November 1, 2009
Revelation 21:1-6a
“No More Tears”
Franklin Circle Christian Church
Rev. Allen V. Harris
 

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I grew up with the commercials about the shampoo that was especially good for use with children because it’s formula was gentle enough it would hurt should it get into a child’s eyes. It had the slogan “No More Tears.”

Ah, if we could only have that promise for more than shampoo; for life itself. How many tears have we shed over the years of our collective lives? Enough to float an ark of sorrow, a boat of joy, a ship of uncertainty. There are many things that bring tears to our eyes, but none so powerful as the pain of grief, the emotions of bereavement, the heartfelt twangs of sorrow. The loss of a loved one ~ whether recent or deep in memory ~ can bring wellsprings of tears to our eyes.

And to be honest, sometimes I don’t want those tears taken away. Sometimes, even though my heart is as broken as shattered glass on the floor, the weeping I experience brings release, healing, relief, and sometimes even renewal. If I could have those tears taken away, the tears of sorrow over the loss of someone I loved dearly, then the only way I would allow them to be removed is if the one who was lost could return… forever; and the pains and troubles of this world would be gone… forever. It’s a fantastical notion, I know, but it is the only way I would give up my tears for loved ones gone.

And so, on a day where many in the Christian world remember those who have gone on before, those amongst us who have died, All Saints Day, we remember the tears that come to those who continue on. And in the midst of this commemoration, we hear the words, “See, the home of God is among mortals. [God] will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; [God] will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.”

Our Mid-Week Bible Study is deep in the midst of the Book of John’s Revelation. This vision, and the incredible story leading up to it in the book of Revelation, has tended throughout history to focus Christian believers on the future, some near or far-away time when we shall dwell in peace for eternity. This, and other lyrical images of what is alternatively called “heaven,” “paradise,” or “glory,” predisposes us to look at the time after our death, beyond this life, in the “sweet by and by.”

And imagining of a world beyond this world oftentimes inclines us to care less about this world we are living in now. After all, if it’s all about the afterlife, then why waste good time, energy, and care on this life?

This troubles me for several reasons. First and foremost, I think it does a bit of a disservice to the text itself. I believe John’s vision on the isle of Patmos, while clearly a futuristic scenario, is meant from start to finish to help us live in the “today’s” of our lives. I believe this for many reasons, but clearly in the scripture text offered today the new heaven and the new earth, imagined as the Holy City, is seen as “coming down out of heaven from God.” We are not taken up into heaven, it comes down to us. Similarly, it is announced that the “home of God is among mortals.” We don’t “go up” to be with God. God comes to live in our house! “He will dwell with them as their God.” That’s a simple, but profound image. So much of the “left behind” theology in pop-culture today gives the impression we’re going to leave this place “in the dust.” What if all of Revelation… indeed, all of the Gospel… is meant to urge us, inspire us, have us to recover, rescue, and renew what we’ve already got?

Secondly, good scholarship shows that almost every bizarre image in Revelation can be seen as responding to the political and religious situation of John’s time, around 90 CE. More specifically, much of what John’s vision responds to is the violence and oppression the new Christians were receiving at the hands of the Roman mega state. God, working through John, was trying to help first-century Christians make sense of what was happening to them in their time, and then, only by Spirit-led extension, help us make sense of what is happening to us in our time. “What are the forces of evil and the forces of good in our day” is a perfectly legitimate question, but only after one has asked, “what were the forces of evil and the forces of good in John’s day?”

But most importantly, and to the point on this day called All Saints, the very lives of those who we consider “saints” point clearly and unequivocally to a faith that lives in the moment. While those we call “saints” may have had a passionate understanding of heaven, they never let it deter them from trying to bring about “heaven on earth.”

Just think of a saint or two in your life. Were they a saint because they sat around imagining what heaven was going to be like? Did they grow into sainthood because they talked about paradise and could describe it in detail? Did those who were saintly in your estimation get that way because they spent their time pointing out who was going to go to heaven and who, sure as heck, wasn’t?

No! They became saints because they worked hard in this life to make life better in the here and now! That’s what saints do. They patiently work, in small and large ways, to improve the lives of those they love and the world around them. The reason there are no more tears in the New Holy City is because the saints of God have worked diligently to make sure earth is ready to BECOME heaven! There are no more tears because hunger is no more… disease is no more… loneliness is no more… heartache is no more… The saints of God know that to have no more tears means doing what must be done NOW to make things ready!

Ada Smith (pictured left) clocked more hours than you or I can imagine volunteering at St. Augustine’s Health Care Center. First she worked in housekeeping there, and God knows most hospital and nursing home housekeeping staff deserve sainthood from day one! But after her paying job ended, she continued on as a volunteer, escorting patients to activities and chapel, cheering everyone up along the way. Ada Smith alone logged more than 8,500 hours of community service! To put that into perspective, that is just shy of an entire YEAR of community service, if you served 24 hours a day! Ada Smith worked for a day when there would be no more tears.

Dr. Webb Chamberlain (pictured right) would never have postponed his hard and necessary work to ponder lofty thoughts about heaven. Dr. Chamberlain, an ophthalmologist, practiced medicine for more than forty years here in Cleveland, specializing in pediatric eye muscle disorders. Many of his years were spent here at Lutheran Medical Center and Metro Hospitals, during a time when the changing urban environment meant that he saw more and more patients who were living in poverty. He saw only beautiful children of God. Dr. Chamberlain was best known for research to cure “strabismus” or what we most commonly call “cross-eyed” syndrome, a curse on any child struggling with it. Webb Chamberlain worked for a day when there would be no more tears.

Frances Bessner (pictured below) did not delay her good works until the sweet by and by. You could not have found someone who was more dedicated to her children, and by “children” I mean those born to her, those brought into her life by marriage, and those many, many kids who simply crossed her path who needed love and support and care. Frances was the kind of person who saw a need and then began working immediately to find a solution. There’s no doubt in my mind that when Frances, very honestly and humbly, asked Jesus, “but when did I see you hungry, and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink, or a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing?” that Jesus answered, “Frances, so many times you did, because you did it for the least of these my children.” Frances Bessner worked for a day when there would be no more tears.”

And so we will end with a time for you to reflect on the saints of your lives, those who worked diligently, faithfully, lovingly to make sure there would some day be a day when there would be no more tears. I invite you to sit back and listen to this song, new to me, which exquisitely captures that day when we all shall gather together, saints-done-made and saints-in-the-making. The words are in your bulletin. So as you listen to Carrie Newcomer’s “Gathering Of Spirits” please recall and remember the saints of your lives.

Amen.


 

Rev. Allen V. Harris
Franklin Circle Christian Church
www.FranklinCircleChurch.org


 

Copyright 2009 -- The Rev. Allen V. Harris

Franklin Circle Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

1688 Fulton Rd., Cleveland, OH 44113-3096