Revelation 5:1-10
“Then I saw between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders a Lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered, having seven horns and seven eyes” (Revelation 5:6)
On Halloween Eve, I cannot imagine a more frightening image from the Bible than Revelation 5:6. (Though, bonus points if you find an even scarier one. In fact, those who send in “scary images from scripture” selections will be officially enrolled in a contest to win a free lunch with the Presbyterian pastor from Marysville of your choice!). Yet in a unique reversal, this terrifying image is a relief to John the Revelator, for in the verses that precede this one, John is distraught to learn that there is no one worthy to open the scroll whose contents contained the names of those who are saved. The assumption is that until those names can be read by the Lord – that is, until the Lord calls your name in a heavenly roll call – that all remain outside the eternal love and presence of God. John has every right to be terrified, not by the gruesome presentation of the Lord, but by what (and who!) might be lost if no one can open the scroll.
Halloween is a great season to let ourselves be scared. Fear is not an inherently negative emotion. It exists to alert us toward that which ought to be avoided. As such, inverting our fears often tells what should be valued. That monsters terrify us means, when inverted, that we ought to love what is beautiful. That the unknown is scary means, when inverted, that we ought to love that we both know and are known. Fear, in other words, can be a very unique, blood-pressure-raising, heart-beat-skipping sort of instructor.
This is what John understands. He understands that his greatest fear is that the scroll cannot be opened, which means – when inverted – that his greatest hope is found only in the seal being broken. Additionally, how interesting that when presented with a scary presentation of the Lord, he is unfazed.
This Halloween, let yourself be a little startled, a little scared, a little frightened. And then turn it inside out. Find the goodness you are meant to pursue by learning to turn away from the fears that frighten. Amen.
