to understand the fragility of life and appreciate life as a gift. So the Psalmist is calling us to live our lives as a praise of thanks for the gift we have received.

Calling on everything that has breath to praise the Lord is the Psalmist recognizing the responsibility for each of us to praise the Lord. Let’s just look a moment at other living things in nature praise the Lord, or at least how those of the Christian faith can interpret actions of other living creatures in light of our faith.

Think of the song birds we hear every morning. Their beautiful song is a pleasing and beautiful song that lets the world know that another day has begun. Granted, on those rare mornings I have the opportunity to sleep in past sunrise, my opinion of that music transforms into one of annoyance and questioning why those beautiful creatures of God have to sit outside my window.

We have the opportunity to live in a city in the middle of a garden and can see how flowers and the beauty they provide throughout Singapore are praising their gift of living. The beautiful flowers we see as we walk through the neighborhood or ride around the different areas of Singapore also inspire thanks and praise from us for being able to live among such natural beauty.

So too are we to live lives of such praise that others take notice of the song and physical beauty of our actions. We should all strive for lives that recognize our lives are God breathed gifts. Lives that understand every breath we take is a gift from God where that breath is us continuing to breathe in God’s gift as well as speaking a word of praise to the one whom allowed that breath.

Not only are we called to recognize that each breath we take is breathed into us by God, we are also called to recognize that regardless of another’s beliefs they too are given the same gift of God’s breath and we should treat everyone and everything we encounter as coming face to face with the divine. For if God’s breath is in each of us, each of us is worthy of the same level of respect.

Let us go forth not just thankful of the breath of God that was provided each of us, but also for the breath of God that is present in all of those around us. It will change the way we approach everything, especially how we interact with other people in our day to day lives.

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!

 You can listen to sermons from St. Andrew's Military Chapel here.

Thankful Living

Psalm 30

“Thankful Living”

02 July 2017 St. Andrew’s Military Chapel

            I have to admit, passages such as this one make me uncomfortable. It’s because they can be dangerous to read alone. One of the more difficult aspects of being a chaplain is sitting with someone in a difficult time, in what can seem a hopeless situation, where their only question is why didn’t God come through and fix my problem? And then they will quote a passage such as this and assume that healing and recovery from a dark time is a preordained right of those who have faith.

            So, it is with a bit of caution and trepidation that I expound my thoughts on this passage. Especially with my father undergoing a tough battle with cancer. One that I pray for easing of the pain and eventual remission, but with no guarantee that he will enjoy the circumstances of the Psalmist to pen something such as this prayer of thanksgiving for recovery.

            Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that miracles don’t happen or that there is no need for faith to get us through the tough times in our life. I’ve seen miracles as well as know that faith and the positive thinking that it fosters is a powerful tool in getting people through all sorts of suffering, to include providing a documented healing benefit in some instances.

We just can’t overplay our hand and translate one positive outcome as a generality. For we all can name situations for us and loved ones in which the individual suffering a grave illness wasn’t able to pen a prayer of thanksgiving following a full recovery.

Before we apply this one Psalm as the rule for every time we encounter a life or death situation, we need to explore the context and the circumstances so we aren’t making claims or promises that will do spiritual damage to those whom we deeply love.

Through God, all things are possible. That’s a claim made by both God (through multiple prophets) and Christ on multiple occasions. Faith is powerful, faith is important, faith is much needed. Faith can do many things, but it can’t do everything. Faith is not God. Faith is trusting in God and God’s plan for humanity. Trusting that God has the ultimate claim on our lives.

That is an important thing to understand when reading this Psalm. Here we see someone who is giving thanks for what God has done and how that has changed the writer’s outlook on life and God’s role in the world. The Psalmist knows that a gift was received and wants the world to know how grateful they are for that gift as well as to let the world know who they believe provided such a powerful and beautiful gift.

Here is where we can learn a great deal from this passage; everything is a gift. Life is precious and fragile and each day we wake up truly is a gift, one for which we should be grateful. One which we should not take lightly or fail to notice. Because of that we should live our lives from a posture of thankfulness not of false expectation.

The Dali Lama once described this idea as we must treat every day as a gift and everything we have as a gift because there are so many others who have nothing. Thinking in this way will limit our thinking of gift as expectation and reframe our thinking into what this Psalm is getting at.

Perhaps we’ve lost the meaning of the word gift through consumption capitalism. We begin to think that gift is tangible and material. It can be, but gift is so much more than getting a piece of material for which you didn’t exchange anything of value yourself.

The danger in not accepting life and everything in life as a gift is that we begin to think there is never enough. If we get the nice car, we begin to want the newer model, the nicer accessories, always bigger, newer, and better. This isn’t to say don’t occasionally treat ourselves, rather to understand that it is a blessing to be able to obtain things on a whim. When we lose sight of that, we begin to lose sight of the fleeting nature of life and how much of a gift we receive each new day.

Theologian Karl Barth once discussed that there was only one sin: ingratitude. Everything else we consider a sin in modern day language can trace itself back to a lack of gratitude for life and what we have been given. Specifically, when we fail to recognize that every part of creation is first and foremost a gift.

This may lead some to ask the question, why does God need to receive our thanks? And that is a great question. It’s less that God needs us to give thanks for what we have been given and more that we need to give thanks. In giving thanks we develop and deepen our relationship with the one giving the gift. Thanksgiving and praise are vital in every relationship. Those two actions are sun and water to the seed of relationship deep in all of our hearts.

If you never show appreciation to those around you for their help, their work, their kind words, their support, their listening ear, or any other means by which others support you and help you thrive, you will live a very lonely life because those relationships will wither on the vine. We have to continuously and purposefully tend and care for our relationships. Simply saying thank you, and other ways of showing appreciation and thanksgiving are necessary.

And I would venture a guess that all of us here need to improve in this area. I know I need to. I used to think I was a very thankful person. Then I started dating this amazing woman who lives a life full of thankfulness. Lisa never misses an opportunity to explicitly let others know that she is thankful for them and their influence in her life. That spirit of thankfulness is one of the many reasons I married her. I know I have a lot of work to do in that area to even come close to live a life of such thankfulness. But, because of her I am getting better at that, ever so slowly.

Neither the Psalmist nor I are saying that we’re always going to be overflowing with thankfulness, especially during the trying times. However, we do need to reflect and look for ways we can give thanks each and every day so that we strengthen our relationships with our spouse, our families, our friends, our neighbors, and even with God. Perhaps we write down or say aloud that for which we are thankful each day. We could write a thank you note each week to someone who impacted our life in a positive manner. We can reach out and call a friend and actually tell them how much they mean to us.

When we work to cultivate relationships built on thankfulness for what we have we focus on what really matters: relationships. Being grateful for those relationships strengthens them and those relationships will get us through the tough times, just as the Psalmist describes. And those strong relationships will understand when we are going to times of low thankfulness and will work hard to nourish us and get us to a place where we can take a breath, reflect, and restore ourselves.

So let us go from here seeking and building relationships cultivated in a spirit of thankfulness each and every day.

 You can listen to sermons from St. Andrew's Military Chapel here.