We plot our worship. And with students, plotting worship can be avenues for extreme creativity to remind them of God's story of redemption.
I took a bit of a risk when planning this year by committing several Wednesday nights to the book of Revelation. Because of the comic book like images John the Seer presents, the book becomes difficult to minds that are moving from concrete thought to abstraction. Also, the pessimism of a subculture obsessed with the so-called "End Times" that has produced such media as Thief in the Night, The Late Great Planet Earth, and Left Behind, has placed a connotation of fear on this text. It really is a shame because the beauty of Revelation is that through all its strange images and warnings, it is a wonderful spring of hope for the people of God.
Last week, we spent some time in Revelation 13:1-10. After playing a game, singing some songs, and praying, I read from Psalm 137 as part of the confession/bad news stage of the plot:
By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
The strange thing about the people of God--we're a people who been bullied, pushed around, taken captive, enslaved, exiled. First under Egypt, and after not being able to get our act together as a kingdom, Assyria in the north. Then Babylon in the south. Then Persia. Then Greece. And finally when the words of Revelation were penned, Rome. The words of this Psalm are the most raw in the Bible about how nasty it can get. The Psalmist laments how horrible it is living under the rule of someone else and is pinning for home.
I wonder if this is how students feel. They've undergone systemic abandonment. They are left without a place many of the times. They can be surrounded with people, technology, and numerous possessions and still lack community, authenticity, and joy. Empires constantly are enslaving them while at the same time telling them the lie that they can't live without them.
So too was it for the people of God called "Christian" when John described this beast. This beast was strong, way stronger than the ones Daniel speaks about. In fact, John kinda takes all of the qualities of those beasts and reshapes them into the one that the Dragon calls out of the sea. This is the super beast. This beast has gone to another level. We'll call this level beastmode.
The beastmode serves as a foil to the one who is the center of this beautiful text: the Lamb who was Slain. It too has a mortal wound but somehow miraculously lives. It too is given power authority. It too marks its followers. In fact, when people see it, they just point and say, "Who is like the beast?!?! Who can challenge it?!?!"
Who can challenge Rome? Who can challenge its military strength? Who can challenge its technology?
But as John is writing these words it is like he's drawing a political cartoon. Though the beast poses as the Lamb who was Slain, he is a counterfeit, a fake, and false.
Though Rome may promise "peace" all they would bring was a sword. Though the may promise financial security, the wealth funnels to the top. Though the emperor posits himself as a God, he is not the author of life and the creator of all things.
The problem for Christian at this time wasn't that they worship the God of Israel and that they believed Jesus was the Son of God. Religious plurality was rampant through the Roman Empire. Worship whoever, just pay homage to Caesar. And the homage wasn't limited to a temple. It was in the marketplace and in any social setting. The problem Christians faced was that in saying "Jesus is Lord" they were also implying that "Caesar is not." For this, they were putting their lives on the line.
But even though the hand of the empire is strong, even though the beast has gone into beastmode, it's still just a parody of the one true God. It tries to play God, but eventually it crumbles. The Lamb is still the center of all things, and it is by his blood that the saints and the people of God, who have always lived on the margins, will overcome.
John has to remind the church of this:
“Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the
saints” (13:10).
To respond to this, we offered students the chance to confess, "Jesus is Lord" while explicitly naming the things that are not. Here's how they filled in the blanks:
- Jesus is Lord, and my self-doubt is not
- Jesus is Lord, and the pretty popular girls are not
- Jesus is Lord, and the world & its influences are not
- Jesus is Lord, and technology is not
- Jesus is Lord, and fear is not
- Jesus is Lord, and money is not
- Jesus is Lord, and my phone is not
- Jesus is Lord, and the bully is not
- Jesus is Lord, and my hurt is not
The list went on. And it goes on. We need to be reminded constantly. Jesus is Lord, and _____ is not.
