As I returned to this episode (see the previous posts - these episodes were originally recorded in the late fall of 2020) I’m struck how close I was in pondering these monumental chapters in Revelation 4-5 to the murder of George Floyd and the flood of protests that swept the Globe related to the “Black Lives Matter” movement.
This movement of course was not without controversy. I vividly remember multiple Thanksgivings (back to back in fact) where voices became raised over competing visions of whose vision was right, who was naive and being corrupted by the media influencing them, and of course who could claim the coveted titled of “Christian” while still enforcing their political agenda. I’m sure you’ve sat near similar conversations.
While those memories are still etched in my mind… I think what troubles me far more is the way the conversation has morphed and receded these past five years. Gone is the energy of a church that was reckoning with racism, and white evangelicalism attempting to face its undeniable complicity in ongoing racist structures. Gone are the protestors on the streets. Gone is DEI - and for all its flaws the symbol of what it represented to the black community among other minority groups in the United States.
My goal in pointing this out is not to take a side or even make a political statement per se. Its rather to observe that in the ebbs and flows of race and reckoning in America, we are currently in a moment where the tide waters are in. The waters of racial conversation are largely shallow. There are other problems that are consuming the media’s attention and so, at least in my context on the north side of the city of Chicago, it seems like our thoughts are largely elsewhere.
All theology is contextual. The heartbeat of the prophets, the heartbeat of the incarnation itself is that Christ comes in time, and takes on the specificity of a body and interacts with the specificity of a place, people, and culture. It is good and right that a reflection in Revelation 4-5 in the year 2020 was drawn to think deeply about race. It is also possibly fine that in the year 2025 we are drawn due to our place and context to think about other things when we interpret the Word.
However, reflecting on this episode has reminded me to pause and remember. The tide that goes in is a tide that will once again go out. We are no where close to arriving when it comes to racial inequality in America. The church is no where done meditating upon the ways we are or are not preparing ourselves to participate in this vision of the throne where every tribe, tongue, people, and nation will gather around the throne.
For that reason, I encourage you to ponder with me the significance of this scene. Let it stir you to praise. Let it cause you with me to confess that we are not yet where we will need to be, if our hearts are to be open. May we prepare them now. For this scene will happen whether we have prepared for it or not. And the lamb that was eternally slain will draw closest to himself those who have shared in his wounds.
With hope,
John
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