Sermon by the rev'd. John Bauerschmidt

The Fourth Sunday of Easter

The Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year C
May 6, 2001
Christ Church, Covington

"…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." (Rev. 7:15-17)

Our reading from the Revelation to John gives us a rare glimpse of the end of the story: the end of the Christian story, that is, which we celebrate at Easter. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, the heart of the Easter feast, has implications for us, in giving us the hope of new life in him. The author of Revelation depicts the Church Triumphant, the "great ordeal" (Rev. 7:14) of persecution overcome and the Church gathered in praise around the throne of God. We are seeing, in the vivid imagery of the vision, the end of the story, with the martyrs dressed in baptismal white and carrying the palms of victory. The saints have been perfected by what they have undergone, and they receive the gift of salvation which belongs to God.

All of this comes to them through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. They are victorious because he is victorious, victorious over sin and death as the stone is rolled away and the possibility of resurrection life becomes a part of the human equation. Jesus has passed through his own ordeal, and he shares his triumph with his brothers and sisters. He is "the Lamb at the center of the throne" who is being praised by the saints. What we see in our reading from Revelation is a depiction of Jesus’ triumph, worked out in the lives of ordinary men and women at the final end of the story.

But this image from Revelation not only gives us a glimpse of the end of the story; it also gives us some idea of the way we will travel to get there. The vision given to John does this by borrowing from the story of Israel’s exodus from Egypt. After the great triumph over the Egyptian army, the People of God wandered for many years in the Wilderness; here they came to know God as the Shepherd who guided them in their journey. "You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron" (Ps. 78:20), the psalmist recalls, and the one who led them was their God. It is God who feeds them and protects them, who leads them to springs and brings forth water from the rocks to quench their thirst. It is God who casts his tabernacle or covering over them to keep them safe; who feeds them with manna and provides them with what they need.

In all this, God is their Shepherd; and so it is that the Lamb who is Christ in the vision from Revelation is also called "their shepherd". The vision is saying to us, in images drawn from this experience of journey through the wilderness to the Promised Land, that Jesus Christ is our Shepherd, the one who will feed and protect us and keep us safe. It is Jesus Christ, the Shepherd who is also the Lamb of God, who will lead us to the springs of the water of life, and who will wipe away every tear from our eyes.

We, like God’s ancient People, are on a journey; a journey in which we are able to rely on Jesus our Shepherd. Revelation gives us a vision of the end of the story, the arrival at the destination; but it also gives us concrete hope for God’s guidance along the way.

Today, in our annual meeting, we as a community reach a station on the path that we travel. It is appropriate to give thanks to God for his mercies; to rejoice in the guidance and protection of our strong Shepherd Christ. It is also an occasion to seek the help and continued presence of our Shepherd as we move forward into the future. We are confident of Jesus’ triumph in us, the glorious end of the story, and rely upon it as we go forward.

The Rev’d John Bauerschmidt is Rector of Christ Church, Covington.

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