Singing With the Sentinels

Isaiah 52:7-10

Revelation 21:22-27

In times of war a town or city wishing to avoid destruction will declare itself “open”, that is offering no resistance to the enemy. Otherwise the gates are locked tight and careful and constant watch is kept. According to our readings today from Isaiah and Revelation the time is coming when Zion, the city of God, will no longer face the choice between surrender or devastation. “Listen!” says Isaiah. “Your sentinels lift up their voices, together they sing for joy; for in plain sight they see the return of the Lord to Zion” (Isaiah 52:8). “Its gates will never be shut by day…,” Revelation tells us, “nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood” (Revelation 21:25, 27). Taken together, these passages tell us of a time to come when sentinels will share (sing, even) only joyous news and there will be no reason to fear anyone.

Ah, if only that were true today! If only we could step outside our doors and feel completely and unreservedly safe and free from harm. But there are so many things that lurk in the shadows of our world, so many accidents waiting to happen, so many people with ill-intent, so much disease and sickness, so many bad things happening to even the best of people. What gives? Well, both the prophet Isaiah and John, the writer of Revelation, are giving us glimpses of the time to come, the end time when God’s reign will finally arrive in its fullness. This is a hope toward which we are to live, a reality in which we may place our confidence. “The days are surely coming,” says the Lord, and as we grow in trust we become more aware to what God is doing. Indeed, if we observe with all our being and focus with all of our heart and mind upon the grace of God we may find ourselves joining in the song of the sentinels, even in the face of current events. For even now grace abounds and God’s goodness floods our world like a river tops its banks and transcends its levies. And while evil remains a problem (the problem), the growing light of a new dawn indicates that it will all be worth the wait as God’s will becomes more and more apparent. So cue the sentinels and lets get singing.

Prayer: Lord, give us eyes to behold the light of your new creation and the will to join the chorus of praise to your most holy name. Amen.