Psalm 97:1–12 · Acts 16:16–34 · Revelation 22:12–14, 16–17, 20–21 · John 17:20–26
This is the Seventh Sunday of Easter, and we find ourselves preparing for Pentecost next Sunday. While we look forward to remembering the gift of the Holy Spirit on that day, our theme this week is liberation in Christ. We’ll be thinking this week of the freedom that Christ presents to us as part of our divine union with him, a seat at the table with the Father and Holy Spirit. The call to worship psalm asks us to consider the greatness of God as conveyed by nature: clouds and darkness, fire and lightning, mountains, and heavens. When we recognize our smallness within nature, we need the affirmation of God’s infinite love for us as found in Psalm 97. We read the liberation story of a slave girl with the spirit of divinization in Acts 16. Paul cast out the spirit, angering the girl’s owners who convinced the magistrates to beat Paul and Silas and throw them in jail. The story of liberation continues with an earthquake opening the jail doors; it ends with the jailer and his family becoming believers in Jesus Christ, receiving God’s gift of true liberty. The Gospel account in John 17 has Jesus offering a heartfelt prayer for the unity of his followers, so that the same love the Father had for Jesus might be in those followers and in us. Our sermon text, found in Revelation 22:12–14, 16–17, 20–21, offers a reminder of our identity in Christ and the liberation we find in him.
How to use this sermon resource.
Diversity, Unity, and Our Identity in Christ
Revelation 22:12–14, 16–17, 20–21 NRSVUE
In an interview for the podcast On Being, botanist and Native American author Robin Wall Kimmerer tells the story of entering forestry school when she was 18. When asked why she wanted to go to forestry school, she told them that she wanted to study botany because she “wanted to know why asters and goldenrod looked so beautiful together.” According to Kimmerer, there were “amazing displays of this bright, chrome yellow, and deep purple of New England aster, and they look stunning together. And the two plants so often intermingle, rather than living apart from one another, and I wanted to know why that was. I thought that surely, in the order and the harmony of the universe, there would be an explanation for why they looked so beautiful together.”
The response to Kimmerer was that her question really wasn’t science, so if she wanted to know more about beauty, she might try art school. Kimmerer didn’t let that discourage her, though. She later understood that science and spirit needed to work together, and she discovered there was a biophysical answer to her question: “It’s a matter of aesthetics, and it’s a matter of ecology. Those complementary colors of purple and gold together, being opposites on the color wheel, they’re so vivid they actually attract far more pollinators than if those two grew apart from one another. So, each of those plants benefits by combining its beauty with the beauty of the other.”
Nature is a good place to see diversity and collaboration, freedom, and unity, in action. Author Richard Rohr writes, “Creation itself is the first incarnation of Christ, the primary and foundational ‘Bible’ that revealed the path to God” (p. 229). Christ is the Creator, and because he created all things, we see diversity and collaboration, freedom, and unity in all that he created.
Sometimes as Christians, we confuse uniformity with unity, believing that we must all relate to God in one particular fashion using certain practices with which we are comfortable. Nature shows us that by encouraging diversity within the love of Christ, not only are we free to express our God-given personalities, but we also make one another stronger. Our sermon passage today from Revelation 22 explains why we can trust diversity and freedom in Christ, and it prepares us for Pentecost next week. Our sermon text points us to where God’s story — our story — is headed. And it is all founded on the certainty we have in Christ Jesus. Let’s read our sermon text.
