Saints In White Satin
Stories
Lectionary Tales for the Pulpit
Series V, Cycle C
Object:
After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!" And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, singing, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen." Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?" I said to him, "Sir, you are the one that knows." Then he said to me, "These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." (vv. 9-14)
In their book, Schweitzer, George Marshal and David Doling tell of missionary/physician/theologian Dr. Albert Schweitzer who gave his life to serve the needs of those who lived in the African jungle. He was to the first half of the twentieth century what Mother Teresa was to the second half.
Treating the Africans medically was a gruesome task. However, he received great joy in serving and particularly enjoyed delivering babies. Early on, he discovered that the natives had a practice of immediately painting a new baby white. Sometimes they painted the mother as well.
Schweitzer asked, "Is it because they wish they were white?"
The natives howled with laughter and said, "No, it is to frighten off the evil spirits. Evil spirits fear white and will not harm the baby or the mother."
Schweitzer was amused that white was a dreaded color to evil spirits. Eventually, though, he would admonish the parents as he delivered a baby and slapped its backside, "Don't forget to paint it white."
Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? The color white hoarding off evil spirits. Maybe not so much. After all, we believe much the same thing. Symbolically, we believe that one can be washed in the blood of the Lamb and be made white. It's an oxymoron -- a blood that bleaches instead of staining. White symbolizes purity for us.
John of Patmos shares this as a part of his vision in today's scripture from Revelation. He wrote:
After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands ... Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?" I said to him, "Sir, you are the one that knows." Then he said to me, "These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."
Who are those strangers in white robes? In a play on words from the Moody Blues song, "Nights In White Satin," they are "Saints In White Satin." They are Christ's followers -- those who believe on his name -- those who have committed themselves to his service. In short, these in white robes are Christ's church, Christ's body, Christ's bride.
These are the saints who have gone before us. It is a reminder that you and I did not come to faith on our own. The reason we have faith today is because of a line of believers reaching back more than 2,000 years.
In an explanation of the Seder meal sponsored by the Jews For Jesus' ministry, the speaker repeatedly referred to Abraham, Moses, and other ancient Jews with the phrase "my ancestors." We have lost that in modern Christianity. We often forget that we have a faith lineage that goes back to the original disciples.
These saints weren't perfect -- just faithful. In the midst of persecution, they found their strength in God and reflected the light of Christ.
A young boy allegedly visited Europe with his parents and saw some of the great cathedrals. After returning, his Sunday school teacher asked if he learned what a saint was. He remembered seeing several saints depicted in stain glass windows, so he said, "A saint is a person who the light shines through."
Not a bad definition. May we all one day be a part of the great multitude of saints in white satin -- those that remain faithful in times of trial, those who worship passionately, those who let the light of the Lamb shine through.
In their book, Schweitzer, George Marshal and David Doling tell of missionary/physician/theologian Dr. Albert Schweitzer who gave his life to serve the needs of those who lived in the African jungle. He was to the first half of the twentieth century what Mother Teresa was to the second half.
Treating the Africans medically was a gruesome task. However, he received great joy in serving and particularly enjoyed delivering babies. Early on, he discovered that the natives had a practice of immediately painting a new baby white. Sometimes they painted the mother as well.
Schweitzer asked, "Is it because they wish they were white?"
The natives howled with laughter and said, "No, it is to frighten off the evil spirits. Evil spirits fear white and will not harm the baby or the mother."
Schweitzer was amused that white was a dreaded color to evil spirits. Eventually, though, he would admonish the parents as he delivered a baby and slapped its backside, "Don't forget to paint it white."
Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? The color white hoarding off evil spirits. Maybe not so much. After all, we believe much the same thing. Symbolically, we believe that one can be washed in the blood of the Lamb and be made white. It's an oxymoron -- a blood that bleaches instead of staining. White symbolizes purity for us.
John of Patmos shares this as a part of his vision in today's scripture from Revelation. He wrote:
After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands ... Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?" I said to him, "Sir, you are the one that knows." Then he said to me, "These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."
Who are those strangers in white robes? In a play on words from the Moody Blues song, "Nights In White Satin," they are "Saints In White Satin." They are Christ's followers -- those who believe on his name -- those who have committed themselves to his service. In short, these in white robes are Christ's church, Christ's body, Christ's bride.
These are the saints who have gone before us. It is a reminder that you and I did not come to faith on our own. The reason we have faith today is because of a line of believers reaching back more than 2,000 years.
In an explanation of the Seder meal sponsored by the Jews For Jesus' ministry, the speaker repeatedly referred to Abraham, Moses, and other ancient Jews with the phrase "my ancestors." We have lost that in modern Christianity. We often forget that we have a faith lineage that goes back to the original disciples.
These saints weren't perfect -- just faithful. In the midst of persecution, they found their strength in God and reflected the light of Christ.
A young boy allegedly visited Europe with his parents and saw some of the great cathedrals. After returning, his Sunday school teacher asked if he learned what a saint was. He remembered seeing several saints depicted in stain glass windows, so he said, "A saint is a person who the light shines through."
Not a bad definition. May we all one day be a part of the great multitude of saints in white satin -- those that remain faithful in times of trial, those who worship passionately, those who let the light of the Lamb shine through.
