C, Easter 3 – Revelation 5:11-14 “Worthy of What?”

Download WORD doc here

Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing!" And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honour and glory and might forever and ever!" And the four living creatures said, "Amen!" and the elders fell down and worshiped. (Revelation 5:11–14 ESV)

God has very interesting ways of dealing with us in the everyday ebbs and flows of our lives. Pondering, "What it is to be worthy?" for the purpose of writing this sermon has led me on a remarkable path this week.

After having a low day on Wednesday where I forcefully compelled myself to looking at my worth, I rose to go walking as I usually do each day, on Thursday morning. I am eagerly expected outside the back door by two Foxy Jack Russel cross Terriers. It takes a bit to stop them from yapping with excitement as I release them from our sterile backyard of six foot high Colourbond fences into a world of sights and smells set to tantalise and temp the senses of these two dogs. It's as if they are saying with their excitement, "Worthy is he who opens the gate and releases us hounds!"

Now when I walk my dogs I let them run around the place off the lead. I shouldn't, but I do. I figure they are so confined in that back yard they need to be free. But without the lead I still have control over them with commands and whistles so they don't run out in front of cars and get skittled.

Well that was until Thursday morning. Occasionally they decide their sniffing around is more important than listening to my calls which earns them time on the lead so I might retrain the animal to respond to my request.

One of my dogs, Susie, usually walks on my heel, yet she has the habit of walking on the side of me closest to the middle of the road. I would prefer her to walk on the other side, the side closest to the gutter. So when a car comes she can easily jump up onto the grass at my command.

However, being the type of dog that she is, when a car comes and I call her to "come off the road", she thinks I am rousing at her and she starts to slink away from me further out into the middle of the road, as if she is not worthy of me and I am going to treat her harshly. She is a funny dog like this! She does the same when I feed her and Rufee each night, as I try to call each dog to its own dish so there is not argument over dinner Susie slinks along cowering and peeing herself as if she's in trouble. I don't know why she does it! It's just the way she's always been since I adopted her from mum after she died.

On Thursday she grovelled across the road into the path of an oncoming car. The driver saw here and slowed until Susie was off the road. I called her to come back to me but there was no way she was coming back, she was terrified and shaking, expecting me to harm her. I walked across the road and bent down and put the lead on her and told her she was a silly dog.

Susie hesitantly followed me back across the road where I continued my walk with her between me and the gutter. As I walked along I called her, "off the road" and led her to jump the kerb. I did this a couple of time to reteach her what to do when a car comes along. Then in a quiet street I let her off the lead and continued walking.

She had quite successfully done as I commanded when on the lead, but now off I called her off the road. But no! She cowered, wouldn't walk on the gutter side of me, and started back to the middle of the road. I quickly walked to her other side to block her path and will her to the edge of the road. Susie suspected I was going to be aggressive towards her. Rather, I placed my foot under her tail and encouraged her to go to the grass with a sweeping motion of my foot and leg. She yelped as if I was kicking the living daylights out of her. Once off the road frustrated I put her back on the lead and continued walking.

I went through the process all over again and then wrongfully expecting she was starting to get what I was trying to teach. I leant down and started to undo her lead once again. I said to her, "You know Susie I don't want you to get cleaned up by a car you silly puppy!" But once off the lead her response was to bolt off around the corner and out of sight.

Well, then I was mad. I felt like giving her a good smack for not listening. I thought to myself, "Right you can stay at home tomorrow morning! Better still you can stay on the lead in the back yard too! That'll fix you!" I had time calm down as I walked home.

I hoped she had gone home ahead of me, but I wasn't quite sure having already wrongly assumed dog logic two times over. You can imagine my wildest thoughts of her being run over, or taken by some drive-by Jack Russel stealing stooge! But phew! She wasn't missing just sitting at the gate as I walked around the corner. As I let her in my discipline amounted to saying in agreement with myself, "Susie you are a stupid dog aren't you!"

How often do we act the same before our Lord and Saviour? Cowering over what we think God is going to do to us. Just like my dog Susie, believing we are not worthy enough to be led or fed, preferring to run from he who loves us and wishes the eternal best for us.

We do well to think about Peter's reaction at Jesus' command to fish from the right side of the boat and to feed the sheep. It's a far cry from Peter's reaction the first time Jesus calls him let down his net where "he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, 'Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.'" (Luke 5:8 ESV) However in John 21, after Jesus' death and resurrection, this time Peter launches out into the water to get to Jesus, leaving the others to drag in the haul of fish.

How worthy was Peter to have done what he had done? After all he had denied Jesus three times leaving him to be falsely accused and crucified alone on the cross! Worthy of what was Peter after sinning at such a crucial time as when the Son of God was being condemned to death? Worthy of what was Peter having received Jesus' words of peace, having received the Holy Spirit and the ability to believe?

Worthy of what are the lambs of God? Worthy of what are you Jesus' little lamb?

You know I still lead and feed Susie, she is my dog. How much more worthy are we to be fed and led by he who was slain, who became the scapegoat for our sin. How I deal with Susie is one thing but how God deals with us is such that we are receiving the benefits of Jesus' eternal power and wealth and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing.

Just as Christ was led to the cross for our benefit, and despite God having continually to teach us to turn back to him through the crosses we must endure in this life, we need not cower because he needs to lead and feed us.

Rather we can join in the hymn of all creation; with the angels, the archangels and the whole company of heaven, because you and I have been made worthy, having been forgiven so we can feast in this victory of this Lamb's power, riches, wisdom, strength, honour and blessing forever, Amen.