AN ANGEL GIRECTLY OVERHEAD”
Reformation Sunday
October 25, 2015
Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church
Glenshaw, Pennsylvania
TEXT:
Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal
Gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and
tribe and language and people. And he said with a loud voice, “Fear
God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come, and
worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of
water.”
Revelation 14:6, 7 (ESV)
You may be wondering why in the world I would choose this obscure
passage from Revelation as a sermon text for Reformation Sunday. But
then again, maybe you’re not wondering about it at all, but I’m going
to tell you anyway, just in case. In some Lutheran lectionaries
(including the one in our current hymnal), these verses appear as one
of the appointed readings for the Festival of the Reformation. The
reason for this is that the classical Lutheran theologians (especially
those of the sixteenth century) believed, taught, and confessed that
this text was prophesying the Reformation and that the “angel flying
directly overhead” referred to here was none other than Martin Luther
himself!
Before we dismiss this interpretation as being presumptuous or
perhaps even ridiculous, let’s take an honest look at it. The New
Testament word , (usually translated “angel”) simply means
“messenger.” This text speaks about a messenger bringing the eternal
Gospel to the world and encouraging the world to believe it, to
proclaim it, and to worship the God who authored it. Personally I’m
not all that sure that John the evangelist was writing specifically
about Martin Luther, but I certainly do believe that this passage
speaks about Luther and others like him--people who God raises up from
time to time in the Church to remind the faithful of the importance of
His Word and of centering their worship on the Triune God and on Him
alone. The ministry of this “angel” or messenger is to encourage the
Church to faithfully believe the eternal Gospel and to proclaim that
Gospel throughout all the world.
Having the eternal Gospel of Jesus Christ in our possession is an
enormous privilege--and with that privilege come certain
responsibilities. This Gospel is the message of how we are saved, and
how we are saved is totally and completely on the basis of what Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, has done to reconcile us to God through the
atonement that He made for our sin by His perfect life and His
innocent suffering and death. There is no other way for sinners to be
at peace with God and to be confident of the forgiveness of their sins
and to be assured of everlasting life. If we are to be saved, it must
be on God’s terms, not on ours. After all, He is the Judge. But He
is a merciful Judge--one who has paid our penalty Himself. He has
freed us from the death sentence that our sin merits. We are free to
reject this salvation if we so choose, but we are not free to alter it
according to our own way of thinking or according to the attitudes of
our times. In a sense, God is saying to us: “Here is your salvation,
accomplished completely and perfectly in My Son for you. I place it
in your hands. It is yours as My free gift of grace unless you choose
to discard it.”
The Gospel of Jesus Christ has great power not only to save us but
also to strengthen us in the faith. But it will not do anything at
all for us if we refuse to make use of it. One of the sad ironies of
Christian history is that some of the people who have been the
staunchest proponents of Biblical orthodoxy have also been the most
lax when it comes to actually using the Word of God--hearing it at
worship, studying it bothindividually and in groups, meditating on
it, taking it to heart, and drawing on its strength to live according
to God’s will. If all that the Word of God is to us is a dusty book
that sits on a shelf or on a coffee table--a storage-place for family
memorabilia--then it’s not going to do anything for us, no matter how
impressive it may look. But if it is used, it is, as Paul tells us,
“the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans
1:16).
But this Word of the Gospel is not something that we are just to keep
for ourselves. It is also to be shared--to be proclaimed far and
wide. As children in Sunday School many of us sang: “This little
Gospel light of mine; I’m gonna let it shine!” In one verse of that
song we sang: “Hide it under a bushel? No! I’m gonna let it shine!”
These words are based on Jesus’ own words in His Sermon on the Mount,
when He told His disciples: “You are the light of the world. A city
set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it
under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the
house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that
they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in
heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).
So the Word of the Gospel is not for us alone. It is to be shared
with the world--“with every nation and tribe and language and people.”
Jesus didn’t die on the cross just for you and me. He died for
everyone and He desires that everyone for whom He died should hear
about what He did for them, believe and trust in it, and thereby
receive its benefits. One thing that Luther objected to in the church
of his day was the idea that the Word of God was only for a select
few--for the educated, the theologians. He reacted against an
attitude that says: “Don’t worry about reading the Bible yourself.
It’s beyond your understanding. Let the theologians do it for you.
The Church is your mother and she will be happy to tell you what to
believe.” That attitude is both false and irresponsible. Don’t count
on me or the Church to tell you what to believe. Read and study God’s
Word for yourself and in and through that Word the Holy Spirit Himself
will tell you what to believe. He gave that Word to all of us, not
just to an elite group.
You may or may not remember that, quite a number of years ago, our
synodical president at the time, the sainted Dr. Alvin Barry, upon his
election to that office, gave two bits of advice to the Church--two
statements that he said he intended to make the hallmark of his
leadership. Dr. Barry told the Church: (1) Keep the Word straight
and (2) get the Word out. I can’t think of any better advice for a
group of people trying, with God’s help, to be the Church of Jesus
Christ in the world. The Word is our life, our strength, and our
message. The Word itself is able to work in us the things that it
calls us to be and to do. We deny its power if we try to change it or
adjust it according to the prevalent attitudes of our times. We deny
its power also if we keep it to ourselves. This Word of God has the
power to keep us faithful. It also has the power to convert lost
sinners, for it is the Spirit’s tool in doing this. Today we give
thanks for Martin Luther and others who have been and continue to be
the voice of conscience in the Church, calling us back from all of the
diversions of this world to our roots--calling us to forget about all
of those human innovations that don’t matter and to focus on the
eternal Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is what we are all about. The
best way for us to be good stewards of this Word and to preserve our
Reformation heritage is to keep the Word straight and to get the Word
out. God Himself moves and empowers us to do both. He in fact does
it Himself--in us and through us--all to the glory of our Savior Jesus
Christ!
Amen.
May the Lord bless your hearing of His Word, using it to accomplish in
you those things for which He gave it. May you be enriched and
strengthened in faith that you may leave here today to go out into our
world armed with the whole armor of God, prepared to be able
ambassadors of your Savior Jesus Christ. He who calls you is
faithful, and He will do it. Amen.