Grounded

On July 1, 2016, a terrifying thing happened. Lightning struck the historic wooden dome of the Maryland State House in Annapolis. The strike was so loud and booming that Larry Hogan, the governor of Maryland, ran out of Government House, his official residence, and over to the State House, expecting the worst. But miraculously, there was no fire and no damage. 

Interviewed later, Hogan credited the lack of catastrophe to the 28-foot-high lightning rod that towers above the State House dome. Why, that lightning rod has been there for over 220 years, but it did a stupendous job, sending 300 million volts of electricity down its wrought-iron structure and grounding the lightning bolt in the good earth below!

In the first nine verses of the book of Revelation -- our scriptural focus for this blog -- lightning flashes all around. Why, the early church is in a storm cloud, buffeted by threats and persecution, as the Roman emperor seeks to be sovereign, lording over all. But John keeps declaring that Jesus is Lord—Jesus is supreme—and our well-being, our grounding, is in Him, no matter what flashes about!

Have you noticed that lightning is flashing about us as well, as entities other than Jesus seek to “lord over” us? Be it the deception of civil religion, the surge of racism, the curse of violence, or the void of postmodernism, highly charged forces are seeking to dominate our lives. But John’s Revelation is still relevant, reminding us that through Jesus, we too can stay grounded—not burned by idolatry or fried by the world, the flesh, and the devil.

For starters, John counsels: Grasp the Sufficiency of the Savior. Other life forces appear to be almighty, but only Jesus, John declares in Revelation 1:5, is “the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, the ruler of the kings of the earth” (Rev. 1:5, emphasis added). Such a listing illustrates the magnitude of Christ’s Lordship, sealed through His death as faithful witness, His resurrection as firstborn of the dead, and His exaltation with God as ruler of all.

But despite such certain theology, too often, we’re ruled by seductive ideology. A dominant ideology is consumerism, which has enveloped Western culture, trumpeting not the Gospel of Jesus but the Gospel of More—more power, more profit, more production, more products, more prestige. Recently, I was out with a friend who mentioned a mutual acquaintance who was considering entering yet another competition after already winning a zillion gold medals. “Wow,” I thought sarcastically, “how many more medals does that person need before finally feeling satisfied?” And then it dawned on me: How many more medals do I need before finally feeling satisfied? For if I’m perfectly honest, I’m not satisfied—I’m still restless, “prone to wander,” in the words of Robert Robinson, “prone to leave the God I love.”

But such drift lessens as we adopt a larger vision shaped by God-gain, not self-gain, as we Embrace the Call of the Kingdom. As John’s revelation continues, it’s clear he wants us not only to know Christ but also to know Christ’s mission, for Jesus “has freed us from our sins by his blood,” John notes in Revelation 1:5–6, “and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father” (Rev. 1:5–6). It’s fascinating to see John holding together personal piety and prophetic witness. Freedom from sins is crucial, but it is not an end in itself—it’s a gift to free us for Kingdom outreach. We receive from Jesus—to go with Jesus.

But as lightning flashes about, we’re reminded that we don’t go with Jesus into tame territory. Instead, the mission field we enter is hostile, working at cross-purposes to the Gospel. Thus, the church, at its core, is a countercultural movement, asserting, in the words of Stanley Hauerwas and Wil Willimon, “that God—not nations—rule the world, that the boundaries of God's kingdom transcend those of Caesar, and that [our] main...task...is [to be a] people who see clearly the cost of discipleship...” viewing the church as a gathering of “resident aliens—an adventurous colony—in a society of unbelief.”

And so, our most radical act as the church is to be different in Christ—declaring out loud that Jesus is Lord, echoing with John in Revelation 1:6: “to [Jesus] be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (emphasis added). Though often overlooked, John meant for his revelation to be read out loud. “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of the prophecy,” John notes in Revelation 1:3 (emphasis added), a practice reminiscent of the Jewish habit of reading Scripture aloud in the synagogue. But John also intended his revelation to be obeyed out loud as well. “Blessed are those who hear and...keep what is written in it,” John notes in Revelation 1:3 (emphasis added). And so, a “revelation church” is a church that majors in creating the future—not predicting the future—trumpeting and incarnating out loud God’s New Creation in Christ.

Evangelism has always been a passion of mine. But over time, I’ve concluded that evangelism is not just individual witness for Jesus but also a community embodiment of Jesus. For “the most evangelistic thing the church can do...is to be the church,” Bryan Stone reminds us, “to be formed imaginatively by the Holy Spirit through...worship, forgiveness, hospitality...into a distinctive people...a new social option...the body of Christ” (emphasis added). Is your congregation a new social option in Christ or just “the same old, same old”? Friends, we don’t need more of the “same old, same old”; we need more New Creation in Jesus, another way of living, an accent on “becoming the Gospel,” to quote biblical theologian Michael Gorman, not just “believing the Gospel.”

But let’s be candid: that takes time and stamina; you can’t microwave New Creation. And so, with John, we must Adopt the Long Haul of Endurance. I love the way John ends our Scripture text in Revelation 1:9: “I, John, your brother who share with you in Jesus the persecution and the kingdom and the patient endurance...because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus” (Rev. 1:9). Note John’s emphasis on patient endurance in relation to persecution and Kingdom work. In essence, John is saying you won’t survive the lightning—you can’t be resident aliens, an adventurous colony—without “a long obedience in the same direction,” to cite Eugene Peterson, walking with Jesus for the long haul.

In 1983, Cliff Young, a 61-year-old Australian potato farmer, won the Westfield Sydney-to-Melbourne Ultra-Marathon, a 544-mile endurance race. Amazingly, Young ran the race in his work overalls and gumboots, without his dentures, claiming they rattled as he ran! His first day out was pathetic, as Young adopted an odd pace, shuffling slowly and trailing the pack. But soon, things changed dramatically. Though other runners stopped running and slept for six hours each evening, Young just kept shuffling along. In fact, Young kept shuffling for five consecutive days, never stopping to sleep, eventually winning the ultramarathon by a whopping ten hours! Rewarded for his victory, Young was given a $10,000 prize, but he promptly split it among his support crew and fellow runners, saying he didn’t need a prize. Not surprisingly, Young became an instant celebrity, with his remarkable victory studied for years. In due course, it was concluded that Young’s uncommon endurance resulted from his uncommon pace—the odd way he walked. Why, it was the “Young Shuffle,” as it came to be known, that propelled him, providing the most aerodynamic stride possible.

Frankly, it’s the odd way Jesus calls us to walk that propels us as well. You might call it the “Jesus Shuffle,” as we’re summoned to move through dominant culture in an uncommon way. Oh, at first, we too look pathetic, strangely out of step; but in the end, Christ’s cadence is the most aerodynamic stride possible. 

And so, I call us to shuffle with Jesus, moving through the storm clouds of civil religion—racism—violence—postmodernism—with endurance, with an odd cadence and countercultural message in Christ. For as John reminds us, Jesus is “the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, the ruler of the kings of the earth” (Revelation 1:5, emphasis added). 

That’s the grounding an adventurous colony needs—the truth resident aliens trumpet and incarnate out loud! Sure, other life forces “strut their stuff,” “flash their lightning,” and aim to rule. But we keep shuffling, shuffling, shuffling, declaring unapologetically that Jesus is Glory—Jesus is Savior—and Jesus is Lord!