Tomorrow’s Sunday! 

Revelation 1:12-16, 20 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a Son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. . . .  As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Gathering as a church can all too easily become mundane. The English word “mundane” comes directly from the Latin mundanus that means belonging to this world only. Our gathering as a church becomes mundane when it loses its other-worldliness. This loss is characteristic of modernity. The modern world we inhabit is one in which we comprehend everything—or, at least we think we do. The inexplicable is unwelcome. 

This rational reflex is particularly prevalent in us protestants. Mystery rubs us as Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox. This reflex likely owes more to the unholy trinity of Bacon, Newton, and Locke than to the Magisterial Reformers: Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli. The Reformers never meant their articulation of the ordinary means of grace, namely preaching, bible reading, praying,  and observing the ordnances, to divest our Sunday gatherings of mystery. 

So how do we save our Sunday services from the disenchantment of secularism? Thankfully, for those of us who lack creativity like myself, no creativity is required. We simply need to remember what the Bible says,  believe what the Bible says, and imagine what the Bible says. So let’s do that. 

Remember

The Apostle John in Revelation chapter one, tells us that Jesus walks among the lampstands. (v. 13) John doesn’t leave us wondering what the lampstands represent; he tells us directly: “the seven lampstands are the seven churches” (v. 20). These seven churches are emblematic of every true church. John is saying that Jesus shows up for HBC’s Sunday services. 

Believe 

“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen,” says the writer to the Hebrews. The Bible tells us that the Son of Man will be in our midst (v.13) as we gather to worship the Triune God. We can be sure of that. We may not be able to see that Spirit of Christ with our physical eyes, but we should be convinced Christ congregates with us.

Imagine

In order to be good readers of  John’s Revelation, we have to turn on our imaginations. Revelation is a vision. John intends for us to envision it. He wants us to see who He saw: “the Son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters . . . and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.” Do you see Him? This is the Christ who congregates with us—the exalted Son of Man in all His majestic glory!

Conclusion

The exalted Spirit of Christ’s gathering with us each-and-every Lord’s Day certainly exceeds explanation; His gathering with us, however, can be experienced by redeemed, faith-fueled imagination. We have good reason to be excited about gathering as a church this Sunday. Let’s meditate on and envision John’s portrait of the Exalted Christ and share our excitement and anticipation with our families and our church. 

Tomorrow’s Sunday!