Revelation 7:9-17 (NRSV)
Read Revelation 7:9-17 on biblegateway.com
Verse 9After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. Verse 10They cried out in a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!" Verse 11And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, Verse 12singing, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen."
Verse 13Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?" Verse 14I 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. Verse 15For 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. Verse 16They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; Verse 17for 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."
Devotion
I don't think I ever really "got" what "apocalyptic" meant until I was privileged to hear Rev. Harvey Clemons, Jr., the minister at Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in Houston’s fifth ward. Between the music of the black church and the poetic preaching of Harvey, my senses were awakened. From Harvey I’ve learned that apocalyptic is more about feeling than thinking, more about being touched than being informed.
On a Thursday in March of 1990, we received word that my father, David Quill (Luther Seminary, '43), had suffered a massive heart attack and died almost instantly. It was spring break and we couldn't get a flight to Phoenix until Sunday morning. The whole day was a blur as we rounded up our children and told them the sad news of dad's death. Then members of the congregation I served began to arrive to express their sympathies well into the evening. When we finally got to bed I was exhausted and quickly fell asleep. About 3 a.m., I awoke to a horrible sense of grief and loss and the tears began to flow. My wife, Eileen, awoke as well and she leaned over and kissed my tears and wiped them away. So it is that when I hear the words of this reading, I do not think about them in abstract theological categories; they are moving, life-changing words that touch my memory, my heart and my soul in a very deep way. They are apocalyptic.
Prayer
Loving Lord, you reach out to touch us and you wipe away our tears. For this we give you thanks. Amen.