Revelations of Divine Love

 Sunday 17^th January – 2^nd Sunday of Epiphany

1 Samuel 3: 1-10. Samuel did not yet “know” the Lord and mistook the voice of God to be that of his mentor Eli. It was Eli who perceived that it was the voice of God and instructed Samuel to listen. The voice of wisdom from an elder to a younger person is a valuable resource. There is much wisdom both in experienced Christians and in the traditions of the church that we overturn at our peril.

Revelation 5: 1-10. Apocalyptic imagery abounds here but what can we distil from this piece? That whatever is decreed by the Father, his will and purposes can be made fully known and accurately represented only by the Christ represented by the image of a slain lamb. for Christ is the only one worthy to take and open the scroll. The Church - through the Spirit of Christ – is the faithful extension of that will and purpose on earth.  No pressure there then!

John 1: 43- 51.  Although initially sceptical, Nathaniel is soon convinced that Jesus is the expected Messiah (or Christ in Greek). Messiah literally means “anointed” that is, appointed and empowered to inaugurate a new era in world history. Using the imagery of Revelation, he is the one “worthy to open and read the scroll”. John uses the image of “Jacob’s ladder” to describe the closeness of the relationship between the Father and Jesus – “angels ascending and descending upon the Son of man”

 

Preaching on the book of revelation can be fraught with problems because the imagery can be interpreted in so many different ways.

Those of us of a certain age may remember David Koresh and the Branch Davidians at their compound in Waco Texas who all died when the Federal government invaded their compound. David told his followers that he had unlocked the secrets of the book of revelation.

That is an extreme example but it still tells us that you tread carefully when trying to be too precise or too literal in your interpretation.

Revelation or Apocalypse in Greek means an unveiling of truths hidden or obscured by world events and was popular in times of persecution and suffering.

Apocalyptic writing says, no matter how bad things are now or how bleak the future may seem, despite all evidence to the contrary, God is in control and the future is secure – good will prevail and evil will be defeated.

The book of revelation was written during a period of intense persecution of Christians and there are obvious parallels with our own situation now.

Not with regard to persecution but to the dire predicament with  regards to the pandemic and the economic, social, and mental carnage that has been wrought upon the world.

It has induced an atmosphere of fear, discouragement, not understanding, confusion and loss of hope have stunted our experience of the world and life itself. It could lead to despair.

It is into just a situation that Apocalyptic literature speaks.

It says, don’t lose hope – keep your faith alive – however bad things seem at the moment – this will pass and goodness and truth, life and love will triumph.  

This truth is hidden from your perception at the moment but I am lifting the veil to reveal that truth.

Revelation fulfils the same function as a mother comforting her child who has had an accident and says “there there, don’t be sad, everything is going to be all right”

Is the mother lying when she says that? No, every instinct, every bit of prior knowledge and experience she has told her that she knows this is true but the child doesn’t have that perspective, knowledge or experience to see that. All the child knows is that their knee is bleeding now, and it hurts.

We are bleeding and hurting as a society now.

Seeing God as our Mother or indeed Father putting their arms around us and reassuring us that everything will be all right in the end is the comfort we need.

God isn’t lying to us any more than the mother is lying to the child. We can’t immediately see that because all we know is that we are wounded and it hurts.

We have been given the intelligence and scientific knowledge to combat the disease – and we must have nothing but gratitude to those who worked so tirelessly to develop the vaccines.

A Christian perspective also remembers the ultimate source of that knowledge and expertise which is God himself.

God revealing his presence and ultimate will for all creation revealed himself to Julian of Norwich around 800 years ago. Her book “Revelations of Divine Love” is part of the continuing revelation of God to humankind, no less important because it was written 1,300 years after the Bible was compiled. It was the first book that we know of which was written by a woman.

The book was written against the background of the Black death and her own personal ill health and was the result of a series of divine encounters through 15 visions after a curate was called to give her the last rites she was so ill.

What was revealed to her was what has consistently been revealed to mystics and visionaries, from the “book of revelation” to the “Revelations of divine love” was that God is love    

“From the time these things were first revealed I had often wanted to know what was our Lord's meaning. It was more than fifteen years after that I was answered in my spirit's understanding. 'You would know our Lord's meaning in this thing? Know it well. Love was His meaning. Who showed it to you? Love. What did He show you? Love. Why did He show it? For love. Hold on to this and you will know and understand love more and more. But you will not know or learn anything else — ever.'

“In the end, all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well”