C, Easter 4 - Revelation 7:16-17 "Hunger and Thirst"
The
transfer of power happens in many ways.
At its most elementary is the transmission of creative power that occurs
to produce the following generation. Man
gives of himself in marriage to the woman; woman gives of herself carrying and
giving birth to a child. They both give
to the child as a family and then the child grows and does the same with
someone else’s adult child.
Therefore,
one generation serves the following generation. They continue the creative process which God
began and sustains in every generation since.
God gives each successive generation breath, having first breathed life
into Adam.
From
this first transmission of life in Adam comes all other transmissions of power
between humans — their empires, in politics
and business, in sport, society, institutionally, sexually, and family. Where
power passing began and was broken between Adam and Eve and their sons Cain and
Abel.
The
transfer of power can occur chaotically with bloodshed, or with order. However, just because it occurs with
bloodshed does not mean it’s bad, and similarly just because it occurs with
order doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good. The transfer of power between humans
is corrupted.
Because
of our sinful nature, it’s hard to tell if bloodshed or order has been ordained
by God. Yet at the cross bloodshed and order
that brings eternal peace are bound together in the death and resurrection of
our Lord Jesus Christ, whom all in the heavenly realm glorifies, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the
throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:10 ESV)
The
reality is the Lamb of God is our Shepherd, and to him belongs salvation. This is the truth and love by which God works
in our sinful world through his bloodshed and peace, rather than our perceived
truths or the peace and order in which we take pleasure, and love.
Last
week and today we’ve heard from Revelation of the Lamb’s sevenfold worthiness,
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to
receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honour and glory and
blessing!” (Revelation 5:12 ESV)
The
transfer of power from God’s perspective, as God the Father, God the Son, and
God the Holy Spirit, sees that these seven elements of worthiness always remain
with him.
We
can see the corruption within ourselves and within the world when we see
ourselves and others seize these seven elements of worthiness, as God’s alone,
and steal them for ourselves.
Like
the world, we hunger and thirst with desire to bask in our own power, wealth,
wisdom, might, honour, glory, and blessing.
But when this occurs within a believer, they know it’s sin, and in
having the knowledge of sin within revealed, they flee to him to whom salvation
truly belongs — the God of truth and love.
When
Simon Peter is called to the death of a disciple, Tabitha, or Dorcas, he is met
by widows displaying her works. She is
dead and has been bathed for presentation to those who’ve come to pay their
last respects before her burial. Why has
Peter been invited to come by the disciples who mourn her death? We’re not told!
This
event in Acts occurs between Peter healing Aeneas, paralysed and bedridden for
eight years, and the call of Cornelius’ a Gentile, and the conversion of him
and his family, the giving of the Holy Spirit and their baptism into God’s
church.
Although
we don’t know why Peter was called to Tabitha’s side in her death, what happens
on this occasion and the events before and after, calls us the hearers of God’s
word, to understand the transfer of God’s power works contrary to transference
of power everywhere else.
Living
in our society today, I am pleasantly surprised, when hearing of Jesus’ healing
in the Gospels, God is glorified and not Jesus. Most didn’t know Jesus was God’s Son, so they
didn’t know they were glorifying Jesus when they glorified God! Now when we hear of Peter’s work in his
healing, preaching, and raising of the dead, those who witness don’t believe in
Peter, but believe in the Lord.
God’s
transfer of power stands out, way ahead of the rest of the world. When power is passed on in our world, the
glory passes onto the next generation.
It matters not much whether there is order or bloodshed in this passing
of power, glory does not remain with those who were before. Sporting finals fade as future finals come
and go, politicians riding the wave of an election win are put to pasture,
corporates sway and institutional supremacy falls and rebuilds elsewhere, and a
family’s fortune is usually inherited by the next generation.
The
power and glory pass on, and the previous powerful party is relegated “to
history” as they pass away in death. In
today’s climate, history is not always looked upon favourably. Unless you’re a keen genealogist, most would
not be able to name our ancestors beyond our grandparents, at best. Their glory and power have been drained down
to us.
The
transfer of God’s power is different!
This is because the hunger and thirst stay with God; those who believe,
hunger and thirst for salvation that comes from God. Or, to put it another way, God satisfies the
hunger and thirst of those who hunger and thirst for him. The Shepherd satisfies the sheep, because the
Shepherd causes his sheep to remain in places where they’re caused to be fed
and watered, producing restoration and righteousness within, through the
worthiness of God’s name, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
For
those who hear God’s Word, and respond to his call within it, receive the
transition of power just as Peter received it and passed it on to Tabitha.
However, the transfer of God’s power from Jesus to Peter, Peter to Tabitha, and
Tabitha to those who witnessed her resurrection, didn’t transfer the power from
God, so that God passes away, becomes unglorified, and forgotten.
This
is what the devil, the world, and our sinful human nature wants. They want the hearer of God’s Word to forget
everything comes from God’s kingdom, power, and glory, and for the hearer to
return to believing in themselves and the world. The devil, the world, and our sinful selves
tempt us to transfer all power to ourselves; to believe salvation doesn’t
belong to God alone.
In
his nature as God the Son, Jesus didn’t hinder the glory from going to God in
his ministry. Yet when he was born and
baptised into his ministry the Holy Spirit was given to him. This demonstrated to his disciples, and us,
that Jesus became the same as us. Jesus
put aside his Godliness, and relied on the Holy Spirit, as we too, need the
Holy Spirit in our lives. Not because we
have a divine nature like Jesus to put off! But in Adam’s transfer of corrupted power, we
have lost the original ability to see our salvation in God alone.
Peter
and the disciples saw the Holy Spirit’s work in Jesus, and even so, didn’t
receive the transfer of power without misunderstanding and misuse. After Jesus’ resurrection they needed
continual acts of the Holy Spirit, so they could act in the stead of Christ. Because of the Holy Spirit, they served as
Jesus served and allowed all worthiness to be recognised in Christ alone.
Two
thousand years on from Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension, and the
bestowal of the Holy Spirit, the worthiness of the Shepherd’s salvation, sees
all power, wealth, wisdom, might, honour, glory, and blessing remain with him,
who together with our Father and the Holy Spirit are worshipped and glorified! As we so often pray.
If
the Holy Spirit was not given, Peter, nor you or I, would be able to receive
the sevenfold worthiness of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, and would not allow
this Lamb to be our Shepherd, nor pass on his truth or love.
Jesus
taught us to pray, for our Father’s kingdom to come, because salvation belongs
to God. The Holy Spirit empowers us to pass on the power of God’s truth and
love, through our daily baptismal bloodshed in Jesus’ death, and resurrection
in repentant peace, having had our hunger and thirst satisfied in our salvation
through Jesus’ body and blood.
For
the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, are in the Shepherd. He satisfies the hunger of his sheep with his
pleasing pastures, and he quenches the thirst of his lambs with springs of
living water. Amen.
