Loving God, in spite of the trials that are part of life in this world, you reveal to us that your purposes are always for life.  Help us to experience the abundant life of your Spirit, even as you continue to make us into a new creation in Christ; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    A survey question to begin today:  When you hear somebody mention the Apocalypse, what are some of the first things that come to mind?... [death and destruction?  Zombies?  The four horsemen?  Armageddon?]  My suspicion was that most people would think of scary scenes of destruction and general mayhem.  However, this is not how Revelation ends (and keep in mind that Apocalypse and Revelation mean the same thing).  Just as the Bible begins with creation, so it ends with the new creation described in Revelation.  God continues to be the Creator, and God’s purposes ultimately lead to life.

    What we get in today’s reading from Revelation is a glimpse of God’s ultimate purposes for the world in which we live and for all of creation.  A new heaven, a new earth, and a new Jerusalem are all part of God’s new creation.  God and mortals are together.  A city and the natural world are together.  And healing for all nations is readily available.  Tears are wiped away.  The water of life is given to all who are thirsty, and mere mortals will actually see God’s face.

    At the same time, as part of his description of God’s future, John also includes some of the things that will not be there.  There will be no death, or pain, or crying.  There will be no sea, which was a symbol of chaos, and there will be no night, for God is the light.  Nothing accursed will be found there.  There is also no temple in the city, for there is no need of one.  God and the Lamb are right there, readily accessible.  No special house is needed.

    In many ways, the description of the New Jerusalem is quite amazing.  The center of the city is not a mass of buildings, but a garden.  There is the river of the water of life flowing right in the middle of the street – right down Main Street!  And the tree of life is on both sides of the river.  As Pastor Bruce reminded some of us this week, there is no wrong side of the street or wrong side of the tracks. There is no wrong side of the river, for whichever side you are on has the tree of life.  At the same time, this tree has a new crop of fruit every month, so no matter when you arrive, there is good fruit in season.  There is no bad time to arrive.

    Here, we had Russian tarragon last week, and some tomatoes and cucumber the week before.  When things are in season, people bring them to share, but it’s highly unlikely for such things to happen in January!  Not so, though, in the New Jerusalem.

    One of the other things about the New Jerusalem is the city gates.  There are twelve gates to the city, and each one is made out of a single pearl (Rev. 21:21).  Contrary to popular belief, St. Peter is not standing at the pearly gates.  In fact, none of the gates are ever closed.  There is no night in the city, so there is no need to close them.  However, there might be an angel at each gate (Rev. 21:12).

    Now, it would be entirely possible to think about today’s reading as “pie in the sky and by and by.” Obviously, things look a lot different now than this description of the new creation. Once again, remember that the book of Revelation was written for those who were suffering, and these visions of the new Jerusalem were full of hope in the midst of trying times. It was a reminder to them, and it is a reminder to us, that as the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, God is there, creating and forming life, at both the beginning and the end.

    It is God who forms us in the womb and who breathes into us the breath of life, and it is God who is there at our end, ready to receive us into the new creation and into the resurrection to eternal life.  It is also God who is the giver of life here and now.  This is one of the challenges when we think about Revelation – discerning what it has to say to us about living here and now.

    Certainly, there continues to be a word of hope in the midst of suffering and trials and even fear, for the over-arching message of Revelation is that God is the one in charge, and that all those who have put their trust in Jesus Christ have no need to fear.  At the same time, Revelation reveals the ultimate purposes of God – the new creation and life in all its fullness.  As people who desire to be part of this new creation in the future, we are called and encouraged to embrace the purposes of God here and now.

    That means living in the presence of God through Jesus Christ within us and among us.  That means living in such a way that there is healing for the nations. That means living in harmony with creation and with other human beings. That means comforting those who mourn, wiping away others’ tears, and giving food and drink to the hungry and the thirsty. We do this not by our own strength or understanding, but by the power of the Holy Spirit at work within us and through us.

    After all, we are promised that “if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17).  In other words, God’s new creation shows up, even now, in all those who live believing in Jesus Christ.  The challenge is simply to give free reign to the Holy Spirit in our lives, that we, too, might be a part of God’s purposes in our world, for who is there that doesn’t need the spring of the water of life?  Thanks be to God!  Amen.

Pentecost 13 (NL summer)                        Revelation 21:1-6; 22:1-5
September 3, 2017
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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