Like a Lamb

A Reflection on the Second Reading for May 5th, 2019:
Third Sunday of Easter

​REVELATION 5:11-14

​I, John, looked and heard the voices of many angels
who surrounded the throne
and the living creatures and the elders.
They were countless in number, and they cried out in a loud voice:
"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain 
to receive power and riches, wisdom and strength,
honor and glory and blessing."
Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth
and under the earth and in the sea,
everything in the universe, cry out:
"To the one who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor, glory and might,
forever and ever."
The four living creatures answered, "Amen, "
and the elders fell down and worshiped.

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All of creation was made to worship the Lord who reveals Himself to us with the same creative movement that breathed us into life. This Lord is presented to John in the gentle and unassuming vessel of a lamb, yet sitting on a throne with all “power and riches, wisdom and strength, honour and glory and blessing.” I find the image perplexing, yet interiorly, know it to be true. A lamb is a feeble creature, causing no harm to anyone; a defenceless, loveable soul who is easily preyed upon. How can this be the image of our God? How can this be the body which contains in it “power and riches, wisdom and strength, honour and glory and blessing”?

As the most important aspects of my life begin to tatter and fray, I instinctively reach to grasp them—pull them back in. I desire security; peacefulness. I long for comfort, safety, and assurance. I desire control. But the more I grasp, the more helpless I feel. Because the truth is, control is not the answer—it is the obstacle. Strength is not found in our human perception of power and might, it is found in our submission to The One who is the embodiment of strength: the Lamb.

"Strength is not found in our human perception of power and might, it is found in our submission to The One who is the embodiment of strength."

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This lamb is a symbol of peace, humility, and ultimately, strength. The kind of power and might that causes countless angels to sing in praise and worship. It is when I join the angels in worship that I can receive His strength. It is through worshipping the Lamb of God that I am led to communion with Him. This communion draws on the great love of a sacrificial God. One who, like the defenceless lamb in the shepherds field, did not choose His sacrifice, but was led to it by his Father who sees all above the earth and on the earth and under the earth. And out of trust, obedience, and love, He accepted His fate. This kind of strength, the kind that comes from acceptance with joy, of the path that is laid before me, is the strength that will help me to endure all of life’s twists and turns; its edges and dark valleys.

​

He calls, I look

All that lives and breathes pours out His name
​
We turn to Him, He shines upon us
An intense infusion of Him


He is within

Stirring, healing, softening, compelling


​A song breaks forth and echoes through time and space

Countless voices 
Unique, yet with one song
United in Spirit 
The symphony of creation moving to the rhythm of His breath

The song of our hearts shatters the darkness
Grace swallows up the shadows


Freedom 


The Light, so intense, so warm

All else is meaningless


Silence breaks forth prompting us to reverent submission


He is The One who makes us one.



Let us Pray:

My Lord and my God, I renounce my desire for control. I release my grip from the turmoil that surrounds me and surrender my life into Your hands.
​

Lori MacDonald

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