5 Easter, May 19, 2019
Emmanuel Church, West
Roxbury, Massachusetts
The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling
I am not much of a media person. I prefer reading books to watching
television. When I am in my car, I rarely turn on the radio. At home, I relish
the sound of silence. And so I tend to be particular in my choices about what I
watch and to whom I listen. Occasionally, I have enjoyed the T.V. series called
The Voice when various people compete vocally to become the latest season’s
winner. I also love singing hymns.
This past week I learned about a relatively new media company called
Vox, which translated from Latin into English means “Voice.” According to their
website, “Vox's mission is to ‘explain the news.’ It strives to make sure its
readers ‘understand what just happened,’ by providing ‘contextual information
that traditional news stories aren't designed to carry.’ Vox creates ‘card
stacks’ in bright ‘canary yellow’ that provide context and define terms within
an article.” So Vox uses words and pictures to convey their message.
Now, Peter, in the Acts of the Apostles, has
a vision and hears a
Voice,
not once but three times. In his daydream on the rooftop, he sees something
like a sheet coming down from heaven, and sees four-footed animals, beasts of
prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. He hears a Voice telling him to “Get up,
kill and eat.” At first, he resists. “No,” Peter says to the Voice, “That’s not
kosher. I’ve obeyed our religious laws and have never eaten anything profane or
unclean. No, I can’t do this.”
Have you ever known anyone who has visions and hears voices? I have.
And I know that these voices can be the Voice “of God” as well as the voice “of
the devil.” Visions and voices can be
signs of mental illness, uncontrolled by medication, or they can be evidence of
a spiritual world that remains unknown and untapped to us mere mortals. Visions
and voices break into our world and our consciousness routinely, while we are
awake in our daydreams, and while we are sleeping at night. How are we to know
if they are the way, the truth, and leading to life? How are we to know if they
are from God or from the devil?
In the news some people claim that they have a vision of a new world
order. Indeed, many of our political leaders promise to create social and
economic systems that will benefit more people. Many voices tell you how you
can live longer if you only eat this and avoid that. In Mongolia two people
recently died of a plague after they ate a rodent’s raw organs, believing that
it was “very good for their health.”
We hear stories of people who follow certain religious leaders, and
have been told to get up and kill. These are terrorists who murder others
through their sacrificial “acts of love” in the name of God. Some believe they
will be rewarded in heaven for obeying this voice, and have visions of heavenly
bliss. How are we to know if the voices and visions we hear or have been taught
are the way, the truth, and leading to life?
In the Boston Globe this week,
Robert Pape wrote, “The immense power of social media has many advantages for
civil society.” For instance, social media warned others about the man named
“Sovereign” who recently killed one person and injured another on the
Appalachian Trail. Social media is intended to be a vehicle for connecting
people throughout our world, spreading news quickly to others who seek
life-giving relationships and greater knowledge. “At the same time,” Pape
wrote, “it provides opportunities for individuals to go beyond disseminating
hateful messages to broadcasting murderous acts in real-time, in order to
glorify themselves and inspire future terrorists.” We all know about “copy cat”
violence, don’t we?
God’s vision for us is a civil society, where we live in peaceful
co-existence and communicate through voices of love that build up rather than
destroy. The Revelation to John, which is the last book in our New Testament,
is social media. It was written by someone who saw visions and heard voices.
Writing in a secret language, during a time of persecution and terrorism, John
encouraged the followers of Jesus to keep their faith. He offered people
visions of hope and a future redeemed by God through the love of Jesus.
In his vision, John sees a new heaven and a new earth coming down from
heaven. He sees a new Jerusalem, not torn apart by religious polarization and
violent attacks, or divided by walls and checkpoints. Rather it is a new city,
built on a hill, which is united by love, and prepared like a bride adorned for
her husband. "See, I am making all things new,” the Voice from heaven
proclaims. "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true,” he said
to John. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the
thirsty I will give water from the spring of life."
Like Peter, who is reporting live from Jerusalem in the Act of the
Apostles, John hears a loud voice from heaven saying, “"See, the home of
God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; and they will be
his people. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no
more, for the first things have passed away." Today, we call this a vision
of heaven, and we call this the voice of Jesus. Today, we call this the way,
the truth, and resurrection life.
Discernment of the spirits is complicated. We will hear voices that
whisper in our ears that we are no good, that we are not loved, and we are not
worthy. Voices of guilt will remind us that “if only” we had done this, if only
we had said that, then our loved ones would not have died, or this terrible
thing would not have happened. If we had kept our eyes and ears open, we would
not have been betrayed, our media would not have been hacked, and we would not
have been harmed. We hear threats of war, and we despair that our world will
come to a violent end, and we begin to believe that death is our final act.
So there Jesus was in that upper room, a vision that we all have from
our gospel stories. We see him sitting there at his last supper, knowing that
Judas will betray him, and that he is about to be crucified. And yet, speaking
in a voice of triumph and victory, Jesus claims that the Son of Man has been
glorified, and that God has been glorified in him. In both his life and in his
death, Jesus glorified God, not for himself, but for us. “I give you a new
commandment,” the voice of Jesus said. “Love others as I have loved you.”
The vision and the voice of Jesus is all about love, which you and I
both know is complicated. Although the message is simple, it is not easy. Jesus
met Judas’ betrayal with acceptance and then forgiveness. “Do what you have to
do,” Jesus said, knowing that God would be glorified in the end. God’s vision
of a crucified king became our Christian rallying cry and an icon for
generations to come. Justice and mercy have kissed on the cross, like a bride
and groom on their wedding day. “Death will be no more” that Voice proclaimed
from heaven; for God’s mission in Jesus had been accomplished. And today, we
celebrate Easter joy.
God makes God’s home among us
even now. Since God has given us the gift of God’s Holy Spirit, then “who are
we to hinder the works of God?” We are the Episcopal Branch of the Jesus
Movement, claims our Presiding Bishop, and people will know that we are
Christians by our love. “If it’s not about love, then it’s not about God,” our
Presiding Bishop frequently reminds us.
We can hinder the work of God’s Spirit with our own denial, resistance,
and silence. Or we can keep it alive with voices raised in protest against
injustice, hate, and violence. We can keep the Spirit alive with voices raised
in songs of praise, words that offer the peace of Christ, and by simple and
small acts of sacrificial love.
The visions that we see and the voices that we hear in scripture show
us both the realities of our human lives and the dream of God for our future.
All people, all creation, and all creatures great and small, will be redeemed,
and the garden of Eden will be restored. Unified, we shall no longer fight with
one another. Sick and tired of being sick and tired, we shall be healthy and
whole. God will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and put an end to all pain,
mourning and grief. Adorned with white robes, washed in the blood of the Lamb,
we will be saved by the grace of our life-giving, liberating, and loving God.
In perfect harmony, our voices will sing together, “In Christ there is no east
or west, in Him no south or north, but one great fellowship of love throughout
the whole wide earth.”
We have God’s Vision for our future. May we always listen to God’s
Voice; for this is the Way of Love that will lead us to eternal Life.
Acts 11:1-18
Revelation 21:1-6
John 13:31-35
Psalm 148
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