Living Resurrection, Expect Scarring

 

Let me be clear! Revelation is a letter written to the churches of Asia Minor. Just as Paul wrote to early Christian communities, so too did John. The letter is written in a time of Christian persecution at the hand of the Empire of Rome. The letter is subversive – meaning it challenges and goes against the Empire. It is encrypted – meaning it is written in code with plenty of symbols. It is a letter to encourage the church at a time of persecution to remain faithful and to share the Good News of Jesus’ resurrection through action.

Let me be clear, while it is apocalyptic and prophetic, it is not directly written about or to us. In times of trial and persecution apocalyptic literature resonates with the hearer because it reflects lived reality. The prophetic in Revelation is the bookend to creation as told in Genesis. Although the world is currently broken, there will be a time of completion of the covenant promises heard throughout the scriptures; God’s vision will come to be in its fullness.

 

A colleague who writes under the pseudonym ‘The Sour Theologian’ says:

Easter is completely political.

The crucifixion was a very clear political statement by Rome to anyone who might stand up to it, or call into question its power and authority.

Declaring resurrection of someone who was executed in this way is also a very clear political statement that Rome, or any other wannabe empire, does not have the final say.

Christians are not called to follow empire.

Christians are called to follow the crucified and risen one.

Into the political realm.

Because Easter is completely political.

 

On this second Sunday of Easter are you prepared to follow Jesus? On the eve of election day, are you prepared to take Easter with you when you vote?

The Empire crucified Jesus, hoping to bring an end to his work and message, and to thwart and dissipate his followers. The Empire was not about to welcome an alternative kind of rule, a collaboration of authority, or a sharing of power. The Empire was not about to lift the average out of poverty, the sick into wholeness, or the slave into freedom. The Empire was not about to be tolerant of religion, of the customs of the places they occupied, or of groups they deemed anti-establishment. The Empire did not care one iota about the common people or their welfare. The Empire decided who was a citizen and did not take responsibility for anyone else. The Empire daily increased it borders, occupying lands, exploiting and consuming resources. The Empire had an economic system that kept the Empire rich and its populace hungry, overworked, and precariously housed.

 

Jesus was about none of these things. In his teachings, parables, miracles, actions, conversations, and exchanges -repeatedly and continually- an anti-Empire message was presented.

In Revelation, John draws attention to the scars of Empire in his description of Jesus’ coming – the One to come is pierced. This is no accident. This is Good News, for the One who was killed has been resurrected by a power greater than the Empire. The scars remain as a constant reminder of the brutality of Empire juxtaposed to life-giving community in Christ.

 

John’s letter to the seven churches, is a letter addressed to the church plural. The use of a series of plural pronouns speaks to the understanding of the universal and communal nature of God’s church. From the beginning, John’s letter emphasizes community, and that resurrection is a communal affair. Jesus Christ, John writes, made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God.

Let me be clear! As one reads through Revelation, if not distracted by the encryption symbols lost to us, hearers hear the message that God does not act alone. Resurrection is a communal affair. The introductory words of the letter of Revelation are warning hearers that Christ’s resurrection, resurrection from death at the hand of Empire, is Good News but --- communities can expect scars, even loss of life. Why is it that Revelation scares a lot of readers and hearers? Because the letter pointedly tells the church what living resurrection means.

Revelation is filled with vivid images of blood and fire, the wielding of power, imprisonment and torture, and so on. The Empire is described with a lack of conscious and plenty of violence. The Empire is beyond itself, frantic in chaos, trying to control the springing up of resurrection. Despite the Empire’s fierce tactics to stop it the seven churches are practicing, to greater-and-lesser degrees, following the example of Jesus. John’s letter is to commend the faithful and encourage where faith is weak.

 

This making us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God is about living resurrection. In this letter living resurrection is standing in opposition to Empire. Resurrection is faith community standing up to Empire demanding justice – and yes, Revelation is scary because Easter is scary, in living Easter you will most assuredly acquire scars.

 

 One of my seminary professors, who was an activist to his core, often remarked that the ‘church is not being the church unless it is being persecuted.’ What he meant by this was the church community was failing to follow Jesus and Jesus’ call to address the Empire because the Empire took no notice. Jesus was killed by the Empire because the Empire noticed Jesus. Jesus was under their skin and the community around Jesus was growing in hope, in health, in community mindedness, and was empowered to work for and seek justice. The Empire noticed. Following the resurrection, and the proclamation that ‘Jesus is alive!,’ as thousands of believers were baptized, as many lived in community, as the hungry were fed, as the sick were healed, as widows/orphans/and others were cared for, and slaves were set free - the Empire noticed. The Empire took offense and responded by ferociously persecuting Jesus’ followers.

 

Christians are not called to follow empire. Christians are called to follow the crucified and risen one.

Into the political realm. Because Easter is completely political.

If this statement doesn’t sit well with you, Revelation will not sit well with you either. And that is okay –

There is still time – but as John reminds us, the time is near – to turn from Empire and follow the crucified and risen one. Into the political realm.

Revelation is a letter written by John in love for the church in Asia Minor. It is written with love and encouragement for a community in peril. It is written from the depth of belief in Jesus Christ and Christ’s resurrection and that resurrection is a community affair. It is written as words to stoke fire and passion that opposes Empire in all its forms and makes people uncomfortable, scared even, until accepting the call to be a kingdom, priests serving – living resurrection with the expectation of scarring.

 

 

New Testament Professor Anna Bowden at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary sums up the Revelation passage for this morning: “This short passage from Revelation, as it turns out, is packed with the hope of Easter. It reminds God’s faithful that God is in control and that God does not act alone. It beckons us to pay attention and to look for the evil ways of empire in our own imperial context. And it encourages us to serve those who experience violence at the hands of power, rather than the powerful themselves. This is good news indeed!”