Context of Revelation 22
We have to firmly place any study of Revelation within the confines of apocalyptic literature. Barclay’s Commentary calls apocalyptic literature “the product of an indestructible Jewish hope.” To maintain conviction of its chosenness by God, Jewish thought needed to divide time into the present, which was bad and unable to be redeemed, and “the golden age of God in which [there] would be peace, prosperity, and righteousness” (Barclay). In that time, Jews would finally receive what was promised to them. The “golden age” of God would not be the result of human choices but direct divine intervention. Barclay further describes the complications presented by apocalyptic literature:
All apocalyptic literature deals with these events, the sin of the present age, the terrors of the time between, and the blessings of the time to come. It is entirely composed of dreams and visions of the end. That means that all apocalyptic literature is necessarily cryptic. It is continually attempting to describe the indescribable, to say the unsayable, to paint the unpaintable. This is further complicated by another fact. It was only natural that these apocalyptic visions should flame the more brightly in the minds of men living under tyranny and oppression. The more some alien power held them down, the more they dreamed of the destruction of that power and of their own vindication. But it would only have worsened the situation if the oppressing power could have understood these dreams. Such writings would have seemed the works of rebellious revolutionaries. Such books, therefore, were frequently written in code, deliberately couched in language which was unintelligible to the outsider; and there are many cases in which they must remain unintelligible because the key to the code no longer exists. (Barclay’s Commentary)
As such, attempting to assign modern names and places to imagery in apocalyptic literature is misguided and futile. Instead, John employs imagery that would have been well-known to his readers. Understanding history and culture and their influence on Christians during that time can offer clues as well as a framework to apply the larger principles to our modern day. For example, Barclay points out that in the book of Revelation, “there is nothing but blazing hatred for Rome. Rome is a Babylon, the mother of harlots, drunk with the blood of the saints and the martyrs (Revelation 17:5–6). John hopes for nothing but her total destruction. The explanation of this change in attitude lies in the wide development of Caesar worship which, with its accompanying persecution, is the background of the Revelation” (Barclay). Modern readers can identify similar issues with governmental systems of power that attempt to substitute following the nonviolent path of peace and love advocated by Jesus’ example with violent behavior and policies that oppress those who lack power.
Our sermon text, found in Revelation 22, follows on the heels of the climactic vision of Revelation 21:9–22:5. And some make the argument that Revelation 22:8–22 is intended to encourage the reader to accept the vision and respond by repenting for bowing to empire (i.e., world systems created by humans and used to wield power over others). Or intended to encourage the reader to respond with endurance and perseverance despite hardships from living in a world dominated by empire. Freedom in such a world seems like a far-off concept. And we have already seen the way that empire lashes out and attempts to squelch diversity or celebration of difference.
We might lose hope were it not for John’s encouragement held in these few verses. This is because he reminds his readers that while worldly systems do not encourage diversity or freedom, we are grounded and held in the arms of Christ Jesus within the loving embrace of the Trinity. Revelation 22 wraps up with the plea, “Come, Lord Jesus!” (v. 20) and finishes with the blessing of grace on all believers (v. 22). Let’s consider three images John offers about the cosmic Christ and how they inspire hope for us today, while preparing us for Pentecost next week: Christ the Alpha and Omega, Christ the Root, and Christ the Water of Life.
Christ the Alpha and Omega
Verse 13 tells us that this world is held in the strong arms of God:
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Revelation 22: 16 NRSVUE
Not only does the name “Alpha and Omega” remind us of Christ’s involvement from the foundation of the created world through the end of time as we know it, but it also teaches us about our identity. Our deepest, most true identity is that we are children of God. When we forget that, we fail to remember our liberation from cultural narratives that tell us lies about where our value comes from. When we lose that sense of ourselves, Christ the Alpha and Omega shows us from the beginning of our lives to the end that we are loved and held.
Christ the Root
In verse 16, Jesus confirms that the encouragement in this passage comes from him:
I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star. Revelation 22:16 NRSVUE
Images of Jesus as “the bright morning star” signal the end of the evil age and the beginning of the “golden age” of God. As we consider Jesus’ teaching about abiding in him (John 15:4–9), the image of being rooted and grounded can make us think back to what Paul writes in Colossians 1:16–17:
For in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers — all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. NRSVUE
Believers can take hope in Christ because our faith comes from that deep root, knowing that our identity and diversity were founded in the great love of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Our identity and freedom come from Christ the Root.
Christ the Water of Life
In verse 17, John’s urgency is conveyed through the repetition of the word “come,” and he calls upon the imagery of water:
And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift. Revelation 22: 17b NRSVUE
In preparation for Pentecost next week, our sermon text gives readers the imagery of water and thirst, conveying the role of the Holy Spirit within the Trinity. In his conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus referred to the “water” he would provide:
Jesus said to her,
Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life. John 4:13–14 NRSVUE
John’s dreams and visions end Revelation with the image of water and our thirst finally satisfied. As we approach Pentecost, we can rely on the Source of Living Water to sustain us, preserve our diversity and identity, and unify us in the freedom of love.
Call to Action: Consider the imagery of the names of Christ: Alpha and Omega, root, water of life. What does it evoke in you? Which one resonates and why? Consider incorporating this image into your prayers during the next week in preparation for Pentecost.
