FAITH: Grace and peace in the Apocalypse

In Angers, France there’s a castle. Not surprising because a), it’s France, and b) it’s the Loire valley where there’s a castle, sometimes more, in every town. What makes that castle unique is its tapestry. France was known for producing super fine tapestries in the medieval period, and in Chateau d’Angers there’s a tapestry that depicts the entire book of Revelation. 

It’s enormous. Google it and you’ll see. The tapestry illustrates all the great and terrible things that we imagine when we think about the contents of the Book of Revelation. Scary monsters with lots of heads. Great cosmic warfare with angels prevailing over beasts. The great temptress of Babylon. She appears lovely and beautiful, but her true self is reflected in her hand mirror, a face that brings decay. When we think of Revelation, that’s where our imagination often goes. There are some wild images in John’s prophecy, some that are confusing and unnerving. 

The apocalyptic imagery means we forget about the introduction in the first chapter. Check out how verse three starts. “Blessed is the one who reads this and blessed are those who hear it and keep what’s written.” I don’t remember feeling blessed when I tried to read this as a kid. I definitely don’t remember feeling blessed when someone led a devotional out of Revelation. I remember feeling the opposite of blessed. Terrified? Inadequate? Sure. Blessed? Yeah, no.

How does John greet the churches in Asia? Not like Samuel L Jackson in Jurassic Park, who commands, “Hold on to your butts” with a defeated expression and a sarcastic tone. No, John greets the churches with Grace and Peace from Jesus himself, the ne who is and was and who is to come. We often treat the apocalyptic sections of the Bible like a secret code we have to crack to unlock the secrets of the future. That assumption ignores that these chapters were meant to help the church navigate events of their time. John’s prophecies gave hope and assurance to a church struggling against the violence of the Roman Empire and the destruction of the temple. They give hope and assurance to the generations that followed, too.

So begins the great apocalyptic letter, likely the last place we’d turn to in our Bible reading when we seek stories of grace and peace. Yet there it is. Grace and Peace to you from Jesus, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. Before we get to the four horsemen, before there’s any devouring beasts or cosmic battles, there’s a reminder that Jesus is the ruler of the kings of earth. Before you read any of the scenes of violence or destruction, remember who sent you this prophecy. Like in Lord of the Rings, goblins may be stalking the earth led by folks who care only about power, but the real king is preparing for the final confrontation where evil will be vanquished forever. That’s not a question, it’s not a tenuous proposition in light of human events. It’s declared in the first chapter of Revelation.

John continues with a doxology to the one who loves us and frees us. Like Grace and Peace, we pick up Revelation during our prayer time to read about love and freedom, right? Yet here it is, part of the foundation, the introduction. We are beloved, made free, and placed as priests in his kingdom. Not the kingdoms described in the chapters to follow, not a kingdom that we can impose by human effort. 

Advent starts for many churches this Sunday. This season of waiting and preparing for Jesus’ arrival zooms us out of whatever circumstances are trying to drag us into despair: intensifying wars, political transitions and uncertainty, people of varying intelligence and integrity serving where we wish everyone had high intelligence and integrity. At a micro scale and at a macro scale the first verses of Revelation remind us of who God is, of whose kingdom we serve, that no matter what we see, Jesus sees it too, and will, as N. T. Wright says, Jesus will set things to rights. 

Grace and peace to you, as you find yourself again in a waiting room, again seeing a caller ID that can only mean bad news, again facing an impossible situation. The One who loves you and frees you bids you rest as you find yourself anxious over headlines, over personal strife, over your own shortcomings.

Grace and peace to you when your plate is so full of unwanted concerns that there’s no room for things that nourish you, the things that bring joy, the things that make you feel alive. The one who loves and frees you smiles at your stubborn unwillingness to accept things as they are.

Grace and peace to you as you plan to celebrate Christ’s birth. May you be free from the frenzy and the tension that, like the monsters of Revelation, compete for attention, that distract from the One on the throne.

The One who loves you and frees you is weaving a new tapestry.

A story of hope, of justice, of freedom, of flourishing. 

The threads we’ve woven for ourselves, ugly, moth eaten yarns telling stories of greed, of pollution, of violence are being undone. The great unraveling may appear very, very frightening, but God the creator and re-creator is at work transforming the fibers of our beings into beauty our imaginations can’t conceive.

Instead of war, there will be beauty. Instead of all the destruction born of selfishness, there will be righteousness and peace. The enormity of any apocalypse is tamed by the One who is, and who was, and who is to come. 

Grace and Peace to you from the One who loves you and sets you free.

Mary Beth Eberle is the pastor at Grace United Methodist Church on McClellan Road in North Jackson.