Richard Davenport
November 3, 2024 – All Saints’ Day
Revelation 7:9-17
Some time back I saw a little news blurb about a Boeing 737 that went down near New Zealand. It landed in the water. Apparently the water was pretty shallow and no one was seriously injured. Still, it got me thinking. Those of you who’ve flown before are probably familiar with the speech the flight attendants have to give. Here’s how you buckle your seat belt. Here’s where the bathrooms are. Stay in your seat when the warning light is on. In case of emergency, here are the exit rows. Oxygen masks will drop from the ceiling and your seat can be used as a floatation device. It’s all pretty standard stuff. You can even flip through everything the attendant said in the little pamphlet they put in the back of the seat.
I’ve never heard of someone having a serious problem on a plane. I’ve heard of a few folks that were delayed because of some mechanical issue, but no one who’s had to make an emergency landing, much less experienced some in-flight disaster. A plane crash anywhere would be terrible. If you’re high enough up over land when you crash, then the only positive point is that it would be over fairly quickly. There’s not much chance of survival in cases like that. That makes a crash over water, especially out in the ocean, arguably a lot worse. If you crash close enough to land, like this 737 flight, or if someone somehow sees you go down, then your chances of survival are pretty good. If not, then everything becomes a big question mark. Will someone find you in time? Will you succumb to the dangers of the open ocean? Will you succumb to simple exposure?
I can’t imagine being stuck out there along, adrift, with no idea whether you’ll ever be rescued and nothing to do except float along until you are or until you just can’t hang on anymore. I’m not sure what you’d do while you floated there except to question and consider your life. Aside from that, all you could do is try to hold out as long as you can in the hopes someone will rescue you.
That sense of being lost, that sense of hopelessness would be extreme, but being stranded out in the middle of the ocean isn’t the only place it can strike. Almost any time in life can be one of feeling stranded. You’re up to your neck and barely treading water. In those situations, the easiest thing to do is panic. You can kick and scream and yell. You can get angry at the world for putting you in this situation. None of it helps. You’re lost in a sea of depression, of hopelessness, of powerlessness, with no end in sight. You need someone to save you, but no one is able to. They either shun you or they are unable to help you. You call for help. You ask your friends. You ask your family. You ask your boss and other folks at work. You ask anyone who you can find and nothing.
The reading from Revelation is one we’re all pretty familiar with. All of the saints gathered around the throne of God. Christ, the Lamb of God, is seated on the throne and all the saints worship him. They are representatives of all God’s people throughout time and from every place on the globe. They stand there in their white robes with their palm branches, cheering and praising God. They certainly don’t sound like people who have a lot to worry about. In fact, it doesn’t sound like they’d be people we have a lot in common with at all. They’re happy and carefree. They aren’t worrying. They aren’t in pain. There’s no danger anywhere.
The whole scene sounds rather surreal and hard to relate to. They don’t have much to offer to someone suffering here. Worry, stress, anxiety, fear, these are all things that mark our lives. These are what we face each day. These are people living safe and free.
When you’re lost and helpless in the midst of the ocean, when you can’t see a way out of the waves that threaten to carry you under, it’s these kinds of people you grow to resent the most. Those people out there, living happy and carefree, have no idea what you’re going through. They can’t imagine why you don’t want to get up in the morning and face the day. It isn’t because you haven’t had your morning cup of coffee yet. It’s because you’re afraid you finally won’t have the strength to tread water anymore and you’ll finally lose everything.
That resentment that churns under the surface as you see other people going about their lives without any of the problems you face. They live safe and sound while you’re there trying not to drown in a sea of hardship and depression. Each day is a struggle for you, while they seem to coast by unconcerned. You’re drowning in debt and obligations you can’t repay. You’re awash in loneliness and isolation. You feel lost because you have no direction, no purpose, no goal, nothing to work for and nothing to accomplish. You feel like you’re missing out on everything good in life. You feel like you just can’t get ahead. Everything goes wrong all the time and life is just jumping from one fire to the next with no respite. You resent the inequality, the despair that seems to have picked you out of the crowd. Even though there are people all around you, you’re alone.