For Reference:
Rohr, Richard. Eager to Love: The Alternative Way of Francis of Assisi. Franciscan Media, 2020.
https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/dsb/revelation.html
https://onbeing.org/programs/robin-wall-kimmerer-the-intelligence-of-plants-2022/
John Rogers—Year C Seventh Sunday in Easter
Listen to audio: https://cloud.gci.org/dl/GReverb/GR064-Rogers-YearC-Easter7.mp3
June 1, 2025 — Seventh Sunday in Easter
Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21 (NRSVUE)
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Program Transcript
John Rogers—Year C Seventh Sunday in Easter
Anthony: Our first passage of the month is Revelation 22: 12–14, 16–17, and also 20–21. I’ll be reading from the New Revised Standard Version, the updated edition. It is a Revised Common Lectionary passage for the seventh Sunday in Easter, which is June 1.
“See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone’s work. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” 14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates. “It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” 17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let everyone who hears say, “Come.” And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift. The one who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! 21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.
And when we come to Scripture, John, we’re always searching to find out what the text is revealing to us about God. So, from your perspective, your exegetical perspective, what does this text tell us about God?
John: I love, I always love thinking about the parameters of a text and what it says of kind of where we are in the book. And regardless of sort of our understanding historically of the chronology of the New Testament gospels and epistles, that this, here it is at the end, and this is the last word, and what it says to me about God’s character. God is, we are both saying, kind of this maranatha quote from Corinthians, like, “Come Lord Jesus” — that, we are asking that.
But as I was thinking about this text in preparation for this recording, I was also imagining because I really, there’s so much in this world right now and in my life that I’m like, Lord Jesus, I just need you to come. And that’s not a temporary by the power of the Holy Spirit come. But I need you to come back and restore that which is broken in my life and in this world.
But I’m also hearing a God of the covenant who is the Alpha and the Omega, who is saying, come to me. And there is this uniform openness to that which speaks to God’s character of invitation. And I think sometimes when we think about Revelation, we feel like that it’s just this wild apocalyptic eschatological book.
And if we, and when we do that, it feels like that we paint a different picture, a wild picture of it. But I think at the heart of what we’re getting here at the end of our Scripture is a God that’s saying the same thing that he said. And I love that right before this text, Eden is restored. God is saying, “Come to me. I want to be in fellowship. I want to be in relationship. I want to be with you. And so, I’ve just proven that — I came to you.” Here we have Jesus saying, “I’m sending an angel to speak these things to you.” And we get a word of invitation.
And the last word, Anthony, I think it’s so beautiful. The last word we get is grace. “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.” And so, I think that’s what I’m hearing here.
Anthony: If you’re preaching this text to the congregation, and of course it’s unique to every congregation, but what else would you convey beyond the fact that Jesus says, “Come,” and gives us the final word of grace.
John: I think this is king of funny because Eugene Peterson never liked either. He didn’t want to give verses, here and here, so he breaks it down occasionally, like three verses here, like in sections. And he certainly didn’t want to give the sections headers.
But when I look at my Bible, I have a parallel Bible where on one side it’s the NIV, on the other side, it’s the Message. And I love, like, when I look at this, it says on one side, in the NIV, in the sections, the two sections in chapter 22, there are three sections. Eden Restored, John and the Angel. And then lastly, Epilogue, Invitation and Warning. And those feel pretty good and like structurally true. But I love what Eugene, when he is forced — I don’t know if it was him or somebody else in the editing process — to put a title where it says, right before verse 6, Don’t Put it away on the Shelf. I think as my invitation to anyone preaching this text will be reminded that though it is important to exposit God’s word in the pulpit, your words carry very little power if you are not dusting off that Scripture and letting it penetrate your life in your own private chamber.
And I think we often think in transaction. Like I do it as well in teaching and facilitating, but I love that header. Don’t put it away on the shelf, don’t appropriate the text into a programmatic function or a function of the job that you might even be really gifted at. That here is a word that is alive, that is true, that is filled with goodness and grace and promise. That, if this is the Bright and Morning Star, let him be the bright and morning star as you put your sermons together, as you draw from this Scripture to let it encourage those people who have your attention.
Anthony: I’ve often wondered at John. What would it sound like if we actually took Scripture as the more important word than our own words as preachers and teachers? Huh? If we read Scripture in that way, that this is truly the most important word we’re going to receive today. And I’ve heard pastors say sometimes after stating a pericope, like we just read in Revelation that, “Oh, that taught itself. I should sit down now.” And sometimes I think, yeah, let’s just do that and leave it there. Especially with a book that says, don’t add any words or beware.
John: That’s right. True. That’s true.
Program Transcript
John Rogers—Year C Seventh Sunday in Easter
Anthony: Our first passage of the month is Revelation 22: 12–14, 16–17, and also 20–21. I’ll be reading from the New Revised Standard Version, the updated edition. It is a Revised Common Lectionary passage for the seventh Sunday in Easter, which is June 1.
