Reversed Thunder - A Missio Dei Worship Night
Missio staff recently read together through Eugene Peterson’s work on Revelation “Reversed Thunder: The Revelation of John and the Praying Imagination.” Like much of Peterson’s (the paraphraser of “The Message”) work, the book’s language felt like poetry through and through. This was only appropriate as Peterson’s primary thrust was to invite readers to interpret Revelation more poetically than as a strict symbolic code (a common approach among modern commentators). His moving prose pulled each of us into a love for Revelation’s dramatic imagery and unifying theme around Christ’s ultimate victory and the natural response of all creation, which is worship and prayer. Peterson’s own title came from a George Herbert poem on the topic of prayer:
Prayer the church's banquet, angel's age,
God's breath in man returning to his birth,
The soul in paraphrase, heart in pilgrimage,
The Christian plummet sounding heav'n and earth
Engine against th' Almighty, sinner's tow'r,
Reversed thunder, Christ-side-piercing spear,
The six-days world transposing in an hour,
A kind of tune, which all things hear and fear;
Softness, and peace, and joy, and love, and bliss,
Exalted manna, gladness of the best,
Heaven in ordinary, man well drest,
The milky way, the bird of Paradise,
Church-bells beyond the stars heard, the soul's blood,
The land of spices; something understood.
I haven’t been able to shake the idea that prayer and worship is “reversed thunder.” God sends the rain and lightning on the righteous and wicked alike (Matthew 5:45) and the natural response of the redeemed creation is to return that thunderous chorus through endless praise. As Revelation 4 says, John sees God seated on a majestic, rainbow-encircled throne. About that throne are heavenly creatures ceaselessly praising for all eternity, saying:
“‘Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,
who was, and is, and is to come.” (Revelation 4:8b)
There are also 24 elders (representing the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 disciples of Jesus [i.e. all the faithful throughout history]), who also worship, saying:
“You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being.” (Revelation 4:11)
While now we see only through a glass darkly (1 Cor. 13:12), we have enough assurance in God’s Word (both Christ and the scriptures) to have an emerging vision of God’s order both now and in eternity. We can be sure of this: Worship is an integral part of God’s design of the universe and essential to our nature as created beings. There is something really special about occasionally taking extra time to worship with a more open format in response to the Spirit. Like all prayer and worship, it is at least as much about shaping us as it is about extolling God’s worthiness. Worship has the power to transform us because it centers us in God’s presence and aligns us with God’s heart. Eternity includes the present moment, so when we engage in adoring worship, we are not only rehearsing, but in a mysterious way, also joining the eternal worship of the throne room.
That is why I’m excited to hold Missio’s first all-city worship night in more than two years. Please join us this coming Thursday (8/19) at 7:15 for a night of extended worship and prayer as we join the heavenly chorus. All are welcome--bring a friend! Can’t wait to see you there.