Lamb

A sermon for the congregation of St. Stephen, Summerland on the 4^th Sunday of Easter Season, May 11, 2025 — The Very Rev. Ken Gray

Every once in a while a hymn arrests me; it makes me stop in my tracks, and I go WOW. This happened last week when I presided at St. Saviour’s in Penticton. As the distribution of Communion concluded, we sang these words to the wonderful tune ST OSMUND:

Life-imparting heav’nly Manna,
stricken Rock, with streaming side,
heav’n and earth with loud hosanna
worship Thee, the Lamb who died.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Ris’n, ascended, glorified!

I almost cried. There is so much truth in these few words, so much scripture, so much time and space and revelation, so much joy, all beautifully assembled and rendered.

And there it is: the word “lamb,” the “lamb who died.” Today Lamb is my title and theme though I have some thoughts on lion as well. This week, on what is commonly called “Good Shepherd” Sunday, let’s remind ourselves of similar words from William Blake (1757-1857):

Little Lamb who made thee
         Dost thou know who made thee
Gave thee life & bid thee feed.
By the stream & o’er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing wooly bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice!
         Little Lamb who made thee
         Dost thou know who made thee

         Little Lamb I’ll tell thee,
         Little Lamb I’ll tell thee!
He is called by thy name,
For he calls himself a Lamb:
He is meek & he is mild,
He became a little child:
I a child & thou a lamb,
We are called by his name.
         Little Lamb God bless thee.
         Little Lamb God bless thee.

So then, who is this “little lamb” but Christ himself? He is the “Lamb of God” identified by John the Baptizer whose story is told in the Gospel according to (another) John (1:29-34).

Lamb however, does seem an odd image for the one for whom we wait, the King of Kings, Creator of all. It seems to suggest no guts, no visible force or political strength, no special charisma in Jesus’ presence and ministry. Yet this is the very point; Jesus real presence forces nothing on anyone — except as his biblical followers, and us in our own time, examine the forces within ourselves — Jesus’ power is with us, though not over us or against us.

[With thanks to Katherine A. Shaner who writes in the Christian Century]

“Biblical theologian Barbara Rossing, in her 2004 book The Rapture Exposed, introduces a term for the power at the center of God’s throne: lamb power. It’s a subversive kind of power that negates the exploitative power that the Roman Empire claims as part of its victory propaganda.”

“Just when victory should be a show of power, the vulnerable lamb appears, standing as if slain” she writes.

Here’s another WOW moment for me personally. As I continue to track and respond to the gross abandonment of justice and the unfolding of cruel injustice in the US today, I cannot avoid comparison of Trump’s use and abuse of power with the polar opposite displayed by Jesus.

Today’s text from Revelation, and the book itself, stand as resistance to the Roman empire of the first century CE. The parallel between the world of John of Patmos and the early Christian is fast establishing itself in our day.

I continue to follow anthropologist and political ecologist James B. Greenberg whose Substack blog I re-posted on my blog a few days ago. His trenchant socio-political and theological analysis is worth quoting at some length in today’s Gospel context.

“How did Donald Trump — a man known for excess, cruelty, and contempt — become the spearhead of a Christian political movement? It’s hard to imagine a less likely candidate. And yet, for millions of Americans, he became more than a political figure. He became a symbol of divine purpose and cultural salvation. That alignment didn’t appear out of nowhere. It was the result of a much longer shift — one that reshaped broad swaths of American Christianity into something more focused on control than compassion, more invested in dominance than in humility.”

[Ken Gray] Many of us wonder not only how he can continue to represent himself in such an evil way. (I use the term intentionally and specifically.) We likewise wonder who are these people who continue to follow and believe in him. The term “false prophet” does not go far enough. Again, Greenberg:

“They saw the lies. They heard the contempt. They watched him mock the vulnerable — immigrants, the poor, the disabled, the imprisoned — and they cheered. Not despite it, but because they believed those performances were a form of strength. They had come to see strength as the highest virtue. In Trump, they didn’t find a savior. They found a weapon.”

[Ken Gray] A popular group on Facebook is “Christians tired of being misrepresented.” This group speaks for many of us who view the liberating Gospel of Jesus Christ as truth-telling, justice-seeking, and loving. It feels right now that we are outnumbered by those who lean into fear and a false sense of salvation and love. Greenberg again:

“[There is now a broad shift in] American religious life, where church became another front in the culture war, and where faith was slowly hollowed out by nostalgia, grievance, and the anxiety of lost primacy. “Christian” came to mean not someone who follows Christ, but someone who belongs to a particular vision of America — white, conservative, embattled, and in need of restoration. This isn’t theology. It’s politics draped in sacred language.”

So what do faithful, justice-seeking, Christ and creation-caring Christians need right now? They need what John of Patmos shared with his ancient readers. They, and we, need encouragement, a sense of community, a big dose of hope for the future, and the ability to endure the present moment. John helps us all to imagine a different world than what surrounds us presently. From Revelation:

“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 worshipped God, singing, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” (Revelation 7:10-11)

[Ken Gray] He then sharpens his focus, on those who suffer, and those who through God’s grace, prevail:

“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.” (7:13-14)

While the influence of the Trump administration remains minimal for us here in our lovely little town of Summerland, we know that things will continue to escalate, as cruel attacks on people, communities, creation, and love continue to influence the lives of others. Resistance is building but dark forces continue to gather strength and expand their reach. It’s one thing to poke at Canada as the 51^st state. (I think I saw our Prime Minister raise his elbows at one point in his meeting with President Trump.) It’s quite another to attack the poor, the migrant, the worker, trans persons, women, and countless others caught in the crossfire of deceit, vanity, and narcissism. We all need relief from the ordeal.

Originally a song of lost love, the classic jazz standard says what I feel right now. Maybe you feel this same way:

“Life is bare
Gloom and misery everywhere
Stormy weather, stormy weather
And I just can’t get my poor self together
Oh I’m weary all of the time
The time, so weary all of the time.”
Cover by Etta James