Easter 7
Devotional
Water From the Rock
Lectionary Devotional for Cycle C
Object:
See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone's work.
-- Revelation 22:12
This final vision, near the end of the book of Revelation, is a striking one on several counts. First, it is positive. There is no threat of punishment. One is not judged according to sins but repaid according to one's work. Is there a suggestion here that though we are saved by grace, there is a sense in which we are rewarded by our deeds? Is this another way of saying, "You will know them by their fruits" (Matthew 7:20)? Second, this event takes place on the earth. People are not lifted up to heaven. Rather Jesus comes to establish a city for the righteous or those in right relationships. There is even the suggestion that there will continue to be others living outside the city who are not allowed to enter the city. "Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates."
What we are offered is an urban vision of the Garden of Eden. The river and the tree of life that were once a part of the garden are now this new Jerusalem. Third, what God brings about is not a total break from the past but has continuity with what has gone before it. "I am the root and the descendent of David, the bright morning star." The human saga is not some hopeless disaster that finally must be replaced. What we are experiencing now is part of what will finally come to be through the grace of God. Finally, our humanity retains its physical aspect. One still is thirsty and needs water and food, and we still have the freedom of choice. "And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift."
For the church that continues to live and strive within an ambiguous world, we are told that our past matters, our efforts count, and the future holds promise. "Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen."
-- Revelation 22:12
This final vision, near the end of the book of Revelation, is a striking one on several counts. First, it is positive. There is no threat of punishment. One is not judged according to sins but repaid according to one's work. Is there a suggestion here that though we are saved by grace, there is a sense in which we are rewarded by our deeds? Is this another way of saying, "You will know them by their fruits" (Matthew 7:20)? Second, this event takes place on the earth. People are not lifted up to heaven. Rather Jesus comes to establish a city for the righteous or those in right relationships. There is even the suggestion that there will continue to be others living outside the city who are not allowed to enter the city. "Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates."
What we are offered is an urban vision of the Garden of Eden. The river and the tree of life that were once a part of the garden are now this new Jerusalem. Third, what God brings about is not a total break from the past but has continuity with what has gone before it. "I am the root and the descendent of David, the bright morning star." The human saga is not some hopeless disaster that finally must be replaced. What we are experiencing now is part of what will finally come to be through the grace of God. Finally, our humanity retains its physical aspect. One still is thirsty and needs water and food, and we still have the freedom of choice. "And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift."
For the church that continues to live and strive within an ambiguous world, we are told that our past matters, our efforts count, and the future holds promise. "Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen."
