May the grace, mercy and love of God be with us all. Amen.
Collect
Eternal Lord, our beginning and our end: bring us with the whole creation to your glory, hidden through past ages and made known in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Confession
Christ the Light of the world has come to dispel the darkness of our hearts. In his light let us examine ourselves and confess our sins.
Lord our God, in our sin we have avoided your call. Our love for you is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes swiftly away. Have mercy on us, and deliver us from judgement; bind up our wounds and revive us; in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
May the God of love bring us back to himself, forgive us our sins, and assure us of his eternal love in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
God’s Word - Revelation, chapter 5, verses 1 to 10 :-
I saw in the right hand of the One who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides, and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?’ But there was no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth able to open the scroll to look inside it. And because no one was found worthy to open the scroll and look inside, I wept bitterly. One of the elders said to me: ‘Do not weep; the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the shoot growing from David’s stock, has won the right to open the scroll and its seven seals.’
Then I saw a Lamb with the marks of sacrifice on him, standing with the four living creatures between the throne and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, the eyes which are the seven spirits of God sent to every part of the world. The Lamb came and received the scroll from the right hand of the One who sat on the throne.
As he did so, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders prostrated themselves before the Lamb. Each of the elders had a harp; they held golden bowls full of incense, the prayers of God’s people, and they were singing a new song: ‘You are worthy to receive the scroll and break its seals, for you were slain and by your blood you bought for God people of every tribe and language, nation and race. You have made them a royal house of priests for our God, and they shall reign on earth.’
John, chapter 1, verses 43 to the end :-
The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. He met Philip, who, like Andrew and Peter, came from Bethsaida, and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ Philip went to find Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the man of whom Moses wrote in the law, the man foretold by the prophets: it is Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.’ ‘Nazareth!’ Nathanael exclaimed. ‘Can anything good come from Nazareth?’ Philip said, ‘Come and see.’
When Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him, he said, ‘Here is an Israelite worthy of the name; there is nothing false in him.’ Nathanael asked him, ‘How is it you know me?’ Jesus replied, ‘I saw you under the fig tree before Philip spoke to you.’ ‘Rabbi,’ said Nathanael, ‘you are the Son of God; you are king of Israel.’ Jesus answered, ‘Do you believe this because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than that.’ Then he added, ‘In very truth I tell you all: you will see heaven wide open and God’s angels ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’
Thanks be to God, for this his holy word. Amen.
Reflection on the Readings
The Book of Revelation, the very last book in our Bibles, has John setting down the dream or vision he had in which the glories of heaven were revealed to him. It is apocalyptic literature, looking forward to the final end of time and history, when everything will be sorted out, and all will come under the reign of God. Written at a time of great persecution of the Church, it was an assurance to Christians that the great victory is already won, that our Lord Christ has already taken his throne, and that the troubles of these times, though real and desperate, will pass.
It is a much misused book, in that its often strange and sometimes extremely violent imagery has been interpreted in all sorts of ways - for example related to human leaders from Genghis Khan to Donald Trump, plagues from the Black Death to Covid, and wars from the Crusades of Medieval times to whatever war we might imagine comes next. And there are lots of numbers to play with too, for those who like to do that. But I don’t see it as a prediction, to be used like Nostradamus or Old Moore. It’s an assurance that God’s purposes will be worked out, are being worked out, indeed, and an encouragement to hold firm, even when times are tough.
The song of the elders in our reading today is used as an anthem in some of our services, and entitled “The Song of Christ’s Glory.” It bears some relationship with the ancient hymn of the Church quoted by Paul in his Letter to the Philippians, in which every knee shall bow to Christ, in heaven, on earth, and in the depths.
And why? Because he has lived our life, and lived it to completion; because, as a servant, he has been uniquely and fully obedient to his Father’s will; and because on the cross he presents himself as the one true and perfect sacrifice, and in so doing delivers us from the deadening impact of our wilfulness and sin. John in his dream sees that Christ has done what only he can do, and he sees him as a Lamb, bearing upon his body the marks of sacrifice.
John also writes, in his Gospel, about the meeting between Jesus and Nathaniel, who has been brought to Jesus by Philip. Nathaniel only appears in John’s Gospel, and most scholars agree that he is the same person as Bartholomew, who appears in the others but not in John. Bartholomew is a surname, meaning “Son of Tolmai”, while Nathaniel is a first name, so that seems reasonable. Philip must have been pretty persuasive, since Nathaniel’s first response to being told about Jesus was highly sceptical. As a person who clearly studied the scriptures, Nathaniel would have known just how unlikely it was, if not impossible, for the Messiah to come from such a place as Nazareth, in the racially very mixed region of Galilee.
As he approaches Jesus, Jesus hails him with some very complimentary words, and in so doing indicates that he already knows him - that he had noticed him, and noted his faith, before Philip ever spoke to him. And that’s enough to totally convert Nathaniel - he goes from “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” to “You are the king of Israel” in moments, it would seem. What converted him was not just that Jesus saw him, but that he seemed to already know him, to see into his heart. That Jesus knew him in the way that Nathaniel hoped in faith that God would know him.
And Jesus says to him, “You will see heaven wide open, and angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” Nathaniel would have recognised the reference, to the dream that Jacob had at Bethel, of a golden ladder leading up to heaven. Jesus was saying to Nathaniel, “Come with me, and I will be that ladder, for you and for all the world, remaking the connection that human sin has broken.”
At a time when the world is in turmoil, we need to be reminded of that ladder, set up not at Bethel but at Calvary, set up by the one who laid everything down, for his friends and his enemies alike. In another place, Jesus says: “No-one comes to the Father, except through me.” It is to reassure us of this that the book Revelation was written; and in this season of Epiphany, it’s not just as a good man and a great teacher that Jesus is revealed, but as the only one who in all the mess and turmoil of human life can assure us of God’s peace and the ultimate triumph of his love.
Statement of faith -
We believe in God the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. We believe in God the Son, who lives in our hearts through faith, and fills us with his love. We believe in God the Holy Spirit, who strengthens us with power from on high. We believe in one God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Prayers -
We pray we may be ready to offer ourselves as disciples to the one who calls us and is our salvation, and as the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity begins this week, we pray for all that brings us to work together in mission, in worship and in service. Within the Anglican Communion we pray especially for the Church of Australia, and in our own Diocese we pray for Richard our bishop and for the intergenerational missioners working across the diocese.
In the week in which Martin Luther Day falls, we pray for harmony between races and cultures and faiths, and for all who face discrimination because of skin colour, language, or the faith they follow. Today is World Religion Day, and we pray for faith not be misused as a means of division and an incitement to violence. We pray for the United States of America, as its new President is inaugurated this week, and for a rebuilding of unity and trust.
We pray for all who are ill, and for their care and recovery. We pray also for hospitals under pressure and health workers feeling overwhelmed by the present crisis. We pray for all that is being done to maintain services, and to bring help and support to those most at risk from the Covid virus.
We pray for our families and friends, and for the life of our churches and communities. In the week of National Reading Day we pray for all that helps young people to read and to have a love of books. We pray for people to keep to the rules and to ensure their own safety and that of others. And may we look out for each other through this testing time, and keep safe ourselves.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Blessing -
May the love of Christ bring unity and peace to his Church, and strengthen us in joyful praise and faithful service; and may the blessing of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen.
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