Collect
Almighty God, in Christ you make all things new: transform the poverty of our nature by the riches of your grace, and in the renewal of our lives make known your heavenly glory; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
or
Eternal Lord, our beginning and our end: bring us with the whole creation to your glory, hidden through past ages and made known in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Post Communion
God of glory, you nourish us with your Word who is the bread of life: fill us with your Holy Spirit that through us the light of your glory may shine in all the world. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Readings
Epistle – Revelations 5:1-10
Then I saw in the right hand of the one seated on the throne a scroll written on the inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals; and I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?’ And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it. And I began to weep bitterly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. Then one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep. See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.’
Then I saw between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders a Lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. He went and took the scroll from the right hand of the one who was seated on the throne. When he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. They sing a new song:
‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slaughtered and by your blood you ransomed for God saints from every tribe and language and people and nation; you have made them to be a kingdom and priests serving our God, and they will reign on earth.’
Gospel – John 1: 43–51
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.’ Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’ When Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him, he said of him, ‘Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’ Nathanael asked him, ‘Where did you come to know me?’ Jesus answered, ‘I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.’ Nathanael replied, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ Jesus answered, ‘Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.’ And he said to him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’
Sermon on Epiphany 2
‘A mighty angel proclaimed in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?”’ We have just heard this question, haven’t we. If that were all we heard of our lesson, what would we answer?
We might be like the narrator, “I began to weep bitterly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.” That scroll had writing on the outside and inside, but it was sealed with seven seals. Who would be able to break those seals in order to reveal the contents of the scroll?
An elder spoke, cutting through John’s despair, saying that he should not weep. “See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” We all ask – Who is this Lion? What will he be like? In the proceeding chapters of the book of Revelations, we have already read about figures which terrify with their feet of clay and arms of bronze, one had a head of a man with long flowing hair and beard with a sword emerging from his mouth, … then there are the four creatures standing around the throne, but also standing in the presence of the throne are the elders and the saints. If they are not worthy, who is? We must ask ourselves – Why is the question asked?
The first four chapters tell us of John’s vision, the vision which he is to record for the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church’s benefit. They tell of the danger and terror about to be unleashed in the world, but especially on the church, as the letters to the seven churches make clear. Amidst all this chaotic vision, wouldn’t we weep? – because no one is worthy to look upon this scroll, held in the right hand of the one who sits on the throne in the middle of all these heavenly witnesses to the power of this throne before which John falls down in terror and awe? The implication is that this scroll contains the answer to all our fears. Who is to open this scroll?
Who is this promised worthy one? Who is this Root of David who has conquered? What is his countenance? Will he be so fierce no one can stand in his presence? That is what we expect, isn’t it? In our everyday understanding, don’t we have hopes of a warrior of terrifying mein? A champion worthy, because of his triumphs, to open the seven seals of the scroll and to reveal all to us?
These are the thoughts of everyone who expects the coming of the final kingdom, that the one who is to come will be mighty and powerful, so strong that none can stand against that agent of the final change. These are the thoughts of so many throughout history. We need only look at the hopes and fears of all the generations after Moses, and from Isaiah and all the other prophets – the coming King of Israel will subject all to fealty to his God. We all know how disappointed so many generations were in those expectations.
Even christians have harboured such grand hopes. Many preachers and modern prophets have had their hopes dashed too. But then there are those who turned to John’s apocalyptic visions and read the chapter we began this morning. We read of the revelation of the Lamb of God, the one who is worthy of opening the scroll – the one who would be able to break the great seals and open up the secrets of God for all.
‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals,
for you were slaughtered and by your blood you ransomed for God
saints from every tribe and language and people and nation;
you have made them to be a kingdom and priests serving our God,
and they will reign on earth.’
But what does this worthy one look like? Is his visage strong and commanding? Everyone who now stands in that kingdom as priests serving God, even they were not worthy to open the scroll. Who do we see now approaching the seven seals?
A Lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
What a bewildering image to have of one who is worthy to open that scroll! – A slaughtered lamb, dismembered, with seven horns and seven eyes – who would accept this monstrosity as the one worthy to open the scroll and to read its contents to the world? But we proclaim Jesus dead on a cross and buried, to be our saviour, don’t we?
Our faith is full of paradox and mystery – and even confusion. The book of Revelations has always been one such instance. Can you say, hand on heart, that you understand this book? I cannot – I rely on commentaries to comprehend the ins and outs of this book of the bible. However, I think it encourages our imagination to soar freely, to incorporate dreams into everyday reality. Thus we can see wars and rumours of wars around us as part of that divine plan for the whole of creation.
However, it has also allowed the demons of our imagination to gain a hand-hold in our lives as well. When the excess of fear grasps at our throats and our propensity for violence against our enemies holds our hearts so tightly, I see that the dark side of apocalyptic visions may have taken hold of our lives.
Umberto Eco’s novel, The Name of the Rose, shows us that it is possible to be overwhelmed, as the librarian is, by the visions of evil in the world and become obsessed with rooting out all that we consider dangerous. The librarian found that laughter was so dangerous that all the books which expounded comedy and explained the power of laughter to turn everything into something to be embraced for its absurdity, they had to be hidden away. The librarian was convinced that even Aristotle’s book on comedy had to be kept within the seals of his secret library. Eco’s novel shows us just how easy it is to succumb to temptation. We can see it in our own lives, can’t we? Haven’t we acted without moderation from time to time? Haven’t we let fear rule our actions now and again? I am sure you can think of times when this has happened in your lives. I can think of many in mine – a fear that keeps me from acting boldly to do what is right, a fear which prevents me producing the good for all those around me, which in my enlightened moments I know would be right.
Who is worthy to reveal all these secrets in our hearts? – The Lamb of God, we answer. Perhaps, I am like that slaughtered lamb after all, I am a broken human being – perhaps I like the lamb can break the seals of ignorance and misunderstanding, perhaps I can read the scroll and comprehend and teach its reality. Perhaps, you are like that slaughtered lamb – perhaps you can, like the lamb, break the seals of ignorance and misunderstanding, perhaps you can read the scroll and comprehend and teach its reality. — Sadly, we will have to continue reading this prolix and confusing book to find out just what message those seals were keeping safe. I encourage you to continue reading John’s Revelations, but moderate your imagination by obeying the Lord’s only command, that we love one another so we won’t succumb to the many excesses found in history. I think these visions reveal the truth and we must see them through love for the sake of universal salvation.
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