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O Oriens — “O Rising Sun”
Saint Thomas
Everliving God, who didst strengthen thine apostle Thomas with firm and certain faith in thy Son's resurrection: Grant us so perfectly and without doubt to believe in Jesus Christ, our Lord and our God, that our faith may never be found wanting in thy sight; through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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Saint Thomas
O Oriens -- “O Rising Sun”
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A Sermon by
✛
The Angels' Revelation
When I was nineteen years old my friends and I went to see Francis Coppola’s epic film about the Vietnam War, ‘Apocalypse now.’ Coppola had wanted his film to be the definitive war movie and explore the true horror of war and destruction. The last book of the bible – the book of revelation – is about the apocalypse – which is its title in the original Greek language. It contains epic scenes of war and destruction and, perhaps for that very reason, many people see the apocalypse as something to be feared. But, as Fr Daniels reminded his Sunday morning class on the book of Revelation, the word apocalypse doesn’t actually mean terror, vengeance or destruction at all, it means quite literally, ‘an un-covering’ – hence, revelation.
So what is or, rather, who is being revealed?
Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
His ‘apocalypse’ in a stable in Bethlehem brought God to the heart of things. Emmanuel – God with us – the Word made flesh.
At the time when Jesus was born there were two dramatic responses to his birth:
That of the shepherds to whom the Angels appeared proclaiming peace on earth and good will to all people – a response of joy which resulted in them praising God, and that of King Herod, whose response was one of fear and terror, resulting in the slaughter of innocent children and the Holy Family becoming refugees.
Sadly, there are still people in the world today who respond to the good news of Christ’s birth with fear and terror; ancient Christian communities in the Middle East are being displaced just as Mary and Joseph had to flee from Herod.
We celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace, but some people in our world are not interested in peace – just getting their own way. But the bible shows the consequences of ‘getting one’s own way.’ The story of Adam and Eve changes from co-operation with God to estrangement from God. But even in the story of the Fall in Genesis, God was still searching and yearning for a relationship with the ones he had created: “Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?” (Genesis 3″8b-9)
The story of the fall resulted in Adam and Eve hiding from God; getting their own way brought enmity into the world.
In his Christmas sermon[1] last year, referring to those who wield power through terror or imposing their own will on others, the Archbishop of Canterbury said this:
“To all ‘Herods’, this innocent baby is a threat, a sign of God’s radical reimagining of power – through love. To the shepherds, he is a gift, and an invitation.”
Our service began with an ancient game of ‘hide and seek’ in the Garden of Eden, but that was not enough for God; ultimately, he became one of us in Jesus Christ to bring us back to himself – to deliver that invitation personally, so our service ended with the revelation of the Word made flesh who dwelt among us.
This revelation of love began in a stable 2000 years ago. One day, as the Book of Revelation shows, Jesus will come back to us. His apocalypse at the end of time, though, will be the fulfillment of his reconciling love revealed on the cross – the making of all things new. So, my friends, how will we respond to his invitation?
As you leave the church today, look at the mosaic on the floor of the Narthex near the main door. It sits in the middle of many symbols of countries involved in another war – the Second World War – a time when human apocalypse was based on terror and fear, and ‘getting one’s own way’. But there, you will find the message of the angels – that first invitation to the shepherds – to discover the only one who can make a difference to our world and to our lives, Jesus Christ, who came to bring ‘peace on earth and good will among all men.
_______________
[1] preached in Canterbury Cathedral on Friday 25th December 2015