“See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone’s work. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” 14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates. “It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” 17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let everyone who hears say, “Come.” And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift. The one who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! 21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.
And when we come to Scripture, John, we’re always searching to find out what the text is revealing to us about God. So, from your perspective, your exegetical perspective, what does this text tell us about God?
John: I love, I always love thinking about the parameters of a text and what it says of kind of where we are in the book. And regardless of sort of our understanding historically of the chronology of the New Testament gospels and epistles, that this, here it is at the end, and this is the last word, and what it says to me about God’s character. God is, we are both saying, kind of this maranatha quote from Corinthians, like, “Come Lord Jesus” — that, we are asking that.
But as I was thinking about this text in preparation for this recording, I was also imagining because I really, there’s so much in this world right now and in my life that I’m like, Lord Jesus, I just need you to come. And that’s not a temporary by the power of the Holy Spirit come. But I need you to come back and restore that which is broken in my life and in this world.
But I’m also hearing a God of the covenant who is the Alpha and the Omega, who is saying, come to me. And there is this uniform openness to that which speaks to God’s character of invitation. And I think sometimes when we think about Revelation, we feel like that it’s just this wild apocalyptic eschatological book.
And if we, and when we do that, it feels like that we paint a different picture, a wild picture of it. But I think at the heart of what we’re getting here at the end of our Scripture is a God that’s saying the same thing that he said. And I love that right before this text, Eden is restored. God is saying, “Come to me. I want to be in fellowship. I want to be in relationship. I want to be with you. And so, I’ve just proven that — I came to you.” Here we have Jesus saying, “I’m sending an angel to speak these things to you.” And we get a word of invitation.
And the last word, Anthony, I think it’s so beautiful. The last word we get is grace. “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.” And so, I think that’s what I’m hearing here.
Anthony: If you’re preaching this text to the congregation, and of course it’s unique to every congregation, but what else would you convey beyond the fact that Jesus says, “Come,” and gives us the final word of grace.
John: I think this is king of funny because Eugene Peterson never liked either. He didn’t want to give verses, here and here, so he breaks it down occasionally, like three verses here, like in sections. And he certainly didn’t want to give the sections headers.
But when I look at my Bible, I have a parallel Bible where on one side it’s the NIV, on the other side, it’s the Message. And I love, like, when I look at this, it says on one side, in the NIV, in the sections, the two sections in chapter 22, there are three sections. Eden Restored, John and the Angel. And then lastly, Epilogue, Invitation and Warning. And those feel pretty good and like structurally true. But I love what Eugene, when he is forced — I don’t know if it was him or somebody else in the editing process — to put a title where it says, right before verse 6, Don’t Put it away on the Shelf. I think as my invitation to anyone preaching this text will be reminded that though it is important to exposit God’s word in the pulpit, your words carry very little power if you are not dusting off that Scripture and letting it penetrate your life in your own private chamber.
And I think we often think in transaction. Like I do it as well in teaching and facilitating, but I love that header. Don’t put it away on the shelf, don’t appropriate the text into a programmatic function or a function of the job that you might even be really gifted at. That here is a word that is alive, that is true, that is filled with goodness and grace and promise. That, if this is the Bright and Morning Star, let him be the bright and morning star as you put your sermons together, as you draw from this Scripture to let it encourage those people who have your attention.
Anthony: I’ve often wondered at John. What would it sound like if we actually took Scripture as the more important word than our own words as preachers and teachers? Huh? If we read Scripture in that way, that this is truly the most important word we’re going to receive today. And I’ve heard pastors say sometimes after stating a pericope, like we just read in Revelation that, “Oh, that taught itself. I should sit down now.” And sometimes I think, yeah, let’s just do that and leave it there. Especially with a book that says, don’t add any words or beware.
John: That’s right. True. That’s true.
Small Group Discussion Questions
- Does the diversity in nature inspire you? If so, how? If you’ve heard other examples of the ways plants and trees work together with each other to flourish, please share.
- Since we understand that the cosmic Christ is the founder of the created world, what daily practices can we employ to ground ourselves? In other words, how does the natural world around us afford opportunities to be reminded of God’s nearness and provision?
- As you consider the imagery of Christ the Alpha and Omega, Christ the root, and the water of life, which one resonates with you and why?
- Does the imagery of the water of life help prepare you for Pentecost next week? If so, how? What does the image of water that quenches our thirst say to you?
