Treating Refugees as well as Native Americans Treated us

Text: Rev 22:1-6, 17

Focus: Resurrection

Function: Mercy

Form: Story Telling

Welcome!

I love Thanksgiving and not just because I like to eat and watch football. It is the best time for Pumpkin pie and sweet potato cassarole man.

And, my tastes have changed over the years. Yes, I have evolved from light meat to dark meat, it seems to be much juicier.

I know that our version of history is constantly updated, but I love the idea of that first Thanksgiving when the Pilgrims, refugees who were escaping death and persecution because their brand of Christianity was perceived as a threat to the religious authorities.

They came here because like you and I, and every refugee, they were willing to give up their homes and their land because they believed that it was the only way to keep their families safe. Certainly today, we can identify with how difficult it must be to leave home.

I don't think it was an adventure, it was a hardship.

That first Thanksgiving was the second winter they endured. Their first winter took way to many lives.

And although they knew that during the winter their resources would be limited again, in worship to God, they shared with the Native Americans, as an act of faith and trust, the blessings they received.

And the Natives, although they were not Christians, reciprocated with the same degree of welcome.

Revelation 22:17 is one of my favorite passages of scripture, because it includes this incredible call from Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and, the Church -referred to as “the Bride” to come and feast!

It seems to me that the generosity that both sides exhibited is a great example of what it means to be a Christian.

I was a Jesus freak in my youth. I remember the opposition to that new fangled music that Christians were singing and because I was young and full of passion about change, I embraced those songs.

My favorite was the Chorus: “They will know that we are Christians by the way we love one another.”

In many ways, my own Christian journey has been a fleshing out of that statement by Jesus when Jesus said this is how you will be known, by the way you demonstrate love.

The Spirit and the Bride are still calling out for us to Come. Come back. Come for the first time, Come again and again, keep on coming to Christ. And that invitation is for everyone, everyone who is thirsty.

I was an idealistic youth. My father had a heart attack when I was 10, and for about 8 years, his health kept him from his first career love, which was pastoring a Church.

We attended an inner city Church a few miles from our home. It was soon after the civil rights acts/marches which were led by great Christian leaders who risked their lives to ensure that everyone, not just a few, were welcome to come and drink freely from the well of salvation.

In and through that Church. I met Jesus. At 4, during a children's event at a district meeting, I asked Jesus to come into my heart.

I was telling my dad what I did and when I was telling him I realized something. I still picture it, I was looking at my mom, and when I moved my head to tell my dad what happened, I could feel Jesus inside of me. And I almost got in trouble for taking the name of the Lord in vain. My mom said: “who did you invite into your heart today?”

And again, as I turned my head, I felt Him inside me, and with a sort of a shock I shouted out “Jesus.” He was here.

In the Anabaptist tradition, I wasn't allowed to be baptized until I was 12 and of an age of consent. I remember giving a testimony about it and telling everyone that I didn't know what had happened to me but the only way I could describe it was that a ton of happiness fell on me.

I was invited to come to the water, and in that water, again, I met the Lord.

So, you can imagine my internal struggle for some reason or other, as the neighborhood the church was located in began to be integrated and the congregation wanted to move to the suburbs because they didn't think they could worship with people of a different race.

The Spirit and the Bride say: “Come!”

That undermined the entire concept to me of what “welcome,” and “They will know we follow Jesus by the way we love others.”

If others weren't welcome, how could this be love?

They were and still are good people. And God's love is patient as God delivers people from their fears and prejudices into faith.

We are not born into God's Kingdom as complete and mature disciples. And once we begin that journey of faith, God continues to work within us to deliver us from prejudice and fear. And, I would submit that most prejudice is based on fear. And, we know this: God's Spirit is not inside of us to cause us to fear, but to give us power and love and clear reasoning. Amen?

I still know many of those people and most are as embarrassed about their prejudicial fear as I was offended by their disingenuous reasoning.

And that brings me to the first first 2 verses of Revelation 22: ¹The angel also showed me the river of the water of life, sparkling like crystal, and coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb ²and flowing down the middle of the city's street. On each side of the river was the tree of life, which bears fruit twelve times a year, once each month; and its leaves are for the healing of the nations.

I oftentimes avoid preaching out of Revelation because there are a myriad ways of interpreting it and I don't want to offend, God brings out many different and unique ways of interpreting any scripture based on the time and the season.

But, I will risk this interpretation of John's vision. Much of Revelation is about future events, but some of it is about current events, in John's time.

The 7 letters appear to be about current events. And 7 bowls, 7 judgments, 7 seals, not unlike the 7 miracles and 7 parables in the Gospel of John indicate that John -and God- have this thing with the number 7. The gospel of John does not follow the chronological order of the other 3 gospels because John -and the Holy Spirit- see value in the repetition of 7 events since 7 seems to be a divine number symbolizing God's glory and power.

All of that is to say that I wonder if at this point in time of the vision that John is describing in the book of Revelations is not specifically about future events, but about what was currently happening in heaven.

And I say that because this can't be about the future heaven and earth once the old one is done away with as described in the 20 chapter when even time ceases to be since sin the tree of life is still producing leaves whose purpose is to heal the nations. Since healing is still occurring, it appears not be about a perfect future, but it is about the present power and work of God in the current world to be the agent to heal and restore the nations.

The Spirit and the Bride say: “welcome!”

And heaven is pictured as a place that is growing a tree that comes from the river of life and that tree is still healing the world.

At 4, I asked Jesus into my heart, and He came in. I believe in the power of what we call: “The sinners prayer.”

But when Jesus told the disciples to go everywhere and preach the good news, He never said to go and tell them to pray to ask Jesus into their hearts so that when they die they could go to this heaven.

I believe in that prayer. But the good news, according to Jesus is this: “The kingdom of God is here, already, right now!”

And John sees this in the vision. The Kingdom of heaven with the river of life flowing through it, with a tree that is still there, healing ALL the nations.

What a great image! (AMEN?)

So, there is another chorus from today's contemporary Christian music that resonates with me as much as “They Will Know We Are Christians By Our Love.”

It comes from the Passion worship Conferences. And I confess, it confused me. I thought the song was done by Robin Mark, a Scottish Christian musician.

But, this one song starts out with some haunting words that might be an indictment on our own culture. The song is titled “Did You Feel The Mountains Tremble?”

The leader, before the song starts asks a simple question. And, I think that given the first Thanksgiving Worship celebration/feast, is appropriate for this year.

The song leader simply asks this question, three: “Could this be the land of the free?”

Is this still the land that says “welcome?” Is this still the land that says: “Let everyone who is thirsty come.”

And, the author picks up my theme in this song. He speaks of the streams of God's river washing away our sin and brokenness. He sings of the river of salvation flowing out from God. Much of the imagery is taken from this passage in Revelation, but then the song gives us a way to move forward in spite of the fact that there are very real fears when we talk about who we are now going to welcome.

The line is this: Dancers who dance upon injustice.

By faith, by the power of God, by the promise of the Holy Spirit, we too get to dance on fear, hatred, brokenness, prejudice, hatred, and exclusion.

The good news is this: God's kingdom is more powerful than any human Kingdom and those of us who get to be part of God's family here in earth, have real power. We have power flowing right out of heaven, the same power that is feeding the tree that produces leaves for healing the nations.

And just as those first native Americans opened their borders to us, Christians who were fleeing for our lives, God's power is there.

And just as those first pilgrims who took an huge step of faith and shared their limited resources, and they did this with a clear body memory of the terrible winter the year before, we too, have the promises of God to use us to heal a broken world, if we will just trust God, and not give in to our fear.

Amen?