Heavenly Throne Room

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            Imagine yourself, for a minute, locked in a dark room.  Let’s say you are training to be a CIA agent.  You are alone.  All the lights have been cut off and all the windows have been boarded up.  You can’t even see the palm of your hand when you put it up to your face. 

It’s been days or weeks or even longer since you’ve last seen or spoken to anybody.  And just at the moment when you have lost all faith of getting out, the smallest glimmer of light pokes through one of the boards covering the window.

            In a moment of hope, you run over to the window and try to ply the board away.  After hours of trying, your fingers are raw and you can’t get the board to budge.  You have come so close to breaking free yet you are still stuck in that same dark place. 

You collapse on the floor and begin to wish that you had never seen that glimmer of light in the first place.  It would have been better if you hadn’t ever gotten your hopes up at all.  You rest your face in your hands and begin to weep.

            If you can imagine this scene, then it might not be too hard to image what John of Patmos experienced when he wrote the Book of Revelation.  John is in exile on an island called Patmos.  He is imprisoned for his Christian faith.  But while in prison, John receives the revelation of Jesus Christ.

            This revelation of Jesus Christ is the glimmer of light that shines into John’s dark prison cell.  This glimmer of light gives John hope in the darkest of places.  This glimmer of light calls John to his knees and then to his feet where he comes face to face with the risen Lord.

And this is where we meet John in today’s lesson.  In particular, we meet John in the heavenly throne room.  The revelation of Jesus Christ has torn a hole through John’s dark earthly reality and gives a passage way for John to enter into God’s heavenly reality.  

            Revelation chapter 4 describes this heavenly place in provocative detail.  And this description of heaven in Revelation is where we get a lot of the language for our Eucharistic Prayers.  Prayer D says, “Countless throngs of angels stand before you to serve you night and day; and, beholding the glory of your presence, they offer you unceasing praise.”

The Eucharistic Prayer also affirms that we, today, are a part of that powerful scene that connects heaven and earth.  Here in worship we also recognize that the risen Lord has torn a hole in our earthly reality and gives us a vision of God’s heavenly reality.  So the prayer continues, “Joining with them, and giving voice to every creature under heaven, we acclaim you, and glorify your Name, as we sing…Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty…”

So imagine yourself with John now in that heavenly place.  Imagine that you too have seen that glimmer of light poking through the cracks.  Imagine that you too have been transported to a place where hope gives you reason to try and crawl out of whatever deep, dark place you find yourself in today.

Now take a few more steps with John into the heavenly throne room.  Imagine you are about to receive the instrument that will shatter those planks of wood. Imagine that you have at your fingertips the blue prints that will allow light to overwhelm the darkness.

At the beginning of chapter 5, John has at his fingertips the plan of salvation.  John sees the one who holds the scroll and then an angel declares with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll?”  It is quickly discerned that nobody in heaven or on earth or under the earth was worthy to open the scroll. 

John is so close to the answer salvation.  The answer is at his fingertips but he and nobody else is able to open the scroll that details the plan of salvation.  John of Patmos begins to weep bitterly.

I along with you know what it is like to be so close yet feel so far away.  I along with you know what it is like to feel like you have reached the top, you have reached the pinnacle only to slide right back down the hill to the place where you first started.

            On a communal level, I often feel that Selma is on the verge of overcoming a sometimes dark past.  I see these glimmers of hope breaking through the darkness all over Selma.  I see the light piercing the darkness here at St. Paul’s in all facets of our life together. 

            I see rays of hope breaking in through different people and groups all over the community—too many to count.  God’s salvation plan seems poised to unhinge those planks of wood that are preventing light from pouring into our community. 

            And just when I  think we have made progress, just when I think our community is moving in a positive direction, just when I think there is about to be a break through, we get more bad news.  Another murder.  Another crime spree.  Another story about mis-trust and broken relationships.  Another fight.  Another story about failing schools.  And the list goes on.

            It is inevitable that someone will say, “some things never change.”  And I’ll admit that I sometimes find myself wondering the same thing.  And so we get out our hammer and nails, hoist up another two by four, and cover the places where light once shinned.  We retreat back into a deep dark hole.  We’d rather stay there than risk being disappointed again.  We’ve been hurt one too many times.  We rest our face in our hands and weep bitterly.

            About a month ago, I saw one of those glimmers of light fill the Nave.  Children from the Alabama Choir School out of Tuscaloosa sang during the offertory.  I’ll the first to admit that I was a little weary about the selection they choose—“Somewhere Over the Rainbow”.  However, something happened when they began singing.  

            I felt like I was transported to a heavenly realm.  I felt like I was standing in the heavenly throne room—a hole was torn between heaven and earth and light poured in.  I thought, “What if?  What if this was one of the ways that God is trying to flood Selma with goodness and light?  What if?”

My gut reaction wants to say, 'Let’s make this happen. We at St. Paul's Selma can make this happen!' But God seems to be saying something a little different. I hear God saying, 'I am already making this happen. This is going to happen! Can't you see? My eternal light just tore a hole between heaven and earth. Will you to let it happen?'

If I have learned anything about the power of God’s light, it is that when we let the light shine through we will see things that we never thought existed.  We will be opened up to a reality beyond our wildest dreams.  I have also learned that seeing things in a new light can be scary.  Doing new things is scary.  The unknown is terrifying.  New obstacles will be revealed.  We will have to learn to do things all over again. 

But our faith also tells us that the crucified one has provided a way through those obstacles.  Our faith tells us that the risen Lord shows us that there is life beyond those obstacles.  Our faith tells us that the kingdom of heaven doesn’t have a concept of failure—only a concept of new life.  The light of God’s heavenly kingdom will find a way through and beyond the darkness of our earthly reality.

I hope many of you see a light poking through whatever darkness you find yourself in.  Maybe that dark place is at home.  Maybe that dark place is at work or at school.  Maybe that dark place is in your own heart.  I pray that you catch a glimmer of God’s light.

I know it might be tempting to run toward that light and throw aside any obstacle that gets in the way—even if the obstacle is a big red X.  It might be tempting to do the exact opposite.  It might be tempting to cover the light up because you don’t want to get hurt again.  Instead of doing these things, trust that the God is lighting up the path for you to follow. 

Like the metaphor I used last week, don’t let the finger mesmerize you or terrify you, don’t let the light poking through the cracks mesmerize or terrify you.  Instead, stop to look where the finger is pointing, where the light is shining.  You might just find that those things you once considered obstacles to be the very things God wants to you to use in order to let the light shine. 

For those who might be afraid of the light, God is not promising that you will never get hurt again.  In fact, by the following the light, you might even get hurt more.  But the truth of God’s word tells us that the sufferings of the present time can’t compare to the glory to be revealed.  If you have given birth to a child, then you have an idea of what this means.

   Beloved, all the company of heaven stands around the throne of God and sings a song of unceasing praise.  They sing because our God makes light shine in the darkness.  They sing because victory over whatever dark obstacle stands in the way is won.  They sing because there is one who is worthy to open the scroll of salvation—the Lamb who was slain. 

               They sing because the Lamb who was slain is poised in all times and places to break open the seals of salvation in order to reveal abundant light and life.  May we have the grace join in songs of unceasing praise and let God light up the world with the Good News of the risen Lord.  Amen.