Looking at the text in Revelation, it might be hard to see how it’s supposed to speak to us here. The whole book of Revelation speaks to one sin in particular: hopelessness. It’s that sense you have that you are truly lost, doomed to drift until you are pulled under. The end will come at some point and there doesn’t seem to be anyone willing or able to save you from your plight. And, when it doesn’t look like anyone will save you, you start to think no one can save you.
The passage today describes the saints before the throne. They are gathered together and they shout out as one, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” Salvation is one of those words we use here in church all the time. Jesus is our savior. Jesus brings us salvation. He offers us forgiveness, life, and salvation. We use the word so much it rather loses its meaning.
That person floating out on the ocean in the middle of nowhere, who sees the rescue helicopter fly over, who watches the diver jump out and help them into the harness as they are lifted up to safety knows the meaning of salvation. Salvation is to be lifted up, to be taken out of the sea of death and given new life. Salvation is to go from being lost and abandoned, to being gathered into the arms of a loved one and held tight.
Our hopelessness comes from looking for the wrong kind of rescue and looking for it in the wrong place. No one around you is going to be able to do more than just make your life a little easier now and then. Everyone you might look to for help is drowning in their own way. They can’t rescue you because they’re in the same ocean you are. A little help is nice, but it doesn’t solve the problem. Throwing you a life preserver may help you keep your head above water for a while, but it won’t get you out of trouble for long. Soon you’ll be back to the struggle, flailing about without any direction. You need someone who isn’t stuck in the ocean, someone who’s above it.
Jesus knows what it’s like for us, stuck in a world trying to drag us down. Much of the trouble is our own making, our petty pride finds many reasons to argue and bicker, and many ways to isolate you from everyone else. Jesus has drifted in that ocean too, floating about on the waves of danger and despair we all face, but he always had hope. He knew his Father had the power to save and never doubted. He knows rescue is coming.
The passage in Revelation tells of the future and the saints that make up the crowd are innumerable, gathered together from every time and place. It is a picture of millions who have already been rescued and many more ahead of us who will yet be saved. For you, this is not a picture that indicates you will get lost in the shuffle. This shows that God has the power to save you and many more.
As one who has put faith and trust in Christ, you are on the list of those to be saved. Your place is assured. At the end, when the darkness makes its last bid to catch you, he will be there to pluck you out of the depths and bring you to safety. You will be part of the innumerable host of those who have been saved by Christ.
A few years ago, Laurie and I went to a Billy Joel concert back in Cincinnati. She’s a big fan and it’s not often he’d be likely to come to town, so we made a point of going. We got good tickets and when the time came we went down to the concert venue downtown. I haven’t been to a concert for anyone else who can command the attendance like Billy Joel can, but I assume it’s much the same for any of the other big name stars you can think of. If you haven’t been to an event like this, the first thing you have to do is get in line. You don’t get in line at the door, you get in line back where it ends, which is outside, around along the railing almost out to the street, and that’s just for that entrance. You could head for the other entrances, but their equally long. You’re waiting, but you’re there in plenty of time, so there’s no rush. You move along with numerous other fans who are all chatting and excited to be there. Whatever happened earlier in your day is forgotten as the excitement the event takes over. The day has finally come and you get to be there.
Of course, all of that pales in comparison to when you get inside and find your place. The whole arena is packed, not an empty seat in the house. The excitement level increases even more as all of the fans are there talking, commenting on what they see. The technicians are busy doing their last minute checks and music from past albums plays over the speakers. Eventually the technicians clear out, the music stops and the lights go out. The noise level in the arena drops as everyone starts watching intently, waiting for the moment. Then he walks out and takes his place on stage, waving to the crowd and the sound is deafening. The moment has finally arrived and the excitement can’t be contained anymore.
The last verse of “For All the Saints,” creates a similar image. The saints, rejoicing now that they’ve been rescued, stream into the city of God from every entrance. They have been saved from sin. They’ve been pulled from the darkness of death and now they are ready to celebrate. They gather together around Christ cheering. All of the fear that had come before is now forgotten. Now there is only celebration.
For as difficult as life can be here, just shares this vision with you as a reminder and a promise that the celebration will be so great as to wipe away any memory of the pain you suffered here. Trust in Christ to rescue you, not just from the temporary troubles of life, from this world entirely. Wait for him to save you and you will not be disappointed.