In touch	Check-in	Intercessions
In touch begins immediately below	Scroll down or click for Check-in	Subscribers only: see intercessions

 

In touch

Up-to-the-minute jumping-off points for sermons, linking the reading to the latest news and global issues

Visions today

What might be our visions in the 21st century (Revelation 7.9-17)?

 

Context

Visions are at the heart of Revelation. Twenty centuries later it is hard for us to understand how these visions were understood by their first readers probably at the end of the first century of the Christian era. But they provoke for me real questions about the role of visions (and dreams) for the life of faith in the 21st century. ROOTS subscribers may have seen in this week’s Sermon ideas mention of the visions received in 1373 by the young woman who came to be known as Julian of Norwich. Other figures in the history of the church have received visions which they believed had significance for the times in which they lived. But what are our visions for the church or for the world?

Our present context is dominated by the war in Ukraine which seems to have been driven at least in part by a vision of a united Orthodox version of Christianity standing up against the corruption of the west. But what is the vision of those in Ukraine resisting the invasion? And what is the vision of those in the west assisting them with military hardware?

A draft decision on abortion by the US Supreme Court has provoked protests from both sides of the debate. How should Christians deal with such controversial issues? Should we seek ways to live with contradictory convictions (as British Methodism is seeking to do over same sex marriage)?

 

Ideas for sermons or interactive talks

It can be hard for many of us to put ourselves in the mindset of those for whom there must be one correct truth on every conceivable subject. In a situation where even truth is contested where do we turn for enlightenment? The vision in today’s passage from Revelation is of an inclusive congregation ‘from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages’ (Revelation 7.9) at worship in God’s presence. Can we renew and turn into practice such an inclusive vision in this century?

Some visions are utopian – hardly likely to happen in the real world; others are dystopian – hardly desirable in the real world. Sometimes if we try to achieve our visions, we find them crumbling in our hands – is that how Putin feels as the Russian army has found it much harder to take over Ukraine than he expected? Are our visions utopian, dystopian or somewhere in between?

What vision do we each have for our own church community? Is it inclusive? Is it radical? Is it achievable?

And what visions do we have for our divided world? A world in which religion is a factor in so many of the world’s conflicts, and overtly Christian nations are at war?

On controversial issues like abortion and human sexuality should we take sides, or should we seek to live with contradictory convictions? Listen to the Thought for the Day on Wednesday 4 May by the Revd Dr Sam Wells for a reflection on this.

What do we make of the shepherd imagery in most of today’s Bible passages? There is lots of such imagery in the Bible. King David started life as a shepherd and shepherd imagery runs through quite a bit of the Old Testament material about the kings of the Jewish people. But few of us now know much about sheep and shepherding. Psalm 23 remains very popular but what do we really understand when we speak of the Lord as our shepherd? Might there be more relevant imagery for the 21st century where many of us have little knowledge of sheep and shepherding?

My Facebook thread has reminded me this week of this saying attributed to Albert Einstein:

The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil but by those who watch them without doing anything.

Remember that we are still in the Easter season. The resurrection hope should still be at the heart of our thinking. These final lines of a hymn from John Bell and the late Graham Maule of the Iona Community remain key for me:

Christ is risen. Christ is present.
Making us what he has been
Evidence of transformation
In which God is known and seen.

 

Questions for discussion

• What are your visions for the church and the world today?
• How should we deal with controversial issues in the church? Can and should we live with contradictory convictions when Christians hold strong views on both sides?
• At the heart of the debates in the USA around abortion are questions of human rights. One side argues for a woman’s right to choose; on the other the right of the foetus to life is argued. How should Christians approach such issues?

Dudley Coates is a local preacher in the Yeovil and Blackmore Vale Methodist Circuit and a former Vice President of the Methodist Conference.

 

Check-in

Connecting faith with everyday, real-life issues for young people

Life is unpredictable:

• As exam season looms – will those in schools be disadvantaged by the disruption of Covid-19?
• The weather is now getting warmer – but how hot and uncomfortable will the weather be around the world due to climate change?
• This week some progress seems to be made with evacuating Ukrainians from the destroyed Mariupol – what will the future look like for the countless Ukrainian refugees?

These predictions are just one side of the story – it is entirely possible that exams will go well, freak weather events will be minimal, and human kindness will prevail and protect displaced Ukrainians. Nevertheless, these examples show that our lives are a mix of amazing good and disappointing bad. However, in this week’s gospel we meet God and the Lamb (Jesus Christ) – our guide and shepherd who rescues us.

Having just celebrated Easter this is especially relevant – we know that God knows us and loves us individually, and through his Son Jesus Christ offers salvation and rescue from the evil of the world. The Gospel explains that the people are praising God because they have escaped the ‘ordeal’ – and they give praise because in Him they are sheltered. Unlike refugees they do not hunger or thirst. The sun and the scorching heat of climate change do not harm people any longer. The struggles of life are no longer present – there are no tears as Jesus the Lamb and Shepherd leads people to ‘springs of the water of life’.

Of course, these truths do not make the struggles of life disappear. But the words of this week’s Gospel show that we do not struggle alone – and at the end of a life of mixed emotion and experiences will come the perfection of heaven.

Joe Allen is a postgraduate at the University of Exeter, studying for an MA in Theology having graduated with a BA in Theology and Religion in 2021. The son of an Army Chaplain, he was born in Lancashire and has lived across the UK.

Hypertext links to other websites are for the convenience of users only and do not constitute any endorsement or authorisation by ROOTS for Churches Ltd.

The week in focus is also available via Twitter and facebook.

ROOTS publishes weekly lectionary-based worship and learning resources online and in two magazines. FIND OUT MORE.