Throughout this Easter season we have been hearing little snippets from the Revelation to John, and today is no different. Of course, as many of you know there has been an ongoing Bible study of Revelation happening here over the past few months. Thus, it seemed natural to focus on at least one of these readings that we have been hearing as we continue to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Of course, all of the Revelation to John was written at a time when many Christians were in danger of losing hope. John himself had been exiled to the island of Patmos and thus was separated from the people whom he served and cared for in the church. Many others had been imprisoned and tortured and executed. It was a time when being a Christian could quite literally put you in danger of losing your home, your family, your possessions, and even your life.

And so, part of what John writes is this vision of a new heaven and a new earth. It is a vision of what awaits those who remain faithful to Jesus Christ. It is a vision of living in the presence of God without any more suffering or crying or pain. It is a vision of what it is like when all things have been made new. It is a vision of hope for all those who believe in Jesus Christ, for just as God is and was the beginning of all things, so God will also be at the end.

So for us, just as it was for those first-century Christians, this is a glimpse into the future, heavenly, kingdom of God, where the sadness and pain of this life will have passed away and we will be filled from the springs of the water of life. At the same time, this vision from Revelation has something to say to us about life now in the kingdom of God. You see, part of what is described in this vision has already taken place, at least in part.

First and foremost is the proclamation that is made from the throne saying, "See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God" (Rev. 21:3). Isn't this already true through Jesus Christ? -- For in Jesus, God did come to live among us -- to be incarnate ("in the flesh") -- to be "Emmanuel" - "God with us." And, in the present God continues to live among us through the presence of the Holy Spirit! Certainly, it is true that God is in heaven. It is also true that God is everywhere. However, it is just as true that God is right here, living within us and among us by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Now, this may not seem to be very important on the surface. However, if we truly believe that God lives within us and within the body of Christ - the church - the temple of living stones - then we treat ourselves and the people around us differently from what we might do if God were far away. It seems to me that in the Old Testament, and especially early on in Genesis, people seem to do things in the hopes that maybe God won't see them. Adam and Eve think that they can actually hide from God in the garden (Gen. 3:8-10). Cain seems to think that he can kill his brother Abel without God noticing (Gen. 4:8-9). Moses seems to think that he can kill an Egyptian without anybody finding out (Ex. 2:11-14). However, God knows us through and through, just as God knew these people, and absolutely nothing that we do is hidden from God! After all, it is God who formed us in the womb, and who knew us even before we were born (Ps. 139:13-16)!

In fact, God places a far higher value on each one of us and on the people around us than we often do ourselves. Often people don't seem to care what they do to themselves, but God does! In the same way, sometimes we don't care what we're doing to other people, but God surely does! God has shown us our value through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God has redeemed us by his blood and has made us holy by the power of the Holy Spirit. God lives within us through that same Holy Spirit, and so when we mess with ourselves or with other believers, we are messing with God's temple (1 Cor. 6:19). In the same way, God lives among the community of believers, and so when we mess with Christ's body, the church, we are also messing with God's temple, and God doesn't take too kindly to people destroying his dwelling place (1 Cor. 3:16-17).

And so when we truly understand that God does live within us and among us, it changes how we view the world around us and what kind of a value we place on the people around us. It also changes how we approach times of trial and suffering, for we know that Jesus continues to walk with us and shares in our sorrow and our suffering and our pain. God is not absent during the difficult times in our lives, but is right there, walking with us, and wiping away our tears, and even carrying us!

Now, certainly in the final and complete kingdom of God we will live even more fully in the presence of God without the things that cause mourning and crying and pain (Rev. 21:4). At that time, there will be no barriers whatsoever between us and God. All will have been broken down, and our relationship with God will have been made perfect. Yet, as we have seen, even now God lives within us and among us through the Spirit of Christ.

Another thing in this vision from Revelation that has already started is the proclamation from the throne that says, "See, I am making all things new" (Rev. 21:5). The apostle Paul proclaims that "if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new" (2 Cor. 5:17). Thus, the new creation starts within us - now - through the power of the Holy Spirit at work within us. God takes our old selves - our natural selves - our sinful selves - and replaces them with a new self that is in Christ. God makes us righteous through our baptism into Christ and then calls us to grow into what God has already made us: children of God and inheritors of eternal life. In Jesus Christ God has made all things new. That new creation begins within us now, and will be experienced in all its fulness in the life to come.

Finally, the vision from Revelation mentions receiving the gift of the water of life (Rev. 21:6). Once again, this is a promise that applies to the present, and once again, the Holy Spirit is central. In John 7, Jesus compares the Holy Spirit to rivers of living water that will flow from the believer's heart (vv. 37-39). Now, it is true that in this earthly life there will still be times when we are spiritually thirsty. There are times when we don't take the time to drink deeply of God's Spirit and to renew our spirits through spending time in the presence of God. There are times when we might feel like we're in a spiritual wasteland and going through a very dry period. Yet, even during these times, God is with us, and waiting to hear from us, with the Spirit even praying for us in sighs too deep for words (Rom. 8:26). So even though there may be times when we are spiritually thirsty rather than full of the water of life, the Holy Spirit has been given, and is ready to fill the hearts of believers.

And so, even though we won't see the fulness of this vision from Revelation until we have left this earthly life, we still catch glimpses now of the kingdom of God that has broken into our world through Jesus the Christ. God is with us and within us through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. God has made us new people through our baptism into Christ. And finally, God has poured out the Holy Spirit on all those who believe in Jesus Christ, which is just like having living water flowing from our hearts. May we be enabled to see both ourselves and the people around us as God does, and to live according to the Spirit of Christ, who is the beginning and the end. Amen.

Easter 5(C) Revelation 21:1-6 May 9, 2004 St. Luke's Zion Lutheran Church

? 2004 Lynn Hutchison All Rights Reserved