Eastertide

May 5, 2022

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

Even as a child I wondered about these words, they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. How could that be? A few months ago, after my church had returned to onsite services, I sat the prescribed three feet from a friend in the worship service. She wore white slacks and a white blouse topped off with a pretty necklace. We had not returned to serving communion but used the little prepackaged thimble-like cups containing grape juice with a foil seal and a little wafer tucked on top with a plastic cover. As my friend tried to get into the grape juice the foil was very stubborn, and she finally gave a stronger tug on it and spilled grape juice all over her white slacks. She quickly grabbed a tissue and wiped it up leaving not a trace of purple. She truly had been washed in the blood and came out whiter than snow. We look at each other in total surprise.

The English word used to describe such an event is paradox, a statement or sentiment that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense and yet perhaps true in fact*. Ecclesiastes 11:1 shares another such paradox: Send out your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will get it back. Jesus gave generously of his life in love and hope that we would be made whole from his sacrifice. Everybody knows that if you throw a piece of bread in the water it will either be eaten quickly by a bird or sink and disintegrate. Generosity is void of what is in it for me; yet filled with faith generosity breeds greater and greater love and hope.  That was Jesus’s purpose in his incarnation, and we inherited that same mission to give of ourselves generously.

Prayer: Thank you Lord for cleansing our souls, and making us whole in your service. Amen.

*https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/Paradox

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.