Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon is the Epistle, which was read earlier.
Throughout the years, I have seen a number of churches, both Lutheran and non-Lutheran alike. Some are very ornate while some are very plain. Some are very well kept while others look like they could fall down any moment. Some look like a church while others look very secular in nature. All share one thing in common with one another: they are the Church, the Bride of Christ.
When you and I gaze upon the Church, we see people who are tainted with sin to their very core. We see people who by their very nature are sinful and cannot do anything about it. We see Satan trying to pick off the very saints of God at any and every chance available. As we look at the Church on earth, the Church Militant, we ask ourselves, “Is this all that there is? Is this the best we have to offer?” The Church Militant doesn’t always look pretty, it doesn’t always play nice with each other. It is often found to be lacking something. However, the vision of the Church that St. John has is not the vision of the Church that you and I have.
By means of a revelation from God, St. John writes, “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.” John is shown in detail the Bride of Christ as she will live in the new heaven and earth. He sees the Church reflected in the glory of God, which is her radiance. It bears the glory of God because of Jesus Christ. Now after the resurrection and the restoration of heaven and earth, the Church is adorned with this glory for all to see.
You and I have been made a part of the Church through the work of the Holy Spirit. We are brought in through faith and made clean by the blood of the Lamb. We share in the life of Christ and His glory. Notice what John says here: it is the glory of God. He doesn’t say that it is the glory of the people. There is a reason for that: the people of the Church are sinful. It is by Christ’s life, death, and resurrection that the Church reflects the glory of God because we have been clothed with Christ’s righteousness. In other words, it’s not by our doing but by Christ’s doing. That is the way it should be and the way that it has to be.
The way for the Lamb to adorn His Bride, the Church, is done at a precious price. In order for her to be adorned with precious jewels, our Lord sacrifices everything, even Himself to purchase and win His Bride. In the fullness of time, the Bridegroom comes to secure the wedding day. He visits His people during the reign of Caesar Augustus. He cloaks His glory in human flesh as He is born to the Virgin Mary. He has come to save His bride: “To give Himself for her, to sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.”
The Bridegroom comes, and His people believe in Him; but the world has no use for such a Savior. Rather than honor Him, they do their best to make Him look as little like the Savior as possible: they scourge Him, beat Him, crucify Him. It is the ultimate act of rebellion and infidelity to God, for they kill the Son of God. Truly, His glory is never more hidden than when He hangs upon the cross. But truly, on the cross is when the Bridegroom redeems His Bride, dying for the sins of the world.
The Bridegroom lays down His life for His Bride. He rises again three days later –victorious but with His glory still hidden. He ascends into heaven, but not before promising, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
His Bride is so precious that He protects her with “a great high wall.” It protects her from the enemies of God, wherein He gathers the saints in safety. It sets the Church apart, making her holy through “the washing of water with the word.” She is kept pure and clean, and no unclean or false thing can enter her. Because of Christ, you are kept pure and clean and have the right and privilege to enter the gates of heaven and partake of the riches which Christ our Lord has prepared for us.
As John goes on describing the new Jerusalem, he makes notice that there is no temple in the city. The reason being is because “its temple is the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb.” The temple is where you would bring your offering to the priest in order to be sacrificed for your sins. Now, the great High Priest has made the ultimate sacrifice, for He has sacrificed Himself, and so there is no need for a place of sacrifice, the temple. Because of His sacrifice, we now participate in the death of Christ because we are united by His death and resurrection.
And so John’s revelation of the holy city is focused right where it should be: on the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The full glory of God is reflected in precious jewels, gates of pearls and streets of gold. Christ shines as the light of the world and leads His people forth in worship of the Father of creation and of Himself, the world’s redeemer.
For the Church Militant, for those saints on earth, we ought to reflect God’s glory on earth, but we don’t always do so. Instead of letting the light of Christ shine, we like to let our own light shine, let the light of our sinful nature shine forth. When our light shines brighter than the light of Christ, we diminish the work of Christ, make that secondary to that of our own. The problem here is that it is not our light that will save us, but the light of Jesus Christ. His light pierces the darkness of sin, defeating Satan and restoring creation to its rightful place as the beloved of God.
Our true glory is seen in none other than Christ. By what He has done, His light reflects through the Church and so we as the Church are reflections of who Christ is and all that He has done for us. Like precious jewels, we reflect the glory of the Father, sharing in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. His radiance shines upon us, His Bride, glorifying us before men, protecting us from the darkness and evil of God’s enemies and making us a holy people.
As St. John reflects for us the new Jerusalem, we are given a glimpse of our eternal home, a home that is nothing short of the full glory of God. We reflect that light of Christ as His Church. At times, we may not look churchly, we may not look like much, but we are indeed special, for we are the Bride of Christ, His Church. In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.