Sermon for May 4, 2025 (Revelation 5:8-14) by Rev. David Domanski
We are sometimes blessed to see visions of grandeur here on earth. No doubt you can think of moments you were so caught up you could scarcely breathe—perhaps a view of nature, like the great vistas of Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon. Maybe it was a view of a beautiful building, inside or out. Music, too, such as Handel’s Messiah, might catch us unaware and sweep us up in the majesty and movement of the orchestra and chorus. We might think we’re in heaven itself, at least for a moment, before we’re carried back to our ordinary place in life.
And majesty is what we see today as we read from the Revelation of Jesus Christ to the apostle John. In this vision, we are caught up with John into heaven; we see what he sees. John sees God at the center and the Lamb and the Spirit of God in power. He sees the elders around the throne falling down in worship to the Lamb. He sees the thousands of angels singing their anthem of praise. He sees all of heaven and earth giving worship to the Lamb and to our God. It’s a vision that would make our hairs stand on end, seeing the majesty of our Lord in heaven. But, as awesome as the vision is, the message in and around this vision is not about God’s power and might or the adoration and praise that properly belong to Him. The message is about what God has done and what he promises always to do—for you and for me.
So let’s revisit the scene and see what we might have missed about the message related to God’s all-important promises. The action focuses on God. In his hand is a large book, or scroll, sealed with seven seals, the contents of which are a mystery. This book is bursting with information, almost screaming for release. “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” (v 2) a strong angel asks. Nothing in all of heaven or earth is able, not even the strong angel. John would weep, but an elder knows one who is worthy: the Lion of Judah, the Root of Jesse! And, looking, John sees a Lamb! A Lamb that looks “as though it had been slain” (v 6). The Lamb is strong and victorious. As the Lamb stands before the throne of God, the praise commences—from the elders gathered round the throne, from angels, and from all of heaven and earth. The majesty surrounding the Lamb is deafening!
Most of us are aware of Handel’s musical production, “Messiah” including the famous “Hallelujah Chorus”? Handel was a proud and difficult man for most of his life. Desperate to do an oratorio in England, Handel agreed to compose “Messiah,” putting music to a string of scriptural prophecies a friend had pieced together for him, prophecies that proclaimed the purpose of Christ. The further Handel went in the composition, the more feverishly he worked. When a servant brought him a meal, Handel’s words were few, but he mumbled about having seen the glories of God’s heaven. Hearing the majestic choruses, we think we know what Handel meant, but Handel was not caught up with the magnitude of God’s glory—he was caught up with the message of the Lamb. Many think Handel’s “Messiah” was meant to herald Jesus’ birth at Christmas, but it was actually composed to highlight the Good Friday and Easter story—to proclaim the glory of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
In “Messiah,” Handel declares the Christ of Easter as his living Lord. And Handel came to believe in those words of God—those holy promises about salvation in Jesus. These promises transformed Handel. After performing “Messiah,” he told some friends that he had one desire—to die on Good Friday. “I want to die on Good Friday,” he said, “in the hope of rejoining the good God, my sweet Lord and Saviour, on the day of His resurrection.” And so on Good Friday, 1759, Handel said good-bye to his friends and died the next day, Holy Saturday, April 14, 1759 (Ed Hird, “Rediscovering Handel’s Messiah,” Deep Cove Crier, April 1993). You see, for Handel and for us, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ changes our lives completely!
In our first lesson today, Saul was also transformed by experiencing Jesus, just like Handel. Saul changed from being a persecutor of the Church to servant of the Gospel. Even in our Gospel lesson, Peter was transformed by his experience with Jesus who forgave Peter and restored him. That is God’s intent—to have us experience Jesus and be transformed. The vision we experience in Revelation reminds us that God’s holiness is awesome, but greater yet is God’s power and desire to destroy the power of sin, death, and the devil. Our message is not so much “God is great” or that “Jesus is Lord,” but that “Jesus is MY Lord!” That’s the revelation God wants us to see: not just the power and majesty of heaven; not only that Jesus is victorious and worthy of all; but to highlight that all of this is yours.
God transforms you in a powerful but simple, way. His Holy Spirit comes to you in Baptism; God cleanses you of your sins and changes you—redeems you to be his own. His name is placed on you, and He directs you through life with His power and strength. And God feeds you in the Word and in the Sacrament of Christ’s body and blood. What a revelation of God’s love and power and purpose and promise—to you and to me! In Jesus’ name. Amen.