Lives of Contented Joy

“They will never be hungry or thirsty again.  The sun or blazing heat will never scorch them, because the Lamb, who stands at the center of the throne is their shepherd and they are His sheep, and he will lead them to the water of life.  And God will dry every tear from their eyes.”  (The Voice)

John’s vision is of a multitude, too large to count, from every country, every race, from all peoples and tongues surrounding the throne.  They are clothed in white robes carrying the palm branches of victory.

The promise is not a new one.  God promised through the prophet Isaiah that “They shall not hunger or thirst; neither shall the heat nor the sun smite them; for He that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by springs of water shall he guide them.”  But, in John’s vision the promise is now fulfilled, victory has been won, and they surround the throne of the Lamb with palm branches waving.

John had these visions and dreams while he was imprisoned on the island of Patmos.  He was imprisoned for preaching the Gospel.  The church was afraid and suffering.  They were being persecuted and martyred.  Their lives were filled with struggle.  They were quite poor and food was scarce in Asia.  What was available was expensive.  A promise to never be hungry or thirsty or scorched by the heat of the sun was relief.

What a promise to people who were suffering – all your suffering will be relieved.  The worries that fill your days will be lifted.  The victory will be complete.  So complete that the Lamb that was slaughtered will have become the shepherd, leading you to still waters and the tears from your eyes – wiped away as a mother wipes away the tears from a child’s eyes – by God!  (Gonzalez)

And over the centuries, this passage has spoken relief to the hearts and spirits of a multitude of believers in all nations and times.

Today is All Saint’s Sunday.  We remember those in our church who have joined the multitude around the throne of the Lamb from our congregation in the last year.  Through the years, Christians have had different ideas of what a saint is, and who should be recognized as a saint.  The Biblical word for saints means “God’s holy ones.”  In Greek it is always plural.  We are saints, God’s holy people; people through whom God’s light shines.  We are holy only because we are God’s and the light that shines in our lives is the light of God shining through us.

You are a saint.  Let that sink in.  You are holy.  God’s light shines through you.

Along the coasts of Ireland and Scotland there are sites along the cliffs overlooking the ocean that the locals call “thin places” where heaven and earth’s separation shrinks and the veil becomes thin enough to perceive heaven from earth.  Poet Sharlande Sledge gives this description:

“Thin places,” the Celts call this space,

Both seen and unseen,

Where the door between the world

And the next is cracked open for a moment

And the light is not all on the other side.

God shaped space.  Holy.

In thin places, it seems like time stands still and eternity stretches out before us.  We come close to the holy and the wonder of God overwhelms our daily worries and thoughts.  In thin places we gain a new awareness of God’s presence in all of our lives.

For me, a thin place is looking at stained glass windows in churches.  Churches used stained glass windows to teach the stories of the Bible – to those inside and those outside the church.  Each church is unique in the people whose stories they chose to tell through the windows.  And yet, every window lets light stream through just like the people in each story have allowed the light of God to shine through them.  And as the sun streams through the colors of the windows tint the interior of the church.  How is God’s light shining through you?  How does your life tint the interior of the church?  What do people outside the church see?  What stories of God will be told through you?

Standing in the dark of a cathedral with the light stream through the windows, I often notice that some panes are missing now.  There are broken places in the window.  Yet, the light still streams in, and the story is still told.   And it strikes me that the light streams most brightly through the broken places.  How is the light of God streaming through the broken places in your life?

Each time we come to this table we come to a thin place.  We break the bread, Christ’s body broken for us.  “I am the bread of life; the one who comes to me shall never hunger; and the one who believes in me shall never be thirsty.” (Jn. 6:35)  God’s light streams through.

We drink the cup, poured out for the multitude, for the forgiveness of sin, to eliminate that space between heaven and earth.   “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for what is right, for they will be filled.”  (Mt. 5:6)

This is the joyful feast of the people of God, saints from all times and places, on heaven and on earth, gather here at Christ’s table.  Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory!