No More Night
Revelation 22:1-5 - May 16, 2004
A couple of months ago I was just not satisfied with my sermon. Somehow the message had not come together, and I knew there were many improvements I needed to make before Sunday morning. Each day that drew closer to Sunday, I waited for the Holy Spirit to guide me. But by Saturday, I still hadn’t made any changes to it, it was late, after a busy weekend, and I decided, hey, so what, it’ll be okay. I’ll read it over, make some changes, on the hour-long ride to church.
But once I got to bed, I tossed and I turned, I squirmed and I fidgeted. I kept watching the numbers change on the clock, panicking because I’m not a morning person anyway, and without sleep, well let’s just say it’s not a pretty picture. But having had bouts of insomnia in the past, I have learned I might as well get up instead of lying in bed and worrying about not getting to sleep.
So I got up and drank a glass of milk, checked my e-mail, looked at a magazine, then went back to bed. More tossing, more turning, more restlessness. I just could not get to sleep! This is not a good thing for pastors on Saturday nights. Pastors don’t get your privilege of rolling over in bed on Sunday morning and deciding that nobody t the church cares whether I come or not! Pastors need to be alert and focused on Sunday. Got to get some sleep!
Well, the harder I tried to sleep the more my eyes stayed wide open. The more anxious I became about not sleeping, the more clear it became that I was not going to sleep. Actually, I did sleep just a little, but the next thing I knew it was four o’clock, and, awake again, I became aware of why this was happening: I was supposed to be working on that sermon. My brain was buzzing but not on the right things. There was to be no such thing as rest as long as there was a task not yet finished. No such thing as sleep as long as there was work yet to do.
In other words, if you have work to do, important work, there will be no more night for you. If you have important work yet to do, God’s work, the night is not a night of rest but a night of toil and restlessness until it is done. The night is long when the task is not finished.
By the way, I did get up, I did rewrite the sermon, and I did get through that Sunday. I will leave it to you to guess which Sunday that was!
If you have important work to do, God’s work, the night does not mean rest. It means anxious labor, restlessness, and feverish labor, until the night is over and the work is done.
That simple observation helps me understand why the writer of Revelation speaks of the heavenly city as one in which there will be no more night. There is no more night because earthly labors are finally complete, and the air is cleared of anxiety. No more night because that terrible incompleteness, that awful dissatisfaction that we feel, nearly every day of our mortal lives, is finally resolved.
No more night. No more anxiety. No more struggling to do the impossible. No more battling with the limitations of the body. No more night.
”…there will be no more night, no need of the light of a lamp or the sun, for the Lord God will be our light and we will reign forever and ever.” (Rev. 22:5) Let’s work with that image, and see what we can find out about what it is going to mean to live eternally in the place of God’s eternal day. And let’s see if what we remember today might serve as guides from our restlessness into rest, from our incompleteness into wholeness.
First, I see that “no more night” means no more thrashing about, blind to what we are doing or where we are going. “No more night” means no more being blind about where our path is taking us.
Obviously, we are hampered by earthly night because we don’t have enough light to see well. We stumble in semi-blindness. Have you ever gotten up at night and walked to the bathroom or the kitchen without turning on a light and stepping on a toy or dog bone? Sometimes walking in the dark brings pain!
But we are living in the night. We cannot always see the truth. We are blind to seeing ourselves. Sometimes our sins become so routine to us, we don’t consider what we’re doing as “sin.” We live are unable to see what our own issues are. Many of our most serious anxieties and worries are born out of our inability to see our own selves.
Just because we have training and education and all sorts of skills, that doesn’t mean that we understand ourselves. Not at all. 1 Corinthians 13:12 says, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face.” That’s just a glimpse into the future when there will be no more night. It says we will then be complete, when we see God face to face. It says we don’t have all the answers now, but then we will. But we don’t have that gift yet. We are blind to our own inner realities, let alone be able to see with God’s perspective! (PAUSE) We are in the blindness of night. (PAUSE)
The Apostle Paul said, “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” (Romans 7:14) We too do the very things we hate. And we too don’t understand why. Why? It is night.
But do you know that in Christ we begin to find out who we are? Do you know that in relationship with Christ we begin to do the work of discovering Self, with a capital “S”? When you know Jesus Christ, you not only know Him, you begin to see and to know yourself. Christ leads us to face both the awesome depths of our sin and, at the same time, the wonderful heights of our potential. In Christ we can see ourselves as we really are. In Christ there is less darkness.
Did any of you read in The Pilot News or hear about Craig McFarlane this week? He was in Plymouth and spoke to the kids at Lincoln Junior High School last Wednesday. Craig is unusual because his favorite sports are water-ski jumping and golf, both of which he is very good at. Craig is also blind. Yet he can drive a golf ball 240 yards and he has won 103 gold medals in sports that include ice skating and track and field. Craig says that water-ski jumping is a great sport for the blind. He says "You have the constants of the boat and the rope. Then I had an outstanding skier next to me who would give me the countdown to when I would reach the ramp (to jump). It was an incredible thrill."
He has been sight impaired since the age of two. He first became involved with athletics when he took up wrestling at age six while attending a school for the blind and won a national wrestling championship when he was 13. Then came track. And discus, shot put, even the javelin.
Craig is now 41, has a wife and 3 kids. His athletic success is only part of his life's accomplishments. He's recorded an album and published a book about his life. He does over 100 speeches a year and is in his 14th year of doing what he calls being a “goodwill ambassador.”
What can we learn about darkness from Craig? We can learn that perseverance will eventually lead to obtaining our goal. And our goal is to know Christ better so we can be like Christ and to be all Christ has in mind for us. With the single-mindedness of an athlete in training, even a blind one, we must lay aside everything harmful and give up everything that is distracting us from being effective Christians.
(PAUSE FOR REFLECTION)
What else Does God promise us in today’s scripture passage? “Nothing accursed will be found there any more…” (Rev 21:3a) What is it that is frightening about the night? One of the scary things is that if you are out at night, you do not know who that is that’s coming toward you. You don’t know whether it be friend or foe. You cannot see their faces, you cannot read their intentions, and so you are afraid. You do not trust, and many times in this day and age, you shouldn’t trust.
God promises us that in that new city, not only will there be no more night, but “nothing accursed will be found.” We will have no need to fear. But do you know that life in Christ means discernment about others? Have you discovered that when you are seriously working at knowing Christ better through Bible reading, prayer, and Bible study, not only do you learn about Him, and not only do you learn about yourself, but you also learn about others?
In Christ you begin to figure out the shape of others’ lives, you begin to perceive their needs and their motives. Have you found that out yet? The more you discover of the mind of Christ, the more you discover and understand about how others around you think. The more you know the Lord, the more you know others and the more you love others. The more you know the Lord, the more you want to reach out and touch other lives and make a difference instead of running from them. When you’re living in darkness, you’re afraid of others and what they are up to. You avoid them. You stay away from them. But in the light of Christ others become not the objects of your fear but the subjects of your love.
What a fascinating image here in these first five verses of Revelation 22! The image is that the residents of the heavenly city, where there is no more night, will see the face of Christ, and His name will be on their foreheads. “Belonging to Christ” stamped on the forehead of everybody, and you’ll know whose they are.
“No more night” means that we need not be afraid of anybody, because we’ll be able to see that they are children of God. We’ll be able to see that they belong to Christ, and we won’t fear them. “No more night.”
And finally, would you see with me that “no more night” means no more incompleteness? No more shortcomings, no more limitations, no more struggle, no more of the frustrations with which every human life is burdened with.
Some of the saddest people I know are people with great gifts and lots of talent, but they aren’t able to feel satisfied. They are perfectionists; they are obsessed with getting everything just right. They can never give themselves permission to succeed. That’s right. I said permission to succeed. We talk a lot about giving children permission to fail; we say that if a child doesn’t try something and maybe fail at it, he won’t learn. And that’s true. But when we are adults we sometimes do not give ourselves permission to succeed. We put ourselves down. We wallow in our shortcomings. We grovel in our failures.
But whenever we do that, whenever we tell ourselves that we are worthless, that someone else can do it much better, whatever the task, what we are really doing is denying the work of God. When all you can say about yourself is that you don’t measure up, then you have a problem. You are denying the abundant grace of a redemptive God. One thing I have discovered is that His grace is always there, always available. But I forget to reach for it, to accept it. Sometimes I am so caught up in feelings of low self-esteem; I forget that God’s grace is even there!
Beloved People, know that when you have built a friendship with Jesus Christ, He draws you on continually toward becoming whole; complete. When you are walking with Christ, in His love, He builds you up and leads you toward what He wants you to become. As the old T-shirt slogan put it, “God don’t make no junk.” When we allow the Lord to be our light, he shows us who we are. We are works in progress. But living in the night means we feel nothing but frustration about not being finished products. There is always something about ourselves that we don’t like.
I define who I am first and foremost as a child of God. But it is only recently that I have worked on what it means to be a child of God. For me, it means being created in His image, which says I am like him, I resemble him. It means that as His child He wants only the best for me and so I should want only the best for me, too.
It also means that I am a work in progress, that just as He created me, He is still working on this creation named Deb. We are all unfinished, incomplete in one way or another. We are all less than what we want to be in one area or another. But in the light and love of Jesus Christ, we are promised no more night, no more pain, no more incompleteness. We are given somebodiness!
Thanks to the work of Christ, we come to know that we are children of God. “And there will be no more night, (we) need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be (our) light, and (we) will reign forever and ever.” (Rev 22:5)
PLEASE PRAY THE PRAYER WITH ME THAT IS PRINTED IN YOUR BULLETIN: Precious Jesus, You are the light of the world. Help us to follow you so we will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. Amen.
BENEDICTION:
Wake up now, children. Wake up! It is morning. Christ is risen, you live where it is endless day. You live where neither blindness nor anxiety nor incompleteness dogs your footsteps. You live where the light of God shines and there is no more night. Not now, not ever. May the Lord grant you peace, and may His light always shine upon and through you. No…….more…….night!
CHILDREN’S STORY
I want us to play a game this morning. Will you allow me to blindfold you? Ok, now get up and walk to your Mom or Grandma. Go on, I won’t let you hurt yourselves, I promise!
What is it like to walk in the dark? When you can’t see? (Scary.) Have you ever woke up in your bed at night and it’s really dark? How do you feel then? Have you ever gone outside alone when it’s dark? How did that make you feel? (Wanted someone with me; wanted to hurry back in the house)
How would you like it if there was never any nighttime again? In the Bible, at the very end, God tells us that someday it WILL be always light. But until that day comes, God will be our light now if we trust Him and believe Him. He will take care of us so we won’t feel like we’re in the scary darkness. The next time you are in a scary situation, remember that I told you God is always there and will take care of you. You can even talk to Him when you’re scared and tell him how you feel. And do you know what? When you talk to him (which grown-ups call praying), he really will make you feel better and not so scared.
Let’s pray right now. God, help us to remember to talk to you, especially when we are afraid. We want to see your bright light. Amen.
Sources:
Parts were taken from a sermon by Pastor Joseph Smith
Information on Craig McFarlane was taken from The Pilot, Wed. May 12, 2004 edition
Life Application Bible, NRSV, study notes
