These passages in revelation speak about wiping away every tear but they are about far more than comforting funeral words. They challenge us and provide a way to clarify our vision for the year and guide our feet on to the path up the mountain.

To the Seven Churches, to the Leaders of Israel: do better 

The book of Revelation is a letter to seven churches. The first section speaks to each church and celebrates what they have done well and points out where they need to do work. Isaiah is a series of prophecies to political and religious leaders of Israel calling out where they are falling short and warning them. And then they each point to a vision for the future.

The Path up the Mountain

The catch about achieving visions is you have to begin where you are. This is where our Psalmist chimes in 

  3 Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD?
    And who shall stand in his holy place? 

Both lines are pointing to the same place, the temple on top of the mountain in Jerusalem. If you want to read those Who shalls as just about permission, both Isaiah and Revelation deeply condemn those who raise wealth, success, and their self-interest above Justice and Mercy. But, while all those things are problems, the Psalmist is saying far more. 

The Path is being Transformed

An article of faith is that God changes people, transforms their lives and makes them new again. The New Jerusalem does not have gates. One you climb the hill, there is nothing blocking the way. The divine has not place guards and doors to prevent people from walking up the hill and entering the temple. Who shall ascend… and stand is not about what Gd excludes but about who accepts. If Jesus is offering to walk up the hill with us, who will choose to climb the hill, enter sacred space, to move deeper into holiness and towards perfection. And who will keep choosing that journey. 

Receiving a New Heart and The Fruits of the Spirit

Psalm 24 doesn’t explains what those choices are. It doesn’t provide a road map to holiness. Instead it says these are the signs, the evidence of Gd’s action in our lives. Clean hands and pure hearts. Clean hands are what happens when you no longer have blood on your hands. Pure hearts… god promises to give people a new heart. In St Paul’s words, there are fruits of the spirit. If our faith is like that journey up the hill, the Psalm is talking about the by-products of the journey. 

Continuing the Race

I’ve talked for the last three weeks about the race, the great marathon relay race that we have been running together and what it takes to begin the next leg of the race, the next part of the journey up the mountain. What does it look like to continue to come together as a community, run with Jesus, to be shaped by the claim that puts on or lives, to reimagine and right our relationships with god, each other and creation. 

From Standing up a school to Discipling a new Generation

You have stood up a school. What does it look like to move from standing something up to coming alongside it in a commitment to discipleship. Discipleship not as classes and books but as walking with the staff and teachers, being a light in the midst of those child, and being the presence of Gd gently shaping those lives to one day join a community on their journey? What does it look like to disciple this next Generation?

From a building to being a Home… that does not end at the doors

What does it look like to be a home for all… not just inside these walls but as we live our lives together in the wider community? When Psalm 24 speaks of receiving blessings, it has nothing to do with trinkets for the mantle piece or a better care in the driveway. Jesus turned to the poor and said Blessed are you, because the kingdom of God is yours. The whole series of blessed be’s are challenges to us to do be with people. Home is not just inside these walls but who we are together and how we come alongside others in both their needs and their dreams. In their challenges and in their blessedness. In being space for God’s grace to overflow, we are the reality of god’s kingdom in this world. 

Wiping Away Every Tear

It’s easy to reduce the passages from Revelation and Isaiah to the funeral lines about wiping away every tear. What happens if we look not to console us but to challenge and warn us. Things, here and now, are unwell. In a few days, one way or the other, voting will turn on that diagnosis. Voting is important. If you have no done so, please go do that Tuesday. But these passages are not about national elections because the Fulfillment of God’s purposes is centered on a city, one city. For Revelation it’s the New Jerusalem. For us, it is Stevensville and the Valley. It’s about being a community that reflects God’s paradise and shares Gd’s character. 

Don’t just welcome the Russians & Ukranians but the family down the street to the banquet 

Isaiah speaks of a great banquet… Revelation speaks of the church dressed like a bride… and they knew that meant a great meal was coming. Even if the Lord of the Feast has to send his people out into the streets to invite people. Yes the Lord of the Feast wants people fed. But a feast is not about the food it is about community, deepening relationships and celebration. It’s a meal of Gd’s peace where the nations eat together in harmony. If New Jerusalem and Isaiah are painting a picture of Russians coming together with Ukranians and Israelies with Palestinians, we can come together with the people down the street and be their welcome then work together to be a place of welcoming. 

A Refuge in the Storm

It’s a vision of a home where the Spirit of god dwells, a refuge, a shelter in the storm and shade from the heat… and the cold. And those words about every tear being wiped away? That’s not just for the end of time. Wiping away every tear is about what we do when people loose someone important to them. It’s about knowing that death is not just the end of a human life but that death is everything that destroys life. It’s about being a place that knows that and is learning to wipe away the tear at funerals … but away all the tears.

Stewardship and your Wallet

Besides running, I’ve been talking about repentence, about turning towards god, about chaing where we are facing. We have been facing towards SELC. We have been facing towards the line we have now crossed. It’s time to turn and begin the work to succeed at the next part of the journey.

That looks like many things. Who is going to rest from leading? And who is going to join in leading? Who is going to join in the work? Who has the gifts that we need. All that is what stewardship looks like. Stewardship speaks to all of our lives and what we do with the ways have been blessed and are continuing to be blessed. It is about making the commitment to run the next leg, to tithe and give over the  next year. If we are going to live into the vision we are beginning to see, what is your role in helping to fund that journey?  When you fill out your pledge card, what can you commit to our journey up the mountain?

Conclusion

John and Isaiah had visions of where Gd was leading their communities. What does it look like to reach the top of the Mountain? 

What does it look like to not just stand up a school but to be part of that school and disciple the next generation?

What does it take to become a home, a refuge, a shelter in the storm and shade from the heat… and the cold? A place that welcomes not just the countries at war but the strangers down the way. A place that knows how to wipe away every tear. A place that asks why did those tears have to fall in the first place? A place that does not let death have the final word. A place that overflows with life and that creates space for Gd’s grace to pour out. 

What does it take to disciple the next generation and to be a home welcoming all … and be that both inside these walls and outside?

It begins with stepping back on to the path, to focusing on the top of the mountain and committing to the journey. It begins with stewardship. It begins with using the pledge cards to commit for the next year to fund our journey. 

Benediction

    The Lord bless you
            and keep you;
    the Lord make his face shine on you
            and be gracious to you;
    the Lord turn his face toward you   
            and give you peace

    Come together and do likewise

    Bless others
    Make your faces to shine upon them
    Turn you face toward them
    And give them peace