by The Rev. Dr. Max Lynn
SCRIPTURE READINGS Acts 16:9-15, Revelation 21:10, 22:1-5
Transcribed from the sermon preached on MAY 25, 2025
Revelation 22:1-5
22 Then he showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
3There shall no more be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall worship him; 4they shall see his face, and his name shall be on their foreheads.
5And night shall be no more; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they shall reign for ever and ever.
Now many rational, educated folk get nervous when the book of Revelation is mentioned. It seems that it is so often used to bludgeon or terrify people into belief. We get these scary images of Hell and punishment in lakes of fire and such. In fact, a lot of folks who want to consider themselves rational think they even have to toss out the idea of heaven too.
It is “pie in the sky”, or as Marx called it, “the opiate of the masses.” “The demand to give up the illusion about its condition,” says Marx, “is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions.” https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1843/critique-hpr/intro.htm
But illusions are a dime a dozen. Number one being the illusion that we can live without myth to give us meaning. As Yuval Noah Harai notes, humans evolved by a capacity for imagining things.
Now we know that Marx exchanged the “illusion” of God and heaven for the illusion of materialism and the worship of the state which has failed miserably. Others have exchanged the “illusion” of God and heaven for the idolatry of the individual and his or her selfish material desires. It is a dog eat dog world and we have to go get ours. Still others may idolize a leader. We use the relatively new terms of Capitalism and Communism, but selfishness and group think are not new. And for our capitalist world, Huxley got it right – entertainment – actual opium, pot and alcohol, Real Housewives, video games, porn and shoes and cars and phones and fast food offer the distraction from our sense of meaninglessness and powerlessness. It was telling that during Covid casinos opened sooner than churches or schools. Money talks, money is worshipped. Money is one of the myths we love and the gods we worship.
I also suspect that the desire to erase visions of heaven comes from those who are comfortable now, who live in the privilege of keeping some distance from Evil and Hell on earth. If we have a relatively healthy family in a comfortable home in a safe neighborhood, a nice car and a bunch of toys. If we have healthcare and live in a powerful nation able to keep corruption, war, disease and famine in faraway lands or neighborhoods, then we might think a vision or faith in Heaven is unnecessary. And why be radical and stick your neck out. A little compromise never hurt anyone – or so the line of thought goes.
The Bible is not a uniform document where all parts agree. So, we see Ecclesiastes who is a wealthy person who has the leisure time and opportunity to pursue a philosophy of happiness and contentment through almost every means we can think of. He has the pithy line in chapter 9, “A live dog is better than a dead lion.” No doubt there are some senators and law firms and universities following the wisdom of that advice right now. And we are also learning that despite all the material success we have had, which we acknowledge and applaud, and give thanks, there is a growing sense of purposelessness, isolation, depression and alienation. As the Psalmist says, “Without a vision a people perish.”
The author of Revelation John was writing from prison on the Island of Patmos to a poor minority with no worldly power to overcome the poverty, suffering and persecution brought down on them by Rome. The fall of Jerusalem was a 3-year slaughter, with hundreds of thousands dying, thousands crucified and burned and sent into the arena to face wild beasts. Then Emperor Caligula had ordered his statue was to be worshipped. The Jews revolted and Rome sent 60,000 soldiers to squash Emperor Nero blamed the fire in Rome on Christians, which led to mob violence, torture, and more spectacle in the arenas. But somehow, with the hope of Christ, Christians decided ‘might does not make right,’ and the power of force doesn’t determine truth, and that a small, insignificant, poor person living a good life of faith tapped them into a power beyond all powers. There is a Spirit of love and justice in the world, a city of God, a river clear as crystal, an everlasting light, a tree with sweet and healing fruit, whatever metaphor you want to pull up to describe it, and there is nothing more important, nothing more meaningful or beautiful or satisfying than living in it, than having it live in you, being enlightened by its wisdom, nothing more thirst quenching or sweet and healthy than tapping into it. For John and his faithful Christians, it is better to be a dog who is faithful and true and loving, and yet dies, than a corrupt and powerful lion. Or a faithful dog defending the God of truth to the death is better than a cowardly lion who compromises truth and goodness to stay alive and keep power. The conqueror is the one who lives a faithful life – not the one who is on top of the hierarchy.
From Revelation we hear that God is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Hold the line. God comes to be with us now.
So, faith in God and the future heaven can help us endure, but that doesn’t mean it is an opiate that encourages us to accept our oppression in the present tense. Hope in God’s presence in history and a divine vision of justice and peace in the future gives us the courage to remain faithful and true in the present tense, no matter what the cost, because in the end, God and God’s people will prevail.
“Do not let your hearts be troubled,” Jesus says, “do not let them be afraid.”
God doesn’t promise us an easy life, but He does say even in the midst of this crazy life filled with violence and hurt, sickness and death, our hearts can be at peace and fear need not be the primary force that drives us. John’s vision working for the world around us and world inside us.
There is a beautiful force in the universe which bends toward justice and peace, and it will have the last word. And our efforts to stay true and honest, kind and loving, faithful and hard working cannot be in vain because each loving and righteous act is itself tapped into the heart of God which is eternal. Even the weakest act of love is powerful and significant and reflects a grand vision.
If God’s vision for humanity is even present and powerful nailed to a cross, then there is nowhere you can go from God’s presence. The very act of Christ’s love still vital as his blood drains from his body is the demonstration of the sovereignty of God. It is our vision of a future where violence is overcome with love, where food is plentiful, wisdom and health are universal. As my friend Aeryn Johnson preached, John has a vision in which “Everyone is blessed, everything is renewed and everywhere is a temple.” God is in everyone and everything, everywhere at all times.
The Holy Spirit, the very Spirit of the risen Christ is within us, bright and giving us light, teaching us, encouraging us, calming and empowering us to live peaceful and beautiful lives. It is a common vision that unites us, and collectively we are the bride of Christ.
So, Reinhold Niebuhr, a very rational theologian, responds to Marx and others who think religion is an evolutionary mistake, “There must always be a religious element in the hope of a just society. Without the ultrarational hopes and passions of religion no society will ever have the courage to conquer despair and attempt the impossible; for the vision of a just society is an impossible one, which can be approximated only by those who do not regard it as impossible. The truest visions of religion are illusions, which may be partially realized by being resolutely believed. For what religion believes to be true is not wholly true but ought to be true; and may become true if its truth is not doubted.” (Moral Man and Immoral Society. P. 81)
Basically, Niebuhr is saying that the crazy notion that love should and can prevail may be an illusion, but it should not be. It should be true. And without it we would be tempted to devolve into believing the materialist illusions like violence and war actually lead to peace, the more money and stuff you have the happier you are, that taking from the world is better than giving, that there is no real lasting meaning or connection, and morality is relative and constructed, so we should just do what we want, take what we can, and enjoy it while we have it and to Hell with future generations and the planet. Those are the illusions John wants Christians to cast off, illusions that leave us in the dark, thirsty and hungry, illusions we need to be liberated from, and it is the Gospel of love that gives us the power to do it.
It is our hope for the future which sets the tone for how we order our lives in the present, both as individuals and as a community. What are we aiming at now? A place where nations are at peace, where cities have no need to close the gate because it is safe, where rivers and nature are rich and not polluted, where there is food enough and health enough for everyone. There is no need for a temple, because God is in everyone and everything, everywhere, all at once and for all time. We might call it a myth, but it is a myth with power and truth. May it be so.
Come Lord Jesus. Amen.