Eastertide

May 10, 2019

Scripture Reading: Revelation 7:9-17

Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, ‘Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?’ I said to him, ‘Sir, you are the one that knows.’ Then he said to me, ‘These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
For this reason they are before the throne of God,
   and worship him day and night within his temple,
  and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them.
They will hunger no more, and thirst no more;
   the sun will not strike them,
   nor any scorching heat;
for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd,
   and he will guide them to springs of the water of life,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’ –Revelation 7:13-17

Made white in the blood of the lamb is, I suppose, an oxymoron. Blood is one of the hardest stains to remove. The idea that anything could be made white by laundering it in blood is not feasible.  Sun-bleached bones were most likely once drenched in blood. Yet time, heat, and wind can make them very white. Of course, death had to have occurred for that to happen. Crucifixion was a horrid way of death and marked the onset of resurrection for all.

Jesus taught through word and deed that living love was the only way to salvation. Living love in a world filled with hate and selfishness would be impossible without the power of the greatest love enabling and sustaining us. Jesus gifted that to us through the Holy Spirit. He never said living love would be easy. He did say we would never have to do it alone.

‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matthew 11:28-30)

The point at which all God’s children live love to the fullest will be the full realization of the Kingdom of God.

Prayer: Let your love so impower us that we move the whole world a little closer to the fulfillment of your Kingdom. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.