Triplet Hope
Revelation 1:4-8
It seems to be appropriate on the last Sunday of the liturgical year to use a reading from the last book of our modern Bible.
It is unfortunate that too often the book of the Revelation has been used by those trying to convince the rest of us that not only is God pissed off at the world, but judgment will come graphically and horribly. Raymond E. Brown offers us a great mantra when thinking about how to read this book. It is this: “The author of Revelation did not know how or when the world will end, and neither does anyone else” (An Introduction to the New Testament, pg. 810).
Although many people approach Revelation like John was on a bad acid trip, it is ultimately about a profound and lasting hope – even in life’s most difficult and disturbing experiences. When Jesus walked on earth among his disciples, there was often uncertainty about who he was and what he was there to do. None of that is found in the Revelation. Now, that hope is secure and trustworthy to sustain us, no matter what changes or disruptions come our way. Even when upheaval and uncertainty prevail all around us, God’s presence is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. We can trust it.
Did you notice that I just used a triplet to describe God? That is common biblical clue that emphasizes importance. Our text today uses a lot of triplets. God is described as the one who is, and was and is to come in verse 4 and then Christ is described as faithful witness, firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the leaders of the earth in verse 5. In fact, in these few verses from the first chapter of the Revelation we have a total of five triplets employed. There’s a clue there for us.
It has been said that we need to hear something positive multiple times before it becomes part of our consciousness. It seems we only need to hear something negative once before it seems to become implanted in our consciousness. The reason for this is that our subconscious mind is often programmed to repeat negative thoughts over and over. The antidote to this toxic programming is triplet hope. The author or Revelation uses triplets to emphasize the strength of the affirmation and the reliability of the One in whom we place our trust.
Recent events have given us some tangible ways to put this text into practical use. At congregational meeting last Sunday we made some important steps in moving our church forward to our next incarnation. The congregation overwhelmingly supported the bylaw amendments expanding the Board of Directors up to eleven members. We also unveiled plans to move to two Sunday worship services after the first of the year. I know that it was a surprise to some that we are making this happen and that we are doing it fairly quickly after announcing it. I want to explain how we arrived at this moment – which both Rev. Robyn and I believe is so exciting for the health and growth of our church. Back in 2004, during the beginning stages of our strategic planning process, the Board and I started planning how we could best use the resources and constraints we have while we make our ministry available to more and more people. One of the options that has the most potential is expanding opportunities for people to be in worship. At that time I published three documents in the newsletter that outlined what would be needed for us to move to two Sunday worship services. From my experience with multiplying worship services at previous congregations, including Cathedral of Hope (where we went from one to five Sunday worship services), I knew that there needed to be some clear benefits to causing disruption to the routine of Sunday morning. People love their routine. Heaven help the construction worker that makes us go an extra block out of our way to work! It perturbs me as much as the next person. I also know that the only way to create new routines is to disrupt previous ones, and the benefits for creating a new routine must outweigh the costs.
We held a congregational forum in 2005 where we talked about why multiplying Sunday morning worship gives us greater opportunities to reach more people as well as leverage the resources we already have in people-power, technology, space and staff. We laid some clear benchmarks for when the time would be right to make the move – 1) 80% capacity of our worship space, 2) sufficient staff and volunteer resources, 3) technological improvements in place. Twice since 2005 we have been ready to make the shift that will take us to this next level in the life of our congregation. Twice our membership and Sunday worship attendance grew to the point we were ready. And twice we have come right up to the edge of the precipice and were unable to step out into the unknown. Some crisis or conflict derailed our efforts and we started building all over again. Of course, the conflict was never overtly about expanding worship. It was always about something else but the effect was that we found a way to subconsciously sabotage our efforts. This is a pretty common experience in the human psyche. Our experience is not that odd and some may think it is strange that something as simple as changing a worship time would be so traumatic, but substantial change to something significant to our being is always difficult. As our friends in recovery will tell us, the definition of insanity is continuing to do the same thing and expecting different results. It is time for us to do something different.
So what do we do? We make the conscious decision to give the new schedule a chance. It is not happening exactly like we originally envisioned it, but that is all right. The basic reasoning is still sound. The implementation has shift. So Rev. Robyn and I have a suggestion. We know resistance is always the response to change so want to encourage you to resist the urge to resist. If we can simply say to ourselves, “I’m going to make the best of this, even though it changes my routine or it may inconvenience me in some way or force me to think about which service I will want to be part. I’m making this sacrifice because I want more people to be able to experience the wonderful community of All God’s Children like I have.” Just as all of us have benefited from the sacrifice of those who came before us, this is our moment to make a difference for those who aren’t here yet but soon will be.
Secondly, we need each person in this place to find at least one thing you can do to help make this a success – volunteering to usher, helping with technology, singing in the choir, being a communion server, helping with hospitality, nursery, Sunday School. Try out both worship formats so that you get a feel for what they are about. Invite your friends to come experience worship with you in the new year. There are lots of opportunities and some of them have your name written all over them.
And lastly, we want to encourage you to hold our community in your heart in prayer. This change may be no big deal to many of us and so it may seem strange to see others getting anxious or afraid. This is a leap of faith we are taking together as a congregation. It is a place we have not been before and so we must trust God to catch us in the unknown and we must trust each other to give our best toward its success. This is a molten moment for us. It is so exciting – and yes excitement always has a bit of angst mixed in. But remember what the Apostle Paul said to Timothy who was facing his own leap of faith into the unknown, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love, and a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
How can we have that confidence? Because we know the God of triplet hope – who is, and was and is to come – the presence that has nurtured and nourished us from before we were born. We are part of a community that has laid the foundation and given us a place to stand. We are surrounded by friends and family who love us deeply in this place. We have faced a scary economy, the horrors of war, the scorn of hatred and we have not only survived but we have thrived. Like the author of the Revelation, we have no idea what the future holds. We simply trust the One who holds the future.
Sources:
www.homileticsonline.com The Unchanging Christ, November 2009.
http://www.ourultimatereality.com/the-power-of-positive-affirmations.html