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After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, singing, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?” I said to him, “Sir, you are the one that knows.” Then he said to me, “These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason, they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7: 9-18) Reflection Having just returned from a youth orchestra performance tour in Berlin, Leipzig, and Prague with a group of 100+ people, I know what a multitude is. Being in cities full of local residents and tourists of other nations, I had an awareness of all tribes and languages. And all of us having been through a couple years of pandemic isolation and limited travel, there was a feeling of having come out of a great ordeal. We were glad to share meals, raise a glass and be in the sunshine together. Truly, some tears were wiped away. Yes, I wrapped my recent travel experience around our text from Revelation today. There is one more connection. Singing. The multitude fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God singing. Music. That was the purpose of our tour - music; though instrumental, not singing. After the final concert, one young orchestra member came up to me so excited. “Mrs. Gates, that was the best! I made an old person smile. I looked down off the stage and there she was in the front row smiling as we played. And you know how an old person without a lot of teeth smiles? I could tell she was happy and that is just the best feeling. I made an old person happy with my music.” Perhaps that person went home with music in her heart. Perhaps her own bedtime prayer was a song much like the singing of the multitude at the throne. Perhaps God wiped away some tears that night. The old person’s, the young musician’s and mine. --Ruth Gates Prayer “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” Our devotions are based on this Sunday’s Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). The RCL is a three-year cycle of readings telling the story of our Christian faith and corresponding to the season church calendar. On any given Sunday, we are hearing and praying and examining the same Scripture with millions of Christians around the world. In our current Year C, the Old Testament readings progress through the Prophets and have the theme of the day that it is connected to the Gospel reading. The Psalm, a song the congregation sings in response to the Old Testament reading, most often corresponds to the theme of the Hebrew Lessons and/or that of the Gospel Lesson. The lesson from the Epistles or from Acts typifies the church’s focus on the meaning of Christ for today. The Gospel lesson is connected to the season of the Church Year. This year, our gospel readings are from Luke, who writes that Jesus is the universal Savior and the perfect Son of Man. The current season of Easter brings the liturgical and biblical past into the present.
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