It’s the first word that comes to mind this morning: chills. It is the feeling I have in the midst of a crowded sanctuary when everyone around me is singing with full voice. It is the feeling I have every Easter morning when we stand for the Hallelujah Chorus. It is feeling that I am part of something far greater than myself, and I suddenly stand in this “thin place” where the veil between heaven and earth is so thin that I can sense eternity. That’s what I feel this morning as I read the words of Revelation 5.

“Worthy is the lamb who was slain… To him…be praise and honor and glory and power for ever and ever!” And who does John say is singing this song? The voices of angels – ten thousand times ten thousand. To stand in the midst of such a choir: chills!

Jesus is so much more than a friend who would comfort us, but the Lamb who was slain for us and shares in the praise of the one and only God. The central truth at the heart of the Christian faith is that Jesus, the lion, the lamb, the Messiah, the teacher from Nazareth – this Jesus shares the worship that belongs to God. It isn’t just that Jesus is God, but we are somehow caught up in the work that God would do. There are moments when this seems so incredible and beyond my ability to understand that all I can do is lift my hands and sing with the angels: To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!

Or as we sing on Easter: Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hal-le-lu-jah!

Again, this morning: chills. I feel chills. Thank you, God. Amen.

Today’s readings: Ezekiel 12-14; Revelation 5